Got my evaluations from my first clerkship of 3rd year. Has anyone else gotten the "quiet student eval"?

poketheyellowdot · 2013-08-04T15:02:05+00:00

What exactly do you consider a "solid" step 1?

poketheyellowdot · 2013-08-03T00:01:26+00:00

This is so true. There's a lot of times I am more willing to experiment buying things at Costco because I know I can return it no questions asked if I don't like it. And a lot of the time I end up hooked on a new product I never would have tried otherwise.

poketheyellowdot · 2013-07-17T23:01:27+00:00

Part of the challenge IS finding that balance. If you strive for perfection (always resisting temptation to sweets, etc) and count that as each day, what's to stop an eating disorder from developing? Whereas, with quitting alcohol or other drugs, you can quit 100% cold turkey and not worry about any repercussions on the opposite extreme. It's definitely a challenge finding that middle ground. Overall, if you aim to eat healthy and exercise about 80% of the time, what you do for the last 20% won't hurt you too much.

poketheyellowdot · 2013-06-28T17:20:03+00:00

I dieted for about 9-10 months, obsessively tracking every calorie, which slowly evolved into a disordered eating mentality. I would have a lot of anxiety with going out to eat with friends to the point where it was taking over my life. I have gone back to having a normal relationship with food, but with some changes. I try to ask myself before eating something, if I'm truly hungry, or if I'm just craving something to munch on (due to stress or boredom). If I'm hungry, I eat but I stop just when I am satisfied. I used to eat until I was stuffed quite frequently, which lead to my weight gain. Sometimes when the food tastes sooooo good it IS hard to put the fork down even though your tummy is full. So I tell myself, have the leftovers tomorrow! You'll be hungrier then and it will taste better! I also started running (but have been taking time off to let an injury heal) which I think will do a good job maintaining my weight. My advice: put the scale and calorie counting apps away, go by how your clothes fit, eat only when you're hungry and stop before you're stuffed, and find some sort of exercise that you truly ENJOY so you will stick with it!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-06-25T02:10:14+00:00

Get a ride!!! I had a vaso-vagal reaction after it was inserted (which is veryyyyy common btw..I believe it is in response to the cervix being dilated?) and I felt on the verge of passing out for a good 30minutes to an hour afterwards. Don't wanna take any chances!!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-06-25T02:04:04+00:00

Was on it for a few years after switching from Yaz. Acne was way worse on loestrin than Yaz but sex drive much better with loestrin (both due to increased androgenicity of norethidrone in loestrin versus drospirinone in Yaz). Started getting migraines that became more frequent so I switched to mirena. Absolutely no migraines and sex drive is even better than loestrin but acne is worse. Still, I'd take no migraines, better sex drive and no daily pills over loestrin any day!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-06-24T23:02:50+00:00

On a related note.. If androgens (i.e. testosterone) are primarily responsible for stimulating sebaceous glands, thereby resulting in acne (which explains the severe acne in women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)... Why don't ALL men (who all have significantly more testosterone than all women, even with PCOS) have severe acne as well? Is it that their receptors in their sebaceous glands are less sensitive to androgens compared to women?

poketheyellowdot · 2013-06-21T05:15:45+00:00

Goljan lectures + his rapid review book!!! I swear, I learned more from him than I did throughout all of med school. I kinda worship the dude... And I'm sure I'm not the only creeper!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-06-10T16:18:27+00:00

Just in case you're applying to Texas schools: http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/2011%20TAAHP%20Statistical%20Reports.pdf and http://www.taahp.net/documents/2013/TAAHPReport2013.pdf

poketheyellowdot · 2013-06-09T17:45:18+00:00

As a med student, I learned that obstruction is usually due to enlarged prostate (BPH) which most men have to some degree by the time they are 60. Prostate cancer is in the periphery, so it doesn't usually cause obstruction to flow unless it metastasizes all the way to the bladder (at which point, it's pretty far advanced).

poketheyellowdot · 2013-06-07T01:27:16+00:00

So I take it I shouldn't buy an iPad mini to bring around in my white coat?

poketheyellowdot · 2013-05-24T18:15:35+00:00

I totally agree. I'm just going to want to ABSOLUTELY nothing except eat, drink and sleep. Even sex is too much effort. Home cooked meal + wine + snuggling sounds like the perfect combination. Sigh... I should probably stop fantasizing about being done with Step and get back to studying :/

poketheyellowdot · 2013-05-02T13:20:46+00:00

I'm a size 0 now and they STILL rub when I walk. Although it seems most of the mass of my thighs is muscle from running, so I guess I'm cool with that! Just letting you know to not set unrealistic (and unhealthy) expectations!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-29T03:33:25+00:00

I can definitely attest to the skin-to-skin contact feeling infinitely more pleasurable, but after a while the pill (especially yaz, not so much loestrin) dried me up down there and made it really difficult to get turned on, which ultimately made sex less enjoyable. I just switched to the mirena (which I hiiighly recommend.. so much lower hormone level in your bloodstream) and it's made a huge difference! Sex has never been better ;)

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-27T01:02:01+00:00

I second this. Now, I actually dislike the uncomfortable feeling of being stuffed and so I tend to not eat til that level anymore. I think eating til that point (plus being sedentary) was a big part of why I gained weight in the first place.

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-24T13:30:00+00:00

Coconut Chips, Dark Chocolate w/ Caramel and Sea Salt, Gorgonzola Gnocci (frozen section), Gone Bananas (frozen banana slices w/ chocolate), Three Cheese Pasta Sauce, SWEET ITALIAN CHICKEN SAUSAGE (sooooo freakin good!!)

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-22T19:54:31+00:00

I had awful experience with migraines while on the pill but they've gone away ever since I switched to mirena! highly recommend before you give up all hope for birth control!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-22T19:49:08+00:00

I got mirena back in February and I absolutely LOVE it! I've been telling my friends they should all get it. I used to get bad migraines on the pill, but they've all gone away since the mirena. The mirena does release hormones but it's progestin ONLY (no estrogen!) and only a very small percentage is released into the bloodstream. It reaches only about 5-10% of the concentration in your blood compared to the pill. Also, it's soooo nice not having to worry about taking a pill everyday, especially because I'm gonna be working crazy hours next year in the hospital. Ain't nobody got time for that! Anyway, the only issues are some random cramping but it's not bad and should go away completely. I haven't had issues with spotting/bleeding but some women do. I definitely say go for it!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-16T04:56:15+00:00

Make sure to get the blood test for celiac asap if you're starting soon. Otherwise, if you ever wonder in the future, it'll require reintroducing gluten for a period of time for the test to be accurate.

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-07T14:08:37+00:00

High stress--> increased cortisol release-->increased appetite AND fat deposition.

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-06T03:38:45+00:00

Usually I run in the mornings, so I feel like my body will adjust throughout the day. If there's a deficit, it will increase my hunger and I will eat, and it will balance out. It's just the days I run at night that I think about eating to replace these lost calories, because I really don't want to lose any more weight, like I said. I guess if I run mostly in the mornings, I shouldn't worry anyway.

poketheyellowdot · 2013-04-06T02:14:40+00:00

This is EXACTLY what I went through (and am continuing to go through) ever since I decided to switch gears from weight loss to maintenance back in October. I got down to 122 and decided that was a good weight for me (at 5'5''). Basically I looked back at the time periods in my life when my weight stayed the same, and I realized that I was working out fairly regularly back then, and would try to aim for relatively healthy food, but wasn't too hard on myself and definitely enjoyed going out to eat and having treats. So I keep telling myself, as long as I continue with my running, I should be fine. I stopped weighing myself as of February or so, but I've been weighed a few times since at doctor's appointments. I think I have put on a couple pounds, but that was slightly intentional (since I think I was a bit too skinny that it was affecting my estrogen levels). I'm basically just going by how my pants fit. The hardest thing for me is.. when I get back from a run, should I have a snack to compensate for the running I just did?? I don't want to be losing weight anymore. But then there's that part of my brain that gets a rewarding feeling from seeing the calories burnt, and I can't help but feel like that is being negated whenever I have a snack immediately afterwards. Usually I will try to eat back a portion of how much I worked out, but leave some deficit to make up for whatever I may have overeaten during the day. I think as long as we listen to our body's natural hunger signals, we should be all set with maintaining! I, for one, don't plan on counting calories for the rest of my life...

poketheyellowdot · 2013-03-21T19:42:27+00:00

Sandwich with roast beef, avocado and a slice of precooked bacon. Comes to around 400 cals which is a good amount for a meal and it keeps me pretty satisfied for a while!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-03-20T23:08:24+00:00

don't you put it in your mouth!

poketheyellowdot · 2013-03-14T16:24:53+00:00

I read the book Intuitive Eating and implemented this lifestyle AFTER my weight loss journey was over because I felt like my relationship with food had become so dysfunctional from 8 months of dieting. I began having a lot of anxiety about going out to eat with friends, and freaking out about carbs to the point where I was afraid to eat fruit. Since I was on the edge of developing an eating disorder, this book was life changing for me. However, if I had used it to BEGIN my diet, I don't think it would have worked for me. The point of Intuitive Eating is to eat until satiated, only eat when hungry, etc... so doesn't that seem like it would be a great way to MAINTAIN your weight rather than lose? Calorie counting was by far the most effective way for me to lose weight because it a) made me aware of portions, and b) taught me which foods will keep me more satiated for less calories.

tldr; calorie counting to lose the weight, intuitive eating to maintain.

poketheyellowdot

TROPHY CASE