Day 10/365: The little things

Today, I found myself in the nurse's lounge. There, were a beautiful-looking selection of cookies. Absent-mindedly, I took one. There was also toffee. Absent-mindedly I took one of those. Later in the day, absent-mindedly I ate some jerky. Now, normally I wouldn't think about this, but I I realize all the little things add up. So, I'm going to try to do something about it. I'm going to be very mindful of my eating. I'm going to stop going to the free resident buffet for lunch because if I don't have to pay for it, I load up on all the wrong things and all the wrong portion sizes. I've packed up my blender and protein powders and am going to start having a protein shake for lunch rather than hitting up the buffet. I'm not going to do a protein shake everyday, but I'm going to try for at least every other day to start. Since I usually use milk, the shake will be about 200-250 calories. With some fruit and maybe goldfish crackers, that'll be a nicely proportioned lunch.

Wish me luck!

Such a happy weekend

Friday finally rolled around and for someone who worked both days last weekend, it couldn't have come soon enough. But, I didn't really have any plans for Friday night. So, after work, I ran to Trader Joe's and then came home, hydrated, ate some protein bars, and then hit the gym for about an hour and 45 minutes. Normally, I usually max out at an hour at the gym, but I kinda figured that I wasn't going to be doing anything else if I were at home. So, I started out with a half hour of cardio and then did an hour of weights. Then I decided I still had some energy, so why not run a mile? However, while running my mile, I decided I didn't actually have that much energy. And about 0.10 miles in, I decided running was not my thing. But, I wanted to get a little bit of high intensity cardio in because even if it's only 10 minutes, it's high intensity which makes it last a bit longer.

So, I pulled from my memory something my old trainer liked to do with me - sideways treadmilling. Basically, you walk at about 2.6 to 2.8 miles per hour at an incline - I think I started out at a 6% incline and then after 30 seconds to a minute, you turn sideways and basically have to shuffle or else you'll fall off. And then that meager 2.6 to 2.8 mph is suddenly VERY FAST. I worked up a sweat very quickly and walked away after about 10 minutes of intervals of walking and shuffling and felt very accomplished.

Saturday, some friends and I hit up Eastern Market, which is like a farmer's market on steroids - there's so much produce! It was awesome! They also have some legit food trucks and I tried beignets for the first time ever. One of my friends explained to me that beignets are essentially fried doughnuts with powdered sugar. They were just the right amount of sweetness

Beignets 

Cool roses at the market 

Chips and guac from the taco truck

After hanging out with them, I headed home and tidied up a bit, did some laundry, called in some things I needed and had my landlord over to fix my towel rack which I ripped out of the wall when leaning on it. Whoops.

My bad

Then, one of my friends that I met on my rotation in Malawi (she lives here) came over and we got mani/pedis and then went and hung out by the beach, but didn't get in the water because apparently there's E. coli in the lake, thanks to the Canadian geese (they poop in the water and E. coli can be spread by feces) and excessive rain.

Sparkly green nails for me please!

Pretty lake

After catching up with that friend, I met up with another resident for dinner and a movie. However, we got to chatting and decided just to head back to my place (rather than see a movie) where she looked on as I made brownies to send to Nasur in Uganda.

Brownies in mason jars (to keep them fresh)

Today, I woke up at 7 despite not setting an alarm, got out of bed at 7:15 and started puttering around until I could hit the gym at 8 for some cardio. Then I hit up meijer for a few necessities and went home and was starving, so I grabbed a banana and a protein smoothie.

Spotted bananas = my favorite

Really digging these right now

I ended up making some eggs and toast as breakfast after my shower, but I needed something quick when I got home. Soon after my shower and breakfast, my mom and brother arrived and we got ready to go to see a Tigers' game. I've never been before, so it was an experience.

Downtown Detroit

Outside the stadium

Our view

Usually, I think baseball is pretty boring, especially on TV. However, in person, it wasn't as bad. I can't say I was into it as much as my brother and my mom, but I didn't hate it. I think if it weren't 90°F, I might've enjoyed myself a bit more. But basically, I was just dripping in sweat watching the Tigers lose.

Sweating with my family :-)

After the game, we came back to my place, cooled down, and went to grab dinner at a nearby restaurant that was decent. Now that they're gone, I'm blogging.

Tomorrow will be a fasting day for me. We're going out to dinner tomorrow night, so I was thinking about delaying it to Tuesday, but Monday is such a busy day for me, it's usually a great day to fast. I'll just be picky with dinner options so I stay in my 300ish calorie budget.

Tomorrow is also a weigh-in for me. I'm going to be honest, I weighed in on Saturday just to see and I was right at my goal of losing 6 pounds. However, Saturday and Sunday, I ate out a lot. I tried not to eat everything on my plate and was somewhat picky, but I'm a tad concerned that I won't be getting new shoes. We'll see!

How was your weekend? Have you ever been to a baseball game? Who do you root for?

Radiolozzzzzz

Well, I suppose today could have been worse. It was my first day of my radiology rotation and I was beyond bored. I guess that I should have expected that, but the doctor I was with never even introduced himself to me. He didn't really talk to me for the first hour I was there and then he sent me to lunch at 11 and sent me home shortly after 1. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to learn if you refuse to teach, but he recommend I spend a few hours reading a radiology textbook that was among the few that had been recommended to me. I just spent about 15 minutes reading about radiology and decided to blog because I'm exhausted and that book is putting me to sleep.

Given that I didn't pack a lunch (and never got a tour), I ran home for lunch because surprise! The hospital is redoing their cafeteria and thus no longer has one. They have a few other options, but I figured I'd just go home given that the radiologist told me to take my time. When I got sent home to read, I went to see one of my letter writers and then checked the library. Coincidentally, I owned the book, so I went home to read there.

When I got home, I spent some time in the bathroom (my stomach was being weird) and then motivated myself to go to the gym despite really just wanting to take a nap (spending all morning in a dark room with nothing to do really puts you to sleep!). I got to the gym and decided to do weights because my ankle was really bothering me. This could be because I opted out of wearing my brace most of the weekend. The doctor that gave it to me said to wear it 2-3 weeks or until the pain was gone. And I wasn't that painful, just a little uncomfortable, so I figured why bother with the stupid brace? But now I'm painful and paying for it. But today marks my second week anniversary of spraining it, so only two weeks until I can get back to Zumba (I hope). I promise to wear the stupid thing all day everyday (except showers) from this point onward because I need to Zumba again.

Anywho, I didn't stay at the gym long because my ankle was really bothering me and because all the machines I could do were taken. I cut the workout short at about 40 minutes and called it good. I headed to meijer to pick up a few things (cat litter, watermelons, some other fruit and stuff) and then went home where I created a taste of smoothie heaven. This weekend, my mom and I went on a road trip to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. So, I got to use my favorite protein and frozen mango for my protein smoothie today. It was awesome. I didn't even have to use a crystal light packet to kill the nasty protein flavor.

I've done some reading and some other things I needed to do around my apartment and now I'm heading to bed so I can get a legit 9 hours in before sitting in a dark room again tomorrow.

Today's photos:

Breakfast

Lunch (sloppy joe meat from my mom)

Snack on the way back to work

YAY!

Favorite protein powder

Mango smoothie awesomeness

Dinner (again, the stomach wasn't settled)

Dessert (when the stomach was more settled)

Proof that I'm wearing the damn air cast

Today's positive: Being productive instead of napping and making myself feel good about myself.

Also, for those who sent positive thoughts and private messages, thanks for making me feel better!

TOO BUSY. MUST BLOG.

Holy fuck, you guys. It's been so busy. Like, what happened to my life? I feel like one second, I was chilling, minding my own business and then WHAM! EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE. I have a sneaking suspicion that it's because I legitimately didn't do anything last weekend, but who knows?

Anywho, this is going to have to be brief because my ass has to be awake waaaaay before the sun's does tomorrow. Waking up at 5:30 tomorrow thanks to some day-long conference in East Lansing. Boo.

The hospital today: good patients, good teaching by my attending (again). Got let out at 3:15. Baller. That meant I could definitely hit the gym.

Gym: weight training day. I was hesitant about going because I knew how much shit I had to do tonight, but I went and was surprised that there wasn't even a battle for benches tonight. Baller. Glad I went. It was awkward though when I saw one of my surgery residents who I'm pretty sure thought I was dumb as shit. She looked impressed with my skills with the machines and weights though. So, there's that...?

Post-gym: Ran to meijer despite the fact that I was starving to buy a few essentials for tonight and tomorrow and to get some cash back to put towards gas as we're car pooling in the a.m.

Studying: TOO MUCH TO LEARN. NOT ENOUGH TIME.

Positive of the day: Uh, I helped motivate a friend to get her [teeny] butt to the gym despite the fact that she really, really, really didn't want to. GOOD JOB, FRIEND.

Photos: For your viewing pleasure.

Breakfast

Post-gym snack 

Post-gym smoothie in my favorite measuring cup (it was a gift and I lurrrve it)

Snack on the way to the grocery store so I wouldn't buy the store

Dinna - I WAS STARVING.

Muffins for tomorrow's commute

Had to at least try one before I packed them up. It was legit.

That's all folks. Weigh in tomorrow morning. Fuuuuuuck. Hooray!

16 Miles - Who knew I had it in me?

Yesterday was a lovely day. I got up around 8:30 and hopped on the scale. I was up 0.4 pounds from Wednesday. What? I've been going to the gym twice a day... So, I decided I'd better hit the gym hard. I did a ton of cardio and was pretty exhausted by the end. I came home and made a huge protein smoothie with blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

Yes, I did drink all of that. I also had my favorite bagel sammich.

Then, my sister and I headed off to Birch Run for some serious shopping. We went to Lane Byrant, Old Navy, Fossil, Coach, and Hanes. At Lane Bryant, they were having a bra sale, Buy 2, Get 2 Free. So, I now have 4 new bras. Woot. I also got a swimsuit cover up. Aaaand, I've definitely gotten smaller - I'm in their smallest size! Partay!


Then I ran into Fossil to have them take a link out of my watch because that's a bit big now, too. And after that quick stop, we headed to Old Navy so I could use my Groupon. I got a pair of shorts and some size 14 (yay!) bermudas. And I only spent about $13. Win.


After Old Navy, we stopped in Coach to oogle at purses and then I stopped in the Hanes store quickly to see if they had any thinner bathrobes since the one I have is super thick and not really great for summer. They didn't. So, we ran to Saginaw to try their JCPenney. There, I got 3 new workout shirts, 2 new workout tank tops, (I'll probably just wear them when blading or biking), a thin bathrobe, and a new bathing suit top that is super cute.


We got home around 4. I found Bailey sleeping by the window like the little baby he is, and then I decided to suit up and hit the gym again. 

I did the elliptical interval session for 30 minutes with my high at 14 and my low at 12. The guy next to me was really pushing himself, which motivated me to keep pushing myself. When I was done, I told him I was really glad he was next to me because I'm pretty sure my speed would've been much slower if he hadn't been there. He told me he keeps his resistance low so he can go so fast (he was at 4) and that he goes for 45 minutes. That's pretty solid.


After the gym, I headed to my mom's house to see if I could find any more one-piece swimsuits that I can wear to my CardioMax class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I found three, but they're a tad worn in the bum, so I'm probably going to wear shorts over them. While there, she fed me! We had shish-ka-bobs, some veggies, and my sister made Cheddar Bay biscuits like the ones at Red Lobster. She found the recipe online. They were amazing, but I only let myself have one. I probably could easily have gobbled up a dozen.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits. DELICIOUS!

Shish-ka-bobs

My plate

After dinner, I headed to meijer and bought a bike rack for my car and I was going to test it out, but instead, I went to Allyson's house to visit with her a bit since she was home for Father's Day. We caught up for a bit and then I headed out because I was tired. It was 10:15 p.m. I'm pathetic.


This morning, I got up around 9:30 a.m. and decided to try out my bike rack and go biking on the rail trail rather than going to the gym. It took me a while to load up my bike and then I drove down to the tridge. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride!

Pretty, but very, very dirty river 

Rail trail 

My beautiful bike

I biked 16 miles, so 8 miles out and 8 miles back. Here's the mile marker for proof!

Mid 8 - 8 miles from Midland

Me sporting one of my new tank tops and the mile marker in the background

The ride out was awesome and I was loving it. The ride back was a tad more rough. I was going against the wind and my knee was really acting up. Also, I only brought one water bottle and didn't eat beforehand, so I was dehydrate and hungry - an awesome duo. Thus, it took me way longer to get back than it did to get out there, but I'm glad I did it. It was way more fun than going to the gym, that's for sure.


After my bike ride, I made a strawberry banana protein smoothie and it was huge again.

While I drank this down, I video chatted with Lisa and made lunch.

Chicken Pizza

I was starving after that bike ride as I hadn't eaten yet and so I gobbled these down in about 5 minutes. Yum! Then I gathered up my laundry to head to my mom's. And that's where I am right now. As soon as I'm able to switch my laundry, I'm going to head outside and splash around swim in the pool, but right now my mom and Malena are vacuuming it so I figured I'd take this opportunity to catch you up!


Also, check out my About Me page. I updated it a little bit. I also redid my banner (if you didn't already notice). I'll be making some more small changes soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

One pound short

Last night I couldn't fall asleep. I stayed up until about 2:30 a.m. and then decided against going to the gym in the morning for fear of being too exhausted during the day. But don't you worry, I'm going tomorrow morning to make up for it! After all, gotta make sure I fulfill my challenge within a challenge this week!


So, anywho, this morning, I had the same breakfast I've been crazy about for a while now and it was just as delicious. I also enjoyed a banana, courtesy of my mom. She brought some bananas over this weekend because she knows I like them spotted and that's simply too ripe for her. Her loss, my gain.

After scarfing down breakfast, I got some snacks ready for work:

Once everything was together, I rode my bike to work. It was an awesome ride. The weather was perfect and I was really excited to be out on the road again. However, once at work, the excitement kind of died. I didn't have much to do and was only too happy once lunch time rolled around so I could come home and enjoy this:

Fortunately, after work, I finally had some things to do and kept myself busy until the end of the day. And it looks as though I'l have stuff to do tomorrow. Thank goodness! It's so hard to go to work when you know you've got nothing to do.


After work, I went to training with Mark where I had a weigh-in. I only lost 2 pounds since last Monday, which is a bummer because I was supposed to lose 3. I don't think there was much more I could do. I was pretty active and was really good with my eating. So, I'm thinking I need to up the intensity of my workouts so I can lose 3 pounds by next week. If I don't, Mark's going to steal my kindle for a week. And I can't have that. As I said yesterday, I'm waaaay to dependent on that thing.


After training with Mark, I stayed and did 30 minutes on the elliptical, switching going backward and forward every two minutes. I like doing that because, strangely, it makes the time pass faster.


Once I was home from the gym, I made myself another protein shake that was as awesome as the one from Saturday. I added some raspberries to the mix.

And while I was chugging this down, I tried to find something that I could make quickly because I was super hungry. So, I made this concoction:

I started with a tortilla and cheese 

I shredded up some chicken from Saturday

I added some onions

Then I added some of the rice left over from Saturday

I threw it in the oven for 4 minutes at 350°F 

And then rolled it up and ate it

It was not the best thing I'd ever eaten, but it was satisfying and super easy to make. I still have some leftover chicken, so we shall see what I can make up next.

Anywho, as pathetic as it sounds, I'm actually going to head to bed. I'm absolutely pooped and I need to be rested up for my workout tomorrow morning!