However, the downside of making sure I'm at the gym for each workout is that a lot of other tasks get left undone. I've been postponing several errands/tasks for ages -- I can't do it anymore. I've got to get a move on and get things sorted.
So, this morning, instead of rushing out the door at 6:30 this morning, I stayed home. I had already woken up at 4:40 a.m. (yes, I'm an early riser; blame the insomnia) and I didn't need to leave for work until 9:20, so I had a good chunk of time to get stuff done. I tell you, it felt great emptying boxes, throwing stuff out, putting things away etc. My dining room (which hasn't been used in forever) is no longer the storage space it had become (it has been neglected since just after Christmas!). It now looks clean and fresh! I'm so pleased!
Of course in between sorting out the dining room I was doing the dishes, figuring out what to cook for dinner, and putting the things that were in the dining room into the storage room -- in other words, I may have had 4 1/2 hours this morning at home, but I did not get a chance to just sit and put my feet up (will try that the next time around!)
Work was terrific today. Dealing with 43 students in one class can be daunting, so I decided to do debates in class. The focus -- health and fitness! All the students I work with are 1st or 2nd year medical students, so health and fitness is right up their alley. Most of the class was spent with them preparing their arguments - we only had time for one proper debate. The question was: For most illnesses, if a patient smokes or is overweight, more often than not, one part of their prescribed treatment will be that they should quit smoking and lose weight. What if the doctor prescribing the treatment was overweight and/or a smoker. Does the doctor have the right to give this advice? Should doctors be required to be non-smokers and of healthy weight?
We had some great discussion over this question. Most students immediately said YES - Doctors have a responsibility to be a picture of good health and be a role model for their patients. The group that was arguing NO (they didn't have a choice, I assigned each team which side they would be arguing) had a bit of a tougher task to convince the audience of their point, but they did a really good job. They focused on the fact the primary task of a doctor was to help the patient, so even if his personal habits are bad, as long as he is not compromising the care/treatment of the patient, it shouldn't matter.
I could write about this for ages, but this was the gist of the debate. It was great to see the whole class engaged in the discussion. Both sides argued their points well -- and what was interesting was that when I asked the same question at the end of our discussion, instead of the majority saying Yes, the reaction was about half/half.
Stay tuned for more debate topics :)
After class I rushed to the gym - got in my 10 km on the cross-trainer. I'm not officially starting to train for the 10 km until mid-May, but I am going to try and see what I can do to somewhat prepare. It wasn't difficult, though about two hours later my legs felt quite sore! I did 15 minutes of abs and that was it for the day.
I'm really struggling with what to have for lunch these days. After finishing at the gym I only had 40 minutes before I had to head out to get my mom from work ... I had a cup of rice with some veggies in the freezer, so I just defrosted that and inhaled it before rushing out the door. I try to be prepared, but sometimes it just doesn't work ... to rectify that, however, I have a big pot of lentils cooking right now. I'm going to throw in some veggies later. I know that the recipe is low calorie and can be measured up and frozen for future rushed afternoons!
Back home to prep for dinner, grade papers, and catch up on a few emails.
Dinner tonight is tofu with bell peppers -- I'm cooking this up for the first time. I'll post the recipe etc. if it turns out good.
What an interesting topic!!
ReplyDeleteMy PCP is the one who is always after me to lose weight. He happens to be a tiny little dude. Sometimes when I was at my heaviest, I would dread going to him because I knew my weight would come up. He talks about it everytime I go. If he was overweight and told me to lose weight, I'm sure I would not pay nearly as much attention to him or his advice.
As far as the smoking goes, that's none of my business. I would assume that if one of my doctors smoked they would do it privately and not outside their office door in between visits. I live right by a hospital and see medical staff outside, hiding behind trees smoking all the time. To each their own.
Doctors are people to and have issues like the rest of us. I'm sure most of them try really hard to set a good example for their patients.
Great job getting stuff done today. Sometimes that is just as important as a good workout!
Wow! Having 43 students in one class and handling it means to me that you have great teaching skills. The topic for the debate was very good. My OB/GYN smoked but still advised me to quit at least during my pregnancy. As it turned out, smoking made me so sick that I quit and never smoked again. My husband also quit. That was 32 years ago. Yea!
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the topic you gave your students. Personally, the perfect scenario would be to find a doctor who had once been overweight and then lost the weight. From my experiences with doctors, when they see how heavy I am they are openly shocked and ill at ease. I won't say they have been outright disgusted, but they didn't hide their disapproval. I'd leave feeling really ashamed and not wanting to go back. It's the thing that I fear a great deal--some sort of illness setting in but not being caught in time because I'm too embarrassed to go to a doctor.
ReplyDeleteI hope those students who are in the beginning stages of their career will have a higher level of empathy.
It's so cool that you dove into sorting things out at home. I bet you came back at the end of the day and felt so much more at ease within your home.