Monday, September 21, 2009


Thinking about living healthier. Mostly because my dad recently went through a heart attack- the most dreaded of medical afflictions in our population these days. He is only 58, and doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, isn't obese. It's made me realise that we are not invincible, and perhaps this thought marks the transition from youth to adult. Suddenly I realised that life does have an expiry date, that parents cannot look after me forever, and that they too require help.
And now it was time for me to look after my parents. What a role reversal.

So now, i've got a "family history of heart attacks" and cancer. And there is a guilt weighing in my head about regular exercise and decent diet. These things are so essential, but difficult to integrate into my life because of my irregular shift work hours..

But yesterday, the Sydney half marathon was on. We were flooded by young "fit" people in our emergency department. Most were young 30-40 somethings who hadn't trained for the event, and subsequantly had dehydration, loss of consciousness, acute renal failure, and even seizures.

Binge exercise.
Like binge drinking/ Binge partying /Binge smoking- does more harm than people think.

Which got me thinking that I should start exercise, but slowly and in moderation. Just have to find the time to do it.

2 comments:

Hoa said...

Julia, I am sad to hear of your father's health. I hope that he is recovering well. My mum also suffered a heart attack several years back, and it's a nerve-wrecking in the months that follow the initial episode.

On the exercise, I always dread going to the gym after a long hiatus, but I never regret it afterwards :)

If you happen to know what your schedule is like in advance and would like to catch up for coffee, fire me a pm on fb. Would love to catch up with you.

jfox said...

hope your dad is ok, j... sorry to hear the news...

it's hard to make exercise a habit, but it feels really good if you can!

maybe wake up 20 minutes earlier, go for a quick morning jog and then reward yourself w brekky??
good luck!