Tips for surviving exams whilst dieting!

Hey

So, like most of you here, my end of years are coming up, and I don't want to do the silly thing and gain 15+lbs through stress eating! So I figured it might be useful to collect a list of helpful tips and hints for all of us stressing out about exams.  Please add your own to this list =]

My biggest piece of advice (and probably the most obvious) is that a big breakfast is the most helpful thing for morning revision! I've been having a massive fruit salad with greek yogurt, nuts and grains, plus a big ol' glass of soy milk every morning (300 calories) for a few weeks, as opposed to my usual small bowl of cereal with light soy milk (only 170 calories), and I do feel so much more energised and focussed!

I found this amazing list of 10 tips for eating during exams too, which is pretty good (though some of the points are a tad obvious!)

http://startcooking.com/blog/303/10-Tips-for- Healthy-Eating-During-Exams

Finally, good luck with your A Levels/GCSEs/IB exams/Midterms/APs/KS3s/SAT/CAT?any other international qualifications that I've missed!

Well I know that if I study at home I'll end up stress eating so I usually pack a big bag of books and camp out in the library for hours on end. You're not allowed to eat in there so usually if I forget my diet an outraged librarian will come along and remind me.

Original Post by hannahboots:

Well I know that if I study at home I'll end up stress eating so I usually pack a big bag of books and camp out in the library for hours on end. You're not allowed to eat in there so usually if I forget my diet an outraged librarian will come along and remind me.

haha, good plan!

My biggest problem is that I'm doing virtually no exercise now! I usually do quite a bit, but at the moment I keep prioritising revision, and then when it comes to the stage when I have done sufficient revision I am so tired/bored that I just feel like slugging out on my laptop/in front of the TV! I still walk everywhere, so its not like I'm completely sedentary, but I'm only getting around 3 hours of proper, getting your heart rate up exercise a week!

My new, foolproof plan - my mum's bought an exercise bike and its in front of the TV.  I've printed out a load of revision notes and I'm going to start going over them while I'm on the bike.  Ok, its not a varied work out, but its something! I'm going to start running again too, and put an audiobook of my literature plays on my MP3.  Hell yes, I'm going to be the biggest loser in the area! =]

just stick to healthy eating and being active for one hour a day and not eating loads of junk food

Don't JUST bog down on exams. You have to study, yes, but just like doing no revision is bad so is overwhelming yourself. Don't just do studying in a day but other things too. If you have to get away from it all go out of the house for a walk in the air.

Make sure you are well fed during this time. If this means for a while you put weight loss on hold then so be it. You do your exams once (ideally). You can lose weight any time. Plus you need a healthy and focused mind. Seriously, nutrition is really important right now. Take it from someone who flummoxed her exams last year and is having to retake them all over again because she was so deprived of nutrition she collapsed in one of them.

Make it fun! Make up mnemonics if it helps. Songs. Jingles. Etc.

Study WITH people. Particularly if you are notorious for getting distracted if you try and go it alone. You can discuss it in this sense and when you take breaks, can vent about it too. In a similar vein if you suck at studying at home then take your work to a park or a library.

as per usual lala has beaten me to it , lol, and covered everything perfectly, trust what she says :P

lala? your re-doing exams :( :( i got really shocked and sad to hear that news, no doubt you'll do better this time 'round :) my mum needed to, she was stressed out (about me actually, i feel so guilty) and felt so much more confident and relaxed second time.

yeah, healthy whole foods, instead of junk, will keep you more alert. Try not to let your eating patterns be effected by your stress or study (under or over-eating).

Balance is the most important things in anything, so try and give yourself some rest time. before yor exams (and during study i suppose) keep yourself hydrated and make sure you have had a good breakfast.

Personally i find studying at school alot easier (or a library), not distracted by anything at home, i have better access to information sources also.

Diet can effect everything, it's what determines how you function react and perform, so look after yourself.

don't stress and good luck!

actually i've read from somewhere that it is bad to eat too much (from stress bingeing etc) during exams as you are more likely to feel sluggish later since energy is directed to digest the food.

and other than all the tips posted up there already (i agree with most of them), i've got another one:

drink soup!

 i am an asian, so my family boils clear soup about 3 times a week. the soup does not have to be cooked for hours, sometimes we just boil vegetables (leafy ones) and have the soup before the meal. my grandma always tells me that the essence is in the soup and by boiling the ingredients, the body can absorb the nutrients more easily. over time, as your body is nourished, you will find it easier to memorize things too! i think most soup recipes are easily available online, so no harm trying this one. you dont have to drink soup everyday to experience the effects, you can even choose to prepare more at one day and freeze the remaining soup up and have them throughout the week [within 2-3 days though] (:

and another one: suck on a sugar free hard candy if you tend to snack while studying. i used to snack mindlessly when studying, but i stopped because i find it rather distracting and it leaves food stains on my notes. a hard candy seems to be a good replacement for me. just try not to have soooo many of it that you experience sugar rush.

lastly, to all those out there, good luck for exams too! i'm taking mine at the end of this year, and this post really motivates me to eat better and study harder :-D

When I'm studying and I get hungry, Mum makes me a yummy healthy snack like:

- fresh fruit salad w/ yogurt

- carrot and celery with hommos or tahini

- peanut butter and banana sandwich

- apple slices with almond butter

- frozen grapes

- homemade trail mix

And if I'm really stressed out or need something to motivate me I have some dark chocolate :)

This one kind of helps... if I'm just going out to the library or to hang out a friend's place or do something else where I know I won't need money then I leave my cash and debit card in my room. That means that there's no way I can fall victim to the temptation to buy high-calorie snack foods or pop in at Starbucks for one of their 5 million calorie bakery items.

Similarly if I'm going shopping for food I plan what I'm going to get beforehand and only take enough cash to buy that.

A levels - bane of my life. What subjects is everyone doing?

Going for a run when you're sick to death of revising. It works for me. Just getting active, not staring at words or diagrams.

Actually, my godmother, who is a psychologist, says the best way to revise is to study a relatively small piece of information (eg, a chart, or a side of bullet points) then do 10 mins exercise. After that, see if you can remember everything - if not, do it again.

Apparently. It doesn't really work for my subjects (English Lit, History and Spanish) :D

Foodwise, I tend to eat normally. You can't focus on work if you're hungry all the time. Good healthy food.

Also - mmmm. Frozen grapes.....

TUNA!!! I always find myself in the same situation during midterms and finals, but I always bring tuna (albacore is the best) and not only does it keep you full, not only does it help you from skipping meals, but it also is a memory aid!