The Time is Now

I have officially been done with my "pre-req" courses for medical school since last May. Gloriously spent a month in July getting married and traveling back to our lake cabin - all in Minnesota - over the summer. Hit the "submit" button on my applications for 10 medical schools in August and traded all my multiple jobs in for one amazing job as a scribe in a Cardiology practice. ( I have evenings and weekends with my wife for the first time EVER in our 10+ years together!)

Looking at it from this vantage point makes the divine order of it all shine brightly.

Meanwhile the application process continues and I have been on a roller coaster of anxiety and calm. Six of ten schools have rejected me. I have been on two interviews - loved one school, not-so-much the other. One more interview is in my future. 

Meanwhile the weight I gained with 4 weeks of vacation and celebration has stayed put. Moved in and unpacked. None of my clothes fit. I have been running every morning with our two pups, but not paying any attention to what was going in my mouth. Add stress and anxiety on top of a runaway diet plan and of course the extra 10+lbs are staying in place! 

About 10 days ago, I had a wake up call. The time is NOW.

I am approaching medical school and approaching 40. My hormones are NOT working with me anymore. This excess/lack of attention is going to propel me down the path of chronic disease and illness. Is that the kind of physician I want to be? Is that going to help me be successful in learning and navigating the rigors and long hours of medical training?

The time is now.

I need to stay in the present with my eyes set on the future instead of rolling around in the anxiety of where I will go to school and where we will move. Enter in the random text from a guy called Shane asking if I knew of anyone looking to start a 6-week boot camp program (3x/week), which includes a whole foods diet. Wait, what?  This is a program I inquired about 3 weeks earlier. A program I got no response or follow up from, and here he is looking for referrals?  I refer MYSELF, please!

I enrolled. The pounds are coming off slowly and my body is toning and changing shape. 

Divine timing again. The time is now. Lessons learned again. 

Stay in the present. Work the program, walk each step as it presents itself, having faith. 

The time is now.

Practicing for Med School

I started the journey toward medical school approximately two years ago, a third re-careering after bachelors degree, masters degree, YMCA & youth work and working in managment consulting and training.

I started the journey kicking and screaming, incredulous that in my late thirties I would start such an endeavor that would inevitably take me 10 years to complete. That being said I have found my calling. That also being said, I'm not 20 years old anymore, nor can I stay up all night and eat poorly and still make it out the other end intact (with the requisite good grades!)

So about a year ago I started practicing for being a medical student. I want to actively understand how to help myself succeed under circumstances of increased stress, decreased sleep and questionable nutrition. In fact those three things are what I believe plague most adults in America and impact our ability to maintain health, maintain relationships, maintain our very souls and spirit.

Three things I am practicing and experimenting with in the hopes that these habits will support me and contribute to my success in medical school include:

1. doing my best with the time and resources I have and not giving a rat's behind about the rest
2. working out in 10 to 20 minutes chunks, and 
3. my new, most recent favorite bulletproof coffee!

Not giving a rat's behind...
As a perfectionist I have a hard time with this one. But, as a doc in the emergency room where I work recently told me, "what do they call doctors to get C's in med school? .... Doctor."  I will make it to the other end, I will become a doctor, regardless of how much stress and anxiety I put myself through. That is just a fact.

So what do I want to learn along the way? How to be more gentle with myself. How to give myself a break. How to maybe do a little more planning on the front end, so I'm not scrambling on the back end. How to do the best with the time and resources I have and not give a f*** about the rest. So far I have fallen on my face quite a few times with this one. I have also found that I know more than I think I know regarding exams, despite potential deficits studying, because I show up to class and actively learn. I can do what I can do and not give a hoot about the rest. I got a lower score than I hoped on my MCAT...but I'm still going to apply to medical school this summer. This one actually ties into my spiritual and faith journey as well. Believing in God, that he has my best interest in mind and knows my heart, even before I do. I don't have to try so mightily to strong arm my way in or through things. Because I'm covered.

Working out in chunks
I trained for and ran my first half marathon Nov 2013. It took a LOT of time and commitment to properly train. Too much time.  Time I feel I no longer have the luxury of, and time that I definitely won't have the luxury of once I'm in medical school. Looking for ways to move my body, achieve results of staying fit and not breaking the time bank have been key in practicing for medical school. I found the CT-50 series of videos a few months ago, and I am loving it. 9-20 minute videos that use weights and various exercises to challenge my whole body. I love it!  AND there are five levels, with a challenge workout at the end of each level. This allows me to compete with myself (did I get more than 400 reps?) as well as see my improvement. I can also go back and repeat and entire level.

Bulletproof coffee
So this guy, Dave, of Bulletproof has all kinds of products, which I have not tested. I just started making my bulletproof coffee with a double espresso (that I pull from my own machine), and use a hand blender to blend in 1 tsp of ghee and 1 tsp of coconut oil. The result? Frothy, amazing goodness (and I don't even like cream in my coffee!). The effects? a beautiful, clear alertness, with no crash and no adrenaline edge. Check out Dave's recipe for bulletproof coffee here.

Here's hoping my practice pays off...  #Practicingformedschool

Flunking Nutrition During My Half Marathon Training

Four weeks into the Half Marathon training program my cousin (professional coach to skiers and runners) & his wife graciously sent to me, I feel great all except for the fact that I kinda feel....draggy.

I have noticed that I actually WANT to run in the mornings. My body is responding.  My resting heart rate is down to 48 from 56, my split times for miles have come down a minute and a half from when I started.  But something is....off...

One of the things I used to love when I was an athlete in college was how much I could EAT!  I LOVE EATING!  And I love eating whatever I want - who doesn't?  When my little monitor says I've burned so many calories during my work outs, that gives me license to just eat with abandon, right?

I burned 720 calories today!

Yeah.  Well first of all, sweet cheeks, you are NOT 20 years old anymore.  Second of all, do you notice how you drag on the mornings after you've had two glasses of wine or chocolate or an enormous helping of chips and salsa (or all three?)?  The whole "food as fuel" concept has not really stuck with me yet.  Food as enjoyment, food as reward, food as comfort?  Yeah - got those concepts in the bag.

And the more I read and understand about inflammation inside our bodies and blood vessels, the more I realize, I'm flunking out on the nutritional portion of my training.

From Dr. Dwight Lundell, cardiac surgeon from Mesa, AZ.

There is no escaping the fact that the more we consume prepared and processed foods, the more we trip the inflammation switch little by little each day. The human body cannot process, nor was it designed to consume, foods packed with sugars and soaked in omega-6 oils.

When you spike your blood sugar level several times a day, every day, it is exactly like taking sandpaper to the inside of your delicate blood vessels.

Click here for Dr. Lundell's article.

In my normal food cycle, I would take time to beat myself up about how poorly I was doing nutritionally, how I was essentially taking sandpaper to my blood vessels with my chips and salsa and then go ahead and continue on the downward spiral.  Seeing as that strategy does not work, it's time to double down.

If I were flunking or really struggling with something in my pre-med classes, I would double down and  be really intentional about carving out more time, making notecards, recopying notes, relistening to lectures.  Time to take that tactic for myself in relation to my "nutritional training".

What I'm wanting for myself in this part of my journey, is the feeling of satiation that comes from eating well and fueling my body well.  That feeling of getting up in the morning (having had enough sleep!  But that's a topic for another day...) and knowing that my body has what it needs for my workout, but also for my day of work, class, lab, being with my family, etc...

Wish me luck!  Here's to continuing on the adventure!

Post run on a cloudy, humid Phoenix day

Gluten Free Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

The quest for great gluten free treats continues and these cookies are BY FAR the yummiest I've tried so far!  They are flourless and oh-so-tasty. :)

I didn't have coconut sugar and used regular sugar, which worked fine.  I also used more chocolate chips in place of 1/4 c cacao nibs.  The size of the chocolate chips and walnut pieces were a little large and presented some issue getting the cookies to stick together, so I might suggest making sure your walnuts and perhaps even your chocolate chips are extra chopped.

Tahini chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup tahini (or almond butter)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoon ground chia, mixed with 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup 100 percent, GLUTEN FREE rolled oats
• 1 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 pinch sea salt

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix tahini, chia mixture, cinnamon, coconut sugar and pinch of sea salt until well combined, then mix remaining ingredients. You might want to get in there with your hands to ensure it’s well combined and dough-like consistency is formed. Roll into golf-size balls in your hands, then press flat on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or greased with coconut oil. Smooth top and form into rounds. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely before eating.

I also tried Peggy's recipe for Bean & Quinoa Burgers this week and definitely recommend them, as well!

Here's a link to all three of Peggy's recipes from the Today Show.