[Anonymous]

I’ll be taking a job at a big 4 this year, and I was wondering what to expect with squeezing in gym time during busy season and just on the daily basis. I have an active gym membership, and I work on the audit side so I’ll probably be in and out the office.

I did not know where else to post so I posted this here. I can condense my workouts (~30 minutes) using drop sets, no rest between sets (alternating body parts), and then doing bear complexes or running outdoors super early morning for my cardio, and I hope I can at least get that in a few times a week during the busy season. Maybe run early morning weekdays (5am if I have to commute and report to work at 8am), upper/lower body weight lifting split on weekends? I struggle keeping the weight off even just studying the CPA exam ALONE.

<b>Anyone else here gain some weight while studying/working long hours? Any tips or experiences welcome from the community.</b>

Thanks for any feedback.

[AGI]

… I have a problem keeping up my weight too.

For some reason, I lose weight naturally.

I have to eat about 4 large bags of chips (or equivalent junk food) each week to keep up the weight. If I don't do that, I will lose close to 2 lbs a week.

I try to workout to gain muscle weight, but it doesn't work out too well. I think it's because I am Asian (female) and it's kinda hard to build up the muscles.

I study 1 hour per day on weekday and 3-5 hours per day on weekend. I do at least 30 -45 min walking exercise each day. (That's the time to walk from home to subway to office). On weekend, I walk at least 40 min (total of 2 days). Sometimes I will spend 3 hours walking 6 miles along the ocean.

I think I need to do more exercise to push up the weight. I don't put myself on the scale anymore. I know I am always around 110 lbs, but I need to be 120 lbs! As my weight drop toward 110 lbs I feel dizzy and might faint if I run or just by walking upstairs..

Studying and working just make you lose weight like crazy!

New York - NYC
Passed CPA Exam (11/2014)
In search for a position in NYC that will fulfills the license requirement.

[Sir Study Alot]

I am so fat that I don't want to talk about it 🙁

Passed all 4 exams in 2014!

[fuzyfro89]

Best for me was doing it early in the week and on weekends. I usually have enough energy once I get to sleep in a bit on Saturdays, so even in a really bad week I would try to work out on Sunday and Monday (usually after work). That way, even if things got too crazy or if I was too tired to keep up during the week, I still got in two workouts.

The best thing I heard from others was to work out quickly and hard in the mornings, but I just rarely had the energy to get a good workout if I was too tired. I may try again in the future, but we'll see.

[Anonymous]

About 35 lbs in 6 months for me (was 220, now 255). I've always gained and lost weight pretty quickly.

Running shoes will be your best friend. There is always time to squeeze in a half hour of interval running to get some blood pumping if you need to.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for a solid workout program that has workouts of around 30 minutes, check out Athlean-X. I am a couple of months into the program and it's great! Not the greatest program for beginners though.

[Anonymous]

I worked for Big 4 for almost 2 years – the hours alone will drive you to eat more just to stay awake!

[rfc63]

Working out is great but diet is equally, if not more important. I prepare my meals for the week on Sunday. Usually chicken or steak or lean beef and rice/potatoes. Breakfast is oats and egg whites and I'll make more meals if I need a dinner.

[Pumpkins]

I expected to gain weight, but I've actually lost a few pounds :/

I think I've been so busy that I forget to eat, or I just eat one big meal a day. I do go running after studying all day on the weekends just to blow off some steam and keep my sanity.

Also, I drink coffee and tea all day, which fills me up so that I haven't been getting hungry and I keep forgetting to eat dinner because I'm so tired after work and studying that I just go right to sleep.

Once I'm finished I'm going to focus on getting healthy again because I think I'm just wasting away!

AUD- 93
BEC- 81
FAR- 1/26/2015
REG- TBD

CIA Exams Passed in March, 2014

[Valerie_Jo]

Sadly, my year-and-a-half CPA exam journey has resulted in about a 30 pound gain!!! Uck….so now that I finally passed the final portion, time to change that back. Stress is a killer for weight control!!!

FAR: 84
BEC: 88
REG: 33 (winged it, bad plan), 77
AUD: 72 ,72, 81 FINALLY DONE!!!!!!

WI Ethics Exam Passed - 92!!!!

Licensed CPA in WI

[Anonymous]

I was sooo thin when I began the CPA Journey! I worked out in the mornings and at night and was finally fully satisfied with my body! then the exam began and the biggest mistake I did was stop working out 🙁 In addition to that, I would drink to cope with all the stress, and after the journey was over and I passed all four parts, I had gained 25 lbs!!!!!!!!!

Then, I got pregnant, and have gained an additional 23 LBS!!! that puts me at 48 lbs!!!!! I have 2 more weeks to go though so I am getting back on my A game after the baby! don't stop working out please!1111

[gt5717b]

Now that I'm done with the exams, I use what used to be my study time at night to go running instead. I'm down a good 7-8 lbs from where I was when I finished my last exam.

REG - 89
FAR - 84
AUD - 73, 86
BEC - 89

GA Licensed CPA

[Anonymous]

Great to hear many of the community's experiences! I'm putting in two-a-days this whole week before I start so I can fit into my suit! 🙂

[Anonymous]

Ugh, yes. Working a full-time desk job and then sitting at home studying every night and weekend = 8 pounds extra :(. I can feel my muscles atrophying. Can't wait to have time to work out again!

[Anonymous]

Bump for more of the community's experiences 🙂

[Anonymous]

To me, the math is simple. Time is really at a premium between studying and working so it's really hard to find time to workout. Instead of eating like garbage and trying to erase the bad eating/calorie overload through working out (and losing precious study time) it's easiest just to eat healthy and sparingly workout for 20-25 min twice a week or so.

[Author]

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