June- Physical Health During the MCAT

The MCAT study period can be stressful! When you are laser-focused on a prep-course, it can be hard to think about your health, but the truth is applying to medical school is like a marathon! When you train for something requiring discipline, you have to be mindful of how you are also preparing your body and mind for it too!

Here are some ways I stay healthy: 

Physical Health: 

Diet- What do I typically eat? Well let's start with my rules for food:  first off, I MEAL PREP. Secondly, I stopped buying fattening junk food. Third, I am rolling on a budget people. Fourth, I have also become a bit of a food snob since I have been eating fresh food... so sorry, not sorry. 

Breakfast: Premier Protein Shake + Mix-ins

• I buy by the case-load from Amazon, my favorite are Cookies and Cream
• I blend these with "Frozen Smoothie Packs" I make: usually frozen berries, chia seeds, and spinach (sometimes I will add PB2) 

(I discovered this on WW Freestyle when I was trying to eat healthier a few years ago. I would rather have something sweet when I wake up so this works for me!- These are also packed with vitamins and minerals) 

Mid-Morning Snack: Fruit. I have been hooked on watermelon lately! But I will settle for an apple too.

Lunch: Usually I will prepare a salad with spinach, chickpeas, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and something extra like a hard boiled egg, chicken, turkey bacon, or couscous / quinoa. I have a bunch of home-made soups I've frozen over the school year that sometimes I will thaw out and serve with it. 

Other options are some kind of lunch Bento Box (lunch meat/ tuna, carrots, hummus, apple), low-carb wraps, etc. OR a Subway sandwich. (I have a LOT of gift cards, and I can get my daily exercise in with a walk) 

Afternoon Snack: Fresh cucumber + [Fage Total 0 + Ranch Dip Dry Mix] or carrots. I know Fage is $$$ BUT I am convinced it's the best. Just trust me, the texture rocks. You can also use it as sour cream, mayo, in home-made smoothies, as yogurt, and baking. I also use it to make my own salad dressing. Pretzels, I just buy whatever is cheapest. 

                  

Dinner: This is where I mix it up. My go-to is usually just seasoned chicken and a veggie: sweet potato, red-skin potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, beets, corn on the cob, asparagus, cauliflower rice, and a lot of zucchini (also versatile; noodles, etc)

Dessert: (Yes, I eat dessert). Typically I'll grab dark chocolate and popcorn, a sugar free jello or chocolate pudding cup, or a FiberOne brownie.

 

I'll prep all of these for the week on my day off: Sunday Funday (more like, clean the house day) 
So my goal here is limit sugar and fat (which is just going to make me feel bad over time). I cook with olive oil and try to eat my vitamins and minerals. Think about B12 and good fatty-acids. Tuna is normally great, but I don't want to take any risk on overloading my body with mercury when I need major brain power! 

Exercise- Now, normally I'd be going on a daily walk down my road or going to the gym. BUT ... a) it's super hot. b) gyms are closed with the pandemic. So, my solution for this is YouTube on my TV! I have tile floors, so I roll back my area rug in the living room and put on my ballet socks and dance it out! 

I have an older CALIA pair that are my favorites but they look identical to these: 

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/gaiam-studio-select-yoga-barre-socks-18gimussygbrrsckseac/18gimussygbrrsckseac

Here are some of my favorite YouTube video's to work out to:

There's conditioning, Yoga, and dance work-outs. I know I am not getting enough "steps" in, so I have been doing a lot of dancing. It's a little silly, but it BURNS CALORIES (and all my negative energy!) 

I LOVE The Fitness Marshall. I can follow him easily and he's upbeat. (And apparently my future sister-in-law went to high school with him? Lol it's a small world y'all)

Make sure you stay hydrated! I've been trying to drink only water... and black coffee. 

I also have a yoga mat/ block, and some weights... but I don't use them often. I am usually pretty sore the next day from just conditioning and cardio. 

Skin Care/ Beauty - I have really kicked this into high gear! My skin was a WRECK for whatever reason [stress, let's be real here]. I might as well have been back in the 6th grade (in 7th grade, my previous dermatologist and I were pretty much on a 1st name basis until her retirement). However, my skin has adapted a little too well to the Benzoyl Peroxide I was using (which is rough on your skin, bleaches your sheets, all your clothing, and towels). I saw an online dermatologist with Curology. It's amazing! My compounded formula is tretinoin, azelaic acid (I was on this before until my insurance decided I was magically too old to have acne... hmm), and clindamycin. My skin looks SO MUCH BETTER. 

For body acne (gross, but Louisiana weather... sweat sweat sweat) my dermatologist recommended this off Amazon: <<< It fights against both bacteria and fungi. Also, I have used bentonite clay mask for body wraps. 

Instead of pore-clogging ingredients in foundation, I've been using tinted sunscreen! (Because Tretinoin makes your skin very vulnerable to UV and you should SPF-up daily). 

And just because... I've been Fake Baking (do not EVER get in a tanning bed people, please! It's so bad for you. Trust me, melanoma is terrible and you don't want that). I do this 1-2x a week.  I like this one, I found it at TJ Maxx and the watermelon daily moisture version. I think these are found at Sephora, Ulta, and Amazon. Exfoliate, use a self-tanner mitt, and don't get wet for 8 hrs. It does take an extra 20 mins or so, but it gives me a reason to spend some time on self-care. And it makes me just feel like I have a glow. When studying for the MCAT, do anything you need to do, to be CONFIDENT in yourself! No matter how silly it sounds.