I was in my third year of fellowship in gastroenterology. I was very successful professionally. I had completed my MBBS at PSG Medical College, Coimbatore, a Master’s in Public Health at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and an MD in Internal Medicine at Wayne State University, Detroit, before getting into a gastroenterology fellowship. While I thought my life was rosy and that there was nothing ahead but building towers of happiness, I didn’t realize that my foundation was very weak.

During my third-year fellowship, while seeing a patient, my heart rate shot up to 200, and I felt dizzy. In the history of medicine, this might be the first time that the “patient” asked the doctor, “Are you OK?” They wheeled me into the emergency room. It turned out that I had an abnormal heart rhythm with a mild heart attack, and they decided to “shock” my heart. This was the biggest shock of my life!

Although I physically recovered from the shock, I realized that I had abused my body so much that I was ashamed—I was a doctor, yet I had made no effort to maintain my own health. I thought my patients were laughing at the joke I made when I told them to lose weight, but I then realized that they weren’t laughing with me; they were laughing at me!

What went wrong?
 Like much of the Indian immigrant population, I was focused on settling down in life with the highest degree possible, while my waist circumference was expanding to the maximum degree possible. The “shock” I experienced made me revisit my priorities. I promised myself that I would get healthy for my son. I wanted to be in my best shape until he turns 18.

I started reading a lot of books, listening to many podcasts, and watching numerous YouTube channels about health and nutrition. I tried almost every method, but nothing worked for me because my lifestyle was extremely busy. The only thing that fit my lifestyle was time-restricted feeding. I stuck to it religiously for 28 days, started feeling fresh and energetic, and completed 66 days. For the first time, I lost weight, which motivated me to learn more about being healthy.

I lost 50 pounds over the span of 3 years. I am in the best shape of my life, but believe I can still do better. I came to social media accidentally when one of my videos about COVID awareness went viral. Once COVID became history, I went on to use my social media presence to share the healthy habits I’ve learned, build a healthier community and make an impact on successful disease prevention.