So fed up with "it takes time"

No need to apologize - you have a lot of things going on in your life. Vent, blow off steam, get it out of your system and get back to the books future doctor.

I understand the frustration of waiting. "Good things come to those who wait" is a terrible statement. Another expression that sucks is, "patience pays". I think most people would love instant gratification in their weight loss goals. One piece of advice is DON'T QUIT ON MED SCHOOL!!!. You will regret it for the rest of your life.

Think about the problems you have that are within your control and change it. Think about the problems you have that are NOT in your control and set them to the side for now. Then look at what you have accomplished so far. First, you have made it this far in Uni, and not many people can say that they qualify to apply for med school. Second, think about how much weight you have already lost and about the self-control you have demonstrated so far in changing your diet. The most important thing to remember is your motivation. If you keep that in mind, it will make the time more bearable. You have many good things in life to help you focus and avoid dwelling on the time as it passes, however slowly. I wish you the best. Send me a friend request if you need anything else.

Oh Yeah, it always feels like once you have been *kitten* on once, it becomes open season and everything lands on you all at the same time.

Like someone else said, deal with the things you can actually control and try to (note I said TRY, not do) stress less over the things you can't control, like waiting on your GPA. Check and see if you can apply to med school anyway and then submit your GPA later, it can't hurt to ask, and it might get one more thing off your stress list.

Sometimes when it gets to be too much; after I go outside and scream!; I make two lists, one of things I can change and what I plan to do about them and another of the things I can't change and how I plan to deal with them. As you deal with the things on your list(s), cross them off. I usually find that just the act of writing them down releases some of the stress as I realize that they really aren't that big a deal and I just need to let it go and move on.

Sometimes though, all you need to do is vent and know that someone else is listening and gets it.

Hang in there!

I am an impatient person. I like instant gratification or at least visible progress in all of my efforts. This is one of the reasons I dislike law school, it all comes down to one test at the end of the semester. And at the end of the semester I am the biggest ball of stress you have ever seen. This past semester all my local friends graduated from undergrad, my cat-who-is-more-like-family-than-anything-else got sick and threatened to die on me, and I needed to hit a certain GPA in order to participate in something this fall. Venting was all I did for a long time. And it feels great! Do it! No complaints here.

On a more constructive note, you said you are not moving too much. That doesn't give a lot of information, which is fine. After the wound is no longer in danger of opening, perhaps joining a gym with a pool since a lot of people recommend that as a low resistance way to get exercise. You might meet some nice people too.

This is good advice:

I make two lists, one of things I can change and what I plan to do about them and another of the things I can't change and how I plan to deal with them. As you deal with the things on your list(s), cross them off. I usually find that just the act of writing them down releases some of the stress as I realize that they really aren't that big a deal and I just need to let it go and move on.

And because it popped into my head:

A few years down the road you will probably look back and think: Wow, remember x years ago when things were so simple and stress free.

Buck up man, life won't slow down until you are dead.

This!

Hey, go ahead and vent. It makes most people feel better!

Then, after venting, take those "it takes time" goals and break them down into "I can do this today/this week" milestones.

Reaching your weight goal will take 3 months? Well, being at or just under your calorie goal for the day is a daily milestone. Or if you're like me, under your goal for the week, since I'd rather allow some flexibility to account for my exercise schedule. Of course, my original goal required over a year to attain, so 3 months seems short. :-)

Dealing with a breakup: that's tough. But you can meet people before school starts if you join a group, or look for an Internet meetup related to one of your interests. I like cycling, mostly by myself but sometimes I go for a group ride just to meet people. If you're religious, find a welcoming church/synagogue/mosque/whatever.

Med school applications: you won't know your GPA until the end of the semester, but you can take steps when it starts to get the best grades you can. Plan your assignments and exams in your calendar, and arrange your extracurriculars so that you'll have study time before things are due. Take advantage of your TAs' and profs' office hours if there's something you are having trouble understanding. Get to know a couple of profs who can write recommendations.

Basically, you've got a lot of stuff going on that seems overwhelming because none of it can be achieved in the short run. That's most of my life. Breaking it down into stuff that *can* be achieved in the short run makes it a lot easier to handle. The folks who bicycle across America do best when they think about it as biking 50-100 miles a day, for 2-3 months, rather than biking 3500-5000 miles.