Getting Healthy

It's been over 2 months since I've started going to the gym on a regular basis. As in really regular, 3 times a week without fail, with at least 30 to 45 minutes of cardio workout, & a bit of weight training on targeted muscle groups, the latter to strengthen muscles that support joints like the knees & shoulders which I've been having problems with.

As I get older, health matters become more of a concern. I know it sounds strange coming from a doctor, but doctors can be the worst patients. I know in my case, I haven't exactly been the paradigm of health as far as my weight & eating healthy was concerned. And I had my VERY FIRST HEALTH SCREENING just over a month ago. I know, I am very bad. So my LDL is slightly high, but HDL is at a nicely high level too. But my TG's need to come down - so I guess that means trying to eat fish & perhaps taking omega 2 (Jan 28 -correction: should have been omega 3) fatty acid supplements.

(The good news is that I have been religiously regular with the female checks like the PAPs & the Mammos & the US scans).

In my schooling years, I had always been active, with ECAs (as it was known then) & in university, with representing the medical faculty in various sports. So my activity level had always been decently healthy. Then after graduation from medical school, housemanship & MO ship started & I needed to find time for other things (like sleep!). Although I had had sporadic periods of time during which I went to the gym or played various kinds of sports once or twice a week, I inevitably found myself stopping due to either lack of time or different priorities coming up (like children!). I am sure many working parents succumb to the same trap; whether or not it's avoidable, that's arguable.

The turning point came after my thumb injury last year, as I became terribly sedentary during the recovery & rehab period, & felt myself getting more & more lethargic. It's a vicious cycle, really. The less you do, the more lethargic one becomes. So I decided - that's enough lazing around, aliendoc. You need to get off your butt & get healthy again.

In the months that I've become more active, I have found myself with more energy, & feeling less lethargic. If I miss out on a day of exercise, I find myself feeling uncomfortable, & bloated. Perhaps its the endorphins & adrenaline doing their jobs. Whatever it is, I need to continue working on it, not so much to lose weight, but for the sake of my cardiovascular health.

I hope I can persevere.

Yes!

The Police World Tour
Feb 7, 2008
The Venetian, Macau

...and we got tickets!!!

Impressions from China - C-c-c-cold

It is COLD. Teeth-chatteringly, toe-numbingly, frost-bitingly COLD.

Frigid. Think a high of negative 3 degrees Celsius & a low of negative 10. I can literally make ice cubes on our deck outside.

And thanks to good ol' Chinese construction, & quality of insulation (or lack thereof), our house defies the very laws of physics. Our master bedroom, which is on the top (3rd) floor, feels like a refridgerator. (For those who did not take Physics 101 in high school, heat rises...at least, it's supposed to). But if we turn the thermostat up any higher, the lower floors will become stifling hot.

So it looks like it's gonna be sweaters & socks in bed tonight.

Impressions from China: Whether the Weather...

You know you have adapted to Beijing weather when you step outside & say: ”What a nice day it is today! It’s not so cold!”…

…and it’s a balmy 5 degrees Celsius…

:)