"study" food

[rivenriver]

I'm a uni student, and when I hit exam period, or have a big assignment due, I let my guard down and EAT. Like, a whole packet of chocolate biscuts and a tube or pringles in a night. I justify it to myself, saying, "I'm working hard, I need it." But I don't need it, I'm just hurting myself.

Exams are comming up again, and I have two major essays due at the end of October too. I need to work out NOW how to avoid my stress eating.

Any ideas / comments / anecdotes?

[sassi]

how do you feel after you eat it? and i don't mean so much emotionally (although that's important) but physically? do you get tired & lethargic after you eat those things? refined foods aren't great for your body and isn't the right fuel for your brain! those foods are high in sugar and will make you crash and burn...

i find if i can think about food in terms of it being fuel for my body then i eat things that are better for me. if i think about food as an emotional crutch, then i make poor choices. what about if you planned what you're going to eat for the day/week and buy only those foods?

if you can (it's not always this easy), why not go for a walk when you feel like stress-eating? that's a guaranteed way to help stress levels and will help clear your head for studying.

dunno if that helps at all!

[Chief]

I have little snacks such as 'rice wheels' they're a kids lunch snack but I'm a big kid anyways so instead of grabbing a pack of smiths i go for the healthy alternative. Have a look in the supermarket health section for more little snacks.

If your going to snack, it'd be better to have a healthier choice.

[matchbox]

i'm the same!! i've got a big essay due on weds and i pigged out on cheezels yesterday arvo didn't even help me, stupid things

[Ally]

Have you tried buying the multipackets of chips?? they are portion controlled and that way it saves eating the whole big packet and thinking "whoops!" A small packet fits well into any eating plan.

I have also discovered the packets of mini viva lites biscuits. They too are in a portion controlled packet (there is about 9 mini biscuits in a packet) I have discovered the triple choc ones are great for a choccie craving....1 packet for that type is 124 Calories.

some other snack ideas:
- oven baked bars

- a portion of nuts

- fruit (such as bananas, strawberries and apples, less fuss with those)

For quick lunch/dinner ideas have some lean cuisine/weight watchers ready meals in the freezer with the bags of steam fresh veges on hand....this way it is a quick meal that is healthy.

I hope this is a help to you.

Oh and best wishes with the assignments and upcoming exams!!

[Chief]

For quick lunch/dinner ideas have some lean cuisine/weight watchers ready meals in the freezer with the bags of steam fresh veges on hand....this way it is a quick meal that is healthy.

thats a really good idea for a back up.

[tanya]

You could always choose some fruits that you really like and chop them up before you start. Or some carrot sticks or something similar then when you go to get foods to snack on you could eat the better things that are there for you. Or maybe set certain times when you can have a break and have a snack...

[HappyBella55]

I'm in my final semester of a 5 year course. I used to have a lolly jar on my desk for me to nibble on. Consisting of: chocolate m&ms, peanut m&ms, gummy bears, snakes, star burst chews and jelly beans.

I was fulling myself in believing this sugar high gave me an extra edge to stay up longer to work on assignments and study, but in the mornings I would feel yucky.

Now I don't have any nibble foods. Just a big bottle of water that I take sips from. Its the action of putting the nozzle thing in my mouth that fulls my brain that I'm putting lollies in it

But if you have to have study food why don't you try vegetable sticks with hummus, or a portioned control of dried fruit (just not bananas cos they are extremely high in sugar)

Also make sure you have good healthy filling meals as this will also stop you from reaching for the chocolates

[madeline]

tea, coffee, milo, cans of berry V (mmmmmmm) and chupa chups are my study snacks of choice... I end up with like 5 empty mugs and assorted cans around my laptop hehe... I like those snacks because they aren't messy, so there won't be crumbs in my bedroom.

[rivenriver]

sassi: I don't really feel bad after I eat at all. I drink coke because it has caffeine in it and I don't like tea or coffee (chocolate does too!) when I want to stay awake longer. I don't really notice if it makes me tired, cos generally it's very late at night anyway. I feel a bit gross that I ate that much, but nothing physical. As far as planning meals / buying food goes, I probably should have mentioned that I live in a fully catered college, so I get all my meals provided, and don't get a say in what is served. It's not really the meals that are an issue so much though. It's the fact that there is a vending machine outside my door, and a very cheap canteen open 6 evenings. Also the supermarket is only a 10 minute bike ride away, and open till 11pm. So at 9pm when I'm starting to get frustrated, I go downstairs and stock up on junk. Normally I don't have food in my room, cos otherwise I'll eat it. I'll have to remember the walk thing though. Not an option at night, but while it's still light (since summer is coming) that's a good idea. I also sometimes go and have a hot shower to clear my head. Thanks!

Chief: I don't really like to have snacks in my room at college at all, cos otherwise I'll eat them all the time. But you just reminded me that the vending machine does have a packet of dried fruit and nuts, as well as the chocolates. I should try and go for that instead! Thanks!

matchbox: It sick, hey?

Ally: Thanks so much for all the ideas, but none of them are really an option for me, since I normally try not to have food around, and you need to buy all of those things in advance, and you'll have leftovers for the next day, which I don't like cos there's the temptation. When I'm home over summer though, those things could be really good. Thanks!

tanya: Maybe I should grab a few apples from my college dining hall and keep them in my room? Then I could have fruit on hand like you said. Hmmm... Thanks!

HappyBella55: The water thing is a good idea. I bought a big water bottle recently, I should use it! I really don't need study food though, I need to avoid it all together (except maybe caffeine... ). Eating more at dinner is a good idea though, maybe I should plan ahead on days when I plan on staying up. Thanks!

madeline: cool! Maybe I should try the berry V... Though I'd need a fridge... Thanks!

[electrongirl]

apples give you more energy than a cup of coffee!!

I think fruits probably your best bet.

[chocoholic]

I'm a uni student too and I do the exact same thing, sometimes even if its not exam time and i'm having a study day. I'd eat a whole packet of chocolate biscuits and I wouldn't think that there was anything wrong with that because I 'needed' it. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I just didn't care. I no longer buy chocolate biscuits, lol.

[musclecar]

During VCE actively getting a snack was a great form of procrastination

Again I can relate too 'my brain needs energy'

Eventually I got wired on coffee and couldn't sleep, not cool.

[Butterfly_Dawn]

I'm doing my PhD (and you would think it was on procrastinating from my efforts) and food is a great way to procrastinate. I use tic tacs when I catch myself absently seeking something to stuff in my mouth. My strategy:

1)STOP! PAY ATTENTION!!
2) Think: Do I really NEED food? Am I actually physically hungry?
3) If yes - make a conscious good food choice and get a healthy snack/meal (as opposed to mindlessly grabbing whatever which would happen otherwise)
4) If no - quickly grab the extra strong tic tacs, pop a couple and suck. Then I CAN'T eat anything over the mint and by the time it wears off I'm usually over my procrastination and food seeking. If not, repeat process.

This worked for me when I was initially trying to change my eating and it's come back out again now cause I'm struggling again.

[musclecar]

Though my course is only a Cert 4 Im still at the comp for long periods so a bottle of water and extra gum keep covered between meals.