I was so proud of getting back on track with blogging. All I had to do Thursday night was put a photo in here and press publish. And then the power went out.
Better late than never?
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 that in February I added a second goal of 60 minutes of strength training a week, which remains a challenge.
Last week I went to a meeting, and got plenty of exercise in. I have to travel again at the end of the week–a whirlwind trip–and I’m not sure I’ll be able to exercise for a few days.
In reviewing my victorious week, though, I realized I really wanted to work on weight training. Yoga will work, but doing that once every 2 weeks doesn’t have the same effect as using weights 2-3 times a week will. However, I also realized that I was straining my neck with home exercises with my weights. I’m still figuring out what to do about this.
- Saturday: This was my last day at the ACP meeting, then it was time to travel. I walked 26 minutes, per my Fitbit.
- Sunday: I was pretty happy to be back home. After a lazy morning, and then some socializing, I took a walk around the neighborhood, which apparently lasted 36 minutes.
- Monday: Today was my first day back. I had lots of extra work–filling out forms, calling patients, visiting a few in the hospital. I stayed a little late, but still walked part-way home. Between running around at work and my evening walk, I got in 40 minutes.
- Tuesday: Some tough patient cases today, I stayed a bit later. I still walked part-way home, 28 minutes.
- Wednesday: Walked all the way home. 48 minutes. I counted up, and I’ve hit (and surpassed) my 150 minute goal. Which is good, since I have to leave after work tomorrow, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to exercise much.
- Thursday: Worked all day, then hit the road. As I suspected, no exercise.
- Friday: Traveled all day. No exercise here either.
Total: 178 minutes walking, but no time spent on strength training. I will call this a partial win. I got in the 150 minutes (which I would have counted as a total win a few months ago); I just need to figure out what I will do to get stronger.