Dr. Chinye Azuh Talks to a Sports Medicine Doctor About His Journey to Fitness In a World of Weight loss Hype

This blog is my own, any thoughts expressed on this website does not represent the thoughts or opinion of any healthcare entity. 

My name is Dr. Chinye Azuh MD. I am a medical doctor; in my off time, I write blogs which I’m happy to share with you all. The blogs range from medical information, interviews, to medical arts.  This season’s theme is interviews. In this post, I sit down with Dr. Bell to learn about his personal journey with fitness. Of course, people should consult their own doctors before starting any fitness, diet or health program to see what is appropriate to their individual health need.

Dr. Chinye Azuh: Dr. Bell joins us from half-way across the world as he is in Australia at the time of this interview. Dr. Bell has also excused me from using the long version of his name.

Dr. Bell: Yes, my full name is quite long.  I am happy to contribute to the blog of such a wonderful physician colleague.

Dr. Chinye Azuh: Dr. Bell, could you tell us a little about yourself.

Dr. Bell: Certainly.  I am a doctor, and I recently found my own way back to fitness. My journey to fitness started after my first child was born. I realized I needed to be more diligent in watching them, you know putting covers on things and grabbing things they were knocking over.  Basically, I needed to have good reflexes!  As they went from crawling to walking to running, I needed to be able to keep up with them. 

Dr. Chinye Azuh: Someone once said, if the world harnessed the energy of toddlers, energy bills would be nonexistent.

Dr. Bell: (Laughs) I then realized I needed to pay attention to my health. First, I took a beginner kickboxing class.  I really liked it, so I added weight training and later running to my workouts. It was just a natural progression then to fuel my body to be able to keep up with my workouts.   I started to learn about nutrition.  I learned about macro and micronutrients and carbohydrates, fat, proteins and tried to find out what my body needed. Some people use the help of a nutritionist for this.  I got a fitness watch that motivated me to work out. My friends and I challenged ourselves with weekly competitions. Soon, working out became a habit I had incorporated into my lifestyle.  I prioritize workouts as naturally as prioritizing eating. Unfortunately, where we live, we rely on vehicles to get about so extra effort needs to be made to get daily steps in.

Dr. Chinye Azuh: How do you stay motivated and focused to continue your fitness journey?

Dr. Bell: The thing I remembers, is I couldn’t learn to climb a mountain in a day. I needed to put in work. It was important for me to find activities I enjoyed doing.  I set a time limits and achievable goals. For example, I would go walking for five minutes a day for a week. I figured I could do anything for five minutes a day. It gave me a starting point and was positive reinforcement which I needed to stay motivated. The next week, I’d walk for six minutes a day. Before I knew it, I was walking 20 minutes without a problem.

Dr. Chinye Azuh: So, you're saying you started with small achievable goals and didn’t focus on quick results right away.

Dr. Bell: Exactly.

Dr. Chinye Azuh: I’m wondering, is there anyone you look to as motivation?

 Dr. Bell: I don't look to be like anyone else. I just want to be a good role model for my children. I know they will grow up thinking, dad's always working out so it must be important and hopefully they'll pick up that habit. My biggest thing is I want my kids to prioritize health and Wellness.

Dr. Chinye Azuh: Do you have any background at playing sports?

Dr. Bell: Yes, I played soccer as a teenager and young adult at a competitive level. I feel like a lot of adults can say there was a time in their life where they played some sort of sport. Sports like baseball, hockey, track and field, football, cross country, volleyball, wrestling, the list goes on. Most people can find something that they enjoyed. They may have that goal in the back of their mind.  For myself, I said yes. I could get back to sports I enjoyed when I was younger.

Dr. Chinye Azuh: I suppose some parents encourage their kids to play sports.

Dr. Bell: Yes, but we know it’s not just because they think their kid will make the major leagues. Sports are good for teaching kids how to set goals. It also teaches them how to lose gracefully among other lessons.  They learn how to get back on the horse after falling, so to speak and try things again.  These are important life skills. 

Dr. Chinye Azuh: What would you say to people who struggle to stick to a heathy diet, aside from medical causes?

Dr. Bell: I know that I personally didn’t have a good handle on nutritional labels. I said to myself, I only eat X, Y, or Z. But I didn’t look to see what exactly was in X, Y or Z I was eating.  When I did, I thought wow, the soda I am drinking has 38 grams of sugar, and I’m drinking 3 cans a day. It was disheartening to realize I was eating a salad with dressing and toppings that maxed out my daily caloric or macronutrient limit for the day. I now look at things like sugar or salt in nutrient labels. I understand labeling tricks like, the first ingredient is what there is a lot of, or when it says low fat, they normally overcompensate with excess sugar or salt which could be just as harmful in excess consumption. 

Dr. Chinye Azuh: Some people are pushed to start fitness journeys based on health issues. Problems like hypertension, sleep apnea and heat disease etc.  Is this something you or family members have experienced?

Dr. Bell: Not necessarily, but my weight has always fluctuated. I was always physically active but had poor food choices. 

 

Dr. Chinye Azuh: Thank you Dr. Bell for joining me today. You noted pearls and truly quick and easy strategies you used personally to get your fitness journey started.

Dr. Bell: Yes, no problem. Thank you for having me.