Brewer5: Nursing School

[Brewer5]

Hey, friends!    

I debated which forum to put this in.  Ultimately decided on the Post- section, for a few reasons (one being that I said I would never "do" another Whole 30... haha).

I'm in for 30 compliant days ~ starting now.  And I know from experience that I will benefit from the accountability of posting here daily.

I can't say that things will always be template, or that I will be following all of the recommendations that I know so well -- therefore, I'm not calling this a Whole 30.  I suppose technically it will be...  but I don't want anyone new to be reading through my log and critiquing it, or using it as an example of what to do.  I've been around a long time, I've figured out an awful lot about my body, and I am pretty good at listening to it (which I most assuredly was not years ago, when I was a newbie here).

So.  It's telling me some things.  And these are all things I know... but what a difference there can be between what we know and what we do.  Especially when the stress is high -- and, woo-buddy, let me tell you -- I signed myself up for some stress!    But I love it.  There is nothing else I would rather be doing right now.

I have said it here before, and I will say it again:  There is a tendency to sort of let things fall apart nutritionally at times when we really should be taking the very best care of ourselves.  I have an insane class load this semester... more classes than I should have.  But I don't really have a choice.  I know I can do it, but I need to be at my best -- mentally, physically, emotionally.  A big part of that IS sticking to the Whole 30 food list for me.  There is no doubt about that.

I also dug my fitbit out of the drawer tonight, because I need to be more active again.  {Winter sucks.}  Yes, I have to sit down and do A LOT of school work, and yes, I have to sit in class a lot.  But I also need to get up & get moving more often.  Get the blood pumping.  I have to.  So I think I'll report my steps here, too.  It will help keep me motivated.

I've also decided to check my FBG each day, so that's another reason I'm in the Post- section.  It's an interesting part of the overall health picture for me, and not something I have done on a daily basis...  hmm, maybe since the last time I was posting it here.  That's been awhile ago.  I used to really put a lot of stock in that number each day and let it affect me, but I now understand that there is so much more that goes into that number than simply the food we eat.  Stress, hormones, sickness, timing... so many things can make that number go up.  But I'd just like to see how it is trending... and I might as well report it here, along with my food and my steps.  Maybe something interesting will come of it ~ maybe not.

Anyway, to my old Whole 30 friends, if you've actually read this far, thanks for being here.    I hope you'll stick around.  Here goes!

[Brewer5]

I really liked @kirkor's recent post in his LHOP thread re: the Whole 30 principles never being far from your mind.  Those of us who have stuck around and (mostly) adopted this as a lifestyle are so fortunate.  I often think of where I'd be, had I not made all the changes I've made and continued down the SAD path as I was raised.  It's a scary thought.  And now I see it with patients every day I spend at clinicals.  I read about it in every nursing and every science book.  It's not all about food -- but for so many, it starts with food.  

As I was getting ready for bed last night and thinking about my post here, my decision to commit to a full 30 days, and what I'll be tracking -- I realized that one thing I'm not concerned about is WEIGHT.   I got to thinking about it a little more, and:  I have not weighed myself for well over a year.  That number holds no value to me.   They wanted us to calculate our BMI one day last semester, and I had no idea how much I weighed.  The girl next to me couldn't believe it.  She said, "what about when you went for your physical?" and my response was simple: "I didn't look."

[Brewer5]

17 hours ago, Brewer5 said:

I suppose technically it will be... 

Nope.  It won't.  

I realized today that one of our staples lately is a "pancake".  

I'm not doing very much of the cooking around here at all.  My husband had just cooked up a big batch of these yesterday, and I chose to eat them today without any conflict about it.  I know what things can become food without brakes for me ~ I know it all too well, from years of learning ~ and these simply aren't one of them.

My sister has her own chickens.  They get to run around all over the place and eat bugs, and worms, and whatever they can find.  And they have the BEST eggs.

So he puts like a dozen of those eggs in the blender, with 2 small bananas, some cinnamon, and vanilla, and he cooks them up in coconut oil.  That little "one-egg wonder" pan is just perfect for this.  I don't usually eat them as he's cooking them -- I like it best when I can eat them cold out of the fridge the next day.  (And nope, I don't put anything ON them.)   Just grab & go -- it's perfect.  For life right now, especially.

So this is definitely not a Whole 30, people!  It's just me ~ in the Post- section, riding my bike and doing my own thing... like I've been doing for awhile now.  

 

[Brewer5]

DAY 1

Sleep:  6 hours

FBG: 91

Steps:  3359  <-- (and that's with me knowing I was tracking ) ... (two words for @littleg: care plans.)

Food:

3 eggs w/ coconut oil & ghee, (1 oz) raw almonds

(3) pancakes (described above)

(3) pancakes again later 

chicken breast, romaine/red cabbage/carrot shreds, green olives, lots of homemade olive oil / ACV mayo

(1 oz) raw almonds again

Drinks:  34 oz. of half-caff coffee, spread throughout the day -- some of it with coconut oil & ghee.  Other than that, water and unflavored sparkling water.

Thoughts:  

That's like 9 eggs in one day.    

Also, these raw almonds I have discovered are called "Wild Soil" and they are exquisite.  I have digestive issues with too many nuts, so (of course) I limit them.  But they are unlike any almonds I have had before... they are sort of *soft* and they are truly raw ~ like you can sprout them.  They don't use any chemicals in the processing like most other almonds do.  I got them on Amazon for $7.99/lb.  I buy a 3-pound bag, and that lasts me some time.

I had a good day.  Not once did I doze off while doing my school work.  I got a lot done.  Feeling good about this.

[littleg]

Hi!  I'm so glad you are here  So I'll let you in on a little secret.  Care plans are totally a made up thing.  As I'm sure someone who is a nurse has already told you, you will never use them in real life - at least in the way you use them in school.  I suppose they were created for those people going through nursing school who were truly not smart enough to be able to have a  thought process like this... hmm... I have a patient that is vomiting and has explosive diarrhea, I should probably keep an eye on their fluid balance.  Or maybe... hmm... I have a kiddo with RSV and since she was a former NICU baby she has crappy lungs, I should probably make sure she is breathing comfortably a hell of a lot of times today.  So in nursing school you write out 1,429,493 care plans to never write one again.  But I suppose some people need that kind of practice.  

Anyway, go you and your 9 eggs and 2 oz of almonds  Oh, and I'm not sure I ever told you this - I think I am keeping NOW in business by purchasing vats of MCT oil to make mayo because of you.  I'm not kidding - we don't even get 5 days out of a jar with more than a cup of oil (maybe 1.25 c - I usually put in 275grams (yes, I do it on a scale so I don't need to get measuring cups dirty).  You doing keto/keto-ish still?  If you are ever looking for an almond alternative I love this stuff.  Its coconut manna but 1/5 the price.  

Can't wait to get your next 29 updates!  Hope the kiddos and hubs are doing well (especially hubs!).  

[Brewer5]

Thanks so much, @littleg ~  I knew I could count on you for some good conversation.

I sat at the computer and typed up a bigger response a little bit ago, and our Internet took a crap again and I lost the whole thing. Now I am talking to my phone and this one will maybe have to be shorter.  Haha

Yes, thanks for everything you said about the care plans. I thought to myself with the very first one that there is no way actual nurses have time to do everything they're having us do. I think like you said, it is a good way for people to connect the dots. But I think it could be done differently.   As it is, care plans are something that are dreaded pretty much universally and as we all know, that is not necessarily conducive to learning and retention.    It becomes more like, "holy crap, I have to hurry up and get this done by the deadline!"  ... I can say that when I got everything submitted today, I felt a huge sense of relief having it done. 

My husband is doing well, and thank you for asking. I really appreciate it. He just told me tonight that his lower back was tight this morning when he got up and that is the first time I've heard him say anything about it for awhile.   Well, yesterday they went to the store and got water softener salt so I suppose that did it. Hopefully it is just a minor ache that will go away soon.   We lived in such stress and honestly financial fear for our future for awhile there...  it is so nice to be on the other side of it   Let's not go back!  

I'll be back to post more later.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

[littleg]

We sort of use care plans.  There is a nursing documentation requirement called "plan of care" - when a pt is admitted the admitting nurse has to choose a set of problems that go along with their admission (so like fluid balance, nausea, respiratory difficulties) and then a set of outcomes that are tracked and documented q-shift (urinary output, absence of nausea/vomiting, respiratory distress).  But the problem is admissions can get crazy sometimes so the admitting nurse skips it.  Or maybe she goes crazy and chooses 20.  We are supposed to sit down during shift report and look at the problem list together but no one really does this.  So at the end of each shift you go into the plan of care and write a little note about each outcome (adequate UO this shift, no vomiting this shift, pt stable on HFNC 2L) but its not like this forced documentation somehow made us better nurses during the shift... you know what I'm saying?  In report the outgoing nurse will say "Bob has bad N,V,D - put he peed 500 for me and has IVF running" so that documentation that we don't look at until we leave for the day... its just more charting.  I understand where it comes from but it isn't working as administrators (who may have never stepped a Dansko onto an actual unit in the role of an RN) intend it to.  Anyway, I'm done.  Its all an effort to make you think through how you'll provide care as an RN.  

Glad hubs is doing better!  Scary stuff you guys went through.  

How many eggs today? 

Little guy turned 1 a month ago!  I'll text you a picture - be prepared to be overwhelmed by cuteness!  

[Brewer5]

DAY 2  (yesterday)

Sleep:  6.5 hours

FBG:  97

Steps:  4794  <-- improvement!  

Food:

3 pancakes & chicken breast

sardines in olive oil, (1 oz) raw almonds

3 pancakes

chicken breast, romaine/red cabbage/carrot shreds, green olives, MCT/olive oil mayo, potato w/ ghee

Drinks:  36 oz. half-caff coffee, spread throughout the day -- some of it with coconut oil & ghee.  

Thoughts:

I'll always be drinking water & unflavored sparkling water... so repeating that every day would probably just be dumb... so I won't.  I will continue to log the oz # of coffee each day, because I think seeing that number consistently go up or down is a great indicator of what is going on with me.  (...I don't know, though, that may not be true ~ because part of it is that I just really love coffee.)

@littleg to answer your question -- that's only like 6 eggs yesterday.    

I swear I don't actually have a "pancake" addiction.  Lol.  My husband just happened to make a crap-ton of them all at once ~ which I appreciate.  I gotta have things cooked ahead that I can just grab from the fridge right now.

And I'm not ignoring the keto question.  I just haven't had the time to type out a well-thought-out response, and I have a lot of thoughts on that question.  I'll come back to it at some point!  Had clinicals today, and now I have a whole lotta school work to get working on.

[Brewer5]

DAY 3  (yesterday)

Sleep:  4.5 hours

FBG:  94

Steps:  9,393 

Food:

2 pancakes

(1 oz) raw almonds, grass-fed beef stick (Mission Meats)

3 pancakes, chicken breast

meatballs (beef, egg, spices) w/ olive oil/ACV mayo

Coffee:  15 oz. regular

Thoughts:

Clearly, sleep is an area I want to see improve.  There have been entirely too many nights like that one ^ and I know the toll it is taking on my body.  I know.

Happy about the steps!  Had clinicals at the hospital, PLUS we took a (freezing) walk around the neighborhood after I got home.  Still didn't hit 10,00 ~ geez.  My "best day" on fitbit site shows up as 30,000 steps.  Apparently... I was a maniac.  

I had a really good midterm evaluation with my clinical instructor.  I also had some great new learning experiences with my patient at the hospital.  Overall, it was a great day.  I'm feeling good!

[littleg]

Are you having trouble sleeping or just doing other stuff instead of sleeping?  4.5 hours... 

[Brewer5]

7 hours ago, littleg said:

Are you having trouble sleeping or just doing other stuff instead of sleeping?  4.5 hours... 

I know.  School work + 3 kids.  That's all I do!

Mondays are the worst because I have to get up at 5:00 (at the latest) for clinicals.

I have zero trouble falling asleep or staying asleep ~ it's just a matter of having everything ready for the next day & actually getting to bed.

[Brewer5]

DAY 4

Sleep:  7.5 hours

FBG:  89

Steps:  4,584

Food:

3 eggs, coconut oil, ghee

(1 oz) raw almonds

can of tuna, olive oil mayo, frozen blueberries, (1 oz) raw almonds <-- (chopped up the almonds and made this like "tuna salad" -- it was awesome)

Mission Meats turkey stick, apple

meatballs & mayo

Coffee:  30 oz. half-caff & regular, some with coconut oil, ghee, collagen powder

Thoughts:

I've gotten more sleep the past two nights ~ which means I don't have my work completed for class this morning.  Yee-haw.  Who has time for "thoughts"?   

[Brewer5]

@littleg  I just got a chance to look at the link you posted a few days ago. Remember I used to make my own coconut manna? Sadly, I think it did cause me digestive issues. Maybe I will try it again someday... maybe not.   I definitely go through phases where I will get rid of something for awhile and then it's like I forget what it did to me, so I have to try it again and remember.  

[kirkor]

On 2/11/2018 at 5:23 PM, littleg said:

with more than a cup of oil (maybe 1.25 c - I usually put in 275grams (yes, I do it on a scale so I don't need to get measuring cups dirty)

I do this too!  Just dump stuff in, re-tare the scale, voila! So efficient!  

[Brewer5]

5 DAYS (yesterday) ~ and feeling the difference, for sure.

Sleep:  7.5 hours

FBG:  89

Steps:  7,982

I know my meals and snacks aren't always "template" -- and that's a goal to work toward -- but my ingredients have been 100% on the food lists.  Haven't had anything questionable.  

I'm trying to shoot for more variety.  And I know, my lack of vegetables is disturbing.    So I'm going to list my food differently for now.  

Protein:  eggs, beef, tuna

Fat:  coconut oil, almonds, olive oil

Vegetables:  potato   (hello.... veggies... where are you...)

Fruit:  banana, blueberries

Coffee:  22 oz. half-caff / regular

Thoughts:

I was singing in the car on my way to school yesterday.  I'm not sure when was the last time that happened.  Lol.

I am feeling more well-rested and clear-headed in class, for sure.

I am not sure what happens in my brain that I ever decide that eating non-Whole 30 food is going to turn out okay.  I know this is how I feel my best... so.  Lots to explore there.  At a later date.

[Brewer5]

DAY 6

Sleep:  6.5 hours

FBG:  89

Steps:  6,471

Protein:  eggs, beef, tuna, chicken

Fat:  coconut oil, almonds, green olives, olive oil

Vegetables:  romaine, red cabbage, carrots, cherry tomatoes

Fruit:  banana, blueberries

Coffee:  32 oz. half-caff

Thoughts:

I know there are some things I'd consider in the "vegetable" category, which are technically a fruit.  Interesting discussion about this all over the internet.  Did you know that Oklahoma's state vegetable is the watermelon?  <-- That's a fun read for anyone who has time (I don't ~ I skimmed ~ haha).  Anyway, for my  purposes here, I will list these things as I see them in my mind.  Because I'm sure no one else really cares.  

I woke up today (on Day 7) at 5:15, before my alarm... even before my "sunrise alarm" had had a chance to start doing its thing (rising).  And I felt well-rested and happy to start my day.  I can't tell you when was the last time I woke up in total darkness and thought, "Yep, I'm done sleeping -- I feel good!"

A final thought:  It may sound from these posts that I've just been off the rails on the crazy train with my food lately.  I can assure you, I haven't.  I've had a few, specific things that crept in.

I can talk more about that later... my point is:  It really doesn't take "much" to throw your whole body off, if you are eating/drinking things that are disruptive FOR YOU.  And I think that's the key here -- a big part of what led me back to the Whole 30 for ~ as kirkor recently said, "a reset".  

[Brewer5]

Whole 30:  When you think your food is beautiful again.  

 

[littleg]

On 2/15/2018 at 1:36 AM, kirkor said:

I do this too!  Just dump stuff in, re-tare the scale, voila! So efficient!  

European recipes... all in grams.  The measuring spoon/cup industry there must have a pretty weak lobbying group

[littleg]

Glad you seem to be sleeping better!  I haven't woken up without a (human) alarm clock in quite a while  I imagine it must be wonderful!  And spontaneous singing in the car - always a sign that you really feel good! 

If you aren't doing lower carb we've been loving roasted fennel/onions/carrots - just dump sliced veggies in a pan, add oil, S&P and roast at 400 until caramelized a bit.  Also, roasted sliced carrots with thyme are really good (got the idea from TJ frozen thyme roasted carrots!).  

Too bad about the coconut manna.  Interestingly I've been thinking coconut and I might not get along too great... I've noticed my tongue tingles after I eat coconut milk  I'm not sure how I feel about cutting out coconut though.  I use it a lot and if tongue tingles are the worst of it... all other nuts are out for me already so I'm not sure I'm willing to do it.  

 

[Brewer5]

DAY 7

Sleep:  6.5 hours

FBG:  94

Steps:  7,281

Protein:  eggs, chicken, turkey, pork, beef

Fat:  coconut oil, olive oil, almonds, ghee

Vegetables:  romaine, red cabbage, carrots, green beans, potato

Fruit:  banana, blueberries

Coffee:  22 oz. half-caff

Thoughts:

Regardless of anyone's feelings about fitbit (I have mixed feelings about it myself, and will go through long stages where it sits in a ziploc bag in the drawer) ~ it HAS been a good move for me thus far.  It has motivated me to get out for walks with my husband and the dog, at times when I would normally say "I can't, I have too much studying to do".  BS.  I always feel better & am so glad I did it.  ^ This day was freezing-ass cold, and we went anyway.  The neighbor thought we were nuts!    I'm also taking little breaks from studying & just getting up and moving around the house more.  Sitting for long periods of time isn't really good for anyone, and I know it's not good for me.  I used to be on my feet all day long, always moving, always doing something... and having to sit down this much for classes etc. really cramps my style.

@littleg thanks for the recipe suggestion.  I am pretty much lower-carb until I feel like I need to throw in a potato.  I'm not looking at ketones, and I doubt I'd have much register on there right now ~ but who knows.  I did a solid 3 weeks of keto "reset" over Christmas break when I could sleep properly and stress was low, and that went ok.  The strips are expensive, so I only tracked ketones at the beginning and then once per week... watched them steadily climb.  But honestly it was a crappy way to do it, because I was eating dairy, peanuts  and Diet Mt. Dew ...  there.  I said it.  I am not here because of any grains, sugar, fast-food, restaurants, crappy oils, etc etc.  It comes down to those 3 items that needed to be out of my life.  

Onions -- oh, how I love onions!  But they do NOT love me.  In no way, shape, or form.  They're one of the biggest triggers for IBS, and there is no doubt about that with me.  Onions are the only thing that will make me start burping immediately -- it's so weird, and entirely predictable.  I can get away with a little bit of garlic powder these days, it seems... but I can't go crazy with garlic, either, and that sucks because they are both so good for you.  Low-FODMAP is always a part of my picture.  It just has to be.  {shrug}  That's why coconut gives me trouble, as well.

[Brewer5]

DAY 8

Sleep:  8 hours

FBG:  96

Steps:  4,714

Protein:  tuna, turkey, chicken

Fat:  olive oil, almonds, green olives

Vegetables:  romaine, tomatoes

Fruit:  blueberries, apple

Coffee:  30 oz. half-caff

Thoughts:

These days are just flying by ~ and making this change to only Whole 30 food really hasn't been a big deal at all.  Not stressful ~ just beneficial.  It's amazing what we are capable of, when we get our minds in the right place.  

Another thing worth noting is that I don't normally remember my dreams.  I won't say "I don't dream" ~ because I know we all do.  But I woke up this morning in the middle of a very vivid vision ... I was checking my school email, and there were several of them there from my teachers, and I just know that one stood out to me: the title of it was "Something Wrong".  

...Well, I spent ALL of the last 2 days putting together this huge assignment, which had several different parts to it, and you have to pull it all together from different places, and it ALL has to be submitted correctly by the deadline -- you can't have any part of it missing, or you get zero points.  Even though I checked and double-checked, and felt SO good to have it all done and submitted last night (over 24 hours early) ~ clearly my brain was stressed about it.  So I got out of bed and checked my school email first thing... and guess what?  Not a darn thing there!  

My only other thought (just to put it in print, and remind myself AGAIN later) is that *I can't actually eat apples*.  LOL.  I'll leave it at that.  

[littleg]

Oh my gosh, the stress of "you must jump through 87.4 hoops or you will get NO CREDIT!!!!!".  Gosh I don't miss those days!  Glad to hear it was all a bad dream  I swear, a few years from now you need to look up this thread and see how crazed you were over this program.  Its amazing how they can do this to competent and intelligent adult learners.  My two masters degrees were *nothing* compared to the stress of nursing school!  

Glad to hear you are making time for movement!  So important  I'm going to a Katy Bowman workshop next weekend - since all the birth injuries I've been much more aware of getting in more movement and less exercise.  I'd be curious to put on a fitbit but I do so much with my arms that I think my number wouldn't be too accurate... I need an ankle one  Our new house has a driveway that is just shy of 1/8 of a mile to the road with a small hill.  So each day I get the paper, take out some recycling, get the mail... that is 3/4 of a mile and I love it!

No apples, no onions, no garlic, no coconut... I guess its a good thing you like olives :/?

 

[Brewer5]

Lol... there are so many things I can't eat.  It's just something I've gotten used to, I guess.  Every now and then I'll take a chance with something and then go, "Yep, that's why I don't eat that!"  

My fitbit is the "fitbit one" which you can CLIP anywhere.  I used to wear it on my bra, but lately I've been clipping it on my jeans pocket or the waist band of my stretchy pants.  I did buy a wrist holder for it pretty cheap on Amazon ~ but I haven't had a reason to use it yet.

And I hear you ~ I know I'll look back at nursing school and shudder, haha ~ but I actually feel like I'm handling it pretty well most of the time.  I mean, I've only really cried like ONE time, and I picked myself up and got over that crap pretty quickly.    This semester is ridiculous because I am talking Micro and Advanced A&P on top of my nursing classes & clinicals.  So ... it's just: work, work, work -- because it HAS to be.  Deadline after deadline after deadline.  Fun times!  

[Brewer5]

DAY 9

Sleep:  7 hours

FBG:  94

Steps:  5,925

Protein:  chicken, collagen, eggs

Fat:  almonds, olive oil, coconut oil, ghee

Vegetables:  potato

Fruit:  blueberries, banana

Coffee:  37 oz. half-caff & regular

Thoughts:

Didn't feel great ~ stomach issues (which started the day before) ~ definitely don't feel adventurous with my food choices when it's like that.  

[Brewer5]

DAY 10

Sleep:  6 hours

FBG:  97

Steps:  8,057

Protein:  eggs, beef, chicken, salmon

Fat:  coconut oil, almonds, olive oil

Vegetables:  romaine, potato

Fruit:  banana

Coffee:  18 oz regular

Thoughts:

Had a great day at clinicals ~ learning and getting to participate in several new things.  Feeling genuinely sad that this was our last day at the hospital for awhile.  Now we have things scheduled like a simulation in the lab at school, and mostly observational visits to places, until summer.  I feel like I was just getting settled in and putting more things together in my mind ~ and then it's done.  I need and thrive on that hands-on experience... and there is no way I can even consider becoming a tech right now, with this course load.

That time of the month is coming soon.  I've felt a strong pull toward a potato in the evening, and I'm rolling with it.  Yep ~ not much variety showing up these days.  Guess what?  No Diet Mt. Dew showing up, either.  That's a win.