The Annual Physical

Until a few years ago, my visits to the doctor were limited to events I couldn’t fix myself, like bones sticking out of the skin and such. I treated my doctor like a mechanic. “Fix it. Send me a bill. Don’t give me any of that scheduled maintenance bullshit.”

This is your spine This is your spine

I went to the doctor to have some work done. It turned out the last guy I saw was no longer there. If all his patients were like me, he probably went broke and now works at Subway. The new doctor came in and started reviewing my records. “Jesus, dude. We don’t have any info on you…” I thought that was a compliment. (Hint: It wasn’t) The doctor then took the time to explain that things start to change as we get older. (I knew that already) But you can only identify that if you knew what the numbers were before the change. It’s like saying, “The car hit the wall and rolled away at ten mph". What was the speed before hitting the wall?

Kinda important.

The other key detail is that many standard metrics are specific to you. For example, my creatine levels indicate I have stage 3 kidney failure. I’m not, though; that’s just where my numbers are. The numbers used to identify different diseases and problems are based on averages across the population. By definition, average means that some people must be higher than the average number, and others must be lower. That’s how averages work, so you must visit your doctor annually for a routine physical.

It’s also helpful to build a relationship with your doctor. Tell them about what you do outside of your visit to take care of your health, like following a nutrition plan and working out. This helps them provide better advice to you. It also lets them know you are interested in your health and take it seriously. When things do come up (because they will), you’ll be better informed and prepared to deal with it.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

Today’s Tasks

Don’t forget to complete today’s tasks for the challenge.

  • Drink 1 gallon of water
  • Workout for 45 minutes
  • Read ten pages from your book
  • Stick to your meal plan

Once completed, head to the tracking site and mark them as completed to track your progress for the challenge. This email also wraps up our section on physical fitness. Tomorrow we start the next section: mental toughness.