Back in the spirit

Well, 3rd semester started off like a rocket. Definitely a lot of material (but no anatomy!) and as I filled out my schedule book, I was somewhat startled by the number of mandatory meetings and labs we have.

As far as weight restriction goes, I've been counting the calories as best I can, though sometimes I'm stuck with Shack food that doesn't come with any information. I've started avoiding the calorie-heavier foods, and have stopped gorging myself at night, right before bed. In fact, one of the best improvements I've made so far is having a meal of frozen vegetables before differ (30 calories from 1 cup of veggies + 60 calories from cooking oil). I just need to get my butt over to the gym a few times a week and I'll be golden.

Speaking of the gym, I found last semester that as the day went on, I'd have to drink increasingly higher amounts of caffeine, which resulted in more jitters and less energy as time went on. This semester, instead of buying food between breaks, I jog up and down the stairs in our 10-minute breaks between class to get the blood pumping. I no longer need a large coffee in the morning, and get by with a small. There is a definite boost in attentiveness and energy, which is why I try to run everywhere (when I remember).

The other big change this semester is going laptop-minimal. While I'm not blogging via morse code anytime soon, I've begun printing out most of my notes and taking them with me to class. I've also started making flash cards, which is a horrendously slow but more beneficial. There's less distraction during class, less light shining into my eyes (and thus, less headaches), and an easier time going to sleep at night.

Finally, I changed up my window/door configuration when sleeping, so that my A/C is a lot more constant, instead of going from sauna to freezing and back. Sleep isn't perfect yet, but its a start.