Walking pad

During Jeff-Bezos-takes-all-my-money days a.k.a. Prime Days, I bought a walking pad. It arrived at work last week (because I shipped it directly to work because I'm no dumb dumb) and today was my first full day of using it and let me tell you, it was awesome. I got 6k steps before leaving the office. Normally, I get between 2-3k steps. So, I was killing it. This was also a good thing as, after leaving work, I had more stuff I had to do and couldn't get a work out in. Here's hoping I can keep up the good work!

More to come tomorrow, but first, off to the land of unconsciousness! Random photos to appease you

Sweets and parenting

I've been craving sweets lately. I have a pretty significant sweet tooth and then I looked at my Garmin period tracker and everything makes sense now. During the few days before my menstrual cycle, I want all the sweets. ALL OF THEM. In my belly. RIGHT THIS INSTANT. This is also the time where it's REALLY hard for me to keep my portion sizes in check because I'm constantly hungry. My mom and I went to Costco tonight and I had a food court hot dog and then I opened the popcorn we bought and snacked at the table. Then we got home and I ate crackers with dip. And I just finished another popcorn snack. Now, what I was more aware of was stopping with serving sizes that were far more reasonable than what I could have eaten. I counted out my crackers. I used a smaller bowl for my popcorn than I maybe would have historically and I didn't go back for seconds. So, winning?

Today I had my back pain resolving massage and did a walk with a friend and then another treadmill walk to watch the new episode of Only Murders in the Building. So, I moved my body today! I also had my first parent-teacher conference and cried almost immediately at the start of the meeting. Reyah's teacher literally started the conference with, "To start, do you have any questions for me?" And I just started crying and was like is she okay? Is our divorce harming her? I just want to know that that little girl is going to be alright. Raising kids is stressful! I'm constantly worried about how I might screw it up. I also had my first volunteer experience today, which further cemented the fact in my mind that teachers are fucking angels who are severely underpaid. I didn't manage to significantly embarrass Reyah, but will have another opportunity to do so next week, so we'll see!

Another old photo since I can't be bothered to photograph anything lately. aa

Fourth of July with the kiddos

Sticking to the plan

Today was an OR day, which means lots of standing in one place for a very long time. Which also means that I have a hard time getting steps in on OR days, but am still exhausted nonetheless. So, once I was done, I headed home and laid in my bed trying to finish my library book before my book had to be returned. After that, I got all the stuff together I needed to take the kids to the pool and then headed to get the kiddos. I got them dressed really quick and then we went to the pool for about an hour. Reyah did great and had a lot of fun. Zayd is a bit of a daredevil and requires constant vigilance, so not as much fun for me. But, it was better than sitting around at home - I kept myself moving!

After the pool, we came home, had dinner, and then did our after dinner walk. Once home, it was bath time and bed time. Nasur's got an exam tomorrow, so I cleaned up and then watched some TV while getting steps in.

Today, I tried to stick to my goal with my eating. I'm on my period, so I always have a harder time not eating unnecessarily because the hunger pangs are real. And, because I was in the OR, I had unlimited access to the doctor's lounge with all the snacks. Despite that, I stuck to my guns. Normally, I'd eat a breakfast sandwich form the freezer, but those are not so healthy. Thus, I had two hard boiled eggs. The lunch selection was rather sad-appearing, so I opted for a sandwich that was mediocre at best. But they had some yummy iced tea. I also had an uncrustable for a snack later. Maybe not the healthiest, but it was worth it. Before leaving, I grabbed two of the protein drinks from the lounge to try later in the day. And both were yum, yum, yum. 

Shortly I'll be heading to bed. I've got a day in the office tomorrow and need to rest up! I'm still recovering from the last of the cold I had last week.

The lunch sammy

The lunch tea

Snack on the way to get the kiddos

The yummy protein drinks I tried

Not pictured: the hard-boiled eggs, the uncrustable, and the Swedish meatballs we had for dinner.

Planning for a weigh-in tomorrow! Also, planning to chat about gym memberships tomorrow. 

First day doing it all

So, let's start out with the number that you've all been waiting for - my latest weigh-in (you can see all of my weigh-ins here)!

So, next week, my goal is to hit 240.2 and if I do, new tennis shoes for meeeee!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but at the same time eventful because it was my first day trying to juggle life as it will be for the next two weeks with no time off - not even a weekend!

After my weigh-in, I showered and made some breakfast. My breakfasts always tend to be the same, so eventually you'll get bored of seeing it. That being said, if you have any suggestions for yummy, low-cal breakfasts, I'm all ears!

2 egg whites + 1 whole egg, sourdough toast, watermelon

On my way out the door, I grab a yogurt protein shake - it's my way of trying to avoid snacking too much before lunch. But, when breakfast is about 7 hours before lunch, that's hard to do ;-)

This is an old photo I have so you can see the protein shake

At work, I made it until like 8/8:30 before my stomach started audibly growling. I had some new belVita breakfast bars in my bag and I had 2/4 of them, but gobbled down the other 2 like an hour later. I also ate an apple that I had from last week.

I got lunch around 12:45, which was pretty decent - I managed to take a picture of it today as I walked down the hall. About half my plate is bagged salad (beggars can't be choosers), there's some curry chicken which was pretty moist, and then some fish casserole thing...? I don't always know what I'm eating, but I appreciate not having to cook. There's a pretty decent selection and I try to fill at least half my plate with salad. That being said, they only have two options for salad dressing: ranch and italian. So, tomorrow I'm taking my own salad dressing - it's healthier and yummier :-)

After lunch, I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. I think about 10 women delivered this afternoon. But it was so great! I hate sitting around idle, so, to me, being busy is awesome. I learned a lot today and got in a lot of steps! My fitbit (like most fitbits, I think) is set to 10,000 steps a day and I definitely made it today.

Once I headed out around 5:45, I ate a fiber bar, rehydrated, and headed straight to the gym - not the one near work, the one near where I live. I like the feel of that L.A. Fitness better. Plus, I kinda like the anonymity. I majorly sweated it out during an elliptical session and then headed home where I ate some watermelon and drank insta-urine raspberry green tea crystal light.

It looks like urine, but it's not

ALL THE MELON IN MY MOUTH

I had to wait a half hour to cook my quesadilla dinner and I needed a little something to munch on until it was done given that it was already past 7. 

Trader Joe's got my back

Half an hour to bake this thing

Dinner + fat-free sour cream

I did some reading for work, restocked my gym bag and am getting ready to hit the hay. One of the things I'm trying to think about is how to pack healthy snacks. At work, I usually need something super portable, but I don't love the idea of eating packaged food all day - I'd like to get some fresh fruit in there. Any ideas? What's your go-to healthy snack?

Walking rather than blading

Well, blading didn't exactly happen. Damn rain. We did take the dogs for a walk, but when I tried running with Doc, he stopped and then I was pulled back and he started limping. Newfoundlands are known for having bad hips, so I'm hoping I didn't hurt him. He walked fine for the rest of our walk, but I stopped running with him.

Anywho, the rest of the day was very chill. I took my ibuprofen every 6 or so hours and my knees are doing a bit better. Now my mom and I are just hanging out. 

I talked with her about my plans to work out now that this rotation is going to start. I was thinking about going to the gym in the mornings because I'm not very productive when I go at night. But I have a really hard time getting up early in the mornings. I don't know if I'd rather pack a lunch or get up early. Hard to say which one sucks more.

I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll be able to blade in the morning. My mom and I are going to make some healthy meals so that I have healthy stuff to eat this week and then I'll head back to Grand Rapids to get my shizz together for this rotation. I need to study my butt off and I really, really, really want to get some semblance of a workout schedule made.

Here are today's pics:

Breakfast was going to be scrambled eggs and salmon, but apparently my mom had hard boiled them

Breakfast part 2

Snack/what ended up being lunch, I suppose

Dinner with Doc

Mayzie

Doc again

Teeny bit of ice cream

Not pictured was the South Beach protein bar I ate nor the chips and salsa for the afternoon snack. I'm still hungry, buuuut it's past 8 so I guess I'll just have to make due. I'm not starving and I'm probs just thirsty. So, tomorrow I'll try to be cognizant and eat some more filling things.

These are a few of my [least] favorite things

Today I woke up 10 minutes early because of the bitch of a snowstorm that decided to hit last night. I knew it would take me a bit to scrape off my car, but I didn't anticipate my car being stuck in the parking lot. Fortunately, I live about 4 blocks from the hospital and don't actually have to drive, but I much prefer a toasty warm pre-heated car to the freezing cold dark streets at 6:15 a.m. That being said, I took to the streets this morning. It takes only a little more time to walk, but as sleep and I are best friends/lovers/inseparable, I'd rather get the 5-7 extra minutes of sleep. After all, that's 25-35 minutes of sleep per week! Also, on days where I go to the gym after work, I like to drive straight there rather than go home first. If I go home first, it's unlikely that I will find my way back out to the gym.

Anywho, I forgot my ID at home today, but fortunately, the med student on nights let me borrow his for the day. It still made for an awkward day as your ID is required to open all the magical employee doors and I didn't have his readily available (I wasn't about to clip it to the front of my white coat), but worse things could happen.

Overall, I'm doing well maintaining my grouchy mood. Today, I have a sore throat and headache. Now that I'm home, I'm feeling a bit nauseated and feverish. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm hoping I'm not sick because vomiting is literally my least favorite thing. Well, maybe second least (Michigan weathers might take the cake on that one. Seriously, Mother Nature, calm the eff down already). I hate vomiting so much that despite the persistence of friends that I'll "feel so much better" after I throw up, I would rather feel miserable than throw up. That being said, I don't know anyone who loves throwing up.

And on that note, let's look at pictures of food! I forgot to take a picture of breakfast, but since I eat eggs everyday, it's not really that fascinating...

Today's afternoon snack

Salad to eat while waiting for my chicken to cook cuz I was too hungry to wait

Teriyaki chicken for dinner - I just threw this in the oven (cooking is not my forte) 

Leftovers for lunch tomorrow

3 clementines and grapes for lunch tomorrow

Morning snack for tomorrow

Not something I would eat, but something that's adorable just for kicks

My current plans are to hit the gym after work tomorrow as long as I don't make a trip to Vomitville or Sick City. Let's hope I don't.