A NOTE TO ADAM
This entry was posted on 9/15/2007 10:48 AM and is filed under uncategorized.
Hello Adam:
First, let me say that I am very sorry to hear that you suffered a stroke. I hope that you get well very soon. If you would like help assembling meals and nutritional data, you can go to www.nutritiondata.com and enter the type of foods and the amounts. This will give you a chart, very similar to those on the side of a box, but for a whole entire meal. Good Luck!
This said, I must make comment regarding some of the things that you wrote about as I feel that your comment displays the belief of most truckers out there.....the belief that they are helpless to change their situation. You talked about irregular sleep patterns, immobility, stress, and unhealthy foods "dished out to you" as things that happenend to you causing your stroke. Yes, these things did happen to you, but unfortunately, you did these things to yourself. As a driver, you (as well as all other drivers out there) have the ultimate say over your body. You (as well as each individual driver) decide what will happen to your body and what will be put inside it. I agree that the OTR lifestyle is a difficult one and the truck stops do serve up an abundance of unhealthy foods, but it was you who chose to allow the OTR lifestyle to affect you and it was you who openend your mouth and put that unhelathy food into it.
I am writing this becasue I want drivers to make a mental swing from the belief that things are happening to them and they are helpless to change, to one where drivers believe that they are the source of change and it is their dollar and effort that will change the industry. The control is attached to the almighty dollar, and those dollars are in the control of each individual truck driver.
You, as well as all other drivers who read this, need to know one thing. You can avoid irregular sleep patterns, stress, immobility, and poor nutrition. You must simply make the choice to do so. Every driver has the option to request their meals be prepared specific to their dietary needs. Adam, you could have had each truck stop cook your food as you requested. You couold have asked for the fat to be replaced with non-stick spray. Trade fat-laden meats for fish, chicken, shrimp, or other low calorie and low fat options. Just because Country Fried Steak is the manager's special, it does not mean you have to order and eat it. The meat can be eliminated out of omelets and replaced with vegetables. Milk could be skim instead of whole. White bread can be replaced with whole grain wheat. These are simple beginnings that any truck driver can make. These are things that any truck stop would do without much prodding.
As for immobility, every truck driver has to stop their truck for a period of ten hours and for 15 minutes every 5th hour. Adam, what did you do with this time? Whether you work for someone or you work for yourself, this is a Federal mandate to all drivers. During this ten hours, Adam, you could have exercised. Maybe you got out of your truck and walked an hour. Maybe you strapped a bike to your truck and took it for a rife down the nearest country road. Maybe you removed the passenger seat in the truck and fastened down an exercise bike (I have seen this in about eight trucks now). These are things that can be easily done, and Adam, you could have chosen to do these things at any point and time before your stroke. I hope that this becomes a lesson to all the drivers reading this. Don't wait to make these choices AFTER you have suffered severe medical complications. Start now, to AVOID these dangerous health affects.
Both good nutrition and exercise enable drivers to, not only handle, but avoid the health complications induced by stress. Nutrition and exercise are directly related to the amount of stress one feels themselves under. A body that is healthy, due to good nutrition and exercise, is able to handle life more efficiently, reducing stress related situations. The OTR lifestyle is unique!! It is a very difficult life. We are away from the ones we love, people are hollering for their freight, we work very long hours, and get paid very little for our efforts. However, I think most drivers remain drivers, becasue they love the job! So, why would you not want to give your body what it needs to be able to continue doing what you love best? It all comes down to personal choices!!
As for the sleep patterns of the OTR lifestyle, they CAN be irregular. However, here again, it is the choices we make as drivers how we utilize our time. Do you stay up and watch television on your down hours? Do you sit in the restaurant and shoot the breeze for several hours each morning or night? What are you doing with your 10 hours? Perhaps, some choose to get out of their truck and walk for an hour. Then they get a nutritious meal while relaxing for an hour. Then, they get cleaned up and hit the bunk for eight hours. Perhaps, others squander their time away and leave very little time for taking care of their bodies. However, either way that you choose to be, is still YOUR CHOICE!!
Now, some of you might think that this may seem a little harse to write to someone who has just had a stroke. Just the contrary. I feel very sorry for Adam and his current situation (as you will see in my next posting). However, I do not want drivers to read this and think that they are powerless to change their own lifestyle and current health situations. So, here are the steps that every driver should take to ensure that they don't end up like the hundreds of Adams I have spoken to over the last nine months.
1.) Get to the nearest PDMD clinic or your own personal doctor and get your body inspected. You inspect your truck yearly, why not give your own body the same care and maintenance.
2.) Get out of your truck and move your body. Stop every two to three hours and walk as fast as you can for five minutes to get your blood circulating. Each evening or morning, walk for one hour (start slower if advised). You should walk fast enough that you can still breath, but could not carry on a conversation. If you can talk, then walk faster.
3.) Make the restaurants prepare your meals as you request. Just becuase something is not on the menu, doesn't mean you can't order it. Swap high fat, high calorie, high sodium foods for better options. Change from real eggs to egg beaters. Stop putting salt on your foods at the table. Cut down on the butter, fried foods, chips, candy, and fast foods. If you can, prepare your own meals ahead and vaccum seal. Voice your disapproval of the foods the restaurants are serving and let them know what you would like to see. After, all restaurants are in the business of selling food....simply decide what you want to pay for.
These things CAN be done. You CAN change your lifestyle and still be an OTR driver. Quite simply said, isn't that what I have been trying to prove to all of you since January
First, let me say that I am very sorry to hear that you suffered a stroke. I hope that you get well very soon. If you would like help assembling meals and nutritional data, you can go to www.nutritiondata.com and enter the type of foods and the amounts. This will give you a chart, very similar to those on the side of a box, but for a whole entire meal. Good Luck!
This said, I must make comment regarding some of the things that you wrote about as I feel that your comment displays the belief of most truckers out there.....the belief that they are helpless to change their situation. You talked about irregular sleep patterns, immobility, stress, and unhealthy foods "dished out to you" as things that happenend to you causing your stroke. Yes, these things did happen to you, but unfortunately, you did these things to yourself. As a driver, you (as well as all other drivers out there) have the ultimate say over your body. You (as well as each individual driver) decide what will happen to your body and what will be put inside it. I agree that the OTR lifestyle is a difficult one and the truck stops do serve up an abundance of unhealthy foods, but it was you who chose to allow the OTR lifestyle to affect you and it was you who openend your mouth and put that unhelathy food into it.
I am writing this becasue I want drivers to make a mental swing from the belief that things are happening to them and they are helpless to change, to one where drivers believe that they are the source of change and it is their dollar and effort that will change the industry. The control is attached to the almighty dollar, and those dollars are in the control of each individual truck driver.
You, as well as all other drivers who read this, need to know one thing. You can avoid irregular sleep patterns, stress, immobility, and poor nutrition. You must simply make the choice to do so. Every driver has the option to request their meals be prepared specific to their dietary needs. Adam, you could have had each truck stop cook your food as you requested. You couold have asked for the fat to be replaced with non-stick spray. Trade fat-laden meats for fish, chicken, shrimp, or other low calorie and low fat options. Just because Country Fried Steak is the manager's special, it does not mean you have to order and eat it. The meat can be eliminated out of omelets and replaced with vegetables. Milk could be skim instead of whole. White bread can be replaced with whole grain wheat. These are simple beginnings that any truck driver can make. These are things that any truck stop would do without much prodding.
As for immobility, every truck driver has to stop their truck for a period of ten hours and for 15 minutes every 5th hour. Adam, what did you do with this time? Whether you work for someone or you work for yourself, this is a Federal mandate to all drivers. During this ten hours, Adam, you could have exercised. Maybe you got out of your truck and walked an hour. Maybe you strapped a bike to your truck and took it for a rife down the nearest country road. Maybe you removed the passenger seat in the truck and fastened down an exercise bike (I have seen this in about eight trucks now). These are things that can be easily done, and Adam, you could have chosen to do these things at any point and time before your stroke. I hope that this becomes a lesson to all the drivers reading this. Don't wait to make these choices AFTER you have suffered severe medical complications. Start now, to AVOID these dangerous health affects.
Both good nutrition and exercise enable drivers to, not only handle, but avoid the health complications induced by stress. Nutrition and exercise are directly related to the amount of stress one feels themselves under. A body that is healthy, due to good nutrition and exercise, is able to handle life more efficiently, reducing stress related situations. The OTR lifestyle is unique!! It is a very difficult life. We are away from the ones we love, people are hollering for their freight, we work very long hours, and get paid very little for our efforts. However, I think most drivers remain drivers, becasue they love the job! So, why would you not want to give your body what it needs to be able to continue doing what you love best? It all comes down to personal choices!!
As for the sleep patterns of the OTR lifestyle, they CAN be irregular. However, here again, it is the choices we make as drivers how we utilize our time. Do you stay up and watch television on your down hours? Do you sit in the restaurant and shoot the breeze for several hours each morning or night? What are you doing with your 10 hours? Perhaps, some choose to get out of their truck and walk for an hour. Then they get a nutritious meal while relaxing for an hour. Then, they get cleaned up and hit the bunk for eight hours. Perhaps, others squander their time away and leave very little time for taking care of their bodies. However, either way that you choose to be, is still YOUR CHOICE!!
Now, some of you might think that this may seem a little harse to write to someone who has just had a stroke. Just the contrary. I feel very sorry for Adam and his current situation (as you will see in my next posting). However, I do not want drivers to read this and think that they are powerless to change their own lifestyle and current health situations. So, here are the steps that every driver should take to ensure that they don't end up like the hundreds of Adams I have spoken to over the last nine months.
1.) Get to the nearest PDMD clinic or your own personal doctor and get your body inspected. You inspect your truck yearly, why not give your own body the same care and maintenance.
2.) Get out of your truck and move your body. Stop every two to three hours and walk as fast as you can for five minutes to get your blood circulating. Each evening or morning, walk for one hour (start slower if advised). You should walk fast enough that you can still breath, but could not carry on a conversation. If you can talk, then walk faster.
3.) Make the restaurants prepare your meals as you request. Just becuase something is not on the menu, doesn't mean you can't order it. Swap high fat, high calorie, high sodium foods for better options. Change from real eggs to egg beaters. Stop putting salt on your foods at the table. Cut down on the butter, fried foods, chips, candy, and fast foods. If you can, prepare your own meals ahead and vaccum seal. Voice your disapproval of the foods the restaurants are serving and let them know what you would like to see. After, all restaurants are in the business of selling food....simply decide what you want to pay for.
These things CAN be done. You CAN change your lifestyle and still be an OTR driver. Quite simply said, isn't that what I have been trying to prove to all of you since January
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9/18/2007 8:18 PM
Adam Kosh wrote:
Hi Nancy; Thanks for your comments. Let me say that I have been off the road since February and am almost fully recovered, the left arm is still a little weak.
That was tuff love lady. Theoretically what you said was true. However I don't know if it's doable in real life. Let me give you some examples. Truck stop restaurants - if you ask for anything out of their routine its a hassle with the waitress a hassle with the cook and you end up getting something that's totally different than what you want. Do you send it back or do you eat it anyways? When I stopped for supper I wanted to relax with my newspaper, not get into a stupid discussion with the waitress and end up eating something I didn't want. An omlett with veggies is a major undertaking in some truck stops, let alone asking for egg substitute.
As you know we get paid by the mile and by the stops, so its gogogo if you ever want to get home. You ask to be home by a certain date, they'll bring you home when you want the first time, the next time it's a half day later , and then it's later again and so on. So if your OTR you hustle. When you stop for the night, every minute you do something else such as eat, toilet, etc. comes out of your sleep time. I havn't met a driver yet who does LTL who has the time or energy to excersise or watch tv. Let me tell you, 0500am rolls around pretty fast. You grab a coffee and something that isn't too poisionous in the morning and you hit the highway if you want to get some home time. When all the drops are done and the trailer is full for the backhaul, then you hustle to get home 'cause you know that you'll have to be back in Chicago at 0700 next monday. Lemme tell you it's rough. The only reason I did it for seven years is becouse I enjoyed the road and the pay was decent if you didn't wast time. You know, if you stop to use the bathroom during the day, that might set you back 15 minutes; which means that you'll get to your next stop 15 minutes later, which means that your slot is taken by another rig which could set you back a couple of hours. So you don't waste time with non essentials. You get a one track mind - if you wanna get home you gotta hustle, you choose off the menu and don't argue with the waitress. Love ya Adam.
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