On the journey..Again!

TheAshpie

Well, This isn't the first time losing weight and will hopefully be my last time having to lose so much. I'm 22, working as a CNA, going to school for Nursing ( Nearly done with my prereqs! Yay!), and I have a eight month old son. In 2009, I lost 55 pounds from 215 to 160. I felt so great and amazing. I have always have lots of self esteem and confidence and felt I was beautiful, but I guess really losing the weight made me feel healthier. My thighs didn't rub together and give me a rash, I felt good in a bathing suit, I could shop and not have to hunt down the largest size I could find in normal department stores.
But, I did it in a unhealthy way. In combination with Phentermine, I began to eat less and less until the point where I was only eating around 500 or less calories a day. Most days, I would feel like I was on the verge of passing out, out of it, and irritable. I lost a lot of hair, so my hair was very thin. It was a vicious cycle, the more weight I lost, the better I would look and it made me try harder and harder to lose weight faster. I would weigh myself nearly every day. I know that Phentermine was a cause to most of this, because of the way it effects my brain, but part of it was me and I don't want to lose weight unhealthy like that again. It's definitely a struggle this time, to be okay with only losing 1-2 pounds a week. It definitely messes with my head, but I don't want to have thin hair or nealry pass out when I stand up. I know I'm capable of doing this, just have to put my mind to it.
I also use my tumblr, as a blog to track weight loss and get motivation and inspiration. I follow healthy blogs. I know there's a lot of pro-ana and pro-mia on there and it makes me incredibly sad. Anyways, if anyone would like to follow me on tumblr. I'll post a link to my blog! I weigh in on fridays as well as measurements.
http://theashpie.tumblr.com/

kimleroy

I applaud you for recognizing how unhealthy your previous weight loss was and it makes me really happy you're doing it the right way this time! I've seen all those pro-ana and pro-mia sites on tumblr and they make me incredibly sad and sick because those poor girls are so sick and they don't know it. Anyway, welcome to MFP! I just joined last week so I'm still pretty new here, but feel free to add me if you'd like.

TheAshpie

I see your pre-med! How exciting(And stressful!) Do you have any idea what kind of doctor you want to be? I was thinking of becoming a PA, but with having my son, I realized that nursing is going to suck enough of my time/energy away. I would love to know/study the things you're probably studying now.

kimleroy

Yes I'm pre-med! Its crazy and so much work! Hopefully it'll all be worth it in the end. I'm applying to medical school this summer and I am terrified, haha! Right now I think I want to specialize in endocrinology, but we'll see where I actually end up. I've always loved genetics but its a pretty small field. I actually considered PA too, its such a great career. Best of luck with nursing school! That's plenty of work too, especially with your son! Its helpful you already have your CNA though. Right now since i'm only in my undergrad I'm studying a lot of science theory like cell bio, genetics, physiology, chemistry, neurobio, but I'm not learning much medicine yet. This year was the first year I got to take human classes! I'm looking forward to med school so I'll finally get to learn more human-specific biology and pathology.

jpfost

If you need some friends on here that are on everyday feel free to add me. I have lost 40lbs with a clean diet and a lot of work in the gym. I might be able to help.

NELSAL

Yes I'm pre-med! Its crazy and so much work! Hopefully it'll all be worth it in the end. I'm applying to medical school this summer and I am terrified, haha! Right now I think I want to specialize in endocrinology, but we'll see where I actually end up. I've always loved genetics but its a pretty small field. I actually considered PA too, its such a great career. Best of luck with nursing school! That's plenty of work too, especially with your son! Its helpful you already have your CNA though. Right now since i'm only in my undergrad I'm studying a lot of science theory like cell bio, genetics, physiology, chemistry, neurobio, but I'm not learning much medicine yet. This year was the first year I got to take human classes! I'm looking forward to med school so I'll finally get to learn more human-specific biology and pathology.

You should think about Transplant Pathology it is a growing field and they need lots of Pathologist who have specialized.

TheAshpie

Oooh Endocrinology! That's so interesting. It was one of my favorite chapters while taking Anatomy and Physiology. It's strange to find out how many enviromental factors, like all the estrogens in our enviroment now and how they are affecting people. My Micro teacher just said the other day that males today have 1/2 the sperm count of their great grandfathers because of all the artifical and plant estrogens in our food/enviroment. It's tough to be in school and maintain your physical health as well, but I'm finding that it actually goes hand and hand, exercising seems to clear my mind and pull me away from "Oh my god,I need to memorize every microbe on the planet before friday" sort of feeling.