Physical prowess

So falling asleep last night was stupid. Like 2.5 hours of stupid. Seriously. My body can't turn off the worry. I read until my eyes are tired and then I still can't sleep. So what was going to be a restful 7ish hours of sleep turned into a not-so-restful 4.5 hours. Booo.

Anywho, today we had our epidemiology (it's formally called biostatistics, but whatevers) exam. I really like math and statistics, so I wasn't too worried about the exam. I did just fine and left after about an hour (though we were allotted 3). I hit up the gym and was feeling all good about myself. Then I got home and watched the lecture I skipped and now I'm in the midst of doing some pharmacology. But, the excitement doesn't stop there.

So, one of my favorite yoga instructors (Daniel) told us last week that doing head stands improves your ability to focus. He didn't know why, but he'd heard that. So, I decided to do some headstands at home. Obviously, I still had to use a wall, but I was pumped that I could do it. Then I decided to try my hand at shoulder stands because in class, I usually don't even try to do them (mostly because they look hard, but also because I've never been taught). So, I figured out how to get into the pose and then played around with it. After that, I figured, why not try doing a bridge/back bend (since I've always been to scared to try that in class)? Bam. Was able to do that too. What up?!

So, basically, today was awesome because of my physical prowess. Passing epidemiology with a pretty legit score? Who cares? 

Finals week!

Yesterday was stupidly unproductive. I woke up around 7:30 and got ready to go to Rays of Hope to pick up some medical supplies for my upcoming trip to Uganda. Let me just say: whoa. It's ridiculous how much stuff they just gave me for free. Also, that organization is doing so much good in this world. It's amazing. I would love to get involved with them! But, you need free time and money - things which I am currently lacking as of right now.

Anywho, after my trip gathering supplies, I headed to yoga, got home, did some laundry and studied and then it was 8:00 and I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I was exhausted and told myself that though I didn't accomplish everything I needed to that I should probably sleep because I wasn't performing at my best. So, I slept from about 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. I feel much, much better. But now I'm probably a bit further behind than I should be. Oops.

This morning I hit the gym, helped my mom with some computer issues, and am now updating so I can spend the rest of the day studying. Sounds exciting, eh? I'm just glad I got all the little things out of the way so that I have nothing else to distract me from getting done everything I need to get done. And now I don't need to leave my apt, which is really nice since it's ridiculously cold and is occasionally snowing.

Cheers to finals week, folks!

Today's breakfast

Sleeping and knees

Sleeping. It's been a struggle as of late. I'm exhausted during the day and then when I lay down to sleep, I just can't fall asleep. And then when it's time to get up, I feel like the waking dead for at least a half hour. It's not good. And today, I had to get up early because otherwise I didn't think I'd be able to get a gym trip in. So what happened? No gym trip. Gah. I need a sleep schedule, people.

Whoops? I may be able to sneak one in later today, but now I'm not so sure because my knees are aching so badly that I had my breakfast with a nice side dish of ibuprofen. I'm going to blame it on the thousands of lunges we did on Wednesday. 

Anyway, I was thinking I could sneak in a workout tonight, but my friend Jenna is coming into town tonight and I'd much rather hang out with her than break a sweat. Although, we may bust out my new Just Dance 4 tonight. So perhaps I will get a bit of exercise in. Who knows. But really, with how my knees feel right now (pre-ibuprofen setting in), I would rather ice them than do anything else.

Anywho, I'm off to school!

Umm, I lied...?

When I said I'd be blogging here everyday, I mostly meant that I'd be blogging here as much as I wanted to/had time to/sorry I lied.

So, now that that's off my chest, I probably should tell you that committing to blog more during finals season is just dumb. I had an exam this morning and though I could have been more productive and blogged yesterday, I didn't. But what I did do was make two gym trips: cardio in the morning and yoga in the evening. I had the same yoga instructor I had on Saturday. Her name was Lauren and I've never had her before. She was a big fan of lunges yesterday and oh man, my quads were not a fan of her by the end. But I did like how she came around and adjusted people in their poses. I only got adjusted once, but I appreciate instructors who make sure you're feeling the right thing and actually getting something out of it. And my hamstrings and hips really opened up during that session, so I'm glad I went. That being said, Daniel is still my favorite.

Anywho, I'm coordinating a scrub drive at my school for my trip back to Uganda and found out about a great organization right in Grand Rapids that donates medical supplies to developing countries. It's called Rays of Hope. If you find yourself with a little change to spare this holiday, please donate to them! I'm heading there on Saturday to pick out some things to take to the hospital in Uganda to help them out maybe just a little bit. And the best thing about Rays of Hope is that they'll give these medical supplies to me all completely free! That's huge! And so, so awesome.

And update on where I am fitness-wise. Well, I ate a lot of peanut butter today and never really had a proper meal - it was just snacking when I got hungry due to today's pretty hectic schedule. I also didn't make it to the gym due to today's schedule (exam, two hours of lecture, orthodontist appointment, required presentation about my refugee family I've been helping), but I'll be heading there nice and early tomorrow morning!

Catch you guys later!

So much pressure

I put a lot of pressure on myself and rarely give myself credit. I'm sure a lot of people do. Well, I know a lot of people do, because I know a lot of those people. Anyway, I say this because I think that's one of the reasons I have a hard time losing weight. I set myself up for failure by being really extreme and really hard on myself. Like, if I slip up just once, the world is ending. If I miss a work out, I get really down on myself. It's ridiculous.

But for some reason, when these things happen, I can't just think to myself, "Danika. You're in medical school. You've got a lot on your plate and you're still making time to be healthy. Good work. Don't freak out when you slip up once."

Normally, it goes something like this: "Danika. Seriously? You couldn't wake up just a little bit earlier to go do some cardio? You couldn't say no to that slice of pizza? You're never going to lose weight. It's like you don't even want to." And then I go and either eat a bunch more food I don't need (because if I've already failed, why not really fail?) or I just go to bed and tell myself I'll do better tomorrow.

It's stupid. It's annoying. And it happens a lot. I'm working on it.

On a happier note, I've already ellipticaled this morning and shortly, I'll be heading back to the gym to do yoga with my favorite yoga instructor. What up, two gym trips in one day!?

Anywho, I've gotta go study. Here's a pic of what I gobbled down as I was writing this:

Today's breakfast

Shame on you google/Crunch time

So I think I figured it out. I can't use pictures from my camera, but if I upload them from my phone, google will totes post them on the blog. I will look into finding a new host domain, but this is so convenient and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get suckered in to paying for this stupid blog thanks to google. Shame on you, google. SHAME!

Anyway, I have exactly two weeks until I'm off to Uganda again. That 20 pound goal I set for my departure date? So not going to happen. But, I'm in crunch mode. So, during crunch mode, I'll be hitting the gym up a bit more, blogging here everyday and logging all my calories. Oh, and studying. Since, you know, I have three exams in the next 12 days. Womp, womp.

Here are some phone pics of food from days past:

Boo on you, google.

So, I took lots of pictures today, buuuuut, google isn't letting my upload them because I met my 1GB limit with Picasa. If anyone knows how to delete photos so I don't have to pay for storage, please let me know because I'm definitely not paying for storage.

Strangely, it will let me upload photos from my phone, just not from my computer. So, I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Anyway, I literally wasted about a half hour trying to figure out how to get free storage for my pictures and now I really don't have time to write a legit entry. Maybe tomorrow?

Sorries.

Icing my knees

Today is the first day I've iced my knees since starting school again. It's both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because it's taken so long for me to get to this point, but it's bad because, for me, icing is a last resort type of deal. But I could legit feel this coming all day. I'm not sure why. I haven't been running (I have been doing the elliptical instead) and I've been taking ibuprofen like it's my job (which, you know, could be bad for GI bleeds, but whatever...).

Anywho, I've been being good about my logging my calories. However, sometimes I cheat. It'll be the end of the day and I will be like eh, what's another 100 calories or so? But for the past few days, I've been legit not cheating. So, hopefully I'll lose more than 0.2 pounds this week... We'll see. It's been pretty trying, mostly because my self control is pretty pathetic.

Aaaaaand, that's about it. We have a monstrously huge exam on Monday, so I'm sure I'll post again next week after I don't die (hopefully).

I miss running

I'm doing pretty well this week. Besides being so overwhelmed that I'm legitimately shutting down. But, I have been going to the gym everyday (except yesterday). I miss running though. Well, maybe I don't miss running. But, I do miss leaving the gym so disgustingly sweaty that it feels as though I've showered with my clothes on. Maybe when my shins stop being so splinty, I won't have to worry about it. I did try running earlier this week, but it was about 0.1 miles in when my shins were all, "Oh, hell no." So, I hopped on the elliptical instead, which is still sweaty, but it never makes me feel like death will be better. So basically I doubt it's as good of a workout.

Anyway, I'm off to bed so I can get up early and hit the gym.

Making it happen

Sooo, I'm still completely overwhelmed. And last week all I wanted to do was be a hermit and stay in my apt and not deal with how ridiculously terrified I am of hematology and oncology. This week I need to stop being a baby and go to school...and the gym...

So, I've already moved all of my stuff back to school and am getting ready to be exhausted all week. Back are the early morning gym days. Le sigh. It's necessary, folks. Gotta make it happen!

Also, despite having a bad week in terms of eating/logging calories/going to the gym, I still lost some weight...a whopping 0.2 pounds. It's still a loss, folks ;-)

Next week: 213.8 please!

And more photos pour toi!

Protein smoothie

Fish taco for lunch

Salmon for dinner - it was mediocre at best

Bailey being ridiculously regal

See you tomorrow, internet besties!

Lamesies

I am lame. It's a Friday night and I just finished up doing some school work. And what did I do for fun to break it up a bit? Took a long shower and shaved my legs. Yeah. I sure do live a crazy life.

Anywho, my sleep schedule is getting back on track so it's time for me to head to bed, but I wanted to let you guys know that I will give you a longer post tomorrow!

Normal flora

So since yesterday was Halloween, I allowed myself to have dessert and candy for the first time since August. My stomach is still pissed at me for that. I've apologized profusely, but it was all, "Effing seriously, Danika? We were all repopulated with different normal flora since your sugar intake has been significantly down as of late and then you had to go and throw everything off balance." "I said I was sorry!" "Well, either way you're going to have to pay." And thus, I spent today studying at home.

I also haven't gone to the gym since Monday. Mostly because my knees seem to be in cahoots with my stomach and are making me pay. For what, I'm not sure. Probably all the running. I'M SORRY. Kind of. Not really. Whatever. I'm thinking tomorrow I'm going to finally go to the gym.

Also, my sleep schedule is so, so, so off right now. But I intend to wake up at the ass crack of dawn (which, roughly translated, is 6 a.m.) and then be tired all day and go to bed early to try to reset myself. We'll see how this goes. I'm thinking it's going to be terrible. But that's just a guess.

And on a random note: today we had to do two breast exams on simulated patients. I probably should have felt awkward about it, but I was all, "Yeah, I think I could do this for the rest of my life." Okay. That sounded awkward, but what I mean is that I feel as though I could be an OB/GYN. It doesn't make me uncomfortable to talk about sex or vaginas or anything like that. Plus, I feel as though if I have to be up at night to be at a hospital, I'd rather be awake to deliver a baby than admit an 80 year-old for chest pain. Yes, I am an asshole.

Anywho, today's eats were super random and I didn't take pictures. Buuuut, I do have a picture of me and one of my best friend's kid from yesterday. He was a monster. And adorable. Yup, definitely adorable.

Rough morning

It was a rough morning. Like I couldn't get out of bed. Okay, well, maybe I could have, but I really, really, really didn't want to, so I, uh...didn't? At least not until 8:15, which, once upon a time, was super early for me to be out of bed. Anywho, I decided to skip the gym this morning. Mostly because my knees were so achy that I couldn't fall asleep last night (despite going to bed early). To fall asleep, I ended up getting out of bed around 1 a.m. to take some ibuprofen just so the pain would subside. So, on top of not wanting to lose more study time and to give my knees a day of rest, I skipped the gym.

The other reason it was a rough morning was Hurricane Sandy. Now, don't get me wrong, Michigan didn't get hit like the east coast did, but man oh man, did we get some of the leftovers. There was quite a bit of rain and it was super windy. But I told myself I would go to school, so off to school I went. I got a tad wet on the bike ride there, but not too bad. It didn't really start raining until I got to school...and realized I'd left all my packed food at home. Yeah. Not cool. And I wasn't about to head home to get it. So, yay for Jimmy John's delivery!

That threw off my day. And so did a scheduling error. I guess my time for my required breast exam (for me to perform, not to be performed on me) got switched and no one told me. They schedule these things way back in August (which is when I put it in my calendar) and then neglect to tell people when they update them. Sooo, I missed that. But my make-up time is a better time than my originally scheduled time, so yay? Silly medical school faculty. You're not supposed to reward me for your errors.

Anywho, I finished all the work I wanted to finish today mostly because I stayed up so late. And tomorrow I'm waking up so early. It's going to be tough, but I've got to get back on my sleeping schedule: early to rise, early to bed.

Also, no photos for you today. I told you it was a rough morning, didn't I?

Letting things drop

So this morning I slept in a bit - you know, until 6:30. Then I laid in my bed wondering how soon I could get back to sleep. Not soon enough. But, I got up anyway and hit the gym. I did some time on the elliptical seeing as how my shins are all splinty and my knees are all inflamed. And then I picked things up and put them down did some strength training. It was a pretty decent workout.

I came home to make my protein smoothie and may or may not have dropped the blender base...on my thigh. I had a hold of the cord, so it thankfully didn't hit any toes, but now I have a huge scrape along my thigh which hurt like a mofo. It'll probably bruise as well. Good thing the weather doesn't call for any thigh exposure...for like 8 months (booooo).

Anywho, I was a busy little medical student today. I still didn't finish everything I should have, but I'm exhausted. So I'm heading to bed. I'll be up early tomorrow to hit the gym and get to school to get my study on. Here are your photos for the day...

Protein smoothie

Breakfast

Lean Cuisine pizza for dinner

Sleeping instead of crying

I'm so ridiculously overwhelmed. I didn't get nearly enough done this weekend and I'm not sure how I'm going to get everything done next week. Soo, that's fun. Also, I have shin splints now so I'm going to be doing some ellipticaling this week. Also, fun. And I just want to cry. But instead, I shall post pictures and go to bed. That seems like it'll be more productive...ish.

Met my 3 pound goal early

Lunch: fish taco and grapes

Dinner: artichoke ravioli

Unnecessary stress

I put a lot of unnecessary stress on myself. I mean, I'm sure everyone does. But I feel as though I'm almost setting myself up for undue stress. For example, why not just let myself have one dessert? Like today I have had this ridiculous craving for frosting. Like I literally just want to go buy a can of frosting and eat it. And I know that there will be some kind of awesome dessert in my future this week and I won't be able to eat it because I stupidly gave up desserts for the semester. Emphasis on stupidly.

Second, I'm all "I want to lose 20 pounds in two months." Yeah, stupid. Well, if not stupid, then at least stressful. If I have one bad day food-wise or don't make it to the gym, instead of just saying to myself, "Eh. No big deal. One day won't ruin everything," I'm all, "May as well just eat lard." Soo, yeah. There's that.

Third, I'm "dating" a guy who is literally half-way around the world. We talked for the first time today since Monday. And you know what? The conversation was still mediocre at best. I'm pretty sure he's losing interest and really, who can blame him? I'm not exactly at the same interest level that I was at the beginning, but gah. More rejection? Not excited for that.

Fourth, I'm in medical school. I really don't know what else you could do to yourself to have constant levels of high stress. Nor do I know what you could do to yourself to have constant feelings of guilt. You feel guilty for not having the time to talk to your friends. You feel guilty for taking a break to watch a TV show instead of studying (or talking to the friends who so, so deserve a moment of your time). You feel guilty for not studying harder or studying more. You feel guilty for literally inhaling your food so you can get back to work. So much stress and so much guilt.

Fifth, I've got a cat who I literally go days without touching. I get home from school and I'm like "Gotta make lunch for tomorrow, Bailey. I'd pet you but then I'd have to wash my hands and I'm not really feeling getting your hair all over myself." And then he'll meow and I'm all, "I'll change your litter tomorrow...maybe..."

So, yeah. I make things a bit hard for myself. I wonder if I'm just convinced that I don't deserve to be happy. I mean, I could have gone out with friends last night, but I just wanted to get my hair cut, do some grocery shopping, and video chat at home. Tonight I could have gone out, but I didn't do much work yesterday, so I needed to stay in. Why can't I figure out that happy balance?

Sigh. Sorry to get all emo. I'm just struggling. Per usual. Damn you, medical school. Seriously. Life was so much easier when I just worked 8-5.

Annnnnd, food pictures:

Fish taco for lunch

Sorry - artificial light is gross looking. BBQ chicken and veggies for dinner

Just a tad off

I was going to start off by saying that today was a weird day, but I felt as though I should just go ahead and say that this week has been a weird week. How you ask? Well, in so many ways that I shall list them for you for the sake of brevity:

• My sleep schedule is completely off, thanks to musculoskeletal on Monday
• My knees are acting up - like to the point where I can't sleep because they ache so badly (further throwing off my sleep schedule)
• Michigan has been above 70° for 3 days in a row and I've been getting pretty sweaty -  I'm just going to want to be naked the entire time I'm in Uganda over Christmas break (which is so, so not allowed - I'm not even allowed to wear shorts - gotta keep those knees covered)
• I had two exams in one day
• I actually cooked food...kinda (see below)
• I feel somewhat rested

So, yeah. There's that. And I just feel off. Maybe it was the lack of sleep last night (I took a nap this morning after my exam), but I got really pissed off for stupid reasons today. Like my normal exam seat was taken. Normal reaction: Eh. That sucks. Guess I'm sitting somewhere else. Today's reaction: RAGE. DANIKA SMASH. Then the loudest kid ever sits next to me during the exam. Normal reaction: I wonder how many times he's going to cough ridiculously loud. Today's reaction: RAGE. DANIKA SMASH. Someone's comment about me not getting my usual spot. Normal reaction: If I fail, I'm blaming it on Insert name here. Today's reaction: RAGE. DANIKA SMASH. But then, stupid e-mail from faculty. Normal reaction: RAGE. DANIKA SMASH. Today's reaction: Meh. Must be weird to have nothing to do but send stupid e-mails.

Seriously. What is wrong with me? Also, because I didn't go to the gym today (serious knee pain folks), I was all, let's eat all the foods! But, I mostly did okay and pretty much stayed in my calorie range. So, yeah. That was weird.

Anywho, today's cooked food was: fish tacos. Never made those before. Definitely making those again. NOMS.

The good and the bad

Gah. This week is so, so busy. I have two exams tomorrow and I'm already exhausted. Me needs sleep badly. 

I didn't wake up until 7:30 today. I went and shadowed an OB/GYN all morning, came home for lunch and to study, went to class, came home, ran a 5k at the gym (which was a struggggggle - I tried to do it continuously, but had to stop twice), came home, showered, grabbed some dinner, went to a friend's to study, came home, studied some more and am now blogging.

Good things about today:

• Shadowing was awesome. Pretty sure I want to be an OB/GYN
• I signed my ethics evaluation and am done with that class and the worst preceptor ever forever
• I ran the longest I've run continuously since June (2.6 miles)
• It was beautiful outside today - it made it to 77°F!
• Class today went better than expected

Bad things about today:

• I didn't get to spend much time outside
• My knees hurt like really bad
• I ate too many granola bars and now I don't have enough for tomorrow
• I am completely overwhelmed with school

Pictures!

Lunch materials

Lunch!

Quick dinner = Lean Cuisine lemon chicken (not so good - not getting it again)

Day one of the hem/onc challenge

Well, day one of the hem/onc challenge didn't go so well. Mostly because I didn't want to get out of bed. I just figured I deserved a little more sleep since I didn't sleep much on Sunday night. So, when my alarm went off, I turned it off and slept until 8:30. I did go to the gym and I did track all of my calories, so I wasn't too off track. But I definitely should have gotten up earlier - I didn't get everything done that I needed to get done. Go figure.

Anywho, since I'm trying to get to bed so that I can get up early and not feel like I haven't gotten enough sleep, here are some pictures to hold you over:

Post-strength training protein smoothie

Lunch

One of my afternoon snacks

Some med school kids with our mentor at dinner

Hem/Onc Challenge

Today's been a weird day. Well, it was an exam day and exam days are always weird days. They throw me off completely. Mostly because I either don't sleep the night before the exam or because I sleep for like 2.5 hours. Well, last night, I'm pretty sure I slept for almost three hours - you know, so much sleep it's ridiculous. 

Anyway, usually, I go home after our noon class and then sleep away the afternoon, wake up, go grocery shopping and then have a completely effed up sleep schedule for about a week. Well, I didn't want to do that to myself this time around, so I decided not to nap. I did spend a lot of time laying in bed, but I was conscious the entire time (Seriously. I was). Now that I'm awake and whiling away the time until I can go to bed/watch the debate, I figured I'd update you on some new things in my life/shock you by informing you that I'm super lame.

So, this morning's exam was kind of hard. I placed my studying emphasis more on the book material than the lecture material. That was a bad choice. So, that stressed me out. Like really stressed me out. To the point that I thought that I had failed. Now, this wouldn't be a big deal if I were a first-year because each class has more than one exam. However, if you fail an exam second year, you have to make it up over Christmas break - you know, during the time that I'm supposed to be working in a hospital in Uganda. So, I was freaking out thinking that I was going to have to reschedule flights, study over Christmas, etc. Turns out, I did fine. But whoa. Rough, rough morning.

Class was okay. We're starting a new domain: hematology/oncology. It's going to be hard. Like really, really hard. It's the hardest domain of the semester. So, I'm probably already behind despite the fact that it's the first day. That's awesome. I really need to do well (obviously), but I also want to make sure I don't lose myself in the process. This past domain (which was our shortest at two weeks), I was weirdly sick, didn't do such a hot job of planning meals/food, and didn't go to the gym much. I don't want this to happen again, especially since I have a lofty goal of losing 20 pounds before I leave for Uganda. So, I need a schedule. And one that I'll actually stick to.

So, I'm going to do a challenge within a challenge. I'm going to call it the hem/onc challenge and I'm hoping to pull it off for the next four weeks. I'm planning on getting in bed around 9 and waking up at about 5/5:30 everyday - maybe giving myself an hour or two leeway on weekends. This way I can get to the gym, get home, shower, get ready and be at school at about 7:30/8:00 everyday. This gives me the ability to get an awesome study room and to utilize the day better since I tend to slack off during the evening. I'm also going to try my very best to log the calories I burn (with my HRM) and the calories I eat.

This is going to be hard because logging takes time, but I'm sure that it will be worth it - it's worked in the past. Sooo, here we go. Twenty pounds in 54 days. Gah. I think I can do it!

Also, we went to the bar tonight to celebrate passing musculoskeletal. I had a beer (despite not drinking this semester because well, I really effing earned it). So, here's a picture for you.

Fastest mile ever!

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just that when I get off track, I stop blogging. And last week, I was waaaay off track. It all started with not sleeping enough Monday, getting pretty sick during the week and figuring, "Eh. Screw it. Who needs to go to the gym and eat well more than one day a week?" Um, me. Thanks for pointing that out, scale.

Since I'm up a few pounds, I wanted to set a new goal for myself. In exactly two months, I head back to Uganda. So, in exactly two months, I want to lose 20 pounds. I know that's pretty hefty. But if I can avoid binge eating and manage to stay on track with going to the gym, I know that I can do it. It averages about three pounds a week. So, my goal for next week is 217.2 pounds. I promise to post what I've got.

Also, I want to celebrate something small (read: HUGE) for me. Today, I ran a mile at 6.0mph. Yesterday, while I was doing my 5k, I decided to challenge myself and see how fast I could run comfortably and I settled at 6.0mph. So, I figured I would try doing that for an entire mile today. I know, I know. A 10 minute mile really isn't a big deal. But, considering I started at 5.0mph, I think it's pretty awesome. We'll see if I can run my 5k tomorrow at 6.0mph. Since I've been taking walking breaks every mile, I'm pretty sure I can pull it off if I really want to. Guess we shall see.

Anyway, the rest of the day was pretty crappy and bureaucratic. But, it was my friend Sarah's birthday, so we went out for some Indian food tonight that was pretty delicious.

Also, the company was great. And when I got home, I helped my sister name her new kitten. Welcome, to the family, Winston! What an adorable little guy.

Morning thoughts

So my alarm went off at 5:30 this morning and I knew I had to get up right away or I wouldn't be able to go to the gym and get ready in time for class. So, naturally, I laid in my bed wondering if I could go at another time because I was so, so, so tired. If I didn't go to the gym now, maybe I could go after ethics was done at 10...? No, because I hadn't read the nutrition article yet nor had I done my share of the stimulus questions for my infectious disease group. Okay. Maybe I could go after class, but before I met with my friends to go over drugs...? No, because once you leave school, you don't want to go back. Okay. Maybe I could go after we got through talking about drugs...? No, you're not going to finish going over drugs before the gym closes at 9. Okay. Well, maybe I'll take today as my rest day and go on Sunday (which is my supposed rest day). Yes. Yes, that is a good idea. I won't have to rush as much and I might actually enjoy my run rather than worry about how fast I'm going to have to shower and get ready. Yes. Yes, let's do that. 

So, I got to go back to sleep until 7:22, when I woke up, rushed through a shower, blow dry, make-up, proactiv routine, lunch gathering, and stuff packing. It was totally worth forcing myself to get ready in 28 minutes. And yet, I'm still exhausted.

Anywho, sorry for the lack of updates. The big exam is on Monday. My eating habits haven't been as great as last week (they're not bad - they're just not as on point). My picture taking has been uh, pretty pathetic. But, my gym time has been good and I've been enjoying my exercise. My biceps are coming back and I've already gotten my belt in one more notch without feeling like I'm going to explode. So, I'm going to call that progress. The scale isn't going to show as much progress as I'd like, I'm sure. But, I'm okay with that. Slow and steady. And with med school trying to kill me while I'm trying to better myself, I think that any loss is a good loss. We shall see come the weigh-in on Monday.

Also, I don't know how many of my close friends in med school read this, but for those that do: thank you. Thank you for tonight and for taking some time out of your lives so that we could do non-med school chatting. You ladies are the best.

Bed time is my favorite time of the day

I am so, so, so ready for bed. I got up nice and early today to get in a solid workout before heading to school for an 8:00 a.m. required lecture. Don't ask me what I was supposed to learn during that lecture. It was pointless and I wasn't paying attention. Don't worry - it wasn't about anything medical. It was about how to write a medical note about a health maintenance visit. Um, yeah. I'll probably just dictate it and then someone else will write it. Thanks, but no thanks.

Next.

Um, I spent today studying. I'm lame. I also watched a video of one of my classmates eating an entire thing of butter. Well, not an entire thing. But the ones that come with like catering. He was told that he'd get $35 if he ate the whole thing. So, he did. With a croissant. Gross. I don't think I could do that for $35.

Anywho, there was a lot of free food floating around Secchia. I had a little over one bagel sandwich (well, 5 quartered sections of different bagel sandwiches) and two things of cheese bread. I'm not like trying to not eat carbs, but I don't usually eat that many carbs in one day and I was definitely feeling a bit guilty about it. Mostly because I basically inhaled all of it. Not at the same time, but yeah. I probably should have stuck to what I packed.

Also, I realized that I mostly only give you guys pictures of my breakfast because it's the only meal I eat at home. Sorry about that...I guess I could take pictures of my food at school, but then you'd really come to know that I eat the same thing everyday... Hey, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Photos for you!

Breakfast (and some of my lunch in the background)

My brand spanking new blender bottle

So, when I was home two weekends ago, I met up with my old personal trainer for fun and he was talking about his goal to achieve 15% body fat (or was it 10% - I don't remember the number, mostly because when he said it, I was like, "You're effing crazy!") by his next birthday (May 5). He was talking about what he was eating - it was mostly protein with his carbs early on in the day. He said he'd have a protein shake in the afternoons so I thought maybe I'd start doing that, but I'm not sure if I want to. Either way, the bottle was only $6 and it's green - my favorite color! So, even if I don't use it for protein shakes, it might come in handy elsewhere.

Tomorrow morning, I have an appointment with a gynecologist so she can look at my lady parts and prescribe some birth control so that the horrors of day one of my periods stop. I think I want to be a lady doctor when I grow up (read: obstetrician/gynecologist), so I also want to talk to her about that.

The end for today! Catch you tomorrow.

Achievement!

Entries this week are going to have to be short and sweet - I've got a big exam next Monday and I really don't want to fail. That being said, I'm sure most people don't have a goal to achieve failure. Anywho, I digress.

Today was a weigh-in and I have good news (finally!) for you and well, me.

Last week, I was at 226.4. So, for those of you are mathematically challenged, that's a 7.2 pound loss in a week! Woot, woot. Now if I could just keep losing 7 pounds a week. But, I doubt that. Last week was the first week that I really pushed myself to commit to a more rigorous gym schedule. I'm running a 5k three days a week and doing strength training on the days in-between. Next week's weigh-in goal is a 5 pound loss - shooting for 214.2.

Here are some photos from yesterday and today. Hope you're all having a good end to your Mondays. I know my Monday was fantastic - logged 12 hours at school. Boooooo...

Sunday morning breakfast: whole wheat pancakes!

Look what I found in my cupboard - it was fate!

Proof that I don't always suck at flipping pancakes

Bailey's attention is piqued while I make pancakes

This is his artsy look

Breakfast of champions

Post-workout protein

Lean cuisine for lunch

Another attempt at stir fry - I really need to find a marinade/recipe I like 

Small plate for dinner since my stomach was still be funky

Breakfast today

Ran to the kitchen when I got home to prep everything for tomorrow

Mangos and lady parts

Today started out rough. Like really rough. Why? Because it's day one of my period which means my uterus has recruited my intestines to put up a pretty intense fight to find their way outside of my body. It is not fun. I spend half the day writhing in agony because of cramps and the other half is spent in the bathroom because I get some awesome diarrhea. Yeah, yeah. That's an overshare, but since diarrhea is a topic that I'm sure I'll speak about in great lengths in my future career as a doctor, I may as well start now.

Anyway, I basically had a built-in excuse as to why I couldn't run my 5k today. But, I decided to head to the gym anyway. It was actually a bit of pain relief, but whoa man, did it hit me when I got home. I have a hard time getting myself to eat on days like these because of how gross I feel, but I had some ripe mangos so I decided to go a bit mango crazy and had some mango, mango juice, and pretzels for lunch.

After some studying, the pain became a bit too much and so I went to lay down and then fell asleep for about 2 hours. It was heavenly. Waking up to do more work? Not so much. I still felt sick, but I figured since I was home at dinner time (which rarely happens), I made some fish and beans. It was delicious and pretty healthy.

And I made enough fish for two more meals, so that's always nice. Anywho, I'm going to head back to bed again. I've got a lot to do tomorrow since today wasn't nearly as productive as it needed to be thanks to my lady parts.