[LawGuy]

How are you guys doing on staying healthy during the CPA study process? Between working full time and studying, I find it difficult to make it to the gym and/or eat healthy.

I can wake up early, exercise, go to work, study, and eat healthy for a while, but after a day or two of that I start to crave some kind of release. I’ve been finding myself in the McDonalds drive-thru more than I care to admit lately. I’ve always been a very health-conscious person, but I’ve noticed a decline in my overall health since I started studying. I am about halfway done with the study process now, and I want to improve things for the second half.

It seems like all my discipline goes towards powering through this exam material, and I don’t have much left over to stay healthy. How do you guys stay balanced?

[imsotiffanyy]

Definitely find time for yourself to sleep and exercise. I know it seems counter intuitive when you're trying to pass an exam but it has helped me study more efficiently. I would normally study in a cafe near my gym and use the gym as a break in between my studying.

I also love studying with friends while they're reading or something because they provide me with company and also keep me on track with my studying goals.

[Natalierose]

I have a t-shirt I wear to the gym that says “Accountant's body”

I wanted people to reallyyyy understand why I struggle so much to do situps.

REG- Passed
BEC- Passed
AUD -Failed - Retake in October
FAR- Scheduled 8/1/2016

[Anonymous]

@BlueCollarNerd – I love your user name!! And yeah, the CPA can really mess with us in so many ways – mainly with mental and physical health. “Sociopathic zombie” was about all I could come up with to describe what happens to quite a few people I observe who go thru the process. But, the CPA is not law school and the BAR exam or med school and the board exams. What we have to go through may be crazy but it's not nearly as bad as a lot of other things!! I always keep that in mind, when I start to get pissed off while studying.

[Anonymous]

Why can't I insert an image 🙁

[Anonymous]

@crazyleon

I couldn't stop laughing at the “Sociopathic Zombie” comment!! Super funny!

But, I have heard from 2 Lawyers that the CPA Exam is harder than the Bar, so we are going through what a Lawyer would endure – at least with the exam process. However, I imagine Med School is much harder and I have heard worse stories about the CFA. Regardless, we do have it pretty rough. These exams are NO JOKE!!

Goodluck!!

[LawGuy]

^ I am a lawyer and I can confirm. I would say the bar exam is about as hard as FAR. The fact that you have to take 4 exams to pass the cpa puts it at a higher difficulty level, in my opinion.

Also, as an update on the topic of trying to balance studying and health, I have subscribed to Blue Apron, which is a service that mails you quality ingredients and recipes each week. I will let you guys know how it goes, but I'm pretty optimistic about it. The only drawback is it's pretty pricey so it might not be best for a student budget. If you're working and trying to study, it seems like a life saver though.

[shawn in VA]

I thought with blue apron you still have to cook the stuff? That takes time. But its healthier than fast food like Mcdonalds

I still will stick to XANAX it helps me sleep and wake up refreshed (more energy throughout day). It also helps calm nerves before the exam. Prior to XANAX I would hit the launch button on the exam and litterally freeze and start freaking out and have to take deep breathes. literlaly waste 3-4 mins. That does not happpen anymore.

Before someone attacks me with a follow up post- I GOT THIS FROM MY DOCTOR LEGALLY!!!!

[cmcook]

I just got a Nutribullet Lean and it's the bomb. I make all kinds of crazy smoothies and they're way fast and easy. And the smoothies have made me feel totally refreshed and energized. Also, I have FINALLY worked in exercise again. I didn't think I could make time, but I realized that even if I was putting in more hours studying – if those hours weren't focused they were useless. So I study slightly less hours but way more focused. I am so happy that I don't have to feel guilty about working out.

If you hunt around you an find deals on the Nutribullet. I dug up tons of coupons and Kohl's cash and got mine for $60, all in.

[kdcpa]

Initially, during this journey, I made a big mistake to ignore my health while consuming more caffeine and sugar which generally people do. Resultantly, I had to face serious consequences. I have learned a big lesson from my experience. I Make sure to eat healthy food like lots of vegetables, fruits (by making smoothies in my Vitamix), and water. I try to eat low carb (quinoa is a really great option), nonfried and no sugar food. I cook my food at home every single day even while having a busy life. I take walk if possible so some kind of exercise is really important. Health is real wealth. So I strongly recommend to sparing some time for your food and exercise irrespective of however miserable the life is.

[Matt]

The social life has definitely been hit hardest of anything, I force myself to do anything for a few hours once every other week a touch of sanity. I hate it now, but I'll rebuild my life after this is over.

There was definitely an impact especially on the first two/three sections heath wise, less cooking and more stumbling over to chips.

Though I have gotten better heath wise, a touch of exercise, microwaved canned food (better then garbage). I've also gotten more efficient with my study habits, focused hours at the beginning and end of the day.

I've essentially come to terms with making the best of a miserable process.

Good Luck everyone.

FAR 74

[RockLobster]

I was on the same page as Matt. For me, there are five things that mattered most as I took the exam: Studying, eating good food, continuing to work out 5 days a week, getting enough sleep, and holding down my job. I took having a social life almost entirely out of my list of priorities. I knew my true friends and girlfriend would understand that I had to invest my time into primarily studying, and all other extracurricular activities were to keep me sane and focused on the ultimate goal of becoming a CPA. That said, in terms of staying fit during the exam process I can tell you it is possible. I prepared all my meals on Sunday night then ate throughout the week. Pretty much staple foods: chicken, sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, brown rice, turkey. Then M-F I'd work 8-5 (45 min commute each way), go to the gym and eat dinner after work, study from 8-10, then sleep until 6AM and repeat. Weekends were a 10-12 hour study session with an occasional trip to see my gf for a few hours.

This schedule let me knock out all four exams over the course of about 9 months, and that includes taking an entire month and a half off from studying because of busy season. If I can do it so can you.

[NA474]

I gained weight during my 9 month cpa journey. I think it was due to the lack of exercise (out of college and into a desk job, not walking around campus and town like I was used to) and fattening pastries/coffees during study sessions. After I Passed I started getting back on track by eating healthy and going to the gym. What I would have recommended that I recently picked up was meal prepping. I did a ton of takeout and meal prepping would have probably did the trick. And I wold have substituted croissants and muffins for something like fruit or greek yogurt.

Good luck and don't fall into the trap!

FAR-5/31 -PASS
REG-7/29 (TBD)
AUD TBD
BEC TBD

[Author]

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