Discipline

I am a medical student, a soldier, a former college athlete. Exercise and healthy eating have always been important to me, probably due to the combination of having a super-fit soldier dad as a role model and an overweight mom as his foil.

Seven months ago, after taking boards and starting my third year of medical school, where I moved out of the classroom and onto the wards-- essentially losing all control over my schedule-- I fell off the wagon. I began to eat what was convenient instead of what was healthy. I ate whenever I had time to sit and breathe-- which was sometimes at intervals of twelve hours--regardless of whether or not I was hungry. I began choosing sleep over exercise, in the end getting too little of each. My life was thrown out of balance in many dimensions-- diet, exercise, time with friends, sleep, my relationship. I began to accept mediocrity for the first time in my life, and the scariest moment was when I realized that acceptance was spilling over into my attitude towards my studies and my career.

I'm here because I'm done with whining and feeling sorry for myself. I hear myself complaining all the time, and I hate that I have become that person. It's not even that I've gained a pile of weight or have become super out of shape. There's a lot more to healthy living than the number on a scale. I've come to realize I am at my happiest when I'm well-fed, well-rested, well-socialized, and active. It's not possible to be all of these things all the time-- today's world demands a lot of us-- but this is my attempt to get back on track, to adjust my attitude, and to reclaim my discipline.