Healthy Habits: Dr. Susan Raine enjoys indoor cycling to stay active

March 25, 2019 Healthy Habits, Nutrition and Wellness

Taking care of your health is a priority and nobody knows that more than physicians and healthcare providers.

It can sometimes be difficult to find ways to stay healthy, so we’ve asked members of our Baylor College of Medicine community to share what they do in their daily lives to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Susan Raine, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor, shares some of her healthy habits with us.

Q: What health decisions start your day?
A: I have a couple of morning rituals that help me focus positively on my health for the rest of the day. Immediately after I get up, I get on the scale. I find that it helps keep me mindful as I make choices throughout the day. I then spend a few minutes every morning planning out what I am packing for lunch that day, what we might want to have for dinner, and when I can fit in time to exercise.

Q: What is your go-to healthy breakfast?
A: I absolutely love eggs! I take two hard-boiled eggs to work with me almost every day. I will usually eat one for breakfast around 9:30 or 10 a.m., and I might save the other for lunch or for an afternoon snack.

Q: What is your favorite type of exercise?
A: I am lucky enough to have Peloton bike at home that I ride 4 to 5 times per week. Before I got the bike in 2018, I had only ever done one spin class, so it was really a leap of faith that I would like the bike and use it regularly.

Q: What keeps you motivated during your workout?
A: Music! No matter what type of exercise I am doing, the right playlist makes all the difference.

Q: What activities do you do when you can’t fit in a full workout?
A: Though my goal is to achieve a 30 to 60-minute workout, I find that I can almost always fit in 20 minutes on my exercise bike when pressed for time. Twenty minutes is better than zero minutes.

Q: What is your favorite healthful snack?
A: Wasabi almonds. I am obsessed.

Q: Do you take vitamins and if so, which ones?
A: I am terrible about remembering to take vitamins. I have put the bottle of multivitamins in the kitchen by the coffee cups to remind myself every morning that I need to take one!

Q: What do you include in your child’s lunch?
A: They make their own lunches! They are mindful of what they pack and love fruits and vegetables in their lunches. We just make sure they have plenty of good choices.

Q: How do you make an unhealthy recipe healthy (healthy substitutions)?
A: I received an air fryer for Christmas and I just made fried shrimp. I could not believe how delicious and crispy they were, and I only had to add a spritz of olive oil.

Q: Do you use a pedometer or Fitbit and what is your daily step goal?
A: I use my Apple Watch to monitor my activity. Rather than having a daily step goal, I make sure to “close my rings.” As a former Fitbit user, that took a little adjustment. However, I do still check my steps on my Apple Watch.

Q: What is your favorite health tip that you live by?
A: I think it is probably the “all things in moderation” philosophy.