{"id":6410,"date":"2023-02-14T19:22:25","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T19:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifestylemedicine.org\/?p=6410"},"modified":"2025-07-10T22:01:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T22:01:02","slug":"physician-rediscovered-passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifestylemedicine.org\/physician-rediscovered-passion\/","title":{"rendered":"How one physician rediscovered her passion through lifestyle medicine\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How one physician rediscovered her passion through lifestyle medicine  <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Endocrinologist Dr. Mahima Gulati was dissatisfied and on the path to burn out until a discovery that transformed how she lived and practiced medicine.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI felt like I had been living under a rock. How did I not know this? How can I treat people with diabetes and not know the science of lifestyle medicine? I saw that you could become board certified and said \u2018Ok, I have to do this.\u2019 It became my purpose.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 <\/em>Mahima Gulati, MD, DipABLM, FACLM<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Mahima Gulati, MD, DipABLM, FACLM, was at her lowest point when a chance encounter transformed how she approached medicine\u2013and her own life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was 2017, and Dr. Gulati, a busy endocrinologist in Middletown, Conn., struggled to understand why she felt so unfulfilled. She had accomplished her childhood dream of becoming a doctor, earning her degree from a premier, ultracompetitive medical school in her native India, getting into a good residency program followed by an internship and fellowship. She was happily married with two beautiful young children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why so unsatisfied?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs an endocrinologist, you often see the toughest patients,\u201d Dr. Gulati said. \u201cMany of them have had uncontrollable diabetes and years of suffering behind them before they come to you, often in the end stage of diabetes. You start them on insulin and, when they come back, their sugars are still not better, so you increase their insulin and on and on it goes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe our patients\u2019 suffering affects us, and I knew deep down this was not the best that I could be doing. I was struggling to find meaning in my work then. I know now that I was burning out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burnout is a burgeoning problem in health care. The prevalence of physician burnout rose from 38% in 2020 to nearly 63% in 2021,\u00a0according to results<\/a>\u00a0of a study conducted by the American Medical Association, Mayo Clinic and Stanford Medicine. Another 2021 study\u00a0found<\/a>\u00a0that one in three physicians intended to reduce their work hours and one in five planned to leave their practice completely.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Gulati\u2019s second child was born one and a half months premature and, looking back, she wonders if that could have been prevented had she better managed her work stress, sleep, nutrition and overall health. Post-partum upon returning to work, she often wondered in the mornings why she should leave her two young children if she was not finding meaning in her work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Dr. Gulati read about a leadership conference at Harvard University for female physicians and decided to attend. At that conference, she noticed Beth Frates, MD, FACLM, DipABLM, of Harvard Medical School, during a breakout session for women physician leaders\u2019 self-care and wellness. Dr. Frates was in a business suit and hula hooping, laughing and chatting with other physicians who were also in hula hoops.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Gulati had what she described later as an epiphany.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI realized Dr. Frates was the opposite of me,\u201d Dr. Gulati said. \u201cShe was clearly enjoying herself; I was not. She enjoyed her work; I did not. She looked like the kind of person who couldn\u2019t wait to get out of bed in the morning and go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Gulati googled Dr. Frates and watched some of her YouTube videos. For the first time in her medical education or career, she heard the words \u201clifestyle medicine.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new sense of purpose <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic\u202flifestyle\u202finterventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions\u202fincluding,\u202fbut not limited to,\u202fcardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.\u202fLifestyle medicine certified clinicians are trained to apply\u202fevidence-based,\u202fwhole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine\u2014a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connections\u2014also provides effective prevention for these conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Gulati learned that Dr. Frates had\u00a0devoted her career to advancing lifestyle medicine in medical education and was an expert lifestyle medicine consultant and wellness coach. Today Dr. Frates is President of\u00a0American College of Lifestyle Medicine<\/a>\u00a0(ACLM), the\u00a0nation\u2019s medical professional society representing clinicians dedicated to a lifestyle medicine and food-as-medicine\u2013first approach to health care.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Dr. Gulati learned about lifestyle medicine and the scientific evidence that supports it, she felt astounded that she had never learned much about lifestyle behaviors such as nutrition and physical activity in medical school. She wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0A 2019 systematic review published in The Lancet concluded\u00a0that\u00a0nutrition is insufficiently incorporated<\/a>\u00a0into medical education, regardless of country, setting, or year of medical education. This deficit affects students\u2019 knowledge, skills and confidence to implement nutrition care into patient care.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt like I had been living under a rock,\u201d Dr. Gulati said. \u201cHow did I not know this? How can I treat people with diabetes and not know the science of lifestyle medicine? I saw that you could become board certified and said \u2018Ok, I have to do this.\u2019 It became my purpose.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Gulati joined ACLM, which today represents more than 9,000 physicians and other health professionals. It is the only organization that\u00a0educates, equips, and supports certification of physicians<\/a>\u00a0and other clinicians in lifestyle medicine. The organization was highlighted at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in September for providing 100,000 health care professionals complimentary registration for a 5.5-hour \u201cLifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Essentials\u201d CME\/CE accredited online course bundle. Clinicians can register for the free course\u00a0here.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Dr. Gulati acquired the continuing medical education credits required to sit for the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine exam, she began to apply the pillars of lifestyle medicine to her own life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She transitioned to a predominantly whole food, plant-based dietary pattern, committed to regular physical activity, improved her sleep habits and practiced mindfulness. She was struck by how helpful the pillars would have been to her in medical school, where all-nighters, stress and unhealthy lifestyle habits were practically a badge of honor. Self-care was nonexistent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She read\u00a0one survey<\/a>\u00a0showing that physicians who perform aerobic exercise regularly are more likely to counsel their patients on the benefits of these exercises, as are physicians who perform strength training.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis opened my eyes to why I needed to get more physical activity myself, because my personal health behaviors would rub on to my patients! I compare it to putting on your own airplane oxygen mask before helping the person next to you,\u201d Dr. Gulati said. \u201cIf I don\u2019t do it myself, how I am I going to be able to talk about it convincingly in good faith to a patient? How am I going to be honest as a scientist as I am telling someone with two jobs \u2018Oh, you need to take care of yourself\u2019 if I myself never take time to care for my personal health?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also came to realize the unintended impact a doctor who is suffering from burnout has on patients. One patient mentioned to Dr. Gulati that the primary care doctor who had referred her seemed jaded and warned her to never let her child go to medical school.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t what they were hoping to get from their physician,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I was the patient, I would have felt the same way. I would not have wanted to go to a burned-out or jaded physician. Because maybe they are in their own head and are not going to listen and provide the optimal solution to my<\/i> problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHearing this from a patient about another physician made me realize that our patients can sense their provider\u2019s unease and suffering very easily in that brief clinical encounter, so we have to make deliberate efforts to work on our own health and happiness, too. As a profession, we are very poor at recognizing our own discomfort, we keep putting ourselves last.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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