Healthy Habits to kickstart 2022

Thinking about ways to be healthier this year? We’ve asked members of our Baylor College of Medicine community to share their New Year’s resolutions for 2022.

“My New Year’s resolution is to take better care of myself. I always talk to my patients about the benefits of exercise and walking at least 3 hours per week, but I haven’t made the time to do this myself. I am going to start adding this to my calendar just like anything else important and make it a priority, and I hope some of you will consider doing the same!”
– Dr. Julie Nangia, associate professor and medical director of breast oncology at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center

“I plan to try to walk/run at least 3 miles every day and to run a marathon. I also plan to complete 10 minutes of mindfulness daily.”
– Dr. Chad Wilson, associate professor of surgery and trauma director at Ben Taub Hospital

“I’m great at assembling salads for sustenance because I’m not fond of cooking. For 2022, my aim is to cook a healthy meal at least once a week to spice up my plate and broaden my palate. Wish me luck!”
– Isabel Valdez, physician assistant and instructor of general internal medicine at Baylor

“My New Year’s resolutions are to get more aerobic exercise (e.g., running and rowing) while further reining in my sweet tooth with the ultimate goal of shedding 5-10 pounds by June 2022.”
–  Dr. David Corry, professor of medicine in the section of immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor

“Two of my resolutions are to meditate every day for 15 minutes and also to go to bed by 10:30 p.m. every night.”
– Dr. Jennifer Christner, senior dean of the School of Medicine and School of Health Professions

“This year I am focusing on eating healthy and exercising more frequently.”
– Dr. Asim Shah, professor and executive vice chair in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

“I’m resolving to get more sleep (i.e. get to bed earlier) and schedule in more time for exercise. My kids may have other ideas in regards to the sleep part, though.”
– Dr. Steven Bellows, assistant professor of neurology

“[I want to] ride my bike or walk whenever I safely can. Reducing my carbon footprint, one mile at a time, can certainly do no harm. When I bike to and from work, I find unexpected solutions creep into my conscience. Also, I want to listen to let go. Seeking to understand where other folks (colleagues, patients, family, neighbors) are coming from on controversial issues (even when they deeply impact our work) enables me to see a new perspective and helps avoid resentments (and anger) from building up. Chronic anger from built-up resentment impacts nearly all measures of health: hypertension, emotional eating, anxiety and sleep disruption.”
– Dr. Kjersti Aagaard, professor and the Henry and Emma Meyer Chair of obstetrics and gynecology

“My resolution is to lose 15 pounds and I plan to accomplish this by doing lots of cardio exercise and adjusting my diet.”
– Dr. Krishna B. Shah, assistant professor of anesthesiology

“I aim to put 5-10lbs of muscle directly on to my legs. I’m going to do this through consistent exercise (mainly squats).”
– Dr. Joey Grochmal, assistant professor of neurosurgery

Additional Resources:

Healthy Habits: A DOC-umentary Series – Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy

Healthy Habits: A DOC-umentary Series – Dr. Jill Weatherhead

Courtney Cary enjoys weightlifting, practices intuitive eating to stay balanced

Learn how Baylor promotes a culture of healthy living and wellness