The information on the driver’s license right before I came home included, among others: weight 155 lbs. It was real and I still have the proof to validate that fact. It should not come as a surprise since at that time, gaining too much weight was not a problem despite my usual hearty appetite. Then, I had the energy and the will to exercise. Even after a 24-hour call, I’d follow my thrice-weekly schedule of running 3-5 miles , with visits to the gym in between. It was like I was exercising to be able to eat heartily and vice versa. I never had difficulty then getting into clothes that suit my taste and style. I was fine, quite fine, even my lab tests supported that.

Now ten years later, I had slowly and steadily gained at least 20-25 pounds, give or take a few pounds and now, I’m almost desperate. Of course, the work schedule and the many responsibilities have been ready excuses for not exercising and for choosing poor eating habits. Not a few patients have made known their observation about the bulging paunch. And it’s not funny anymore. I told one of my diabetic patients his sugar control was not good, most likely because he has again gained weight. He quickly retorted: “Kayo rin po, doctor”. Some friends and some colleagues (they are not necessarily the same people) have teased me about it, too. But it’s really no teasing or laughing matter. The law of thermodynamics is clear: for balance to occur, energy in should equal energy out. Therefore, for weight balance to happen (no weight gain or loss), calories taken in must be almost the same as calorie expended. One does not need to be a rocket scientist then to understand why we get fat, in most instances, too much food or too little exercise or both.

My advocacy work in the different professional societies I belong to has put me in a position to lead and initiate disease prevention programs that emphasize lifestyle changes. My specialty (endocrinology and diabetes) and my special interest in clinical nutrition are enough reasons for me to rethink and look at what I have missed and failed to do to stay fit. A good friend of mine from high school has shared in our website a write-up she submitted after a high-level personal mastery workshop in a leading financial institution. She outlined clearly the primacy of personal mastery, one’s self-realization of goals, to be able to contribute significantly to one’s organization, and hence, to one’s community and society. This made me look real hard at my current state of fitness, or rather fatness. When I realize that I should know that healthy aging entails more or less only 10% of one’s adult weight, I know that I should do something about my weight and my health really.

Personal mastery, as my friend said, is a requirement if one is to achieve mastery of one’s many functions in his career or in society. When I speak and address various audiences on healthy lifestyle, I realize I need to be a role model for them. I believe I have studied hard and prepared well to be able to share some level of expertise and that is mastery. But then again, I realize that’s really just mastery of the subject matter and perhaps, more precisely, mastery of the form without substance. I would need to act and do something myself if I want to be an honest to goodness health advocate. I often feel sorry when I hear of health professionals, doctors in particular, suffering from illnesses that could have been prevented. The road to health, especially healthy weight, is never easy. But when doctors ask patients to do something that they themselves can not do, what does that speak of us, doctors? Failure to attain personal mastery is perhaps an actual lack of self-control , dwindling willpower and defective discipline. The dictum, “PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF”, even supports the concept of personal mastery as applied to doctors.

I am more certain that I have to do something now before it’s too late. Positive outlook and right attitude can make a big difference. When we hear of patients promising to follow a certain lifestyle modification and bargaining for some grace period, we almost instinctively say: there’s no better time than now, never wait for tomorrow because you will regret it. So I say to all of us, especially to doctors trying to cope with weight issues and health problems, let us listen to what we are saying and let us walk the talk. Let us become master of ourselves and let’s not delay things for tomorrow. Let us do something now for our own good and for the good of many. Let us become true role models for our patients and genuine health advocates in our society. TOMORROW IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. THERE IS NO OTHER TIME BUT TODAY. LET”S START GETTING HEALTHY TODAY!

I’d like to end by saying that I have started to convince a few good friends, who also happen to be my companions in food-tripping, that we need to have a real fitness program for ourselves soon. This early, I am announcing that in the very near future, the Philippine Association for the Study of Overweight and Obesity (PASOO) and the Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (PSEM), will embark on a program for physicians to challenge them to take control of their own weight and health problems. The program will be anchored on the fight against overweight and obesity, in essence, DOCTORS AGAINST OBESITY CAMPAIGN (D-O-C). SO DOC, ARE YOU READY TO TAKE UP THE D-O-C CHALLENGE?