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 was doing well enough for a few weeks that I added a second goal of 60 minutes of strength training a week; but then I backslid like crazy. I did turn things around, but long hours in the hospital can make things challenging.
- Saturday: Walked part way home, 22 minutes.
- Sunday: Walked part way home again, 27 minutes.
- Monday: This was a crazy work day. My Fitbit registered 17 minutes walking at work, but my day ran pretty late. No walk home today.
- Tuesday: Another busy day, but I did walk part way home. I think I wasn’t feeling great, since it took me 32 minutes and I didn’t go much further than usual.
- Wednesday: Walked part way home, 21 minutes.
- Thursday: Felt worse today, and the weather wasn’t great. I got a ride home and did no exercise.
- Friday: Walked partway home, 21 minutes.
Total: 146 minutes of walking, just missing the goal of 150 minutes. No strength training at all.
- Saturday: It was the resident’s day off, and the day lasted forever. No walking today.
- Sunday: By now I’m exhausted. I spent my day mostly lying down (and using the computer from under the covers).
- Monday: A better day, I felt somewhat refreshed after Sunday. I walked part way home, to the further pick up point. Walked 28 minutes.
- Tuesday: A very pleasant day, most of my work got done at a decent hour. I walked part way home, for 27 minutes.
- Wednesday: Walked part way home, 21 minutes.
- Thursday: Walked part way home, 26 minutes. Interesting to note that I was picked up at the same spot every day (not Wednesday), but the length of my walk varies a bit.
- Friday: A very long day. This is where counting my exercise works against me. I knew I would not make it to 150 minutes, so I figured I would just work longer and get a ride.
Total: 102 minutes of walking, no strength training at all.
My defeatist conclusion: I never get exercise when I work in the hospital!
My optimistic conclusion: I will work harder next time to get exercise when I work in the hospital!
We’ll see who wins. For now, I’m looking forward to lots more exercise in the coming weeks.