Finals killing my diet

nikkivarts

This week I'm stressed out to the max with finals and for three days my diet has been terrible!! Lots of cookies and chocolate and it doesn't help I'm going to get my period soon either. I'm just looking for any support/motivation/tips to make me feel better & see if anybody is going or had been through the same thing. My birthday is the 30th and I just really don't want to mess this all up and be upset for my bday/New Years

mayaocean

My birthday's on the 27th

heeey, I know these feels all too well. We're all gonna make it

pinkraynedropjacki

Try doing some fasting, you may find you study better & perform better.

jazzcatastrophe

Right there with you! I just decided to try to eat around maintenance and not worry about it too much, and if I want a treat, I'm having one

AlongCame_Molly

Eh, I figure my education is more important in the long run. A few weeks of loose eating won't undo months and months of hard work, but slacking during finals can really come back to haunt you.

I just finished finals, and the last 2 weeks I've been letting my diet slide a little. I figure I can reign it back in over winter break and enjoy my A average, rather than let my grades slip and have a crappy GPA when the time comes to apply to my much-coveted and competitive internship.

jenifr818

Try doing some fasting, you may find you study better & perform better.

Fasting just makes me irritable, light-headed, and brain dead. Not saying I recommend pizza, soda, and fast food every day (not saying that's what the OP eats, just an example of what I did ), but not sure fasting's the answer for your average person.

OP: I agree with alongcame_molly here ... focus on the finals, worry about the food later. Two weeks of intense finals and the not-so-hot eating that goes along with it won't completely undo the hard work you're most likely putting in the rest of the year.

stacks34

I've been studying like mad these last few months and have a severe case of the freshmen 15 It's why I've joined!!

I just eat and eat to procrastinate

AnninStPaul

Give your body quality fuel to get through this stressful time; it will help manage the level of stress. Clementines are my new favorite junk food.

If you're going to indulge, make it as worthwhile as you can. Good chocolate, not the waxy crap. Your favorite cookies, not whatever happens to be in front of you.

Brandolin11

My birthday is the 30th and I just really don't want to mess this all up and be upset for my bday/New Years

The good news is, you don't have to mess it all up and you don't have to be upset. YOU. HAVE. CONTROL. It is your life, you steer your ship, you control it. And don't let anyone take that away from you!

Here's a little hint from someone (much) older than you (smile): Life will ALWAYS have horrible, stressful, crazy times. Always. So NOW is the time to learn good eating habits WHILE you're stressed and crazy-busy... Don't fool yourself into thinking, "oh, I'll just eat crappy now and deal with this later" - this is exactly how weight gain and bad habits start, with this mentality, because the reality is, life is never going to hand you a platter full of "easy"... You need to learn these skills now in order to not only survive, but succeed.

Stress will trick you into believing you "don't have time" to take care of yourself. Don't listen to it. It's a lie. It's just your brain trying to comfort itself, but in an unhealthy way. Your brain is crying out for junk, in an attempt to elevate your mood with a quick hit. It makes you feel paralyzed. Ignore that. Fight it.

Instead, carve out 15 minutes - yes, start with just FIFTEEN minutes - as soon as possible, to sit down and figure out your strategy between now and NYE/your birthday. Yes - that's right - you need a strategy, a battle plan, to survive. Reaching out here on this community was a GREAT first step - now carry it through to completion by really nailing down a strategy.

What might that look like? Perhaps making an appointment with yourself each Sunday afternoon to run to a local market and get fresh food for the week, then spending one hour cutting up veggies/fruit or even cooking a large meal and dividing it up for the week so you can eat on it on the go. Perhaps "hiring" a friend or sibling to do your shopping for you or using a grocery delivery service. I'm not a big fan of processed foods, but if ya gotta just buy a big stack of Lean Cuisines and nuke those up while you hit the books, then DO it. Whatever it takes.

But whatever you do, don't like this steam roll you. You don't have to. You are not powerless. And if you succeed in not only surviving, but thriving this holiday/finals season - just imagine how amazing and successful and powerful you're going to feel. Think of how you'll be able to conquer *any* stress life throws at you because you did it during *finals*. Good luck. We're behind ya all the way!

sullus

Try doing some fasting, you may find you study better & perform better.

I find that hours 14-23 of a 24-hour fast give me incredible mental clarity. Hour #24 is spent thinking about what I'm going to eat soon ..

davepearson86

Try doing some fasting, you may find you study better & perform better.

this

alpine1994

oh girl I feel you! alongcamemolly nailed it. Focus on your finals 100% and let everything else be on the back burner for now. Finals week is such a short but important time. After you slaughtered all of your finals, get right back on that horse and ride baby! You can do it!

PS - This may not be possible due to time restrictions but if you can find 30 minutes in your day, I highly recommend doing a fitnessblender.com workout or go for a run outside. It will help you clear your mind when you are feeling overwhelmed and need to take a break, and it will help you sleep better through all the anxiety. I forced myself to work out when I was taking the CPA exam (a brutal 4-part exam for accountants) and I know it helped me so much.

kuroi19

I increase my calorie limit by at least 500 cals for exam periods. You burn energy stressing and thinking a lot, and personally I get up earlier each day and go to bed later, a longer day is bound to be more demanding right? Exercise to make the stress go away too so... Popcorn is the best snack, and lollipops or gum. Chuppa chups have as many calories as one square of chocolate, guess which makes you happier and busier for longer? ^^

Chocolate and such are a horrible exam remedy- let yourself eat but too much sugar (some is Okay) and esp caffeine just contribute to more anxiety and stress. Lotsa food and salty snacks are good in that way even if they are high on calories.

parmoute

I was unprepared for it this semester because Thanksgiving and finals were back to back and I was traveling, but in the past it's been helpful to prepare a bunch of food the week before finals so that I can eat healthy without having to do anything more complicated than use the microwave. When I have the recipes pre-logged, its also easier to keep logging. That probably won't help you this semester, but it's something to keep in mind for the spring (or midterms even).

Eating as procrastination was a big deal for me, especially when writing papers (I hate writing, even though everyone says I'm good at it), but now when I go into the kitchen I at least recognize that I'm stalling and I'll make a cup of tea instead. That way I consciously give myself a legitimate 2-3 min break, I still have something I can consume, and its 0-60 calories depending on what I add to the tea.

I sometimes also have to set a timer/alarm to remind myself to stop working long enough to eat regular meals at regular times. If I keep working until I'm starving, I'll make worse choices and/or eat a lot more of what I do choose. Then if I'm looking for food when I normally wouldn't be eating, I'll make tea and maybe have a super tiny snack (e.g. one piece of chocolate, or 5 crackers and a cheese stick).

The good news is that I have noticed that as my eating habits have changed I've been making better choices even during finals. I give myself permission to take 5 days off and do what I have to do to get through the end of the semester, but at the same time a large Pizza Hut pizza, 2 liters of soda and an all-nighter are no longer part of the grad school ritual.

I hope that helps! Now back to that paper I'm procrastinating on...

Brandolin11

I was unprepared for it this semester because Thanksgiving and finals were back to back and I was traveling, but in the past it's been helpful to prepare a bunch of food the week before finals so that I can eat healthy without having to do anything more complicated than use the microwave. When I have the recipes pre-logged, its also easier to keep logging. That probably won't help you this semester, but it's something to keep in mind for the spring (or midterms even).

Eating as procrastination was a big deal for me, especially when writing papers (I hate writing, even though everyone says I'm good at it), but now when I go into the kitchen I at least recognize that I'm stalling and I'll make a cup of tea instead. That way I consciously give myself a legitimate 2-3 min break, I still have something I can consume, and its 0-60 calories depending on what I add to the tea.

I sometimes also have to set a timer/alarm to remind myself to stop working long enough to eat regular meals at regular times. If I keep working until I'm starving, I'll make worse choices and/or eat a lot more of what I do choose. Then if I'm looking for food when I normally wouldn't be eating, I'll make tea and maybe have a super tiny snack (e.g. one piece of chocolate, or 5 crackers and a cheese stick).

The good news is that I have noticed that as my eating habits have changed I've been making better choices even during finals. I give myself permission to take 5 days off and do what I have to do to get through the end of the semester, but at the same time a large Pizza Hut pizza, 2 liters of soda and an all-nighter are no longer part of the grad school ritual.

I hope that helps! Now back to that paper I'm procrastinating on...

This whole thing is excellent.

littleburgy

The last 3 weeks have been a hot mess for me. Spent 10 days home for Thanksgiving which was great in itself but not really easy for a diet, got back and had a hard time getting back into my exercise routine because after a week of getting over jet lag, I got a cold. I will weigh in tomorrow, if i've been able to maintain I'll be thrilled. I am just not expecting to lose a lot over the holidays. Sigh.

I guess not the same as finals but what I mean to say is that sometimes life just happens and we just have to do what we can.

Try not to let yourself be upset on your birthday no matter what life or kinks in your progress throws at you! :flowerforyou:

aKate_

I just eat and eat to procrastinate

Ha! I have been so guilty of this in the past.... Eating is so much more fun than studying!

D8vidFitness

I'm the opposite..I have my last 2 finals tomorrow back to back, I need a high C on the two to get a 4.0 GPA for the semester, somehow I do not give a crap about them and cannot study -_-

Bwandls

I feel this so hard right now.

Essay due tomorrow, haven't really slept well in days. I've been stuck in my room trying to finish this in time, literally moving only to eat or go to the washroom.

But I know I'll kick myself later if I just don't get this done. Once it's over, it'll be so much easier to go back to a healthy routine. But for a week or two, we just gotta slum it like slugs I guess. :P

Motivation: this is time off. You have to focus on school right? Don't blame yourself if you slip up during this time. You'll get back to being healthy later. Right now, just push through and pat yourself on the back for making it this far.

#universitylife #goodluck

sullus

I just eat and eat to procrastinate

Ha! I have been so guilty of this in the past.... Eating is so much more fun than studying!

Try procrasturbation ....

stacks34

Yeah guilty of that too lol

chelseac1014

I hate finals! But to help me I keep healthier snacks in my bag at all times so I'm not tempted to eat crazy. Or I go In an area that no junk food is around so I'm not tempted to eat it

padams2359

Try, I said Try to eat healthy. Don't starve yourself in the middle of finals. You can catch up later. Nobody is going to ask you how much weighed you gained Or lost during a certain semester's finals. They may ask you GPA at some point. Lol. I don't say this often, but but in this case, with a pretty small window of opportunity, Screw The Diet For NOW! Finals are only about 2 weeks, max. Good Luck!

Doctorpurple

Been there many times. Honestly don't worry too much about it. You burn additional 200-300 calories while on your period plus the stress of exams and the cravings, I would just focus on getting good grades. Once finals is over, hit it harder in the gym.

HollisGrant

This week I'm stressed out to the max with finals and for three days my diet has been terrible!! Lots of cookies and chocolate and it doesn't help I'm going to get my period soon either. I'm just looking for any support/motivation/tips to make me feel better & see if anybody is going or had been through the same thing. My birthday is the 30th and I just really don't want to mess this all up and be upset for my bday/New Years

i'm an older person who went back to college part-time, plus have a job. I just went through finals, two exams and 3 papers due the same week (and kept my 4.0 average -- I always feel I'm going to fall off a cliff instead). I'm exhausted beyond belief and every bone in my body hurts, but I survived the semester.

I agree with the comments about eating at maintenance. That's a lot easier than dieting.
I keep fruit around, especially apples and ruby red grapefruit. Grapefruit is very low in calories.
For filling snacks, I have a glass of Silk chocolate soy milk -- it tastes great, has chocolate, plus it's almost like a meal. I also make up a giant pot of Bob's Red Mill steel cut oats and have a bowl of that with sliced apple. I buy the best coffee and have as much as I want, plus some ginger tea, which I really like.

Good luck, hope you're doing well.

suppakana

My advice? Do what you need to do to be as relaxed as possible for finals.

School comes first, above everything. You can pick your diet back up after finals are over. It's just a week.

MJH2

Oh I feel you pain, I just finished a Master's Thesis. My advice is to get all the junk out of the house, stick to high protein, vegetables and mint tea or sugar free mint gum. Mint has been shown to stimulate neurons in the brain and help make you more alert. For me the best combination was egg whites, bell peppers and carrots, with some toast thrown in there.

Best of luck!

darcy2102

I feel your pain. I have 3 Provincial Law exams to write in the next 5 months and I work full time too. Something had to give and it has been my exercise. But the less I move the harder the studying gets, so I figure I will take a 30 minute time out and get in some exercise to help everything come together. I have spent too much time and money on school to slack off, so I am just going to DO IT and look back on it when it's all done and be proud.