The inspirational Dr Keisha Buchanan

THERE are two sides to every coin and in the case of Dr Keisha Buchanan, obstetrician-gynaecologist (ObGyn), when it comes to fitness and well-being her jovial and kind demeanour switches to serious and intense.

Dr Buchanan, who is the owner of ICON Medical Centre at Musgrave Professional Suites, told All Woman that her decision to go into medicine hinged on a desire to care for people and keep them well emotionally and physically while being supportive.

But after one impactful event as an ObGyn, she said she made up her mind that she would ensure she always impacted someone’s life positively.

“There was a young lady one month older than me with stage four ovarian cancer. She had lost a lot of weight, her abdomen was distended with fluid, and I began reflecting because it could have been me. From that procedure you could have expected a prognosis of one year or even six months to live and that was what we unfortunately would have told her, but she did the chemotherapy and changed her diet, maybe there was some divine intervention, and she is alive now and healthy. But it makes you realise your life is special, you have to enjoy it to the fullest, and each day of your life see how you impact somebody’s life in a positive way. It’s not just about me,” she said.

And so, with a passion for fitness and a healthy lifestyle, Dr Buchanan decided that her way to help would include doing her part to fight the obesity epidemic we currently face. But she had to be the change she wanted to see.

“We are experiencing a major problem with obesity in our country — an explosion or epidemic. I was overweight by about 15 pounds and I really struggled to lose that weight for about two years. I didn’t feel like myself. I felt lethargic,” she said. “So last June I started running with Sonic Steppers and we did some intense runs like three, six, and even eight-mile runs starting at 4:00 am and guess what? The weight came off by August.”

She added: “What got me going was going with a group rather than on my own. It helped to push me having them to call,wake you up and run with you. Once you reach a certain level of fitness and get over that hill, it gets easier. The hours were challenging so I didn’t get to consistently stay, but 5:00 am is now my time to get up and get going. I’m now back at a level where I feel myself and I’m really inspired by the energy of the club, the dedication, and seeing the impact on myself. I started to do 5K runs and realised I really liked it and so I made it part of my life.”

Subsequently, Dr Buchanan began posting her journey on her Facebook page to inspire her patients, as she believes everyone should be physically active and should find something they like to keep them moving.

But she realised there was one problem — her patients had issues with their work hours and free time. This led her to start a weight loss challenge free of cost to anyone, with incentives like gym memberships and spa packages in order to boost efforts at losing weight.

“Every month at the beginning we screen and weigh the patients… it’s free, anybody can come. You don’t have to be my patient. It’s also open to men. You come in to get weighed and you’re offered a referral to a dietician and dietary advice, then 30 days later you weigh again and after the month if you lose eight pounds or more, you qualify to win. Some exceed the eight pounds and it’s something I’ve started to encourage people to lose weight. We’re now at round two,” she said.

Dr Buchanan says many people exercise and do not diet, but she encourages people to pair the two as that will give the best results.

“Some will exercise but because the diet isn’t right the weight won’t budge. It’s important to watch what you eat. The thing right now is that a lot of the food you eat is processed and loaded with sugar. So, for example, there are certain flavoured waters and one regular bottle is what a person would consume. Some have 15 or 20 grams of sugar, which exceeds the amount of sugar you should have for the day, so I’m an advocate in that. Be very cognisant of what you’re eating, read your labels,” she said.

With regards to women, the ObGyn said obesity and being overweight causes many problems, especially for those who are pregnant.

“Pregnant women who are obese are more likely to develop diabetes, hypertension, have more C-sections, wound infections. Obesity leads to period problems, period irregularities, and fertility problems. Obesity is a big issue with many illnesses we see, so getting it under control results in better outcomes and fewer problems,” Dr Buchanan said.

Moreso, Dr Buchanan plans to start a 5K group for her patients in order to spur more people to get on board the weight loss journey.

She’s also a strong advocate of Pap smears, HPV vaccination and mammograms, and believes women should not leave anything to chance.

During her spare time she can be found engaging her artistic side, reading or spending time with family.

“I’m intuitive. I wasn’t taught to paint, but I can do sketches of people and paint. I generally like acrylic on canvas or oil on canvas, but I can do pencil sketches and I also like interior design and I played an active role in the design of my office,” she said.

Also a traveller who enjoys discovering Jamaica and the musical likes of Prince, Michael Jackson and Lenny Kravitz, Dr Buchanan holds fast to being grateful for opportunities and trying to help people while making a positive impact on their lives.