After many months of long study days, thousands of practice questions, and more sitting than I ever wish to do again in my life, I AM DONE WITH BOARDS. (at least until Step 2).

Some people have been asking HOW I prepared for boards but I'm going to hold off on that until I know how well I did. I would hate to give out poor advice! I will say that my school provided us with a program that we were required to complete. Lots of pros and cons to this that I'll be happy to discuss in the future. I also supplemented with UWorld, USMLERx and COMQUEST question banks and Pathoma. My ultimate point of reference was the med school bible aka First Aid. 

I have NO CLUE how things went yesterday. COMLEX is known for being very vague. There were a ton of questions where I was able to narrow it down to two answers. Praying that I made the right choices! Throughout the test I just felt so strange, not sure how else to describe it. The exam didn't feel like any of the practice I had done.  

Another issue of note. It was originally my plan to take both the MD boards (USMLE) and DO boards (COMLEX) but I eventually settled on just taking COMLEX. I wasn't confident enough that I could hit my USMLE goal and I didn't want to risk performing below average. Better to focus all my energy on doing as well on COMLEX as possible, than risk having two low scores. I hope I won't regret it! Honestly though, after taking one 8 hour exam I'm not sure where I would find the mental strength to take another. 

So...now we wait. I'm trying to resist the temptation to look up the answers to things or dwell on what I could have done better. It's over. Board scores are a pretty important portion of my future residency application and obviously I need to pass them to graduate! At this point there is nothing else I can do so I'm just gonna celebrate and enjoy life!

The next few weeks are going to be so FUN! This weekend one of my very best friends from med school is getting married in Louisville! After that we are going to Cincinnati for a few days before boarding a plane to SEATTLE! Ahhhh I'm so excited! 

We didn't get to go on a honeymoon after the wedding last year so we're taking our belated honeymoon/anniversary trip now. Why Seattle? Why not? We aren't really big beach vacation people so we decided to check out somewhere different. Our goal is to visit all the Major League Baseball parks - two years ago we went to Atlanta and now we'll check another off our list. 

After Seattle, I have hospital orientation and on July 6th I start my third year rotations. Life is flying by and I'm another step closer to becoming a doctor!

Also, don't forget that Weigh In Wednesday has been passed down to Winter @ No Drama Little Mama so go check that out and link up! As for me? I've been maintaining my Whole30 weight loss and slowly chipping away at my goals. The last week has been hit or miss with my workouts but I'm looking forward to the study-free life.

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Hey!  Let's just right in to some news...today will be my last week hosting Weigh In Wednesday.

This link-up has changed a lot in the two years that I've been involved with it! We've had people linking up since day one (way before I started!) and lots of new faces that have become awesome supporters and friends.

My decision to give up hosting duties comes largely from the uncertainties of my future clinical rotation schedule. My participation in the link-up has been spotty at times during my pre-clinical years of med school so I can only imagine what things will be like when I'm taking call overnight and working a crazy schedule. I don't want to continue to put a half effort here when someone with more enthusiasm for the project would do much better than me!

My life has changed a lot since first starting this blog and joining the link-up. When I graduated college, I was the worst shape of my life. Bloated, puffy, sick looking. As I faced adulthood and life after college, I was so insecure and lacking any sort of confidence.  I spent the year after college gaining clinical experience, applying to medical school, and struggling to gain control over my life.

Slowly, through the help of this link-up and the many friends I've made along the way, something finally stuck. After years of yo-yo dieting, self-hatred, disordered eating, and crazy methods, I started to embrace moderation and self-efficacy that comes along with setting realistic goals and chipping away at them.

In the past two years, I've successfully lost nearly 50 pounds (so close!), ran 2 half marathons, and several 5K & 10Ks. I've started lifting weights and discovered Crossfit. I've embraced a "real food" approach to eating - one with healthy fats, complex carbs, protein, and tons of nutrients! (You can read my first WIW here). More than that, I've gotten engaged, married, moved to a new city, completed two years of medical school, and accomplished more than I ever thought possible.

With all these wonderful accomplishments to look back on, I know that I'm not done yet. From a health perspective, weight still needs to be lost. Races still need to be run. Weights still need to be lifted. Yoga poses need to be held (I tried...). I have a career to begin and a family to start (not yet!). I'm not done here but I need a chance to share it with you all on my own terms.

Weight is no longer the singular focus in my life. It actually means very little to me compared to how well I sleep or how high my energy is for the day. Food isn't just comfort or a security blanket for me anymore - it's fuel to power through my workouts and study sessions. Workouts aren't just something I do to lose weight now. I workout to feel ALIVE and strong. More often than not, my workouts are my favorite part of the day! Most days, I wake up ready to tackle the day. I'm starting to feel the confidence that being about to back squat over 200 lbs brings. I feel powerful knowing that two years ago, I never thought I could run a mile, let alone 13! I feel strong knowing that I can make healthier choices but also enjoy life at the same time.

With all that said I will continue to link up with you all, just not as a host. I'm ready to continue my journey on my own and share other aspects of my life besides weight. I will of course update you when I reach the next milestones of my journey. And since we know I'm not the most consistent blogging, please come follow me over on Instagram  (@prettystrongmed) or Twitter since that's where I do most of my updating these days!

Winter will continue to host the link-up from now on so make sure you check her out over at No Drama, Little Mama. I suspect she will be looking for a couple co-hosts to help her so shoot her an email if you are interested!

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Why does life fly by so fast? I'm less than two weeks away from COMLEX and three weeks from USMLE. Wow. Today I'm taking a "post-course diagnostic" test that came with my study program to determine if I'm ready to take boards. Talk about pressure! I hope I do well!

After a few months of yo-yoing, I'm starting to see progress again with weight loss. Really, I feel like my body composition has been changing even though the scale hasn't been moving which I'm still pleased with. I think it may be time to take some new measurements! 

Height: 5'8"

SW: 236.2

Last Week: 191

This week: 187.6

Change: -3.4

Total Loss: -48.6

I don't want to jinx it but I'm really hoping I can hit the big 5-0 pounds lost this week. Only 1.4 more to go!

Now off to my study cave I go! 

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Hello again! I wish I could tell you all about the all the great adventures I've been having but, alas, I'm just here studying my little brain off. I'm slowly accumulating emails, laundry, and TV shows in my DVR but I'm pressing on regardless. Don't tell me what happened on The Bachelorette or Dancing With The Stars - I haven't watched! :(

T-minus 3 weeks until COMLEX and 4 weeks until USMLE. I'm not the type of person to get overly "excited" by things but my anxiety is running HIGH. Like moments are pure panic randomly throughout the day. 

With all this sitting, my back is starting to get kind of crappy again but I'm doing my best to keep moving, switch up my positions, and do my rehab exercises. The best $20 I've ever spent? A heating pad. It works wonders and really helps me from getting sore or seizing up. 

I did take a study break to enjoy my FIRST strawberry chicken poppyseed salad from Panera last week! Yum yum! I love this salad. And Panera is generally a nice place to get a few hours of study time in! Free wifi and unlimited iced tea make me a happy girl.

And that wraps up the most exciting parts of the last week :) My weight is holding steady this week. I woke up feeling a lot more sore than I ever thought I'd be after yesterday's Crossfit class - heavy strict shoulder presses and Romanian deadlifts plus the Met Con. I'm feeling it!

Crossfit has been my main form of exercise the past week or so but I really want to get back to running and doing other types of cardio. My body responds to both strength training and cardio but I feel like I lose weight a little faster with circuit training and HIITs. I need to stop feeling guilty about non-study time - it keeps me sane!

Hope you are having a wonderful week! Stay patient with me :) We're in the home stretch.

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Hello all. I'm actually going to post today, crazy right?

I feel like I'm in a constant state of heightened anxiety now so sitting down to write has been difficult. Any second spent away from boards studying is a second wasted - I hate to admit that I'm starting to get panicky with only 4 weeks left. (+ another one before USMLE). I'm starting to have all those familiar feelings I had prior to the MCAT: Why didn't I start earlier (because I was still in class...)? Why didn't I do more practice throughout the year? I should push back my exam dates (nope, not possible). Can I get a career change, please?! (Good luck paying back all those loans...).

Panic!

I just over here waiting to have a breakthrough in my studying - the moment when I know enough at one single time to do comfortably well. My boards prep is being dictated by a mandatory program provided by my school - quite frankly I'm ready to get that over with. I do appreciate the structure of the program but many of those resources leave me less than satisfied. I find myself referring to the "classic" resources more and more (First Aid, Pathoma, & Q banks). None of this is remotely interesting unless you are in med school so I will make a boards specific post a priority. 

Weigh in time. 

Height: 5'8"

SW: 236.2

Last Week: 189.6 (was the same last week)

This week: 188

Change: -1.6

Total Loss: -48.2

At least I can say ONE thing is going well. I'm slowly making progress again - I feel like I'm losing FAT (not just weight) which is largely due to lifting & Crossfit. I haven't been running since my races two weeks ago (yup...still haven't done a recap of that either). I'm eating MORE than I ever have while "dieting/cutting/weight losing" - anywhere from 1800-2100 calories a day. Now my challenge is making sure those calories are HIGH quality, real foods. I still struggle with making good choices but for the most part, things are pretty healthy.

Chili stuffed peppers, green beans, roasted veggies, sweet potato.

Tacos on corn tortillas (which I promptly ate around because corn tortillas aren't good)

Random lunch - roasted brussel sprouts & taco contents.

 I never thought I would be the girl who actually looks forward to working out but here I am. Gym time is the most peaceful and wonderful part of my day. I'm hitting new PRs and starting to feel like maybe I belong in the gym (instead of feeling like a big ninny who doesn't know what they are doing). This week I started a new program to do on non-Crossfit days from a book a purchased a year or two ago - New Lifting Rules for Women. I will let you all know how it goes and if it is sustainable with Crossfit training.

I'm not someone who is 100% committed to one activity - I have to switch things up which is why you'll never see me running 5 days a week or doing Crossfit every day like some people. But I am willing to do SOMETHING more days than not. Now it's about trying to figure out the best way to do this while still allowing for adequate recovery and growth.

PRed my deadlift - 223 lbs

Welcome to the best part of my day, aside from when my husband comes home from work :) 

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Posting link up for now - back soon to update!

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Well, today was a double FAIL. Forgot to write a post AND left my computer at home when I went to study this morning. I'm on a roll, aren't I? 

Nothing too exciting to report here anyway...except I'm officially done with classes! For the past two weeks we were completely various cases and presentations with our small groups for "problem based learning." It was super helpful to be able to tackle complicated cases with a group of friends but I am SO glad it's over! PBL took a lot of time away from my boards studying so I'm anxious to get caught up.

Speaking of boards...the next 6-7 weeks are completely devoted to studying for COMLEX & USMLE. I'm scheduled to take both at the beginning of June, one week apart; COMLEX is first.

Things are stressful but I'm looking forward to zeroing on boards for the next few weeks. I will also be able to really focus in on my nutrition and workouts - no excuses, right? Just in time for wedding season and our belated honeymoon trip at the end of June! 

Last day of PBL means donuts & coffee :)

Boards. Boards. Boards.

As far as WIW goes, I'm SLOWLY getting back on track. Down another pound this week :) My nutrition certainly isn't perfect but I'm trying to get back to a good equilibrium. The problem with Crossfit is that it makes me SO hungry! Well really, any type of weight lifting leaves me hungry so trying to eat in a deficit is a struggle - usually I end up eating more around maintenance. 

Sometimes I want to rush the process and go super strict just to get the remaining weight off. Losing 20 lbs in a month would be AWESOME but I know that I would also be sacrificing muscle tissue and could potentially do damage to my hormones/metabolism. Slow and steady wins it.  

Height: 5'8"

SW: 236.2

Last Week: 190.6

This week: 189.6

Change: -1.0

Total Loss: -46.6

So, I will continue to do the best I can to eat for my goals and fuel my training properly. Be patient, put the work in, and adjust accordingly.

A typical meal for me - I'm trying to make veggies the main course instead of my starches.

Sometimes a girl just want's some yummy fish!

Training wise, I've been going to Crossfit 3 times a week, gym once or twice a week, yoga once a week

, and then I fill in with runs when I can. This weekend is supposed to be my half marathon but I really just don't feel comfortable running it at this point. My back is still not healed 100% and I haven't been following my training program like I would have hoped - things just got crazy at the end of the semester. 

I'm planning to run the 10K on Saturday, though! I'm super disappointed with myself but there will be many more half marathons in the future! My number one goal is to get my back to a happy, healthy place.

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Well last week was a major FAIL. Whoops. I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately but perhaps I can shed some light on that.

Obviously I don't really blog all that much anymore in between WIWs. I feel like when I do make time to write, my posts are very one note and usually contain the same information - I'm busy, I workout, I eat things, here's my plan, etc. I sure hope once I start rotations, I will have more interesting things to say! Please bear with me for the next couple of months! 

I think at times I have portrayed the image that I have a great life balance. People have reached out to me in various ways to suggest that I appear that way at least. You don't know how far from the truth that is! 

I doubt this comes as a surprise to anyone but medical school is REALLY hard. And not even in a conceptual, learning way. I mean in an emotionally draining, randomly bawling your eyes out, crazy existential crisis kind of way. The emotional struggles that accompany this journey seem to be culminating around this huge mountain in the not so distant future - boards. 

Right now I'm stuck in med school purgatory. I'm not quite finished with my classes but really need to be dedicating my full time to board prep. It's some type of awkward limbo and I really over it! Just let me STUDY!

As far as the other areas of my life, my weight was holding pretty steady the past few weeks at around 192. I guess the good news is that I'm getting really good at maintaining my weight :) Today I weighed in at 190.6 so I'm starting to make progress again. Even though the scale isn't moving as fast as I would like, I'm continuing to see progress at Crossfit - lifting heavier and heavier, getting more efficient, etc. Now I need to get my running game on track (although I'm getting faster there, too!). 

Height: 5'8"

SW: 236.2

Last Week: 192

This week: 190.6

Change: -1.8

Total Loss: -45.6

Been meal prepping lately as well - I'm so behind on recipes but I will try to share some new ones for you all soon!

Crockpot pork - easy peasy!

Tomato artichoke soup!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have PBL (problem based learning) to attend and a whole bunch of studying to do! 

What are your favorite quick and easy meals?

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Crazy day! Hopefully I can come update later today.

 

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I thought hell week was over. It's not. Things will probably be pretty light on the blog this week - so much to do! In addition to boards prep, I have my LAST course exam coming up on Monday plus a wedding to go to in Cincinnati this weekend. I'm not sure how I'm going to get it all done but I'm trying to work ahead as much as possible.

Everything else is chugging along smoothly. My back is continuing to improve slowly, although it is still sore and stiff. I'm back to doing my half marathon training runs and I'm looking into weight training programs to follow between Crossfit workouts. I really want to start developing my upper body strength (my greatest weakness) - pull ups and push ups and bench presses, oh my! 

I'm taking a little "weigh in" hiatus due to the nature of my schedule. I'm super stressed right now so the last thing I need to do is stress over pounds on the scale. I'm just going to continue to eat healthy, get my workouts in, and keep my stress levels at bay. Hopefully that will be enough to lose a bit in next couple weeks!

Until then, friends, wish me luck! Once my test on Monday is over, I'll be able to breath again.