Any students? Exams + Fitness :(

Hey Guys,
I was just wondering if there are any other students out there who are trying to get fit during their studies. I'm in the first year of my degree and exam season is looming and so are deadlines.
I have realised now that I used to get through deadlines with copious amounts of comfort food, carbs- pasta, bread and wine... which I really miss at the moment!
I went back home for Easter and my birthday and put on 3lb so right now I'm really not feeling great and want to get back to losing again.
Is anyone else in a similar position? How do you balance everything and keep yourself from getting stressed out?

Replies

  • cay2810
    cay2810 Posts: 15
    I'm a student as well! I find that the best thing for me to do is just allocate a good time of the night to burn off those extra unused calories. A lot of self control needs to develop throughout your diet but sometimes i've heard that eating healthy for the week and then having one day to have (almost anything) you want keeps you going. Maybe if you want those treats you can eat them ocassionally and put in an extra effort into a workout to burn it off so it's almost like it never happened ;)
  • mindyt23
    mindyt23 Posts: 28 Member
    Hi! I'm a student too and also a mom of 2 boys ages 3 and 5 and a wife! I know what your saying bout the stress eating! Whoa! I'm about to go into finals at the end of the month and I'm really trying to stay mentally saine! lol,...you can add me if you like!, I do log in about everyday, some are really good days, others well...I'm human! Good luck to you!
  • aaronlawrenc
    aaronlawrenc Posts: 666 Member
    Im not in college but I am studying for exams for work which are pretty extreme (harder than any college exam I have ever taken). I also work 10 hours a day 6 days a week with a 2 hour commute back and forth to the job site. Oh, and i have an 8 month old baby..... I wake up at 3 am everyday and hit the gym before work for an hour.... No excuses lady. Get your butt in the gym and DO WORK SON!! lol. You can do it.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I'm an older student. I know I will be stressed in the next two weeks. I plan to drink a lot of coffee and tea, eat fruit slices, and be sure I'm not really hungry. I plan to prepare some meals ahead of time. Good luck on your exams!
  • sarcosis1
    sarcosis1 Posts: 42
    I'm a student, studying environmental sciences. I find it difficult to find the time to workout, complete assignments and revise as well as trying to have a social life. I'm very time poor! I also get the urge to snack while I'm doing work, very annoying!
  • marvey119
    marvey119 Posts: 3 Member
    Morning
    I am a older student but am in the middle of exams right now, along with being the mother of 4 kids. All older, two in university but I still have a ton of stuff to do around the house. I find every once in awhile it is good just to walk away and forget about school and exams for a bit. I work out every morning for an hour to focus and get myself in a good frame of mind. I also wont eat crap after I have worked out either. I do enjoy my wine and will have it on the week ends in moderation. Just remember that you can do this, stay positive and believe in yourself!!!
  • lovemitch125
    lovemitch125 Posts: 257 Member
    Actually the great thing about working out is that it makes me feel energetic and ready to go if you do them in the mornings. So it may be just as good. I'm a university student as well but in my senior year. I have finals coming up next month and although I have about 3 or 4 projects due and 3 or 4 finals in about a 2 week span, I will probably just get up early and workout so I will be able to focus more clearly all day. I like to snack on granola bars, carrots and peanut butter, gold fish, skinny cow ice cream and cuties mandarine oranges. They are all decently low cal and can keep me full when bored eating.
    Then you have to look at energy drinks and alcohol! I am a personal fan on Monster Rehabs. One full can is only 20 cals and gives you a lot of energy for late night studying! The alcohol, One glass of wine is fine, but if you are trying to go out and go crazy during that weekend, stick with straight shots instead of mixed drinks. Cuts the cals down a lot!
    Hope I helped a bit! :bigsmile: - I understand because I used to eat pasta everyday, more so during exams and drank wine while studying as well....
  • kuntry_navy
    kuntry_navy Posts: 677 Member
    workouts during the morning. prepare large meals to eat over the course of the day. study between school and work and any downtime i'll go for a jog.
  • StaceyJ2008
    StaceyJ2008 Posts: 411 Member
    I am a full-time grad student and I work full-time. It really is stressful and overwhelming. Hang in there, try to schedule in some activity time no matter how small.
  • Kelogik
    Kelogik Posts: 58
    Currently, I go to school and work full time while juggling being a wife and a mother to my 4 year old. It's definitely hard but the important thing is to try and allocate the time to work out just like you do with studying. Also, try to keep your eating in check for those days that you just can't work out; of course you want to lose weight but it's better to maintain than to start gaining back.
  • whatsername2312
    whatsername2312 Posts: 11 Member
    I'm in the same boat. I recommend making big batches of healthy food and freezing it so you can just heat it up later, ideal for nights before exams. Stuff with lots of protein to keep you full like chicken curry or chilli, use lots of beans and lentils if you like a veggie meal every now and then like I do. I guess from you original post you are doing a low carb diet, which is something I can't help with as I love carbs! My snacks are mainly carbs too, being quick to prepare - maybe you could snack on fruit? I don't know if you're in the UK and have heard of studentbeans.com, but they have some ideas of good healthy (cheap!) stuff to eat around exam time.
    Getting up every half hour or so during revision gives your mind a rest, and you could use those breaks to do some exercise - lift weights, or extend it to 20 or 30mins and go for a run. If you have some form of exercise you particularly enjoy, assign some time in your day to do it as a treat for when you feel you have enough work done. I find I get a bit more hungry during heavy revision, so perhaps don't panic if you are going a little over your calories (still eating at a reasonable deficit though) - this is only for a few weeks and you can be more controlled when you have time. Right now it is important to feed your brain. Exercise will offset any extra calories, give your brain a rest and distract you from all the stress for a few minutes.That being said, as you're in your first year I would try and set good habits now. I'm in my third year and trust me, it gets a lot more stressful :grumble: .
    Anyway, just my thoughts. Hope that was helpful :flowerforyou:
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
    Yeah, law student...paper due this evening. Finals start first week of May. I don't know what you are studying, but something my friends have done is buy audio lectures that they take to the gym. I have a set of CD's for my one class that I play on the ride to and from class. My other friend props up flash cards on the treadmill, but that makes me nauseous. If you can't find an audio lecture for your subjects (and as long as it isn't math) you could record yourself listing facts or summaries and listen to that at the gym.

    If you are able to use the gym time to help study, then 1) you might not feel as bad if you go a little heavy on the carbs and 2) you might stay longer than you expected and burn more calories. Also, since working out releases endorphins, maybe you'll develop a positive association to studying....hasn't worked for me yet.

    To be perfectly honest, this paper has consumed the last 2 weeks and I haven't been to the gym. I plan on going tomorrow though after sleeping in :yawn:
  • AA1ex
    AA1ex Posts: 223 Member
    How I do it is, PLAN. I sit down with the calander of when my tests are and which classes are a prioirty to dedicate "x" amount of time to them. I also take in what it is for the class that it is that I need to do to study (flashcards vs. reading). Then from that schedule I know when I can workout. Ten minute trainer is my life saver during finals. I also will take my book on the treadmill with me so I don't fall asleep while reading but I also don't feel like a whale at the end of the day. It is also important to constantly carry healthy snacks with you, my fave are apples! One day I had three apples in my purse because of craziness at school and I did not want to be tempted my those evil vending machines! :) Hope you can take something from this, good luck!
  • marvybells
    marvybells Posts: 1,984 Member
    I'm an older student. I know I will be stressed in the next two weeks. I plan to drink a lot of coffee and tea, eat fruit slices, and be sure I'm not really hungry. I plan to prepare some meals ahead of time. Good luck on your exams!

    I'm an older student as well. i love to snack when i study. i drink tons of black tea sweetened with stevia and eat lots of oatmeal, fruit & salads. i snack on red & orange peppers, kefir, yogurt or cottage cheese. also snack packs of pudding or jello. i also found lesser evil's cheddar chia pops recently. i love cheesy popcorn so it satisfies that craving but is relatively healthy & is low cal.

    i tried pre-planning meals but this does not work for me. I find that i do better if i have lots of little picky things around because i like to graze all day. I know that when i eat a big meal i will still have the urge to snack later as i study. So i just try to make sure what is laying around is pretty healthy stuff like what i listed above. of course i do get chocolate cravings, but instead of a regular candy bar, cookie, brownie etc i try to have a chocolate protein bar, a pudding cup or a small square from a dark chocolate bar.
  • ehsan517
    ehsan517 Posts: 114
    i train normally as i would even on exam season. the main thing to do is to eat right...i train early in the morning and then make sure i give my brain enough glucose to run on for the rest of the day as im studying. that means a lot of healthy carbs like sweet potatoes, oats and so on. i work out to keep my metabolism up and the release of hormones from exercise actually make my work that much more productive. not exercising or eating right will have a negative effect on ur mood during exams which i find hinders my overall productivity. but most importantly, DO NOT cut back on carbs...otherwise you can kiss brain functionality goodbye pretty much...at least in my case and a lot of cases i have seen online.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
    I'm a graduate student, so I've been there NUMEROUS times! I'm currently in the final phase of my dissertation and preparing for the defense. All I want to do is eat chips and cakes and cookies and pasta. For me, the key is working out first thing in the morning and planning in advance what I will be eating throughout the day. I use MFP to plan meals, so I actually log before I eat things. I also try to eat at the same time every day, rather than just waiting until I get hungry. It doesn't take away the stress-carb cravings (I'm sure there's a much more technical term for it!) but it takes the thinking out of it, so there's no choice of what to eat.
  • lublue
    lublue Posts: 123 Member
    I'm a student too and have the same problem - add me (anyone in the same position!) and maybe we can all encourage each other not to give in!
  • JezziedotM
    JezziedotM Posts: 31 Member
    I'm a first year uni student and I have trouble finding balance during exam/big assignment times also. The thing is, I concentrate so hard I forget to eat, but I'm also usually doing NO physical activity at all since I'm glued to my desk/seat so I don't know whether it evens out?

    I just generally feel overall unhealthy (bad nutrition, too much caffeine, no exercise, sleep deprived) during these periods.

    I don't really have any advice because I can't figure it out myself :cry:
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member
    It's rough. I have had to skip work outs all week. I'm going to make up for it tomorrow.
    For one class I turned in everything yesterday, so i'm done there. The only nice thing about studying Architecture, when I finish my final project I can turn it in and be done with the class. Last summer I turned in everything about 6 weeks early and got to skip out the rest of the semester.
  • qasim91
    qasim91 Posts: 25
    I'm a final year undergraduate student, with exams starting on the 1st and I think that keeping fit is hindering my revision for definite. The reason that I'm not studying as much as I should is because the pressure hasn't kicked in yet. I would be better off putting the exercise etc.. on hold for the next 4 weeks and prioritise what is most important to me which are those exams. I know that in a couple weeks I'll be immensely stressed and it could have all been avoided if I'd covered everything already. Having said that exercise is a good stress relief so I probably may not eradicate it completely.
    Instead of eating the food you shouldn't, maybe you can try preparing the food you should be eating, beforehand, to snack on instead if that's possible.
  • lcb88
    lcb88 Posts: 13
    Hey I'm a second year uni student, and I'm finding it rather difficult too, with assignments to do as well as trying to find time to study for exams all of which are over the next four weeks. I find myself spending half the day sat in my gym clothes and putting off going whilst spending that time trying to do work but kind of failing until I really need to do it. Guess its just putting your mind to it and sorting out your day to be able to do it all, but if you want any help/motivation feel free to add me :).
  • mrskight2011
    mrskight2011 Posts: 6 Member
    I work full time and am completing my degree as well. Time management is hard! I find it helps to squeeze in walks during my breaks or lunch hour during the day. Stress/emotional eating is something I've always struggled with, and I just have to be focused and determined to eat healthy, whether at meals or when snacking, and evaluate why I want to eat if I am not hungry. It's encouraging to read everyone's posts and know I'm not alone in trying to balance so much! In the midst of the chaos, we really do need to take a few minutes for ourselves and for our health. Exercise helps to manage stress.
  • nicolie81587
    nicolie81587 Posts: 75 Member
    I'm also a student and I work full time... I use exercise and a stress reliever and I guess it works for me. Sometimes I have to put off working out, but I still try to stick to 5 days a week for at least an hour. I don't watch much tv, because I have different priorities now.
  • Toddysmama
    Toddysmama Posts: 3 Member
    bought a soda stream drink lots of fizzy water with fruit. also like the poped chips they keep me away from the other ones.