About Me
Hi, I’m Michael
Welcome to my blog! This is where I discuss everything related to feel-good high-performance health.
When it comes to our mind and body, only the highest quality information diet should be followed. And that’s what I aim to give you here.
I guess the natural question is, what makes me qualified to talk about health or performance?
Great question!
The one-sentence story is: my love affair with health and performance grew from my long background as a patient, as well as my ongoing practice as a medical doctor.
But if you want the long version, we’ll have to rewind a little.
A Small Dose Of The Story So Far
In my second year of life, I became life-threateningly sick.
I developed sepsis from a lung infection that was resistant to antibiotics and needed surgery.
However, this was a developing nation in the 90s; healthcare was costly. Let alone the cost of a specialist surgeon and a prolonged stay in intensive care.
However, with the support of amazing friends, family, and the local community, my parents managed to pool together the necessary funds to pay for the life-saving treatment.
I underwent cardiothoracic (chest) surgery and 6 weeks later I was discharged with a cool scar for my troubles.
Now I don’t remember any of this but reflecting on this story inspires the following thoughts:
1) We all think we’ll live forever but our health is fragile and not to be taken for granted.
2) I will spend my life trying to repay my parents for the life they gave me twice over.
A few years after my health encounter, we moved to the UK.
And a few years after that, I found myself once again spending a lot of time in the hospital.
What started as simple appendicitis became repeated bowel blockages and surgeries. To top it off, I tore my meniscus (shock absorber in your knee) playing football and needed surgery for this.
My cool scar collection grew a lot at this time.
But eventually, with the help of surgeons, paediatricians, dieticians, physiotherapists, nurses, and many other incredible healthcare professionals, I walked out of the hospital in good health.
It was this second set of health issues that made me realise the profound impact you can have on others’ lives as a healthcare professional.
It’s cliche, but being a patient inspired me to become a doctor.
Skipping forward again, I eventually gained a place at a London medical school.
It was here that I began my deep dive into health and performance.
I learnt about nutrition and how food impacts our physical and mental health. It wasn’t until this time that the phrase you are what you eat really sunk in.
I decided I wanted to become bigger, faster, and stronger. I began weightlifting, callisthenics, yoga, rock climbing and more. I saw myself transform from a lifelong skinny kid into someone who looked and felt strong. I worked through lots of injuries and educated myself on the science of injury prevention and recovery.
I learnt how powerful sleep was when it came to overall physical and mental performance. Ironically, people are sleeping on the power of sleep! I studied the scientific literature and put the knowledge to work in troubleshooting my own sleep issues.
Lastly, the demands of med school led me to become interested in productivity and the science of mental focus. Needing to study for 12 hours a day demanded that I get the best from my brain. And I realised that we all have mental potential waiting to be unlocked.
Fast forward again and I’m now years into full-time work as a doctor.
And man, medicine has been an adventure like nothing I could have imagined.
The job is challenging, but also incredibly satisfying. Having a direct role in helping people get back on their feet and leave the hospital, just like many others did for me in my childhood, has been an honour and a dream come true.
That said, medicine is also mentally and emotionally draining. In the first few years of work, I felt the weight of the job on my mental health.
In my search for ways to cope, I stumbled upon mindfulness, meditation, and psychological philosophies like Stoicism. Altogether these had the effect of reducing stress, increasing resilience, and elevating my day-to-day happiness.
Whilst I’ve always understood the importance of mental health from a clinical perspective, it was this period of my life that gave me a more personal understanding of what it means to take care of one’s mental well-being.
And that’s the brief story of how I’ve built up my bank of knowledge on all aspects of healthy living.
But, there’s just one problem… I don’t use a lot of this knowledge in my day-to-day practice!
As rewarding as my job is, it doesn’t quite scratch my itch to talk about all things nutrition, exercise, recovery, productivity, mental well-being, and more.
Enter this blog. I decided to start this blog so that I could share all that I’ve learned as both a patient and a professional.
I want to empower you, the reader, with the same knowledge that helped me reach various health and performance goals so that you can do the same.
My mission statement is feel-good high-performance health.
I hope you enjoy your time here and you leave with valuable information.
Cheers,
Michael
My Mission Statement
1. Present evidence-based best practices for healthy living.
2. Empower readers to understand their mind and body.
3. Share resources that promote high-performance health practices.
4. Share products that help readers achieve their health goals.