Be More Happy With My Whole Self

I have been working for the past year on reducing my weight and also my HgbA1C. With the help of nutritionists and my primary care physician at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, I have succeeded in dropping from 200 lbs to 179 lbs and lowered my HgbA1C from 6.0 to 5.7. During the past 4 or 5 months, I also have been logging into "Choose Well" daily to monitor my habits including how many hours of sleep I get per night, how many steps I've taken that day, whether or not I have been getting up-and-about at least once an hour, and even things like expressing appreciation to others at work and whether or not I have indulged in my favorite hobby (playing the violin) or gardening. Having to document daily habits really throws light onto patterns of behavior, and actually has encouraged me to make more time for sleep, exercise, and just having friendly interactions with other people at work. Medicine can be a very lonely profession and I for one have learned that I did a lot of "eating for comfort" which contributed to my weight gain (200 lbs is a whole lotta weight for someone as short as I am to carry around!) Taking advantage of the opportunities for lighthearted interactions with coworkers can go a long way towards making life less stressful and more fulfilling. And taking better care of my physical self has helped me be happier with my whole self.