Expediting is Hazardous to Your Health

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
The title of this post will surprise no expediter. Not only is trucking among the top-10 most dangerous occupations, the lifestyle carries health risks of its own.

This was driven home to me today when I received my blood pressure and cholesterol numbers in my email. The service through which I recently donated blood provided them.

When I was on the road, I had to meditate a bit to get my blood pressure down before going in for a DOT physical. In other words, it was borderline high. At an annual physical, a doctor offered to put me on meds to lower my cholesterol.

Now off the road, and after eating better and exercising more (gym workouts) for a couple years, my weight is down and my blood numbers are those of a healthy male. It feels good to look at these good numbers.

The expediter lifestyle -- with its difficulty in finding good food, work stress, unpredictable schedule and irregular sleep hours -- is not an excuse to let your health go. It's a reason to make your health a priority and work harder at it than average non-truckers do. It is, after all, your health. What's more important?

On the road, Diane and I started using Anytime Fitness gyms (because of their many locations) and tried to eat better because the borderline numbers and doctor's offer troubled us. One thing led to another and we ended up giving up expediting to become Anytime Fitness gym owners. But while on the road, we did make noticeable health progress.

It can be done. We had a trucker in the gym just this week who is down 12 lbs in two months and looks great. He is a bed bugger and ours is his home gym. It was great to see him thinner after he had been out for two months. He did it the way everyone does it ... improved diet and exercise.

We had another couple in recently. They were pilot car drivers who had never used a gym before. When they were home here for a bit, we taught them how to use a gym. Now they regularly go to the gym instead of spending all of their layover time at truck stops and hotels. The woman on this team is especially making progress and she is thrilled.

Several expediters have shared their success stories in the Open Forum. If you are not among them, know that it can be done. Know that there is a success story in you. Know there is a healthy self inside yourself that wants to come out.
 
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