By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez –
Dr. Belinda Jordan who is originally from Laredo, has a very interesting story filled with great struggles of being a teen mom but at the same time is also filled with great accomplishments.
She graduated from the University of Texas Health Sciences in San Antonio and did her residency through the University of Texas Health Center.
Her parents Felipe and Hilda Villarreal have always been loving and supportive and that was the strongest factor as she was growing up and now as a professional’
“My father worked as an administrator for the Laredo ISD and now with the alternative schools. My mother is a teacher in Laredo as well,” she told Mega Doctor News.
“I came to the Valley because I fell in love with the area, which has the perfect mix of small towns with big city amenities,” she said.
She pointed out that it was not difficult for her to settle in and to start her practice.
As a doctor, Dr. Jordan loves to help patients, and helps them achieve their goals. “What I am doing now is helping people to lose weight, to see them improve their health and wellbeing becomes very satisfying for me,” she said.
How do you accomplish that? “In order to do that, I approach the patient in four different ways concerning; their diet, exercise, behavior and treat them with medications.”
Dr. Jordan said that behavior is a very important factor to consider because many people are emotional eaters. “If they eat when they are angry or upset we teach them alternative ways such as, instead of eating when you are angry go out and walk if off and turn the episode from negative to a positive.”
According to her this is important to take into consideration because emotional eating will start feeding your feelings.
When you’re happy, your food of choice could be steak or pizza, when you’re sad it could be ice cream or cookies, and when you’re bored it could be potato chips. Food does more than fill our stomach — it also satisfies feelings, and when you quench those feelings with comfort food when your stomach isn’t growling, that’s called emotional eating.
Dr. Jordan is part of The Renaissance Bariatric and Metabolic Institute (BMI). The institute has a comprehensive program aimed to provide care and personalized attention helping patients work towards their weight loss goals.
According to her, the program offers proven and effective techniques for treating obesity and its related complications using a team approach. The full-time support team, which includes dietitians and nurses, is dedicated to providing the best pre-operative and post-operative care for every patient.
What are your immediate and long-range plans? “I think that Doctors Hospital at Renaissance has big plans for the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute and my hope is to be part of those plans. I believe that our community will be surprised when they see what we have in store for them.”
What is the fulfillment of your career to you? “When I help them find their way to accomplish their goals, I think that is satisfying. The fact that I had bariatric surgery myself and I am able to share my personal experiences with them helps them understand that I have been there and I can guide them.”
Who inspired you to become a doctor? “Many people have inspired me in my life, my father, my teachers, my husband and my children. All of them have been part of my journey to become a doctor and I can’t say that there has been one specific person that has influenced me.”
Dr. Jordan said that she is married to Richard Jordan and they have two children, Carmen 24 and Philip 18.
Aside from being a professional medical doctor, Dr. Jordan is very active with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a volunteer and also raises funds for them. “I run half-marathons on their behalf, until now I have participated in six of them and raised more than $ 10,000.00 for the society,” she said.
Running has become one of her hobbies based on the fact that she participates with LLS. “This has become a great part of my life, helping charities.”
She loves to spend time with her family. “My daughter likes acting and my son is a musician. I am not very creative but they are.” Among the activities she does in order to fight stress, she meditates, reads and runs.
Did you give up or sacrificed other opportunities along the way to become a doctor? “That is such a loaded question. I am a teen mom; there is a lot of different ways my life could have ended up,” she said. “I had my children when I was very young and I pursued my dreams and my ambitions with the support of my family and my husband. That is why I have been able to accomplish what I have and I am grateful.
As a final comment, Dr. Jordan said, “If I wanted to say that I sacrificed something to become a doctor, I was a teacher before this career and I enjoyed being a teacher but I feel that this change has made me a stronger doctor because now I use my background of teaching at The Renaissance Bariatric and Metabolic Institute.” MDN
