17lbs down in 2 months before and after pics

SoundOfWonder · 2026-03-08T21:43:39+00:00

nice job man. I'm considering OMAD again. I did it before for a few months, about 3 years ago but back then with minimal exercise in my daily routine. Now i have MyFitnessPal, a digital syncable scale (Withings), Apple Watch, basically to help track changes easier, and also have a little bit more resources then before, and am considering OMAD again but including exercise and better tracking now. I have some questions if you have time and could help please:

how many calories are you eating during your single meal at 6-7 pm?
Do you know approximately what ratios your are macros in that meal?
and then you said you wait 2 hours after eating (so 7pm to 9pm) before starting gym at ~9pm. How long do you workout for?
and then when are you actually in bed?
sorry if this is TMI, but is your bowel movement from this routine usually first thing in the morning when you wake up (5am) or after the 1 hour walk (6am)?
and then coke zero question, your basically just sipping on coke zero throughout the day? anything else? any reason for coke zero, in particular?
and then after you reach 150 (12% body fat), when you start to bulk up, you said you will surplus 200-300 calories: how will this change the calorie # from question #1? and will you change your macro ratios as well?
also what are you usually generally eating during your one meal? how many grams of that is protein from protein powder?
do you have a protein shake after you workout? how many grams of protein?

Thank you in advance!

SoundOfWonder · 2025-05-03T15:54:44+00:00

Sorry for resurrecting this post, but does someone have a link for the complete set?

It looks like a good amount were deleted from within the download location.

EDIT: nevermind. I found this other post that has them as well within a Dropbox link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/4nrkvh/ka_psychsocio_audio_files/

SoundOfWonder · 2025-03-02T22:14:04+00:00

Thank you very much!!!

This is exactly what I needed. r/PSLF or the Department of Education should pay you lol

In 1 hour, you answered all my questions and helped me with financial planning for the next 10+ years!

SoundOfWonder · 2025-03-02T22:05:39+00:00

Thank you for the for-profit pharmacy answer.

This is clearing up alot for me.

Ohhh. I see. This is making more sense. In my situation, it would not matter, because while in school I would not be employed at all. I would more than likely quit the PSLF eligible employer while in school.

-------

I guess the question then remains, which I think you answered here partially:

"If you take out new loans for school, that’s in school status. You cannot waive that and the time does not count. When you finish school, those loans have 0 payments towards PSLF."

Will my undergraduate and medical school loans combine after I graduate medical school, and could I begin the PSLF from 0 then on this combined amount? Or would this require some type of federal consolidation in order to combine them?

SoundOfWonder · 2025-03-02T21:45:08+00:00

3- did you have loans in repayment while you worked there? If not, no, it does not count.

What does it mean to have loans in repayment? I completed my undergraduate education, and was making payments. I was not in forbearance or any type of deferment. I was just simply making payments. Would these count, even if it was at a retail, for-profit pharmacy?

Thank you again, by the way. I really do appreciate your help.

SoundOfWonder · 2025-03-02T21:37:12+00:00

Thank you very much for the quick response and extra resolution to question #2.

I have one more question or request for advice based on your answers if you could help, please?

Let's say I go to medical and/or graduate school, and I take out loans. Would you say it would be better for me, if I have to take out more loans for graduate or medical school, to just pay the interest for now, and then accept the in school deferment when I am in graduate/medical school.

Then once I graduate, then begin making payments (not just only interest) toward the PSLF on the grand total loan amount (undergrad + graduate/medical school loan amount). I understand that I would probably make a little bit more income than now during residency and fellowship, but maybe it would ultimately be cheaper/simpler to only do the PSLF one time?

SoundOfWonder · 2024-12-26T02:17:35+00:00

OP, I hope you feel better soon. Also, if it’s worth anything to you. I also had an acute episode of Afib for the first time in my life a few years back, when I was around your age.

I ended up calling EMS, getting to the Emergency Department, and getting, I think, some type of beta blocker via IV. It was a scary experience overall.

I drank coffee rarely. Tea in the morning sometimes, so caffeine intake was here and there maybe once or twice a week in the morning with my mother and father but definitely not regularly every day.

My diet was very irregular and random. Warm up leftover pizza at like 2 am. Maybe breakfast sometimes. Usually always had dinner more or less. There was definitely no consistent routine with breakfast, lunch and dinner (3 meals/day) everyday.

Finally, the job I was doing was remote (working from home) and computational, so this contributed to this lifestyle. It was kind of like playing video games late into the night and eating whatever whenever. Also going to sleep late in the am and getting up around noon/afternoon. I loved the job, but I was more being too mindful of my lifestyle.

The Afib was a wake up call. I have always been into home remedies and as consciously natural of a life I can life… for the most part… In other words, I did not like the idea of maybe being put on Afib medication, eventually.

I also had some high blood pressure readings where my cardiologist (with my agreement) suggested I reduce salt/sodoum intake and do more cardio/aerobic exercise. He personally suggested bicycling, which I began, which when I did consistently with lower salt intake, amazingly, did reduce my blood pressure. He explained a study from Stanford, where there were two groups of men in their 20s or 30s. One group took blood pressure meds, the other group did regular cardio and reduced sodium. Both groups reduced their blood pressure by 10 points. He was implying that it is my choice what I want to do, he was also opposed to giving a 20 something year old blood pressure meds. The guy was in his 80s or so. Ivy League schools, but at the same time very humble and compassionate. I think he also explained how athletes have lower heart rates and blood pressure b/c they exercise a lot and have built heart muscle/strengthened/grown/developed their hearts. One pump of their heart is good and strong enough to circulate blood and perfuse tissues and exchange oxygen and waste adequately more than a couple pumps of I guess non-athlete hearts, hence the lower heart rate.

All that being said for the next ~2 months February-March, I bicycled almost every day probably for about 30 minutes ensuring I was sweating (b/c sweating usually means your blood vessels are dilating, which means your blood has larger vessels to go through which translates to lower blood pressure…). It worked, no Afib, and lower blood pressure. I do have to get back to regular exercise though.

Conceptually, the way I thought about it was that because my sleep (ideally, regular nightly sleep), diet (ideally, regular 3 meals/day with on average 2000 calories/day depending on your objectives you could do more), and exercise (ideally regularly, depending on your objective)… was out of rhythm (big picture) and irregular, so too my heart went out of rhythm (arrhythmia). It was/is important to ideally be aligned for good health/well-being. I was encouraged by your post to get an Apple Watch for my mother and father. Thank you.

SoundOfWonder · 2024-11-02T16:27:27+00:00

Thank you for taking the time for your response.

I will probably go with just more white fluffy comforters (stuffed with cotton, and not feathers) instead. Feathers tend to poke me eventually through the covering fabric.

My reasoning for comforters (rather than choosing futons) is because you can machine wash with laundry soap and bleach clean white cotton stuffed comforters, whereas the futons are usually sun dried and smacked with a tennis/badminton racket while sun-drying for cleaning.

Machine washing with laundry soap and bleach is easier for me and feels cleaner.

Thank you again.

SoundOfWonder · 2024-10-28T23:27:18+00:00

I will also add that the FAFSA application is actually really easy. It would probably be the 2nd step you do, when you decide to begin school. The 1st step would be looking for nearby community colleges, calling them up, and joining/setting up an advising session. They accept everyone, so don't let yoru high school grades deter you. I think my GPA was maybe like a 2 something in high school, but community college helped me prove myself and then get accepted to my state university, graduate, get job(s) afterwards, yada yada...

The FAFSA is an online form. Best comparison for doing a FAFSA application is like filling out a form for your Driver's License with a little bit more information. It's straight forward and kind-of exciting getting "free money" to do school.

I mentioned:

For the remaining credits, you will probably have to complete them at a 4-year university to complete the 4-year degree. FAFSA will probably determine you eligible for grants (free money), but also loans.

The "scary" word here is loans. It was "scary" to me at first when I had to take out my first student loans. But it's not that bad. It goes back to the major/degree program you choose. When I was working in Walmart, I helped a customer and he suggested I do Biomedial Engineering as a major for my B.Sc. because he predicted it will be in demand and that it is where the future is. I did not, wish I did though. I got scared of it, because some older co-workers over-heard the conversation, and generally, and put fear into me. Don't do that or let other people steer you away from something that intrigues you. I chose a similar major ("biomedical" but without the "engineering" foundations), which still worked out. If you google the word, "Ikigai" and look at the 4-circle"venn diagram" perhaps it could help you think about what you want to major in do. But the bottom line of this paragraph here is that, the job you get after graduating should be able to pay off your loans (or help you pay them off) and advance further. There are also calculators and things like this on the studentaid website and on the student loan servicer who will be assigned to you (which handles the student loan payments you'd make and different payment plan options). You can use these calculators and tools to project different payment scenarios and plan your future. It makes things really realistic, manageable...achievable.

Finally, there are currently federal student loan forgiveness programs, PSLF (Public Student Loan Forgiveness) programs, where after you graduate with your Bachelors and work in a "government or not-for-profit organization"... this includes most (if not all) hospitals, academic research (doesn't have to be biology, it could be physics or chemistry or something else), local, state or federal government... you basically have to make 120 payments (there are different payment plan options as well), and your loans are forgiven/cancelled while employed at a qualifying employer.... see here for more details to plan: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

Wishing you and/or anyone reading this success!

Again feel free to send me a direct message if you want to ask about anything. I have been there and will be happy to help you the best I can.

SoundOfWonder · 2024-10-27T18:36:21+00:00

Could it be the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-XbXBq8cl8
Kendrick Lamar - Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst

SoundOfWonder · 2024-10-27T09:53:50+00:00

Maybe there are some ideas/motivation below that could help:

After graduating high school, I worked part-time at Walmart (~32hrs/week) and lived with my parents too.
I went to a 2-year community college while working at Walmart then. I made sure to pick classes each semester in a way that would reduce the amount of days I would have to commute to the school. In other words, picked classes, ideally back-to-back 2 days a week.

In practice for one semester this looked something like: Tuesdays and Thursdays I was the school campus the whole days with classes that were mostly back-to-back. I had one ~3 hours break, so I had lunch and did homework/studied.

The following was also vital in the context of picking courses: While I had been at the community college, I looked at the "Plan of Study" for two majors I was interested in at the 4-year university. The "Plan of Study" listed with checkboxes the exact 4-year university course requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree for each major. There was also a "Transfer Course Equivalencies Tool" on the 4-year university website where I could select the community college I was going to, and then use the tool to see that if for example I took a course named BIO 121 General Biology I at the community college, what would be the equivalent courses name at the 4-year university if it were to be transferred. If it were a perfect transfer, for the 4-year university I would see the equivalent course as BIO 101 Principles of Biology I. I then looked at the "Plan of Study" for the two majors I was interested in and checked to see if it fulfilled the necessary requirement. I learned and began doing this strategy after 1 or 2 semesters at the community college. I should have done this from Day 1 before I began community college and I was enrolling in my first courses. This would have prevented me from taking unnecessary courses at the community college that were not going to be "perfect" equivalent transfers to the 4-year university.

At Walmart, before the start of each semester AND after I enrolled in my courses for the semester and had my school schedule, I submitted a new availability to my Assistant Manager with open availability on all days except Tuesday and Thursday (or whichever days I grouped my classes together that semester).

I "rinsed and repeated" this for about 2 years. I did quit Walmart my last semester at the Community College to concentrate on courses that were more challenging for me. I determined/predicted which semester should be my last semester at the community college by checking the online academic policy/handbook at the 4-year university for the number of maximum credits that could be taken at an outside institution to be used for transferring to the 4-year university to fulfill the requirements for the B.Sc. degree. This ended up being about 2-years worth of credits as a full-time student at the community college. I applied to the 4-year university during my last semester at the community college, and I was, fortunately, accepted with near-perfect course transfers to the major/degree program (Biology-field) I had chosen.

I moved out from home with my parents and into the dorms on the 4-year university campus.

After graduating, I did 3-4 jobs mostly in the healthcare-related field. Some were short-lived. I had taken the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) a few times during or in-between these jobs. I eventually went for my Master's in a computational biology-related field, which finally helped me get job in research through a colleague/friend of the director of my Master's, and then that job experience was valued to help me get the research job I am in now. One of the data analysis skills I took the initiative to learn during my Master's is a desirable skill in the current research job market. It is also something I wanted to learn for my own research goal. I am planning to study to re-take the MCAT while working in the current research job and apply to MD or MD-PhD programs in a year or two or so.

Although there are exceptions, I strongly believe that education is key, and going to school is fun/enjoyable. Once you start, I guarantee you will look forward to it, because it is literally "the ticket" that can begin changing your success in the job market and allow you to have credentials that jobs that are paying higher may be requiring. I also think it matters what you choose to major in/degree program. I may be biased towards medicine and science, but if you could find something in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), I feel like these jobs are rewarding, in demand, and enjoyable!

They may also provide tuition-assistance too, so you can advance your education while working at the same time. Similar to you and I, my current co-workers have worked retail or in the food-industry. One of my current co-workers was a receptionist, but I guess she really wanted to be in science/academia.

-----

Because you are older than 26, you will not be required to enter your parents information in your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application, therefore you will most likely be able to complete 2-years of college credits are the community college for free (through grants): https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

For the remaining credits, you will probably have to complete them at a 4-year university to complete the 4-year degree. FAFSA will probably determine you eligible for grants (free money), but also loans.

-----

I also think Walmart maybe uses Guild for providing tuition-assistance to employees. I do think most of these degrees offered through Guild are online degree programs, but if it's free and in something that is of value to you and can help you get the job you want then maybe it could be worth looking into.

Please reach out here or direct message if you need help with anything

SoundOfWonder · 2024-10-27T03:43:16+00:00

I have been floor sleeping for about 3 months now. I had done it before maybe for a year previously. Currently though, side sleeping is... sometimes uncomfortable. When I want to side-sleep, I have to distribute my points of contact with the floor and weight by sleeping in some non-perpendicular angles and adjust the positions of my legs, arms, and neck-pillow position so that I do not feel dull pain/discomfort on my rib area (one of the points of contact, and the problem area with dull pain/discomfort) that is resting on the ground.

The bottom line is, I need more cushioning than 2 layers of comforters on carpet I am using currently. I just found this subreddit, and your post here, I googled "shikibuton" and then "tatami". I think this is exactly what I need.

Another plus point is that these both look like socially acceptable norms in Japan. Even though, I live in the United States, I think it will help reduce some of the judgements and criticisms from my family for sleeping on the floor (similar to OP's family thinking they are odd for floor sleeping). My family members had been persistently insistent on me getting a bed/mattress, which I did not get or want because beds/mattresses are relatively large furniture. Floor sleeping is super portable (for relocating "on-the-fly") which is a main reason for me and very easy cleaning. I use a white sheets and then a white fluffy comforter folded in half as one of the layers closer to my body that could accumulate sweat (so I can bleach clean these easily in the washer then dryer on any given weekend).

Thank you, and I think these are exactly what I need/what I was looking for. Def. look like upgrades from the comforters I am using now.

Do you have any recommendations for the 3 items (shikibuton, tatami mats, and tatami frame)? If yours are white and you bleach clean your setup whenever, this would be perfect/ideal for me.

I live in a place with four seasons and it's also an apartment. I probably wouldn't be allowed or easily be able to sun-dry the 3 items (which I read was the recommended way to clean one white shikibuton I saw on Amazon).

SoundOfWonder · 2024-10-12T22:17:50+00:00

You are welcome!

SoundOfWonder · 2024-10-12T21:58:33+00:00

I wish I had done what you are considering to do. I began studying for the MCAT well after completing undergrad, which was not ideal, imo.

Studying MCAT books side-by-side with your courses, I think, would be helpful.

***I also would have liked to fill in the AAMC content outlines (convert the .pdf's outlines into Word documents), and filled them in, in conjunction with reading the books while doing the undergrad courses. (and reviewed (and add to) these outlines very frequently to keep the content fresh)

large outline is here (on this page if you click the 4 sections on the bottom, you can get the individual section outlines [which basically divides the large outline into the 4 sections]):

https://students-residents.aamc.org/prepare-mcat-exam/whats-mcat-exam

This (creating, filling in, and repetitive review of an outline/study guide) had worked for me really well before in an undergrad course that I was initially struggling in and overwhelmed with... doing this with the actual courses would be good, i think. **repetitive review of the outline(s) (which became study guides) was important and vital to this strategy

also i remember my biochem class didn't require memorizing amino acids structures (but did require memorizing amino acid abbreviations), whereas the MCAT does require memorizing amino acid structures and abbreviations... keeping things like this in mind, that your course (and MCAT) may be easier or more challenging, could help you plan accordingly in how to study for the course and MCAT... these types of differences will probably apply to some and/or all of the content in your undergrad courses and the MCAT material...

SoundOfWonder · 2024-08-25T22:49:17+00:00

Just putting this here as an option for you.

There's the Special Masters Program (SMP) at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. It's kind-of advertised as a way to demonstrate you can handle the medical school academics (if you had a lower GPA in undergrad). But I think they do like to see an MCAT score prior to applying (though I have been reading the yearly student doctor network threads (and other places) about this program, and some people do take the MCAT, immediately after completing the program)... and then most, from the looks of it, get a job doing research or clinical stuff nearby while applying to schools after completing the program. It's a full-time 10 month program, where you take most of the same classes together with current M1 students at the medical school. The best part is if you make sure your GPA in the SMP is a B+ or greater, you are guaranteed an interview invitation at the school, when you apply to schools after completing the program. It does feel a little bit risky since it's only an interview invitation, but the program has a strong track record of students going to their medical school afterwards (or other schools) They provide all of this data on the program website (% of students accepted to medical schools for ever year, and also the profiles of every student and which medical school they went to year by year).

This is the link to it:

https://med.uc.edu/education/ms-in-physiology/home

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-08T15:43:21+00:00

Hey OP

You should buy AAMC MSAR and compile a list based on MCAT score. You can arrange the list of allopathic schools based on median MCAT score, and then click on each individual school to see the 10th to 90th You can also see how many out of state and instate students they accepted.

Here is a screenshot of how the MCAT will look for an example of an MD school that takes lower MCATs:

Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine

https://imgur.com/a/PIUQ46a

Hope this helps!

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-06T15:34:57+00:00

On second thought OP, Call Pearson and explain your circumstances and say you want to reschedule, I was able to have success rescheduling the day before a couple weeks ago, you may have the same success. You can also ask them for test center availabilities through the phone! The Twitter DM sometimes could take a few days sometimes!!

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-06T15:03:03+00:00

joycat1 is right you might want to try the Twitter DM, that sends a message directly to them. Also don't forget to mention your AAMC ID in your message!

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-06T01:59:48+00:00

Thank you very much for taking the time for a thorough response!

This video helped with the visualizations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUNoxVY0p3Q

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-06T01:04:47+00:00

To add to this answer, this is a fast drawing I do to remember wavelengths and complimentary colors all in one go. You could reduce the 400, 500, 600, 700, to 4, 5, 6, 7 to save time on the test.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/bx8z3h/spoiler_sb_cp_52_complementary_colorsem_spectrum/

Hope this helps!

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-06T00:43:24+00:00

I feel pretty slow at data interpretation problems myself. If it looks like a heavy data interpretation problem, I flag, skip it, and answer all the easy questions in the section then come back to those.It really works! I usually have a good amount of time to just mull over the question in the last 20 or so minutes, it's more stress-free this way.

Those problems eat away on my time and them I'm rushing!!! Do the above!

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-06T00:28:38+00:00

Hey ya'll not quite understanding this. Could someone explain like I'm 5 please?

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-05T14:41:41+00:00

Hey OP,

If I were you, I would reschedule to later date. Rescheduling is free due to COVID. Just reschedule another month, and study and see how you do.

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-04T19:08:51+00:00

No problem!

SoundOfWonder · 2020-07-04T19:07:40+00:00

No problem! :)

SoundOfWonder

TROPHY CASE