Sunday, January 3, 2010

12 Grapes at Midnight

Happy New year, everyone!

I know that it's been quite awhile since I've posted - I spent most of Nov/Dec in a little town in The North doing a family medicine placement, followed immediately with Christmas shared between my family and Penguin's, after which we flew out to BC on Boxing Day to go skiing for a week. Throughout most of this, connection to the internet was quite spotty, so all I could really do was try to keep up with everyone else's blogs and posts and e-mails without ever really having the chance to post my own.

Needless to say, I have quite a bit of catch up to do here! However, you'll have to wait patiently since we just got back to Penguin-ville yesterday and I have to drive back to the Tropical Tundra tonight.

What I really didn't want to miss the opportunity to write about was my New Year's Resolutions. Penguin was kind enough to define the first goal...

1. Go to the doctor's when necessary. And dentist. And any other health care provider. Actually, we could make this resolution as simple as: make time to look after yourself.

It's easy enough to write but the last 1.5 yrs of medical school have proven it very difficult to find time to make and go to appointments since I'm usually working during business hours. Frankly, going to the doctor makes me feel like I'm a flunk since I feel like I really ought to be able to diagnose myself for most of this stuff and when I do know what's wrong I don't like going in because who am I (a measly baby clerk) to tell an old, experienced doc the diagnosis and treatment plan?

That said, I have had some persistent problems that really need attending (as Penguin has been very vigilant in pointing out) and since I don't have prescription powers, I really do need to make the time to go and get things looked after.

2. (A) Don't eat anything store bought with more than 5 ingredients (none of which can be weird chemicals) and make everything that I can't buy from scratch. (B) When shopping, buy as much as possible from the Farmer's Market - even if it means getting up early on Tues and Sat to go before rounds!

There are some exceptions to this rule:
  • If I'm starving to death and desperately need food.
  • If I'm eating at a friend's or at Penguin's or at a restaurant*
  • If this resolution significantly limits how many hours of sleep I can acquire, I may temporarily suspend the resolution until I've caught up on sleep.
*I will make every effort to only eat at independent, non-chain restaurants with the exception of getting Chai teas from Starbucks because otherwise I will surely fail out of medical school for lack of caffeine.

This resolution was inspired after reading "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan over the holidays. Most of the stuff in this book wasn't news to me but seeing that kind of info in print certainly did a lot for validating my inner granola-crunching, tree-hugging eco-freak so I hope to spend a good proportion of this year actively pursuing those ideals.

This goal also fits in with Resolution #1 because by spending more time cooking (and therefore hopefully eating), I will be looking after myself. AND - by eating well, I should be inspired to also hit the gym more.

That's it! Two easy-breezy, lemon-cheesy resolutions to keep in the new year. I feel healthier already. With that, I'd like to raise a glass to 2010 (a year full of potential to be significantly better than 2009) and dedicate myself to inspiring health in others while cultivating health in myself.

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