Saturday, March 6, 2010

So, it's been a while...

Though it seems like I have been neglectful of this blog, my most recent lack of entries has more been due to the fact that there isn't much to write about, so I have been "saving up" in a sense.

It is the end of 9th week, and finals are upon us.  My first one is biochem on Tuesday, which I haven't even thought about yet... oops!  It shouldn't be too bad though.  I ended up doing really poorly on my Cardiovascular Health midterm, so I kinda have to rock the final to get a decent grade in the class.  I'm a little worried; I don't want to get kicked out of med school before I get in!  I am just going to bust my ass for the final, and hopefully I can pull it off!

Other than that minor setback, things have been going pretty well.  My weight loss plan has been working, and as of today, I have lost 19 pounds since January!  I can notice a difference, but I still don't feel like I have lost that much weight.  I think I don't look that different, but it's definitely an improvement.  While I have been working pretty hard, it has actually been easier than it ever has been for me.  For some reason, this time I am just really motivated to keep going.  I think a lot of the inspiration has come from my Physiology of Nutrition class this quarter, in that it has really opened my eyes to how I needed to change my eating habits just for my future health.  That's probably why this time has been so successful, because instead of temporarily "restricting" myself, I have made a conscious effort to actually change my eating habits.  One of the things we talked about in class was some of the psychological factors behind overeating and what triggers it.  Our professor told us to try and figure out what triggers our urges to binge, so that we can either address the cause, or be prepared to consciously resist.  I have come to the conclusion that one of my triggers is stress over upcoming midterms/finals.  In the past, around these times I tend to eat lots of junk food as a sort of consolation to dealing with the stress and negativity of studying for tests.  But this habit is not healthy, and obviously took its toll on me in that I gained about 25 pounds in college.  Now, when I get the urge to binge on copious amounts of delicious junk food, I just remind myself why I am feeling that way, and continue to eat normally.  I've been successful so far, but who knows if I can resist in med school.  At least I am excited to hopefully be able to start med school off "fresh".  After all, as a doctor it is important to keep up with your own health.  I wouldn't feel right if I was an overweight MD telling my patients to live a healthy lifestyle that I wasn't even living. 

 I have continued on my ER project, watching episodes here and there when I can squeeze them.  I am now on season 3, but I still have a long way to go.  I think my favorite character is Carter, who starts the series as a third year medical student.  I just really like how the show follows him in his progression from student to doctor, although I have seen some of the later episodes, and I'm not looking forward to all the trouble he gets in later on.  I know tv shows and movies are not indicative of what a doctor's life is really like, but they still get me excited for the future, so I will continue to guiltlessly indulge!

1 comment:

  1. wow 19 pounds is amazing! i wish i had your willpower!

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