How Do You Keep Fit?

[Arztin]

Hiya fellas.

This is a bit of a silly question, but how do people stay fit during clerkship/residency?

I see many students gain a lot of adipose tissue during clerkship/residency.

Meanwhile, some people manage to stay fit.

How do you guys usually keep yourself healthy?

 

Thanks!

[NLengr]

I used to play hockey once a week. I also used to work out in my garage (weight bench, free weights, elliptical). Biking in the summer occasionally.

 

Then I had a kid. And hit senior resident years. Now I'm completely out of shape because I just don't have time for it (the small amount of free time I have I spend with my family).

[Renin]

KEEP FIT AND HAVE FUN.

[feversugar]

I don't there's just so many things I'd rather be doing. I'm hoping that setting up my Xbox Kinect will allow me to play dance central regularly though.

[j17f]

I can only provide advice based on what I plan to do (if I get into med school). Staying "in shape" is a lot easier if you watch your diet, exercise helps too, but a slim look comes easy by a good diet. I know free time barely exists, so take an hour or two on a Sunday and prepare a large quantity of quinoa, chicken, some vegetables etc (or find some recipe online using nutritious foods you like) portion them out into enough tupperwar containers so that you will have lunch and a snack for when you away from home. From what I understand, when medical students and resident get this busy they tend to eat less nutritious foods with higher fat and energy contents (fasat food for example). Replacing this with some more nutritious, lower calorie foods will make a difference. Additionally, for breakfast make sure you're not getting too many calories.

 

In regards to exercise, look into HIIT (high intensity interval training). It saves a boat load of time, has similar effects as long-time aerobic exercise but really helps with fat loss.

[medhope15]

Some general tips:

1. Incorporate activity where you can - be it biking or jogging to work or using hospital staff gyms at the end of your shift.

2. Breakfast IMO is THE most important meal of the day, incorporate every food group and eat a large meal so you can function through the morning - the busiest time usually.

3. Pre-cook one night a week.

4. Just try to "balance" in life. Having a day off each week is key. 1 day of 7 you are allowed to relax, go to yoga or the gym, watch a movie.

5. Sleep as much as you can.

 

lastly, it is really hard to start an exercise routine if you're not used to working out i.e. a person who never runs or goes to the gym, wakes up one day, notices weight gain and thinks "I should start exercising", the first couple of months will be horrible! you will be more exhausted and sore and likely won't build a habit. The key is to start working out in undergrad or med school. Start to incorporate it into your life routine. This is why all those "new year's resolution" gym members fail by end of February. Exercise is not easy, if it were, obesity would not be on the rise. So if you're not in clerkship or residency yet, start now!

[Cerena]

P90X >< haha

[cookiemonster99]

crossfit

 

No idea what residency/clerkship hours are like though

[Talon01]

- Prepare and bring healthy meals to work

- Plan out your meals during the week.  Often, after a long day instead of going home to eat some people will feel they earned a trip to a fast food joint. It'll seem like a great idea when you're tired and hungry.  It doesn't seem like a great idea once you've crushed that Big Mac.

- Take the stairs

- Walk/Bike to work

- Try going to the gym before or after work. Some people feel before it better because you have more energy. I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed earlier than required

- Say no to some of the junk food the nurses have on the floors.  This is especially important during overnight shifts when candy, chips, pizza, etc is at the nursing station

- Use an app called 'My Fitness Pal' to monitor your caloric intake

[sleeping_sickness]

- Prepare and bring healthy meals to work

- Plan out your meals during the week.  Often, after a long day instead of going home to eat some people will feel they earned a trip to a fast food joint. It'll seem like a great idea when you're tired and hungry.  It doesn't seem like a great idea once you've crushed that Big Mac.

- Take the stairs

- Walk/Bike to work

- Try going to the gym before or after work. Some people feel before it better because you have more energy. I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed earlier than required

- Say no to some of the junk food the nurses have on the floors.  This is especially important during overnight shifts when candy, chips, pizza, etc is at the nursing station

- Use an app called 'My Fitness Pal' to monitor your caloric intake

This is exactly what I do and I find that I lose 1/2 lbs per week (unintentional) doing this when on service. At first I welcomed the weight loss, now I need to make it stop. And trust me, I bring enough food when i'm on call and don't leave anything untouched. I do go to the gym or play hockey 2-3 x per week on a good week. Crushing the occasional big mac might be the answer in this case, no?

[Talon01]

This is exactly what I do and I find that I lose 1/2 lbs per week (unintentional) doing this when on service. At first I welcomed the weight loss, now I need to make it stop. And trust me, I bring enough food when i'm on call and don't leave anything untouched. I do go to the gym or play hockey 2-3 x per week on a good week. Crushing the occasional big mac might be the answer in this case, no?

Oh, I am all about crushing Big Macs.  Crush away!