>Gettin’ through

>Hiiiiii!!!!!

First thing’s first — THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART for all of your thoughtful words and advice. You all rock!!!

Things have been getting better in my world. So far, I’ve told (beyond my family, friends, and y’alll) my mentor, Georgetown advisors, and NIH advisors (I’m in a joint program between Georgetown University and The National Institutes of Health, so things get a little tricky). And so far, everyone is on board! It’s crazy I imagined (crazy as it sounds) everyone screaming in anger at me (especially my mentor). But everyone has been SO SUPPORTIVE of my decision, it’s incredible.

Ironically maybe, I received several copies of my paper in the mail yesterday:

^Bittersweet, I guess.

So what have I been doing lately to get through these rough times?? A LOT of RUNNING and quite a bit of this:

^Good ole R&R. Trash TV + mags. Mmmmm.

And (despite the warm weather), lots of this:

^Hot tea. I swear it warms my soul.

Aside from lots of R&R, long workouts, and hangin with friends I’ve been in 3847028432 meeting over the last few days to discuss leaving my program. It’s a lot more involved than just “Peace out, Yo”. Ha.

To make things a little easier, I’ve been prepping my breakfasts and lunches in advance.

I’ve been on an oatmeal kick lately. Guess I need the extra carbs for brain power while facing these difficult meetings.

Night prep:

^Soak 1/4 cup oats + 1 tbsp chia seeds + 2 tbsp egg whites in 3/4 cup H20 overnight

In the morning microwave then add desired mix-ins:

^1 cup protein powder, thawed blueberries, cinnamon, stevia, dash sea salt, blob PB

Or prepare them overnight in your almost licked-clean jar of PB:

Lunches around here have been pretty standard. Although this takes 0.2 seconds to prepare, it’s still one of my favorites.

Enter, easy breasy version of Magic Soup:

^1 cup soup broth, diced tofu, and handful of whatever frozen veggies are on hand. Brown rice and beans sometimes makes an appearance. Sprinkle some cumin and red chili powder and you’re golden.

Dear Magic Soup,

You will always remain one of my favorites – no matter where I go.

Love, Lauren

Well I’m off to a Club Strength class (total body lifting for 60 mins — very similar to BodyPump) then volunteer! During undergrad I volunteered in my community a lot. It brought me clarity, stress relief, and a great sense of self fulfillment. In my opinion there is no better way to help others and yourself than volunteering. During grad school we were not allowed to have another job (paid or unpaid) so that put volunteering on hold for a bit. I’m glad to have it back in my life 😉

Have a great day!!!!!

Lauren

QUESTION: How do you PREP your BREAKFASTS and LUNCHES???? New ideas welcomed 🙂

XX