One of the favorite things I have heard from a patient is: you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about blood pressure. Implying, of course, that doctor’s don’t struggle with their health.
I most certainly do struggle with fitness and health, like many other Americans with sedentary jobs and a proclivity to eat treats. One of my goals is to make sure that I get my 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise, which probably won’t happen). I will see for how long I am willing to document my progress Saturday to Friday.
This week I was traveling for family visits, and struggling with viral illness (mine, and my husband’s). Despite that, I still exercised much more than during my usual work week.
- Saturday: We are out of town, and my husband is quite ill with a GI bug. I ran a few errands, but didn’t like to be away for long. No exercise today.
- Sunday: After a long day indoors on Sunday, we were ready to stretch our legs. We took a 37 minute walk before showering and dressing for the wedding we came for. It was beautiful, I cried; later we danced (badly).
- Monday: Traveled to Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve. That was an experience! We walked up and down the Strip while the road was closed. 131 minutes of walking.
- Tuesday: We had an unexpected extra day in Vegas: we switched hotels and decided to go to one further down the Strip for a buffet. Walking there and back garnered 97 minutes of walking.
- Wednesday: Another travel day. The URI that was starting on NYE was full-blown by now. No exercise time for me.
- Thursday: I was still coughing with a little added wheezing, so our tour of the area was pretty much all by car. I felt like I was cheating when I “saw” the natural wonders, rather than getting out and walking; better something than nothing is the phrase I kept repeating to myself. We did get a short walk in about 10 minutes.
- Friday: We did some strolling around town–after lots of tea–before heading home. My cold and the altitude made it a little challenging. We walked for about 10 minutes, and then another 27 minutes going back and forth to the fancy lounge at the Phoenix airport. That was an experience (my first time using the Priority Pass that came with the Chase Sapphire Card). A total of 37 minutes walking.
Total: 312 minutes walking , no yoga. This week was a total win for getting exericse, proving again that vacation is good for my health (except that whole bit about getting sick).