All About Balance

My journey to better health and pursuing a career I love.

My journey to study and work in the field of Diabetes and Obesity Medicine began with my own pursuit of finding ‘balance’. As a college/medical student I was self-conscious about my own weight and health, striving to find the right balance between pursuing a career, maintaining a social life, being an active friend/daughter/sister and maintaining healthy lifestyle choices. I know many who are hustling, careering, family(ing) who have experienced this same struggle.  

I put my own health and nutrition on the back burner for several years.  I would stay up late, eat (all sorts) of unhealthy food, and experienced a yoyo of weight fluctuations.  There was a moment (circa 2010) when I felt so overwhelmed trying to become the best version of me when I realized I was making all the wrong choices.  I needed to reevaluate my priorities, which started with my personal relationships. I decided that I would let go of relationships in my life that did not provide any positive energy. Trust me, this was initially difficult. But I felt a great sense of relief when I began to surround myself with friends and family that had my best interests in place. This has been a game changer in my life bringing me peace. There are so few hours in the day, and focusing my energy on the people and the things that matter the most to me has allowed me to be the most productive in my work and family life.

My first personal cleanse brought such great results that I began studying other ways of improving how you feel.  After quite a bit of research it became clear that nutrition decidedly affects weight, mood and mental health. When I reflected on moments of high personal stress, I noticed my reliance on heavily processed foods. Furthermore, I never actually felt satisfied when consuming them. The science behind inflammation and how our food industry is unfortunately one of the main drivers of the obesity epidemic in our country.  Even less fortunate is that I had to conduct research outside of my medical school curriculum to discover this. Armed with this new information I made a change to focus on real foods. I stopped eating “low fat” packaged meals and ‘diet soda’ and started reading nutrition labels and I began to create a true “balance” in my meals.  Almost immediately I started to feel better, I wasn’t consuming less calories, I was just eating real food, and I began to lose unhealthy weight! 

Incorporating regular nutritional changes takes a lot of effort.  Candidly, it’s not something I can adhere to 365 days a year because (I am human) realistically we have to also practice self care and not over-regulate ourselves. However, making this overall lifestyle and nutrition change has improved my life.  I have more energy, my joints feel better and those days I fall off the wagon my body knows right away it needs to be redirected. 

There is another area of focus I have devoted significant attention to alleviate stress and increase daily energy: physical activity (exercise).  I’m fairly petite (at a whopping height of 5’2”) but competently athletic. However, as a young girl I was very shy and was apprehensive to participate in active sports. My biggest driver to finding my inner athlete has been meeting my now husband, Andrew. He is a health and conditioning coach with a passion for fitness and lifestyle. Our early days of dating consisted of me trying to catch up to him on long runs and outdoor exercising. I began strength training and running consistently and in 2018 I completed the NYC half marathon at a stellar 8:00 mile pace. Exercising is certainly one of my biggest stress relievers and I am so grateful to have the ability to remain physically active even when the winter days are short and time is limited. Exercise has truly been a staple in my life to finding balance. 

My desire to pursue medicine is rooted in my passion to develop relationships and create positive change for individuals. Upon completion of my Family Medicine residency I realized the gap in knowledge helping people find that same “balance” I was striving for myself. The majority of my patients are troubled with diabetes, heart disease or suffering from unhealthy weight. My desire and passion to want to provide the best possible care and outcomes for my patients led me to pursue a Diabetes/Metabolism Fellowship. Today I practice both Obesity and Diabetes Medicine. I focus my practice on teaching my patients to create that “balance” within the pillars of nutrition, behavior, and physical activity. I help patients create their own goals that work towards making positive behavior changes that ultimately avoid temptation from old habits. The journey to living a fulfilled and healthy life is not straightforward as there will be curveballs, ups and downs. But KNOWING that balance and recognizing how to redirect will create consistency towards living your best possible health and optimal life. 

What are the challenges you encounter to find your balance? Are you ready to make a change? 
Comment Below!