Another Overdo update...

...or just procrastination method #203 for the day!

Seriously though, I do want to give at least a brief update on things--they're happening so fast I can't keep up these days, much less give a good report, but here's to bullet pointing some highlights:

LIFE
LOVE the new job as a dietician tech [basically the one who interacts with the patients--educates them, works with the various meal plans and feeding types to make sure they get what they need]. Working in the hospital nutrition deparment couldn't be more interesting to me, and to describe my position sounds like someone making up what they think the perfect thing for me to do would be! I'm learning so much, love the people I work with, and love what I do.
Of course, adjusting is going to take some real work. 10 hour shifts starting at 7-8am means up around 5 to make the bus. This = misery and all around breakdown and emotional catastrophe's in every area of my life if I continue to stay up dinking around and eating past midnight!

School-trying to keep up. One stupid class/lab and of course all my appointments have been on Monday [it's a Mon/Wed class]. Combine that with my rough schedule adjustments and my poor time management and prioritizing skills, and I'm doing good to tend to any schooling business for a mere 10min a day! Of course then when I do that I give myself brownie points fo a bit of productive effort, and let the rest of the day whittle away...oh dear!
I am considering postponing the grad school another year. Partially my own fault for not being on top of my GRE like I should be, but that is one of many pieces that would be more or less "on hold" if I were to put in an application next month. Now that I have a job doing just what I love, I have hopes of continuing to move forward with the next phase in life, and not just stuck in the same rut [+ living at home] for yet another year. Postponing a year would give me a better chance at getting in with more experience, references, and GRE + classes completed. It would also allow me to save more $$ and be at least a bit less in debt--unless Imove out, but in that case I'd have that plus in the living situation.

TRAINING
While not "my ideal," it's definitely been rockin' lately! My energy has increased and my strength continues to gain [although I'm stuck on the pushups!]. On the elliptical I crank out my speed workouts at levels I couldn't push without serious pain a few weeks ago, and I'm running with a "real gait" now-my full recovery loops. Fast? No, but it's running, and it's improving.

I've also found a real little "family" at the gym, almsot like our lil exercise science/student athlete family that I miss so much from Grand Valley. Sure there are annoying people like that girl I talked about in my last post, but there are a whole lot more great people, teammates, and fun going on. In fact, days like today when I'm trying to take a day off between my class days [monday and wednesday] I feel lonely and just want to go see the gang!

With my "plan," I have stopped trying to find my "ideal criteria." Working with my body while using everything I've studied about training specifics, is what allows me to progress at the best of my ability.I'm learning better every day how my body works best. Whether it's taking complete days off between strength sessions, or the fact that I need to run consistently enough to continue improving, I'm learning what my body needs to give me the best results and most out of my triaining. Outside my control is that I am taking extra days off and missing workouts that would benefit me simply because of life. I'll have Thursday and Friday, and while I know most people can do a full time job plus their training, I'm still adjusting to this schedule and job and I know I'll feel better to just relax and call it quits by the time I get off. I do hope that in the future I can do the evening workout thing. Any tips on doing your workout later, especially after a long day, are appreciated!

GI/Nutrition
I put this off until last because it's still a bit of a mess to sort through.
Good news is that when I went to my GI followup she did another round of blood tests, and my ferretin is out of the "abnormal" zone: from <0.5 to 8 in a matter of weeks! I'm still on the low end of the range, but it's headed in the right direction. That applies to my iron levels also--they're still abonormally low, but I've been told that takes time, and as long as I can improve I know I'll get there!
On a more negative note, my blood cell counts [particularly neutrophil] are still low. Haven't had any follow up on that, but it's enough to be concerned and my Dr. thinks I might need treatment from hematology--yet another medical cost I can't afford. :(

In terms of the GI conditions, not a whole lot new, but some possibilities. Without being able to do further testing, it's coming down to dealing with how my system is functioning and what I can do, outside of medical treatment, to improve it. Of course, this is what I've been trying to do for years now and things have only gotten worse. BUT I'm understanding more and more what's going on, and for that reason I hang on to hope for a better quality of life. One thing the GI Dr. did do was give me this powder to drink daily to help my upper colon. Apparently for whatever reason [IBD?] it isn't functioning properly, which is why I'm always "going to the bathroom" but never completely. I'll try not to get to gory, but I basically just deal with the tip of the ice berg, which is worse for me than not going at all [contipation--at least then I just wouldn't go!] or going too much [dirty-D--where at least I'd finally be voided!]. Anyhow, this medication is supposed to help the buildup that is "stuck" absorb water and move through. She assured me it's not a laxative, because I'm terrified of those! I know they can be addicting, and I tend to be very paranoid about any sort of medication.

All this brings me to nutrition. I'm hoping to experiment with real PROGRESS and not do too much extreme restrict this, force that, and then bounce to the other extreme. Ironically, my all or nothing thinking can be my biggest roadblock! This week I'm just going to see how the med-powder works, but also monitor my levels of soy [seems to consistently cause trouble in high levels], trace lactose [which I don't directly take since I know I have an intolerance there], and my levels of fiber and fruit/veggie intake. My guess is it's a matter of finding the ideal level for all of those. Like I seem fine with soy until I eat a major dose, like a cliff bar or over a cup of soy milk. And this last round of cutting out fiber has agan left me more miserable than ever until I had that first high fiber cereal--then suddenly things work at least BETTER. But then I binge on fiber or fruit or whatever, and end up with more problems. Now, how all this works with the new med-powder to help my colon function is a new thing thrown into the equation, which is why for this week [or more if needed] I'm just going to monitor how things go.
From there, my gameplan is to test out different levels of foods, possibly eliminate soy and dairy completely.
If that doesn't work I DO still think I may need to go through with a complete elimination diet to sort through and rebuild to what works for me. IF I DO then I need to be completey prepared, not just for the restricted part, but my system of testing foods and building--otherwise I just get frustrated and give up and binge on everything that was restricted [also likely problem foods] and end up even worse. No more of that! *any suggestions here also appreciated!*
One way or the other I know that I need to find what works for me--just like with the training, I an learn a lot from researching various conditions and experiences, but ultimately I can't just take someone else's "solved my IBS/Celiac's/whatever misery" diet and assume it will do the same for me. I've got to find out what my body will take and what it won't. Only then can I really get the value from the nutrition habits I strive to achieve, and the benefits that can results from them.