Sullivan dressed and ready to go, while Zoe eagerly awaits her turn. Confessions of a Dietetic Intern: Personal Wellness Lessons Learned
When a patient or client struggles with finding time to be active, health and wellness professionals—myself included—often tackle this pervasive problem by helping the person recognize and address barriers to physical activity. Yet, when personally faced with this issue, I fell apart, completely fell apart. During my clinical rotation, 7-10 hours of physical activity and exercise per week plummeted to less than 2. My commute was long and I was physically and mentally tired. At the end of the day I looked forward to putting on sweatpants and vegging out in front of the TV instead of lacing up my sneakers to walk the dogs or head to the gym. I told myself, or rather justified, “this is what my body needs—a little rest,” and so I did. As this pattern continued, it was coupled with a lot of whining and complaining until my husband had had enough. He told me that I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear, which was immediately followed by my best eye roll. He posed, “If you had a client acting this way, what would you tell them?” I was momentarily stunned and then started to feel like a complete fraud. How could this happen to me, of all people? With some self-reflection, the answer became clear—“do something every day”—thank you Barb, Phyll, Sharon and Robert! Although I was applying this mantra to internship assignments and rotations, I failed to extend it to personal self-care. I realized that making time to move each day was possible, if I shifted my personal outlook. Instead of attempting to carve out 30-minutes to an hour for exercise, I committed to doing some type of movement for 10 minutes each day. Getting to the gym wasn’t feasible, so I purchased a few yoga DVDs, a pull-up bar, physioball, and adjustable dumbbells to use at home—a true investment in myself. I also hung a group photo of former personal training clients in my at home workout area so that they could keep an eye on me. In spite of the cold temperatures, I bundled up the dogs and myself and resumed our walks, which made everyone happy. Other times the 10 minutes was spent on self-myofascial release and stretching. Regardless of the activity, the best part of my newfound commitment was that the results were instantaneous. Moving for 10 minutes a day drastically improved my physical and mental well-being. Even though it was a far cry from what I had been doing, instead of getting angry or having a pity party, I chose to accept it and move on. Talking with fellow interns made me to realize that I was not the only one struggling with this issue—thank goodness! While helping others achieve their personal health and wellness goals, it is easy for our own self-care needs to become neglected. Let’s make sure that we are all working to bridge the gap and prioritize self-care and movement for our patients, clients, and ourselves.
When a patient or client struggles with finding time to be active, health and wellness professionals—myself included—often tackle this pervasive problem by helping the person recognize and address barriers to physical activity. Yet, when personally faced with this issue, I fell apart, completely fell apart. During my clinical rotation, 7-10 hours of physical activity and exercise per week plummeted to less than 2. My commute was long and I was physically and mentally tired. At the end of the day I looked forward to putting on sweatpants and vegging out in front of the TV instead of lacing up my sneakers to walk the dogs or head to the gym. I told myself, or rather justified, “this is what my body needs—a little rest,” and so I did. As this pattern continued, it was coupled with a lot of whining and complaining until my husband had had enough. He told me that I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear, which was immediately followed by my best eye roll. He posed, “If you had a client acting this way, what would you tell them?” I was momentarily stunned and then started to feel like a complete fraud. How could this happen to me, of all people? With some self-reflection, the answer became clear—“do something every day”—thank you Barb, Phyll, Sharon and Robert! Although I was applying this mantra to internship assignments and rotations, I failed to extend it to personal self-care. I realized that making time to move each day was possible, if I shifted my personal outlook. Instead of attempting to carve out 30-minutes to an hour for exercise, I committed to doing some type of movement for 10 minutes each day. Getting to the gym wasn’t feasible, so I purchased a few yoga DVDs, a pull-up bar, physioball, and adjustable dumbbells to use at home—a true investment in myself. I also hung a group photo of former personal training clients in my at home workout area so that they could keep an eye on me. In spite of the cold temperatures, I bundled up the dogs and myself and resumed our walks, which made everyone happy. Other times the 10 minutes was spent on self-myofascial release and stretching. Regardless of the activity, the best part of my newfound commitment was that the results were instantaneous. Moving for 10 minutes a day drastically improved my physical and mental well-being. Even though it was a far cry from what I had been doing, instead of getting angry or having a pity party, I chose to accept it and move on. Talking with fellow interns made me to realize that I was not the only one struggling with this issue—thank goodness! While helping others achieve their personal health and wellness goals, it is easy for our own self-care needs to become neglected. Let’s make sure that we are all working to bridge the gap and prioritize self-care and movement for our patients, clients, and ourselves.
