tips on surviving finals week?

meeners17

So it's finals week now, and as if Berkeley wasn't already stressful enough, now the entire student body is basically having a collective panic attack.

Do you have advice on keeping my diet on track this week? I live in a house with 60 girls who've been stress baking all week, and I barely have time to prepare myself any food or exercise. All I want to do is curl up in a ball and eat ice cream and hyperventilate but that's probably not the answer. So far I haven't gone over my calorie limit, but it's only monday...

leslisa

Snacking ideas: Strawberries (wash and eat). Blueberries (wash & Eat). Carrots (wash & eat). Fat Free Yogurt. Gum (I chewed a lot of gum in college - blew a lot of bubbles).

Exercise: Stretch your legs from time to time with 5 - 10 minutes of walking or doing stairs or whatever. It stimulates body and mind to walk away and come back to studying.

Best of luck to you!!!

tabbyblack13

I've been there and done that. If you feel yourself getting stressed out sit in a chair, close your eyes, and breathe in for four counts, hold for one, and release in three counts. Repeat this several times until you are relaxed. Stressful times like this really suck and the breathing helped keep me from stressing too much. Also take a walk outside at a park or on campus and make it a leasure walk. This will get you moving which helps your body to reduce stress.

As for food, have a peice here or there but try to keep fruits and vegetables around too. Craving sweets is natural when you are stressed but it won't help you study or retain the information you are trying to keep in.

CA_Underdog

This may be a good week to aim for maintenance instead of loss--i.e., permit yourself to go 500 calories over *IF* you feel like it. That way you only "stress" about one thing--acing those exams.