Life's Personal Trainers, part 2

Second part of a two-part blog entry
(yes two parts, because I poured my heart and soul into this and had a little too much to say
and because it was a journey most people would've wanted to take but usually aren't able to, so I wanted to share my on-going journey.)


I started with walking an hour every day – since I really had no physical activity to begin with, translating to the absence of endurance. It was my exercise and contemplation time. A lot of the world’s problems we’re somehow ‘thought about’ during those one-hour me-times. Slowly, I started to jog, then run. It was exhilarating but a little depressing because the increase in physical activity did not translate to a skinnier me. I had to remind myself constantly of my main goal. I'd text my family whenever I ran “hi mum/dad/jan, just got home from a jog. Gonna study now. Love you!” “Good morning, about to go for a walk. Have a great day!” and whatever I could think of, to show them that I was committing to it, that it wasn’t just a phase.

More than that, I realized I was surrounded with people who inspired me. My then housemate who was superwoman – athlete, party-girl plus batch top 10 - and she slowly trained me to run, forcing me to push myself and catch up with her pace; my then barkada who were fit to the tee in mind and body, disciplined (one wakes up at 5 in the morning to have his daily dose of chlorinated pool water then goes to school, the other able to steal a few hours of gym time even after an intense 10-hour school day), crazy water-drinkers, and simply made me want to strive better – in my academic, emotional and physical life; my mentor who in her own way knew the right words to say during our fleeting mentoring sessions.

Later on, I joined a contest in school “Biggest Loser ASMPH”, where contestants were made to compete with each other for the most weight loss (by percentage). Being a very competitive person, I was further motivated to continue my routine.

So I continued.

It’s been five months, I’ve lost about 18lbs, stopped eating junk food, stopped drinking coke (gasp!!!), know how to cook vegetables in the most appetizing way (atleast to me), joined a fitness club, play sports, continue to run and I am relatively pleased with how I look.

More importantly, its been five months, and my sister has started to force me to exercise with her, my father went back to the gym (he used to be very active, playing basketball, soccer, bowling, from what I remember when I was younger he was great at all sports) and he called me last monday to assure me “I’ll take care of your mother, I’ll make sure she’ll exercise and eat better.” My mother has joined a gym as well, more than that, she’s hired a personal trainer, increased her fluid (water) intake, stopped eating meat and has decided to buy a weighing scale.

Health is seen as a scientific issue that focuses on the details – insulin, blood glucose levels, genetics, etc.
But health is more importantly a social issue, how healthy you are and your health seeking behavior, will affect the people around you, people who care about you, people who love you. In my on-going journey, these people are the ones that inspire me to be better, to strive for health.

As future health professionals, health being a social concept can be two-fold. It is both our greatest limitation because the social environment - that we often do not have control over - is usually the cause of the disease (directly and indirectly) and thus promoting a cycle of disease, hindering our general health development; but it is also our secret weapon to identifying the right who's to partner with in creating sustainable positive health changes in our individual patients and for the public's health.

Ultimately, my journey isn't over just yet. I'm not simply running after numbers and calories-lost, im striving for health
- my health and those of the people i care about,
and maybe just maybe, in the not-so-distant future, my patients and the general public.

Life's Personal Trainers, part 1

A two-part blog entry
(yes two parts, because I poured my heart and soul into this and had a little too much to say
and because it was a journey most people would've wanted to take but usually aren't able to, so I wanted to share my on-going journey.)


A little early this year, I had started this whole “must-get-fit!” mantra. I’ve always meant to take it seriously, but after high school, healthy eating habits, self-control and exercise take the backseat to studies, philosophizing, studies, theologizing, studies, socializing and even more studies – it just didn't seem to be as important as other priorities.

When I entered med school, the priority list piled up even further, and the fitness goal was pushed further back to the trunk (car analogies, hihi). It wasn’t until during the endocrine module, when we discussed diabetes mellitus in detail, that health, in my life, was suddenly put into perspective.

My mother had been diagnosed with diabetes and has been (or atleast appeared to be) okay with it. Her reaction to her disease was basically surrendering to it; she felt she was past trying to do anything about it (her weight, her health and her unhealthy lifestyle), besides she had her insulin and enough meds to mask any symptoms or manifestations of the disease. I always thought, since it made her happy to live her lifestyle and because she is my mother (and therefore ALWAYS right and all-knowing), I didn’t think I could do anything about it.

Studying in the ASMPH however, I was bombarded with the idea of family systems, holistic therapy, and the broader perspective of health complemented with highly scientific clinical training and further details on the disease – specifically diabetes (as it was the cause of the most common diseases for almost every module).

Suddenly, I was empowered to do something about MY health. No, not JUST to become SCHMEXY, as most of my batch mates might think, but to somehow try to inspire my family to do the same.

Being the poster child for an unhealthy med student – I spent all my time in front of the computer, studying her trans, eating junk food, drinking caffeine (oodles and oooodles of coke!), and lazy as a bum, the change was not the least bit comfortable or easy. What kept me motivated was the idea that if I could show my family that it can be done – a real lifestyle change – they would be inspired to join me.

And so began my journey.

Manifestation of Inspiration

I've been spending (nay, wasting, considering I have 70+ pages of reading pathology books to do...) my time going from blog after blog after blog as I deliberate just what to put in this little site of mine.

And in my little adventure, I found all kinds of people -- from dear dear friends to complete strangers; from self-proclaimed artists to structured architects; from socialite fashionistas to anonymous wannabes; from quirky shoe makers, to depressed comic inker, to deep performers, to innovative layouters, to blind photographers, to innocent students, and to interesting potheads. All of them living their lives and sharing it with the world through their blogs.

Its amazing.

To try to grab some kind of insight from all this "time-wasting", I reflected on what they all have in common. Apart from living some kind of interesting life, they were ALL inspired. Different manifestations of their inspiration, but all of them inspired by some form of something/someone to do something. It got me on my feet, to share my own life to the world, that meant having something to show. So I took a cue from the blogs I went through,I tried taking fashion shots (because what girl doesnt believe she has a right to say she's got style), started drawing again, cutting my own hair (yes, there are actual hair blogs), brainstorming ideas with friends, designing, looking for pictures and videos of old performances -- anything BUT being a med student.

Suddenly I was living life. I wasn't just sitting down, pretending to listen to a boring lecture while playing tetris, or downing cups of coffee to stay up for another all-nighter, or forcing 30 pages of physiology/anatomy/pathology into my brain even when the words all start to sound alike... I was suddenly part of the population that was doing something right now -- the prime of their lives, when they aren't too young to not be taken seriously or too old to not know how to have fun.

All this adrenaline rush from exploring old and new things I used to and learned to be passionate about brought out a creeping feeling, that maybe just maybe the medical profession isn't for me. Two years (and millions of pesos, and lots of heavy med books, and emotional investment later) into med school, this kind of thinking meant treading on dangerous waters. But for so many factors (including a beautiful article on the loss you gain from med school by a batchmate), I treaded anyways.

But after all that, after everything I tried, after my passions were rekindled, after the revelation of the amazing and endless world of possibilities of a new joanie out there, I still wanted to be a doctor. I really do.

Even after the threat of losing my weekends to zombie 2nd year med, the reality of barely-passing grades, the momentary loss of a few medschool support systems (momentary because change isnt just loss, but new possibilities), the boringness of Robbins (my new bestfriend/pathology book btw), I still want to be a doctor.

And I realized, I contributed to the world that way. No, not contribute LATER when I become a doctor, right now.

When I live my seemingly mundane life to becoming a doctor,

when i choose to study to become the best clinician I can be,

when I throw myself into extracurricular activities to instill the social catalyst in me,

when I take on unnecessary responsibilities to develop the dynamic leader I should be,

and most importantly when I waste my time on other peoples lives/blogs, continue to draw /perform /cut my bangs/style myself /blog, to remain grounded to the reality of being a person - the core of a good doctor.

I am contributing.

So these are the manifestations of my inspiration.

“Doctors are often accused of callousness, venality and self-infatuation.

But they remind us that they have sacrificed the springtime of their lives,

completely lost the previous years between their 20’s and 30’s

acquiring skills to benefit their fellow men.”

- Erich Seagal, 'Doctors'

BTW, if you are wondering where in the world you can find these people,

I post most of my random inspirations (sites, pics, music, whatever floats my boat) in my tumbleblog.