The Person behind the Provider

Dear Friends, Family, and Patients,

What humbles me the most in my practice is, hearing my patients’ personal stories and journeys that has led them to be in the seat across from me in my office. So, I thought, why not share mine? If my patients can be at their most vulnerable in front of me, then maybe I can too. 

To be fair, my story isn’t quite unique. There are lots of women out there going through similar versions of what I have experienced. But that just means, that my story is RELATABLE.  Relatable to people struggling out there in this world defined by the words – fast, instant gratification, comparison driven, ___ (insert what you experience). 

During medical school and residency, I was binge eating to deal with stress. Also, my routines…wait, what routines? There was no room for a “routine” in residency. Which meant eat when you can, how much you can, what you can. Then immediately after, was my first pregnancy (YAY!). My breastfeeding journey was wonderful, but with one humungous side effect of wanting to EAT insatiably. And this was even worse after my second son. I would definitely eat wayyy over my caloric needs and didn’t know how to stop. Raising a toddler and a newborn, working full time, and starting a new business was not easy. I was done nursing my second child, but the hunger cues never went away. 

I was at my heaviest and felt the worst. I did not like looking at myself in the mirror or in any of my clothes. I was, simply put, – UNhealthy. I mean… my cholesterol was high for the first time ever and so was my A1c! Working out felt futile. 

GLP1s were taking the world by a storm at that time, so I decided to try it after consulting with my PCP.  The changes I felt were remarkable. I started not having the same cravings. I felt satisfied with food faster. My portions were much smaller. I did not feel like I had to eat every time I was stressed. And overall, I lost weight. I fit into my clothes better. The person I was seeing in the mirror felt somewhat familiar again. 

One of the comments I received from someone was… “taking this medication for weight loss is like cheating to get skinny.” To that, my gentle response was, “I’m not trying to compete with anyone…I’m simply trying to feel better about myself.”

I was happy with what I saw and felt, but knew that I was not done. As I knew – taking this medication was only 30% of the treatment. Once the “training wheels” came off, I still needed to practice mindful eating and not let my cravings get the best of me. Also, where was my muscle? If you are my patient, you know that when you are on a GLP1 medication, you not only lose fat, but also your muscle bulk. We NEED to increase protein in our diet AND focus on resistance training to build muscle. Working out was not optional anymore – it became non-negotiable. 

For that, I joined a gym. Yes, a gym. If you know me personally, your jaw would have dropped hearing this. I felt motivated to work out and to see the muscle-mass percentage move in the right direction. I workout so that I can be healthier. I workout so I can support my joints and bones as I get older. I workout so I can be off any meds. I work out so I can feel happier mentally. I workout so I can get some “me time”. I workout so I can tell that little “can’t” voice in my head that it can take a back seat.  I workout so that my kids can see their mom get stronger.

Thank you for coming along in this journey with me.