Finals killing my diet

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

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.

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

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!

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

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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.

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.

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!

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

Yeah guilty of that too lol