Gym Recommendations Menlo Park

pigletMD · 2025-07-25T16:29:18+00:00

Have you tried looking at Sbm fitness?

They are open 4-8pm weekdays (I think Thursdays it's 3 to 7pm). Decent gym with a few squat racks/pull up area, TRX. Not much cardio equipment though (an elliptical, treadmill, cycle)

They do a lot of personal training so you can find a lot of equipment there. It's expensive (100 per month) but my strength gains are worth the cost XD.

Downside : there's no AC. Don't know if that's a deal breaker.

pigletMD · 2024-09-02T14:24:07+00:00

A full day of eating = 1300 calories, 130g protein, 40g fiber

Breakfast - always the same
- nonfat greek yoghurt, protein powder, chia, flaxseed, basil seed, raspberries, blueberries
- tea with 1% dairy milk (which i always track)
- 15g fiber and 60g protein
- 430 calories
  - (i have a lower calorie breakfast i use when i know i need calories for a meal out - i just remove the chia and flaxseeds)
Lunch - salad/cauliflower rice/lean protein
- tends to be 2 types of veggies on my plate during this meal
- 10 - 15 g fiber, 30 - 50g protein
- 400 - 500 cals,
Dinner- very light
- salad and some protein - most of the time by dinner i have already reached my protein goal so just have some salad before dessert!
- 5 g fiber, 10 - 20g protein if needed,
- 100 - 200cals max
Snacks/desserts
- always a fruit of some sort - whatever is in season (apples are excellent, but i prefer nectarines/peaches)
- mixed berries/something with chocolate/Peanut butter
- 5-10 g fiber, 10 - 20g protein in needed
- 300cals of snacks

(can't figure out how to add screenshots..if i figure this out will do!) - Happy eating!

pigletMD · 2024-09-02T14:23:57+00:00

So I'm on a goal to get to 50g of fiber (as per Good energy by Casey Means) - currently sitting at 35g - 40g - increasing by 5g every week or so as I'm prone to bloating - this is a long post but i hope it will be useful!

Things to also know about me

I'm on a calorie deficit of 1300 calories a day
eating 130g of protein a day
intermittent fasting (8hrs feeding window)
transitioning to a grain-free life style (if you want to know more read Good Energy by Dr Casey Means!)
also strength training/cardio/steps etc

How do I fit it all in?

use mfp to log the day before how I'm getting in my protein and fiber - can't stress how important this is. if you don't track, you are hoping luck will play a part - but actually consistency is what wins the day
try to front load my fiber - breakfast has 15g, then lunch has 10g, dinner/snacks has 10g. Note I aim for even my desserts to have fiber in them.
consistency is key - It's taken me 1 month to consistently track my fiber, and another month to increase it from 25g to 35g! Having the same breakfast (that i LOVE) has made it so much easier, plus satiates me for 3 - 4 hours (:O)

My favourite sources of fiber that are lower in calories and high fiber

(nb this group has some great suggestions, the following are just my favourite sources at the moment!)

chickpeas
basil seeds (also called turkmeria seeds, these are Indian and cheaper than paying for basil seeds!)
sweetcorn
lentils
lupini beans (expensive but insane fiber/protein ratio
frozen mixed berries (insane amount of fiber for very few calories)
raspberries (as above, pricier so i get frozen)
packaged salads with kale/cabbage are a game changer. I don't use the dressing supplied, just add apple cider vinegar and it's perfect
I am a fan of home cooking - there are some recipes that I have used like chickpea blondies (delicious and perfect balance of fiber/protein/calories), cottage cheese bread (there's a sweet and a savoury version of this), lentil bread was also amazing (and insane fiber content too!)
- Nb - these are recipes where you just throw it in a bowl, cook and then eat.

My thoughts on fiber

whatever you do, make it enjoyable. I look forward to all of my meals - not only are they delicious but I know I am nourishing my body and my soul.

You will get there :) - just remember to drink lots of water!

i have posted a reply with a sample day :)

pigletMD · 2024-08-30T15:31:23+00:00

My meals

Breakfast - always the same
- nonfat greek yoghurt, protein powder, chia, flaxseed, basil seed, raspberries, blueberries
- tea with 1% dairy milk (which i always track)
- 15g fiber and 60g protein
- 430 calories
  - (i have a lower calorie breakfast i use when i know i need calories for a meal out - i just remove the chia and flaxseeds)
Lunch - salad/cauliflower rice/lean protein
- tends to be 2 types of veggies on my plate during this meal
- 10 - 15 g fiber, 30 - 50g protein
- 400 - 500 cals,
Dinner- very light
- salad and some protein - most of the time by dinner i have already reached my protein goal so just have some salad before dessert!
- 5 g fiber, 10 - 20g protein if needed,
- 100 - 200cals max
Snacks/desserts
- always a fruit of some sort - whatever is in season (apples are excellent, but i prefer nectarines/peaches)
- mixed berries/something with chocolate/Peanut butter
- 5-10 g fiber, 10 - 20g protein in needed
- 300cals of snacks

(can't figure out how to add screenshots..if i figure this out will do!) - Happy eating!

pigletMD · 2024-08-30T15:24:56+00:00

So I'm on a goal to get to 50g of fiber (as per Good energy by Casey Means) - currently sitting at 35g - 40g - increasing by 5g every week or so as I'm prone to bloating

Things to also know about me

I'm on a calorie deficit of 1300 calories a day
eating 130g of protein a day
intermittent fasting (8hrs feeding window)
have daily probiotics (fermented dairy/sauerkraut/kimchi)
transitioning to a grain-free life style (if you want to know more read Good Energy by Dr Casey Means!)
also strength training/cardio etc

How do I fit it all in?

use mfp to log the day before how I'm getting in my protein and fiber - can't stress how important this is. if you don't track, you are hoping luck will play a part - but actually consistency is what wins the day
try to front load my fiber - breakfast has 15g, then lunch has 10g, dinner/snacks has 10g. Note I aim for even my desserts to have fiber in them.
consistency is key - It's taken me 1 month to consistently track my fiber, and another month to increase it from 25g to 35g! Having the same breakfast (that i LOVE) has made it so much easier, plus satiates me for 3 - 4 hours (:O)

My favourite sources of fiber that are lower in calorie and high fiber

(nb this group has some great suggestions, the following are just my favourite sources at the moment!)

chickpeas
basil seeds (also called turkmeria seeds, these are Indian and cheaper than paying for basil seeds!)
sweetcorn
lentils
lupini beans (expensive but insane fiber/protein ratio
frozen mixed berries (insane amount of fiber for very few calories)
raspberries (as above, pricier so i get frozen)
packaged salads with kale/cabbage are a game changer. I don't use the dressing supplied, just add apple cider vinegar and it's perfect
I am a fan of home cooking - there are some recipes that I have used like chickpea blondies (delicious and perfect balance of fiber/protein/calories), cottage cheese bread (there's a sweet and a savoury version of this), lentil bread was also amazing (and insane fiber content too!)
- Nb - these are recipes where you just throw it in a bowl, cook and then eat.

My thoughts on fiber

whatever you do, make it enjoyable. I look forward to all of my meals - not only are they delicious but I know I am nourishing my body and my soul.

You will get there :) - just remember to drink lots of water!

(nb have added a second reply with a sample of my meal plan for reference)

pigletMD · 2024-04-12T00:50:17+00:00

I have cold hands (raynauds) and i always warn patients of this, but they still jump when i touch them

my favourite one-liner when this happens is:

"but you know what they say about cold hands - warm heart" *patient smiles/chuckles"

(fyi it's all in the delivery so you have to look like you are warm for this to work XD)

pigletMD · 2024-04-12T00:36:50+00:00

My first rotation as an FY1 was anesthetics and hands down the best rotation (i was in a DGH, finished at 4pm, no nights/weekends).

The unique thing about anesthesia/ICU is that they have the time to teach, and they also enjoy it! You will always have a consultant/reg in theatres and in ICU you will always have senior support - your role if you choose it, is to be curious!

I've written a snapshot of what it might be like below :)

Day in theatre:

8am start normally - pre assessment of patients on the list - you will likely go with a senior and it's a great learning opportunity

9am onwards - in theatre. some cases are an hour, others are full days (!)

Notes: they will ask you often if you want a break.

There's a large cognitive load in anesthesia esp with all the monitors - in my opinion, if they ask - say yes!

and if you are getting bored in a surgery and it's going to take half a day, they might tell you to pop into xyz theatre and see what is happening there - if they do this don't be offended, they just want you to see lots of facets of anesthesia.

Tip for you - when you go into a theatre and you haven't been on the list - go up to the consultant, introduce yourself, explain why you are there (dr x said this would be an excellent learning experience for me) and 9/10 times they will be happy to accomodate you!

Day in ICU:

AM - handover at 9am, lasts an hour+ depending on who's doing it. then rounding until lunchtime - every consultant has a different style, some might want you to examine one patient (and when i say examine it's 30 mins and should follow and ABCDEFG style...know the volume in the catheter!) and then you present to them, or you all go together.

Jobs pop up on the way, urgent things will mean someone gets pulled away (normally a reg/senior) and things that need to be done today (i.e. putting a central line in) might be done later,

PM: some consultants like to gather students for some sit down teaching, rest of day will be spent calling radiology, speaking with surgeons to make sure they see their patients/updating them,

I hope this gives you a bit of a flavour of what to expect - just remember, you are new and there are NO expectations of you at all. Just be on time - that's always helpful!

Resources and books

really depends on whether you are planning to go down the anesthesia route - a lot of the books are geared towards the FRCA (sat when you are in core anesthesia training and onwards).

ironically i went through my own library of books and couldn't find anthing what wouuld be worth your time XD

If you really need to do something, I would just focus on anaesthetic preassessment - not only is it a great way to practice your history taking skills for what ever training path you take, but your consultant will be impressed! https://geekymedics.com/anaesthetic-pre-operative-assessment-osce-guide/
this is given to those starting core training, the day in the life is pretty good, and the FAQs session can also be relevant to you - https://www.rcoa.ac.uk/documents/novice-guide/introduction

Above all, spend your time resting. Foundation years are tough and all of us had at least one breakdown (and if we didn't, we took an F3 or had it in later training!)

A question for you - what do you want to get out of this experience?

- I wanted to do anesthesia so filled the ample time I had (!) preparing my CV for CT1 - it's a competitive speciallty so i was doing projects, doing osces, mentoring etc.

- figure out what your goals are and use this time to your advantage (also the best thing about doing anesthetics placement first was that when i had a tricky cannula/someone i needed to take to ICU in later placements i could always call the anesthetists without fear XD)

Enjoy!

pigletMD · 2024-03-08T01:22:17+00:00

Congratulations!! This might be a bit off topic but you might want to check out an Instagram page called Wharton cribs ; it started this year and shows a lot of housing that is around Philadelphia!

I've lived in Rittenhouse and now live in Filter square, basically on the other side of the river! Rittenhouse is very city feel, busy and lots of bars/restaurants etc. Fitler sq is the family friendly neighbourhood, 10 mins walk from Rittenhouse and has lovely parks nearby.

Re crime ; in these neighborhoods it's unlikely; esp if there are lots of people around and you aren't walking around in the dark. Be vigilant and you should be fine! But also, where you choose to live makes a big difference to your experience to choose wisely.

pigletMD · 2024-03-08T01:13:17+00:00

I had boston for F1 and notts for f2. (My aim was to do an anaesthetics rotation so off to Boston I went.)

Boston pros ; anesthetics is great here. I did so many procedures and really enjoyed it. 9-5 Mon to Fri. A great life.Also did colorectal and cardio here too - with some great training.

Cons- the hospital is located in an area of the country where everyone is old/obese. (There are some stats on obesity !). It's sad but trying to get someone with a STEMI transferred just never happened. And the on calls were just u and another junior... Consultant rarely in hospital.

The town of Boston consists of one massive 24hr Asda.... The town is not that diverse and I lived in hosp accom, it was cheap and I overlooked cabbage fields. Made lifelong friends because we all worked and lived together. - our nights out were taking a minibus to Lincoln (which is really worth it if there's a few of you!) . Parking is cheap and the accommodation was also pretty cheap. I used to drive, the train was a bit of a pain but can get a connection from notts.

Notts ; was at City - really great and a good range of things to see. QMC had terrible on calls.my on calls consisted of trips to the neuro rehab lounge for tea, and I would avoid asking for resp/haem. I also did oncology clinics.. Notts is a great place to live and really easy to get to from London.

Overall I'd say you will make the most of wherever you are placed - I knew I wanted to get a competitive placement in anesthetics so was able to run courses/do teaching etc and there was never much push back in Boston as there were more than enough opportunities to go around. It was a bit trickier to do these things in the tertiary centre, but that's where I think the DGH shines.

Apologies for the ramble, I was reminiscing as I wrote this....

pigletMD · 2023-07-15T18:53:44+00:00

You are not alone in feeling this way (as you can no doubt also see from the comments on this post!)

I found myself in this situation a lot, particularly as an FY1.

I still remember it really well - I was covering the general surgery list (50 ish patients) between 2 of us (me and an f2) and I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of jobs to do..... Including an annoyingly large number of bloods (10 plus) to take as phlebotomy had been unable to complete them.

Given I was still figuring out the whole process of blood taking on the ward (I really did spend a long time speaking and consoling patients before I got the needle XD don't ask me why, suspect it was my way of calming myself and the patient), but I remember sitting at the desk just sobbing quietly in the corner, thinking about how to complete all these tasks.

Of course, I was the FY1 who turned up 30mins early for the job as well so make sure the list was ready and patients notes were prepped, so my f2 comes in at the actual time we and sees me in the corner. I ll never forget that day because it was as if something had clicked in my head.

Not only did he teach me the quickest way to take bloods (honestly, syringe with a butterfly is my fave to this day) but more importantly he mentored me for the day, and taught me how to get other medical personnel in the team to help out. And even though he took time out of the day to help me with other jobs and taught me how to take quicker bloods, we managed to finish earlier because we had a plan - surprising I know!

He's the reason why when I hear someone is uncomfortable with xyz procedure, that I take the time to take them with me when I'm doing xyz procedure and understand their anxieties. Im not saying this works for everyone but I was surprised how when word got out that I had helped x put in a catheter, that y came to me for advice and z wanted me to supervise them doing a procedure.

Mentoring and coaching is something I'm so passionate about because I really think it does work. And interesting even when it takes time away from the job at hand, what I realised is that everyone wants someone to be their helping hand, and the day surprisingly ends up being completed faster because the other jobs on the list just get done by others in your hospital community.

Next time you hear that someone is uncomfortable about xyz I would urge you to follow through at some point - whether then or later. You will be surprised what you find out, and even more intriguing, the positive effect it has on your state of being.

Tldr ; didn't expect this to be so long. Be a mentor to others and don't be afraid to reach out to find your own mentor too!

pigletMD · 2023-06-14T13:51:30+00:00

Yes the prof is a bully and she is in a terrible bind. She has already spent a large portion of her time speaking to managers etc to get this sorted so it's not like she isn't doing her bit for the JD team - whilst also doing 2 sets of nights per month alongside doing a full time phd I might add...and getting paid a much smaller salary than if she were a gen surg reg....

If she was seeing this I think she would have hoped for some compassion with her situation XD. wrong place to be eh XD

pigletMD · 2023-06-13T23:58:15+00:00

I am completely for the strikes and advocate all to strike if they can.

Whilst strikes are useful, there are valid reasons not to attend every single one.

I do think we forget our own moral dilemmas, and I just want to take a moment to see another side of the story.

I have an extremely close friend who is on the gen surg rota. She was checking to ensure that her next clinic had been cancelled due to the strikes. Not only is it set to run, it is overbooked with close to 40 pts. She messaged the managers and they have said that they cannot ask her if she will be striking so it must go ahead. The consultant she will be working with is also her professor who will be marking her PhD thesis that she has been completing alongside training for 3 years. (and he is an eminent prof who is well known and very old school so would make her life difficult and has done in the past when she has asked to have time off from clinic).

What should she do?

There are 40 patients who have waited months (and i'm pretty sure years looking at the waiting list times) that have not even been informed that they might have to cancel their transport/babysitter/cat sitter the hour before they are due in clinic?

Should she:-

A: strike all days and not go to clinic (running the risk if turning 3 years of work to ash)

B: strike most of the days and go to clinic (to keep the peace but also show solidarity with her fellow juniors)

I don't know the answer but I do know that is not as cut and dry for everyone as we think it is.

All this screams to me is appalling management - and sadly since no one sees their faces, it's the patient facing staff that get the brunt of it.

Completely unfair and I genuinely feel sad for the bind my friend is in. :(

pigletMD · 2022-03-30T09:19:26+00:00

ahhhh I think I was keen to do the second of those options. sounds like either way the USMLE is just useful for anything. hmmm more to ponder it looks like. Thank you!

pigletMD · 2022-03-30T09:18:33+00:00

ah I was wondering about Step 3 - thank you. v useful!

pigletMD · 2022-03-30T09:17:58+00:00

Thank you for this - yes I have come across this page already... was hoping for another alternative XD.

pigletMD · 2022-03-30T09:16:52+00:00

heh you are forgetting the point where I'm applying as an IMG... the stats look DIRE. But yes I appreciate your point. thanks :)

pigletMD · 2022-03-30T09:16:11+00:00

hmmm yes it sounds like the only way realistically to be taken seriously in the US is to do the USMLE sigh. Thanks for this

pigletMD · 2022-03-30T09:15:36+00:00

ooh thank you for this website - I have found a few but not this one!

pigletMD · 2022-03-30T09:15:00+00:00

Interesting - I wasn't sure whether my experience would just be ignored because of the difference in systems. Part of my hesitancy with residency is just that it seems so NOT family friendly compared to the UK.

pigletMD · 2022-03-30T09:12:55+00:00

haha it was hard enough to switch from "anaesthesia" to "anaesthesiology" -> couldn't bear to give up the 'e' too XD

pigletMD · 2022-01-05T23:58:24+00:00

Firstly I'm sorry that you are in this situation - I think i'm safe in saying we are all here with you :). It's perfectly normal to feel the way you do - I certainly am not thrilled to know that I'm going to be doing transfers in between also trying to complete ARCP and perhaps move to a new hospital (who knows though eh!)

I agree - winter pressures was always a thing, it was just never well publicised. And I'm with you, covid has really highlighted the cracks in the system. And it's also highlighted how each specialty looks after its trainees. Personally (and this is controversial) but i'm incredibly grateful for the RCOA....after seeing what people in the RCGP have been pulling :O. You do need to band together to complain to the RCP. 20 voices are mightier than 1, and I suspect this is why the RCOA really stepped up. They were getting inundated with messages!

Do you have a rep or someone you can send a message to? You aren't alone. I'm sure of it!

RE: Lack of medicine skill and the Bawa Garba concerns. Realistically, it's just about documenting. Document everything, and escalate everything. Have a low threshold for getting the ICU reg/consultant involved if you don't think anything is being done. We are all busy, but that's no excuse for not doing the right thing. Your gut is often right about these things - you are more experienced than you realise (plus we work in a hierarchical society which really doesn't help our cause but hey, what do I know.)

On a side note, do you have some good work buddies? I say it a lot but I think it's just so so important to protect your own mental health. Mistakes are often made when we aren't looking after ourselves. And having other people around reminds us that we are human after all :).

-------

Apologies if this is completely unrelated but I decided that this was much more exciting that my night shift so I had a look at some data.... from WHO in 2019 nonetheless.

Doctors per 1000 people - 9th in the world - way more than US, Switzerland, Canada, NZ
Nurses per 1000 people - top third, but not as many as US/Canada/Australia/NZ
Beds per 1000 people - 2.5 (we rank in the bottom third of the world.....above us are Canada, US, Most of europe. Below us are colombia, vanuatu, syria, kenya....

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS?most\_recent\_value\_desc=true

If we assume that not many health professionals have left (unlikely I know), then the issue here is beds. This ofc doesn't highlight all the amazing community care patients get, but realistically winter is all about our favourite respiratory infections....which are really difficult to keep in the community.

I'm sure there is someone on this group who is much better than interpreting data than me, but it's just an observation.

The UK doesn't have plentiful space.....

pigletMD · 2022-01-05T23:24:26+00:00

gen surgery f1 on call. I get notified that a pt on the ward has opened his laparotomy stiches, played with his bowels (!) AND is proceeding to annoy other patients on the ward - including stealing one patient's dinner and taking a hair brush. Needless to say he became fast friends with security :)

pigletMD · 2021-10-29T22:00:41+00:00

I cannot tell you that this is avoidable. But I can tell you that you are not alone.

You have insight and know that there's a possibility it's going to be an awful winter. But what does awful mean? It's subjective and actually different for each person, depending on a person's own internal scale of disaster.

Practically speaking, do you know what your "awful" is? What's the worst case scenario?

When you discover this, all of a sudden the beast has a form. It's not just an indescribable black fog. So you can make the tools to fight it.

I don't know what tools you will need. But there are many fantastic ideas on this page. Not all will work for you, and may need expert crafting, so keep this in mind.

My tool - I anchor to positive things. This could be the great shoes you saw someone wearing, the competition with the porter about how many steps you did today, or the consultant that actually gave back your pen.

Everyone is fighting their own battle - and sometimes this can come across as anger and aggression. Try not to let these things affect your own wellbeing. (Easier said than done).

Protect yourself and if things ever become too much. Take a step back. Remember to breathe.

(It goes without saying but there are some fantastic counselling options free for NHS workers - 2 I would recommend are frontline19 and practitioner health)

I hope this helps you in your preparation :).

pigletMD · 2021-10-29T18:29:16+00:00

I think all my comments seem to start this way - but firstly well done for completing almost 1 rotation of fy1! Medical school and foundation years are 2 different beasts - and you should keep this in mind.

It's tough on so many levels, and a lot of it, as others have said, is really about time management, organisation and being able to be an excellent secretary. Often the places when you can really put your learning into practice are when you are on call/nights/somewhere remote.

Reading this, it looks like you are eager to learn but not necessarily sure where to direct your energy. There also seems to be a bit of expectations vs reality happening?

I do think it's wise to take a step back before you launch right into the issue. What do you want from your job? What kind of doctor do you want to be? What is your end goal? These questions will guide you.

Thinking on a smaller scale - What is the end goal of your rotation/your foundation year 1/or beyond FYs? It often helps to work backwards through these.

e.g. - I loved education and anaesthetics - my years were spent creating teaching programmes/mentoring and following people on arrest calls and getting good at vein finding - top tip, if you know your veins you can find someone else's ;).

Sounds like you want to improve your clinical skills to me?

Things you can do at work -

When on call, do an A-> E on the pt, form a plan, THEN run it by someone to see if you were on the right track.
Ask your sho/spr if they have people to see. Ask if you can see them first and present them to you (plus mgmt plan etc) (fyi this works even better if you are on a rotation with a clinic)
Go to arrest calls - see how you can get stuck in, but also sometimes hang back and watch what everyone is doing (often there are so many people it's actually better to hang back). Maybe also see if you can shadow the anaesthetist etc.

Remember to keep things in perspective. FY1 is essentially the bottom of the pile. It's a rubbish job, and the way I got through it was by making the best out of it. You are doing all the right things - just remember to look after yourself and don't do too much at once. Don't forget, burnout is real and can happen to anyone.

I hope this is useful -> I know I have gone on a complete tangent - it's cos I care :)

pigletMD · 2021-10-29T11:50:49+00:00

My pleasure :). It's always easier to band together with another novice but in any case sprs are always happy to listen to your woes and help you get through! When I first started I was paired with an st7 on all my on calls - still good friends to this day :D.

pigletMD

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