I first met Poch Bermudez a few weeks ago at a diabetes lay forum in Nestle Philippines. I talked about lifestyle modification in diabetes and Poch talked about his personal journey for wellness after being diagnosed with diabetes.
Poch is the founder of the Philippine Diabetic Athletes (PDAT), a non-stock, non-profit organization that seeks to inspire Filipino diabetics to have an active and healthy lifestyle. He is also a founding member of Team Triabetics, a team of diabetic endurance athletes who educate, inspire and give others hope to overcome diabetes through different sports.
Listening to Poch, I was struck when he said that weight loss is NOT the goal. The goal is a healthy lifestyle through good nutrition and increased physical activity. Weight loss is just the CONSEQUENCE of the change to a healthier lifestyle. As an endocrinologist, I often talk about GOALS to my patients – what’s the goal blood pressure, what the blood sugar levels should be, how low the bad cholesterol has to get, etc. And of course, how much weight loss I expect before the next follow-up! Poch talked about how depressing it can get just trying to get to those numbers. His message was don’t obsess with the numbers because you will get there soon enough if you keep on striving for a healthier lifestyle.
After joining the Philippine Society of Endocrinology & Metabolism kick-off activity (Palarong Pilipino: Pagkilos Laban Sa Diabetes) at Quezon Memorial Circle, why don’t you drop by at Glorietta 4 Activity Center? PDAT is holding a free seminar – Lose Weight, Get Active … Fight Diabetes!