Eating healthy during finals! Help!

concavity

So I was doing fine and then all of a sudden 11pm hit and I was starving and wolfed down oreos, sugary foods, red bull, skittles etc...

Any things I can do to eat healthier like prepare during the day so I don't eat my textbook's weight in food?

I cannot eat salad from my school since they don't wash lettuce and it makes me sick. Also we aren't a buffet style school more like pay for what you are getting, not by weight by item

meredifish

Yikes! I'd suggest healthy carbs like apples for energy (instead of sugary snacks), and some protein or fiber earlier in the day to keep you full, so you're not starving by the time 11 rolls around. My go-to study snack is a Fiber-One bar... only 90 cals, but it still has a bit of a sugar kick when you nee a boost.

Happy studying! Best of luck on your finals!

brittlynn8907

I would suggest coffee instead of red bull.

annepage

It may be a little late at this point, but I'd suggest not having them in the house at all. That's what I do. Studying always makes me a lot hungrier and I find myself snacking more frequently whether it be from the stress or actual use of "brain power." So, instead I keep stuff around for different cravings.

salty: Multigrain crackers, cheez-its, microwave popcorn, pickles, even deli meat.
sweet: apples, pears any fruit I can get a hold of, dry cereal (usually one of the cheerio variations, corn flakes, shredded wheats-whatever you like best and if it's loaded with sugar, just try to eat by the serving size to be mindful of the calories-though with finals, calorie counting can be tougher) peanut butter, dark chocolate (not actual candy bars though, way too tempting for me), nature valley bars, just break them up to portion them if you need to since it's about 190 for 2 bars, unless you're eating the protein ones, then 1 bar-190.

Good luck with your finals.

concavity

Thanks guys!

I did pretty good except for one day I had a particularly hard final and went out for waffles with ice cream.
I kept pretzels on hand and found these organic vanilla animal crackers which helped a lot, I also went out and bought honey roasted almonds which were totally delish and awesome, brain food!

kuntry_navy

i spent some time on off-shore rigs and ships before i decided to come back to school, they were'nt really buffet style. the best thing i found to not be starving 20 minutes after i ate, was loading up on rice, or grits or oatmeal and vegetables, something filling. or take a little protein powder and mix a shake before you engorge. you can use a sheet of paper as a funnel into any bottle. if your still wanting to snack, swap the oreos for something with protein like almonds or something that goes with hummus

stephendingram

I ate apples, almonds, and had a few Ensure shakes to help me with snack cravings during Finals this last semester. It wasn't the most adequate diet, but it was convenient and helped me during those two awful weeks.

RockstarPunch

I have to agree with the two posts above me, During finals I had protien powder and it helped, the energy drinks give you an energy kick and a sugar craving, i just did coffee with Stok expresso shots (from 7-11) and tried to hydrate, sometimes snacking is a distraction from just knocking out the things you should be doing, i lost about 900 cal getting work done but the things wrapped up quicker and then i spent 3days sleeping and getting back on track.

ThinWithinWin

Great question as I had the same problem. I was heavy into protein shakes but during the mid-term and final exam marathons, it's not enough. I found out that I need more carbs during this time but not the excess fat from pizza or sugar from candy. Instead, I load up on apples or another kind of fresh fruit, oatmeal, and shredded wheat - believe it or not. I allow myself to go over on carbs during those times. Don't even look at my carbs then and this last time, didn't even gain a pound. Whew.

Bring on the next exams.