This is a subject which has been on my mind a lot lately.  In an ideal world a doctor knows exactly what needs to be done to take care of the human body.  We tell our patients all day long what they need to do to take care of their bodies.  So then we should all be getting the right amount of cardiovascular exercise to reduce our risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.  We should be getting plenty of weight-bearing exercise to keep our bone density up.  We are certainly eating pure bran for breakfast followed by15 servings of raw vegetables a day and 10 servings of fresh fruit a day in order to get all the fiber we need in our diet to ward off colon cancer.  When we need a little pick me up snack we should turn to 4 almonds to get the needed protein and energy for the rest of the afternoon.

I hope that most of us fall short of these goals.  I feel ridiculous sometimes trying to sell our patients on this or something similar.  I know that when you have worked all day/all night you really just need to snack on pure candy.  I know that when I have been busy all day and I have hungry kids we eat white rice with butter and no vegetables are in sight.  I know that multi-tasking momma, wife, job, housekeeper,and the church calling mean I am often too tired to wake up and head out for a run.

So what do you do?  In reality?  How do you feel like you are balancing all of the health advice that is in your head (and that you tell your patients) with what is actually do-able? Ideas for a well balanced life and healthy outlook are all welcome here!