Rowing
g n i h g i e e h t W up s e v i t i s Po Club rowing has become the focus for healthy choices for a doctor and a student who have both struggled with weight issues. Stepping gingerly into a rowing scull on the Swan River at ďŹ ve o’clock on a winter’s morning is not for the fainthearted. But that’s exactly the point. Quite apart from the cardiovascular workout, radiologist Dr Susanne Guy and elite sculler Amy Walters love the camaraderie of gliding across the water to the rhythm of ashing oars. i5IFSF T B TUSPOH USBEJUJPO PG SPXJOH JO NZ family. My father and brother rowed and I did the same when I was young and also competitively at medical school in the UK.
Q Amy Walters
I had a 10-year hiatus during my physician and radiology training and became very unfit and overweight,� said Susanne. “I moved to Perth in 2004 and wanted to HFU CBDL JOUP B IFBMUIZ MJGFTUZMF * KPJOFE UIF West Australian Rowing Club (WARC) and, combined with watching my food intake, ended up losing 42kg.� Susanne is very conscious of the impression that medical professionals make on UIFJS QBUJFOUT 4IF T B GJSN CFMJFWFS JO UIF EJDUVN A1IZTJDJBO IFBM UIZTFMG “I feel very strongly that doctors and OVSTFT TIPVME TFU B HPPE FYBNQMF )PX can anyone work in our field and preach about the merits of a healthy lifestyle XIF XIFO UIFZ SF PCFTF UIFNTFMWFT :PV hav have to be able to look after yourself bef before you can begin to look after others ers.� i* W i* WF TFFN NFEJDBM TUBGG XIP BSF un unable to walk down a hospital corrid ridor without becoming breathless. *U *U SFGMFDUT XIBU T IBQQFOJOH JO UIF HF HFOFSBM QPQVMBUJPO BOE JU T TBE th that Australia now has the fastest in increase in obesity rates in the develo oped world.� i i5IBU T QSPCBCMZ QBSU PG UIF SFBTTPO XIZ * N B MJUUMF JOUPMFSBOU PG NZ o overweight colleagues. I reflected o on my professional appearance and NBJOUBJOFE NZ XFJHIU MPTT * N BO FY GBUUZ BOE UIBU T QSPCBCMZ B CJU MJLF CFJOH BO FY TNPLFS w
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0OF PG 4VTBOOF T SPXJOH DMVCNBUFT "NZ Walters, knows the difficulty of an eating disorder, having struggled with it for the past seven years but the discipline and camaraderie of rowing has been a significant factor in her ongoing recovery. Amy, 25, is an elite rower competing on the national level and is studying nutritional medicine, She happily admits that rowing is a huge part of her life, both physically and emotionally. “I love the feeling of being out on the water BOE * N RVJUF DPNQFUJUJWF UPP *U T HPPE UP work towards a specific goal. The Swan 3JWFS T B CFBVUJGVM QMBDF UP CF FWFO BU GJWF in the morning with a bow light!� When Medical Forum caught up with Amy she was training for the national championships where she was competing in the single sculls, double and quads. Training was intense BOE UIBU T UIF UJNF TIF OFFET UIF GSJFOETIJQ and support of her clubmates most. “A few years ago I started losing weight when I increased my training levels. No one ever made any comments, negative or posiUJWF BCPVU NZ BQQFBSBODF CVU * KVTU TUBSUFE cutting certain foods out so I could stay at a certain weight. There was a massive fight going on in my head because I knew what * XBT EPJOH XBT NBLJOH QFPQMF * N DMPTF UP WFSZ VOIBQQZ "OE JU DFSUBJOMZ EJEO U IFMQ when I was keeping it secret.� i8F WF QVU JO QMBDF B NVUVBM BHSFFNFOU between my doctors and my coach that * N OPU BMMPXFE UP SPX JG * ESPQ CFMPX B
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