When I could hardly follow BTS JK’s boxing video: Wellness diary of a BTS Army nearing 50

SECOND OF 4 ESSAYS

All my life, I struggled with my weight. But in June last year, it dawned on me that I was getting nearer to 50 sooner than I ever imagined, and I had an epiphany: More than obsessing over the scale, I should focus on how I could feel healthier and stronger. I should be concerned with my overall well-being, and not just how much I weighed.

In early 2022, I experienced persistent joint and muscle pains, which I initially dismissed as part of what I have to endure chronically because I have cervical spondylosis, and because I had chikungunya in 2016. I also had a sudden weight gain after losing some pounds in mid-2021. I wondered if these were symptoms of perimenopause.

I signed up for one-on-one boxing classes, but instead of feeling pumped up (as I see in BTS’ Jungkook whenever he uploads his boxing videos), I felt so exhausted and weak. I stopped exercising, save for the few times I went on the treadmill for 20 minute brisk walks on incline. I felt fatigued the whole day even though I hardly had any physical activity. I would wake up tired.

Interestingly, I had an executive check-up in July 2022. Except for my being overweight (I was 62.85 kg, BMI 25.5 kg/m2) and having an elevated LDL cholesterol, the attending physician described me as “disgustingly healthy” for my age. I was 46.

I was also told, however, to consider hypothyroidism and to have my thyroid hormones (FT4 and FT3) checked because of my persistent joint and muscle aches, fatigue, weakness, weight gain, or difficulty losing weight—all of which were symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Overall, I was advised to modify my lifestyle to address my excess weight and bad cholesterol, which meant I should adopt a regular physical activity or exercise daily and be more mindful of my diet—which, for me who’s always been lazy and who’s always loved to eat, are the two hardest things to do.

But I couldn’t commit to a fitness program because I was bound for Busan, South Korea, for BTS’ Yet to Come concert in October, after my sister and I won free tickets to the event. Any ARMY who reads this will understand. It was the band’s last concert together before their mandatory military enlistment. I. Had. To. Be. There.

After I returned from my Korean vacation with my mom and sister, schedules became hectic, the holidays were around the corner, and whatever lifestyle change I had in mind was, well, forgotten.

Soon enough, 2023 rolled in and it had been a year since I first felt the fatigue, weakness, and weight gain. My doctors had my FT4, FT3, and TSH checked. While some numbers were high, they concluded I don’t have hypothyroidism. Was it an auto-immune thing? One of my doctors wondered.

I went to a rheumatologist in April the same year and she had all the pertinent tests done. When the results came back, it was a relief to know that I didn’t have any auto-immune disease. I was lacking in vitamin D, and that was what was causing the fatigue and joint and muscle pains. The doctor said I needed more sun, and advised me to take vitamin D.

I began to feel a little better. The joint and muscle pain lessened after I started taking a good dose of vitamin D daily.

By June, however, my symptoms were back. Moreover, I wasn’t sleeping well. I’d wake up in the middle of the night and would have a hard time going back to sleep. I also gained so much weight from a trip to the States and South Korea over the summer, I could hardly button my jeans.

I signed up with the functional medicine care team of my friend, Chelie Arabelo, a functional medicine certified health coach and a professional chef. With us were Dr. Aisa Yamamoto, a general and functional medicine practitioner, functional nutritionist-dietitian Ayer Ayo, and fitness coach, Ken Rioveros. Together, we mapped out my health program.

I was set to watch BTS’ Suga’s concert in Seoul that month and I’d be there for a week, but I still told Chelie I wanted to start with the program that follows the fundamentals of functional medicine. I didn’t like how I felt and how I looked.

I first heard about functional medicine in 2016, when it was a fairly new discipline in the Philippines. Simply put, functional medicine traces the root causes of illnesses and uses a personalized approach in addressing a patient’s needs. It seeks not just relief from whatever is ailing a person but aims to introduce a permanent improvement in one’s overall well-being.

Dr. Aisa is an Institute for Functional Medicine certified practitioner. Ayer has been providing nutrition counseling for more than five years to people with a variety of health concerns, including autoimmune diseases, cardiometabolic syndrome, and PCOS.

Ken, a registered nurse, has been in the health and fitness industry for more than 12 years and is a CrossFit trainer and athlete. He also specializes in functional fitness, strength, and conditioning, and lifestyle coaching.

All five of us would be working together for three months towards my health goals. We would address the cause of my chronic joint and muscle pains and my fatigue, as well as my weight gain.

Dr. Aisa assured me that everything they would recommend would be anchored on my health goals. “It takes a village,” she said, “to manage a person’s health.” She said that each one on the team would help me identify and address the challenges and difficulties that I would encounter along the way.

One of the first questions the team asked me was how committed I was to the program.

I said I was all in. As a freelancer, I’m free to build my schedule, incorporating work and personal activities. I had a major project set in August, but I was confident that I could manage my time.

I was also very confident that I’d be able to do Coach Ken’s exercises while I was in Seoul for Suga’s concert. I also told Ayer that I could follow her recommended diet while I was on my trip since there’s abundance of kimchi, vegetables, and protein in Korea.

As functional medicine traces the underlying causes of illnesses, part of it is learning about one’s medical history, which meant I had to fill out several forms and answer long questionnaires .

In the program, I also had to fill out a food journal, where I took note of everything I ate. Whatever I said in the surveys and the diary was important because that was the information Chelie and Ayer needed for health coaching and the diet designed for me, respectively.

I shared with the team my lab results from my executive check-up in July 2022 and from the tests run by my rheumatologist in April 2023. A month after I began my program, I had a body composition analysis at the LifeScience Center in BGC.

All these provided the team scientific benchmarks on how to address my symptoms and help me get better and healthier.

(Next: Team work)

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