[Anonymous]

Ha.. I went to go sign up at a workout facility. They had some gimmick 16 free weeks of working out, however you have to pay a large sum up front.. I knew it was going to be a gimmick of some sort but wanted to check it out

. I started studying for the CPA in May 2010. I canceled my Gym membership at that time, because I knew I wasn’t going to go anymore. I haven’t worked out since then! No lie. The guy says “Oh, you said CPA. Do you know CPA’s are the 2nd unfit, overweight fattest group of people, 1st are doctors/med students”. Really? Really? All the CPA’s I know.. are so thin, you can barely see them. (I’m 10lbs over weight-so I wasn’t necessarily an example for him)

I didn’t say anything more than “well, when I’m studying for this exam, I study, that’s it!”. I didn’t go into detail or try to explain how tough this exam is, etc. He says “well, would you ever not brush your teeth, take a shower, eat breakfast, etc while you were studying? No, Right? Then working out shoudl be that way too”.

I wanted to say “Um.. matter of fact there woudl be times on the weekend, when I wouldn’t leave the house, so I may have definitely not taking a shower or brushed my teeth till late afternoon, or maybe skipped 1 or two brushings (I like to brush my teeth, but I have to admit I know I skipped a time or two because I just wanted to study.” I studied before work, on my lunch hour, after work, waiting to get in the shower, etc.

People really don’t get it.. I guess this should be in the blog “stupid things people say” but I just wanted everyone to know that if we become CPA’s we are the #2 fattest,unfit group. Needless to say, I didn’t sign up with that idiot! I’ll wait till I’m completely done testing and go back to my reputable gym.

[HazeEastwood]

I can't believe it. I gained 30lbs since I first started. I have lost 25lbs of the 30lbs gained but this test really consumes your life. Hard to do anything else if you work

FAR-81
BEC-84
AUD-91
REG-89

[Herbieherb]

Lol since July 2010 I've gained 15 lbs. Haven't worked out either…no time. Eating chips cookies and ice cream while studying makes study time more enjoyable. There will be plenty of time to burn the fat off when its done. I don't feel bad or guilty.

NEW YORK- DONE

[Nicole]

I know what you mean…I was able to lose 17lbs. before starting my masters 2.5 years ago and maintain. Then I started studying for the CPA 6 months ago and I gained 28lbs. back in those 6 months. Needless to say, I signed up at the local Planet Fitness. I guess it has been a month now, and I have lost 5 lbs. I am sick of this rollercoaster.

But I would say all my accounting coworkers evenly range from itty bitty to XXL, so that salesperson you talked to is definitely overgeneralizing and is probably jealous of our smarts 🙂

Florida - Using Bisk, Jeff's Notes, and CPAreviewforfree.com

FAR - 87 (08/14/10) AUD - 97 (11/12/10)
BEC - 83 (02/26/11) REG - 90 (05/31/11)

[F5 to Refresh]

LOL I couldn't resist this thread. Personally I never worked out until I started studying for the exam. Great way to take your mind off of studying and increase blood flow to the brain.

AUD 79 Q4 2010 - NY
BEC 84 Q4 2010
REG 79 Q1 2011
FAR 86 Q2 2011 - Done

[Anonymous]

I just started working out again, have FAR in Feb and BEC in Apr to finish. I have my Lambers lectures on my iPod and listen while I work out. Boring as all get out but I'm starting to really “get” the areas I've struggled with.

[Anonymous]

Notice that he said CPA's and not CPA candidates. While some people can fight it, you'd have to imagine that most professionals working an office job would have trouble staying in shape. You're spending most of the daylight inside, crunching numbers, and when you get off, you need to spend your free time commuting, taking care of the family, eating, sleeping, and enjoying leisure time. Also, CPA's recently have been known to be spoiled by their firm during tax season, with paid lunches and dinners, donuts, and all the food your firm and clients can throw at you.

[75orbust]

The guy at the gym is probably just an Adam Sandler fan and bases his information off of one of his better quotes “Golf requires goofy pants and a FAT @SS, you should talk to my neighbor the ACCOUNTANT, bet he is a great golfer, huge @SS.”

In all seriousness I can see how accountants might be more susceptible to being in that category of American's sad statistic of 2/3 are overweight and 1/3 are obese due to the lack of exercise and time to exercise during certain parts of the year.

FAR-1/04- 86 KAPLAN Review
REG-5/12- 89 MN Licensed CPA
BEC-7/17- 81 ETHICS - 100
AUD-8/31- 85

[Anonymous]

I put on ~25lbs while studying for the exam… waaaaay to many sweets! Mindless eating while studying.

Re-joined a health club last month, and am hoping to be back “in shape” by the end of the summer.

[jdiiorio]

jajaja I can't believe someone said that to you. That is the worst way to try to get someone to join the gym. If I had been that person I would have said the following:

I think it is great you are thinking about joining a gym now. It is actually really good to work out when you are under so much pressure/stress. Exercise is great to clear your mind and release stress, both which may benefit you in focusing longer and improved memory. As someone mentioned above it also improves blood flow which in return will keep allow you to stay healthier.

Well something along those lines. If there is one thing I did not give up for studying was my work outs but that is only because I am a very hyperactive person and if I don't work out no matter how mentally exhausted I am I have the hardest time falling asleep. Then if I don't sleep enough its hard to focus and understand things better. But that is just me. I think working out and keeping a healthy balanced life has helped me a lot through out the exam. It helps me feel lk no matter how much the exam consumes all other aspects of my life, I still have somewhat control on certain things. =)

Disclaimer: This is all personal experience ranting, I think each person can do whatever they want and whatever works best for them, whatever it takes to WIN! (well, pass)

ILLINOIS CANDIDATE
FAR - Passed
BEC - Passed
AUD - Passed

[Fuzzy Lumpkins]

LOL. I wouldn't be surprised if that is an accurate statistic. I've been the same size for 7 years but midway through studying for my 3rd CPA exam I became aware of the fact that the pants I had been able to fit into for so many years were becoming uncomfortably snug on me. Unfortunately, all my pants are the same size, so if I don't get my butt to the gym, I'm going to have to buy a whole new wardrobe of pants. So I'm really hoping that I get my final passing scores next week so I can focus on getting back into shape. Getting fat is expensive!

AUD - Passed 11/20/09
FAR - Passed 08/20/10
BEC - Passed 10/25/10
REG - Passed 2/18/11 Maryland

[T-rex]

I've gained 10 lbs in the past month. While I wait for my REG score, I'm working out daily in attempt to lose the weight. No, people who haven't prepared for this exam really have no concept of what a time suck it really is. There is no life balance while working full-time and studying for this monster. I can't imagine what those with spouses and kids go through. I can barely take care of myself.

AUD - 95, BEC - 85
REG - 85, Rawrrrrrr FAR - 88
Used Becker for all sections.
CA candidate not residing in CA

[Tosha]

Is that why I've gained weight? That explains so much…

AUD: 2/12/2011: 84
REG: 4/4/2011: 82
BEC: 5/9/2011: 78
FAR: 7/7/2011: 75

[Anonymous]

yikes 25-30 extra pounds???…..A pound of fat contains roughly 3,200 calories. So, to gain one pound, one would have to eat 5,200 Calories in one day…assuming 2,000 Calorie intake for basic metabolism and some moving around. Now this is assuming 100% energy conversion efficiency. Humans on a high-qualty, animal protein diet have about an 80% food energy to stored energy conversion ratio (not to be confused with a stored mass to energy ratio which is more like 25%). This means that one would need to consume about 6,500 calories a day to gain the extra pounds! I am no even sure what kind of diet one would need in order to get that many calories. A 24 ounce, Starbucks (TM), Frappucino + a “Heart Attack” Burger (TM) (w/ four meat patties and all the fixings) doesn't even total 6,000 Calories. A Large Papa Johns (TM) Pizza with ALL the fixin's has about 2,600 calories. So, I am not even sure how one can consume 6,500 calories in a day. Thoughts?????? …I am assuming that the weight gain was over a very short period of time…obviously, a lower daily excess food intake rate would seem reasonable to gain 30 lbs over, say 10 yrs.

[HighMileageDude]

how would CPA/med students be the most unfit group? (especially the med student/doc group?) Both groups are better educated about nutrition/exercise, etc. so one would think it wouldnt include accountants.

[Herbieherb]

lost five since my last post.10 more to go

NEW YORK- DONE

[Author]

Replies