As many of you know, I host Calgary’s Walk With A Doc Chapter: a free, public, community event held one Sunday a month where we discuss a health topic, build community, spend time in nature, and of course, get our steps in together.
I recently had the privilege of being featured by Walk With A Doc as we celebrated the Calgary Chapter’s 1 year anniversary in April 2026. I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on this milestone and journey. We continue to meet once a month and are gearing up for our 17th Walk next month!
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I remember as if it was yesterday: October 2023 in Denver, Colorado, USA, I was attending the Annual American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) conference, when I stumbled upon Walk With A Doc (WWAD) for the first time. I had the chance to meet Bryan Romey, long-time WWAD Program Manager and after exchanging a few words, I was fired up. Little did I know how much that moment would change my life. Fast-forward it’s now July 2026 and we are gearing up for our 16th monthly walk as the local WWAD chapter in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has been and continues to be a privilege to host this community and be part of such an impactful global movement.
Founded by Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio, in April 2005, the concept of Walk With A Doc is simple, and incredibly effective. Dr. Sabgir began by just inviting his patients to walk with him at a local park… and over 100 folks showed up. WWAD has since grown to 700+ chapters around the world.
I love the idea of people walking together as a community, in the name of individual and collective health. It’s wonderful that this program affords community members improved (though informal) access to a physician or healthcare provider to engage in health education and ways to improve their quality of life. The walks to me represent an inclusive, safe, fun, and free opportunity for human beings of all ages, races, religions, backgrounds, education levels, socioeconomic status, to walk together side by side, learn about health, and build connection. It is a place where we get to be ourselves, outside of the clinic’s four walls, away from traditional prescriptions and clinical titles, without stethoscopes and white coats, and focus on taking steps towards better health (literally). WWAD gives us a chance to be human. Together. Isn’t that really what life is all about?
At Calgary’s 1 Year Anniversary Walk in April 2026, one of our ‘regular walker’ participants (incredible that we have ‘regulars’!) asked me if, when I started the Calgary chapter, I had thought it would grow to what it has become. Honestly, I had no idea how it would turn out. I am so grateful to each and every individual who has shown up at every one of our walks, because without you, there would be no walking group, health community, or Calgary chapter!
You may have noticed the obvious gap between when I first found out about Walk With A Doc (Oct 2023) and when the Calgary chapter started (Apr 2025). Life threw a lot at me in between those dates and despite my best intentions, starting the local chapter kept getting pushed down on my to do list. Somewhat unexpectedly, in March 2025, there was a segment on Canadian national radio on CBC’s program The Current: “How to get patients moving? Walk with them, this doctor says”. The day after the talk show, I received two inquiries in my inbox from people looking for details about Calgary’s WWAD chapter. Amidst the chaos of life, the universe propelled us forward. I jumped in headfirst, organized a plan, re-prioritized my to do list, and dedicated my efforts to getting the Calgary chapter off the ground ASAP. On April 20, 2025, exactly 1 month after that radio segment aired across Canada, we held Calgary’s 1st Walk With A Doc. I was blown away at the response: 20 enthusiastic and curious people showed up, excited to join the movement, learn more about the initiative, improve their health, and of course, get their steps in.
We begin every walk with a health talk and our 1st Walk’s Health Talk discussed the benefits of walking. Between Walk With A Doc’s excellent 100 Reasons to Walk list and what I get to share with patients in the clinic, there were far too many great reasons to walk and not nearly enough time to share them. I shared select benefits of walking, presented in a way that aimed to be memorable, engaging, and not overwhelming. You can read the benefits here.
Although I did not realize at the time, this formed an important aspect of my health talks every month with our walking group: to always leave people with actionable, practical strategies that they can take to improve their everyday lives and health. Education is essential, but acting on our knowledge, especially when it comes to our health, is the most powerful. I have learned this time and again, both in my personal and professional life, and WWAD provides an opportunity to put it all into practice, and truly walk the talk.
Taking action can feel scary. As much as many of us say we want to change or become healthier, converting those words to action, and then onward to regularly practiced habits, is no small feat. Change represents unknown, fear, and can feel overwhelming, even if it is meant to be for the better. Most often, there are underlying thoughts and feelings running continuously within our minds and bodies that directly influence our behaviours. The more awareness we can shift towards these thoughts and feelings, the more we can engage, understand, and process them. This allows us to begin recognizing our patterns so that we can then unlearn and re-learn new habits, and create momentum for lasting change and better health. This work forms much of my clinical practice today.
Online and to my patients, I am Dr. Khimji (or @doctorkhimji), and my first name is Hussain. I was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, completed medical school in Dublin, Ireland, and finished my residency training in Family Medicine at the University of Calgary. In my first 5 years of practice as an attending physician I practiced in a range of clinical settings such as: Urban and Rural Primary Care, Walk-in Clinics, Rural Emergency Medicine, Palliative Care, Hospitalist Inpatient Care, Urgent Care, and finally Lifestyle Medicine and Obesity Medicine. Seeing individuals and families at their most vulnerable, navigating life and death decisions, and facilitating challenging, complex conversations, has taught me a great deal. Whether we address mental health, manage minor ailments, optimize chronic disease management, or activate acute life-saving protocols, it is essential to remember we are serving the human being in front of us. Not just a clinical problem in isolation. At the end of the day, we are all human beings, worthy and deserving of a happy, healthy meaningful life of well-being. This is the lens through which I strive to support my patients.
And this is again where the Walk With A Doc movement converges well with my professional practice and personal values. Getting out and walking as regularly and often as possible can do miracles for our health. My time spent in intense, acute care settings, always reminded me of the importance of prevention, health promotion and education, and how reversing chronic diseases and optimizing mental health are not lofty ideals, but are actually foundational to the future of better medicine and higher quality care. WWAD promotes these very approaches to health and I am grateful to be a Walk Leader for over a year now, with an initiative that is all about practicing what we preach.
Being a physician is a privilege. But before that, I am a human being, just like you. I love learning languages, listening to music and singing along, getting lost in books, and exploring the world through travel. I keep physically active with walking, running, cycling, strength training, and sports such as soccer and volleyball. For my mental fitness, I practice meditation, affirmations, and visualizations… and mindfulness and gratitude in the shorter, fleeting moments. All of this is how I try to recharge and look after myself. But it’s also how I live in alignment with my values, the very values I hope to teach and instill in you and others.
My mission is to help you:
- Become your happiest and healthiest self
- Prevent and reverse chronic diseases
- Optimize mental and emotional well-being
I cannot think of a more powerful way to help others get healthier, and improve my own health, than walking the talk, which Walk With A Doc gets us all to do. Together. Walking helps every condition I see in the clinic. From depression and anxiety, to osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver, high cholesterol, and so much more.
Lifestyle Medicine and Obesity Medicine make up 100% of my clinical practice now, and they align well with WWAD’s values. Lifestyle Medicine is an evidence-based medical specialty dedicated to preventing and managing chronic disease through whole-person care. Together, we use six foundational pillars and health coaching to prescribe the lifestyle changes you need to truly flourish: Nutrition, Physical Activity, Restorative Sleep, Stress Management, Social Connection, and Avoidance of Risky Substances. In Obesity Medicine, we support patients with medications and surgical strategies as clinically indicated, but the third critical component of weight management is behaviour change, which overlaps well with the practice of Lifestyle Medicine. For both areas of clinical practice, I start with education but quickly move to helping people put knowledge into practice. That is the only way it actually works. And WWAD is a fantastic example of just that.
I started Calgary’s WWAD chapter to not only be a role model for patients, but to also improve my own health and remind us that we are all in this together. The more we engage with others, build healthy community, show up for ourselves and one another, the healthier (and happier) we all become. This is how we not only improve our individual health but also build communities and societies that flourish.
To date, my experience with WWAD has been amazing. In fact, it somehow just keeps getting better and better. We have had over 100 unique participants during our first year running and have an average of 20 folks at each walk. We walk an average of 47 min every month and encourage everyone to move at their own pace. I adjust my own walking speed so that I can keep up with each participant and try to offer some 1 on 1 time with them during the walks. At our largest gathering (33 people) I remember jogging between walkers to say “hi” to everyone!
WWAD is not about steps, counters, trackers, racing, or competition…it’s about a dedicated, intentional walk, at a speed that suits your goals and health, and getting some social time, in nature, outdoors, in the sun and fresh air, and around like minded, caring people. Personally it’s neat because while these benefits are for the participants, Walk Leaders like me benefit as well and my mental and physical health always feel better after our monthly walks.
It has been truly inspiring to meet so many wonderful people on their health journey through WWAD and I hope to cross paths with many more as the chapter and global movement continues to grow. I am always impressed by the questions people ask and enjoy keeping on my toes to answer them as best as I can.
We have walked in rain, snow, once on icy pathways (we learned from that one, stopped doing that, and now walk indoors during inclement weather!), and all throughout we have been side by side, encouraging each other and belonging to a collective with shared purpose and humanity. Not in my wildest dreams did I know we’d grow to where we are today. And it’s still just the beginning. Looking ahead, I hope we continue strengthening the flourishing community we are building, fostering strong social bonds, and helping people take charge of their health and their lives.
WWAD is a great way to give back, support others, and contribute to improving people’s quality of life.
If you read this far, thank you. I appreciate your time. I would like to share two final thoughts.
First, my gratitude:
To each individual walker (new and regulars alike),
To every participant who joins any WWAD around the world,
To my fellow walk leaders in Canada and around the world,
To Dr. David Sabgir, Bryan Romey, Rachael Habash, and the entire WWAD program team,
Thank you all for being part of this movement, leading by example, prioritizing your health, and making this all a reality.
Lastly, my motto:
Chase progress, not perfection.
In whatever you do, for any health or life goal, I would encourage you to chase progress, not perfection. Take action, no matter how small, and keep showing up. Focus on the behaviours and being who you want to be. (Don’t worry, the results will come too!)
I am privileged to do this work.
You can connect with me at hussain@doctorkhimji.com and follow the journey with @doctorkhimji.
Learn how to start or join a local Walk With A Doc program here.
I believe in you,
Dr. Khimji
This Week’s Challenge
On any night this week, before you go to sleep, write down one thing you are grateful for.
The Bottom Line
I can’t believe Calgary’s Walk With A Doc Chapter has been up and running for over a year, with our 17th Walk scheduled for August 2026. I am forever grateful to each and every individual who shows up to these walks, because without you, there is no walk! It has been wonderful to build and grow this community together with you.
If you have been to the walks before, I am proud of you for showing up for yourself and your health and I look forward to walking together again soon!
If you haven’t made it to a walk yet, I’d like to invite you to join us whenever you can make it and I look forward to getting our steps in together!
Sign up here for our next walk (Sun Aug 16 at 11:00 AM)