I Treated My Body Like a Trash Can 🚯

Over the last two years, I treated my body like a trash can. And it will end now. Friday’s Digest #97

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Preface
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Preface

Last week, a famous singer from my childhood died from cancer. He was one of the most popular artists I knew in the 80s. Readers from my home country may know who I am referring to— his stage name is “Adam”.

As a kid, we only had one TV channel, and we consumed music through records, cassettes, and radio. So we listened to the same artists. Life was very analog back then.

Anyway, I heard about his death while reading a news article about him, and there was one sentence that really got me:

“I treated my body like a trash can.”

Damn.

This is exactly what I did throughout most of my fellowship.

I stopped running about a year and a half ago, and the food I put into my body was garbage most of the time.

The clinics and surgeries were so intense, so when I had 10 minutes to eat something, it was almost always chicken tenders (fried chicken strips) at work. Sometimes I got to the cafeteria only late in the day, so the only option was pizza.

Think about it - you operated for 8 hours and still have 5-6 hours to go.

It’s either pizza or nothing. You are starving. What are you going to do?

So, like Adam, I treated my body like a trash can.

And I’m a doctor.

It’s ridiculous.

Actually, I have stronger words than “ridiculous,” but I want to keep this newsletter clean 😃.

So this is where I’m at. But this is where it’s going to change. In particular, I’m going to change three things.

The three things you (and I) can do as busy individuals to become healthier.

Number 97!

Main Article

My busy schedule is harming my health. My physical health.

Not mentally.

Mentally, it’s the best thing I can do with my time. I love my job, and there’s no way I would change anything about it.

But the intensity makes it hard to bring healthy habits into my life.

I managed to maintain a healthy lifestyle during residency, and throughout med school. But during my last fellowship, it went downhill.

You see, I wanted to take advantage of every day of this fellowship. So, my health was not a high priority.

Not very smart, I know.

Today, I want to share the changes I will introduce so you can do them too.

I’m focusing on three things that will make a difference.

Three things you can implement into your life, even on a 16-hour work schedule.

And here they are:

🔵 The Power of Stretching

🏈 Tom Brady is the best quarterback of all time. An absolute legend.

For those who don’t know American football, a quarterback is the leader. The one who decides on the play, and the one who will start executing it by passing the ball by throwing it very, very far away to the next player.

The quarterback needs to be smart, quick, strong, and precise.

The quarterback is the player the other team will try to tackle.

This is why a quarterback can get injured badly. These injuries can end your career.

Fun fact: Do you know the average age at which American Football players retire?

27.

TWENTY SEVEN!

Do you know what age Tom Brady was when he retired?

Forty-five!!

So, how did he get that far?

If you ask him, he will tell you he wrote an entire book about it. A great book. Let me summarize it for you in one word:

Stretching

Tom Brady stretched a LOT. His entire day revolved around it. To a point that it became more important than any other exercise he did.

This is why he didn’t get injured that much. And this is why he continued to play at age 45, being so much better than players half his age.

Stretching is very common in East Asia as well, and people who reach advanced age do it on a daily basis.

So if a 45-year-old quarterback and 90-plus-year-old stretch daily, they are on to something.

How should you stretch exactly?

Any stretching routine will do the work. YouTube is filled with examples.

But keep it simple

🔵 Red Meat, Red Wine, and Hospital Food

Red meat will kill you. Most probably from a heart attack, a stroke, or colon cancer.

Fried food is really bad as well.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a good steak (sorry to all my vegetarian readers).

But one steak a month is good enough, preferably with red wine that will counteract some of its harmful effects.

And you know something funny?

I miss the food at my home hospital.

The readers from my home hospital will probably think I’m crazy. “You miss that food?!”

Well, yes. After two years of mainly having chicken tenders and pizza as food options, I miss the soup, the vegetables, and the low-fat options.

Packing and bringing food from home is too much of a hassle for me. But the ability to eat as much salad, soup, and healthy sides as I want, along with a very reasonable chicken/fish option, sounds wonderful to me right now.

Even if it’s hospital food.

🔵 Reduce Friction

🏃 I love running.

I love everything about it.

Most of my best ideas came to me while running.

I even noticed that if I sleep one hour less because I used it for running, I will wake up more energized—although I slept one hour less!

But the problem isn’t running. It’s the moment you need to get started. The things that keep you from running.

These things are your friction. Friction keeps you from moving.

I stopped running about a year and a half ago.

I could go out for a run usually between 21:00 and 22:00. By then, I was exhausted, and I usually had some studying to do around that time.

So, if I want to change, I need to create a better time slot for running.

Sometime in the afternoon.

And it needs to happen quickly.

This means that from the moment I decide to go for a run to the moment I actually start running, it should take 3-4 minutes.

I should have my running clothes and shoes ready anytime.

If they are not, then going for a run will be a multi-step process. All these steps add friction. And friction is what keeps you from running.

So what can YOU do to make it happen?

Simple: Keep your sports gear ready next to your home door or in your car trunk.

Do it before, during, or immediately after your work hours.

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