[Matt Douglass]

First off, I know how to stay healthy normally. I used to eat healthy, get plenty of sleep, and my hobby was triathlons. I was once 27 and had a metabolism. At the age of 37 with a 40+ job, a wonderful wife and two awesome little boys, I am trying to tackle the CPA exam.

When I first started studying (FAR), I thought, “Oh, I’ll take the tablet to the gym and read and listen to a lecture.” Quickly I realized that the CPA exam is a very jealous lover. She does not take kindly to your half-hearted attention. Since mid-December I have studied every night, at my desk, taking furious notes, fully mentally engaged. I mostly study at night after my family goes to bed.

I’m holding my life together except for my health…I’ve gained 30 lbs in one year…guh. My bikes and running shoes and gym membership are all going unused.

Are any of you in this boat? Are you doing the “I’ll just focus on fitness once these letters are behind my name” or have you found a way to incorporate fitness and still pass exams/stay married/employed?

MS, Accounting - Done!

FAR - 83 (CPAexcel/Ninja MCQ)
AUD - 87 (CPAexcel/Ninja MCQ)
REG - 10/16
BEC - 11/16

[wombataholic]

I was in the same boat (36, 1 child with another on the way, full time job, etc). I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to be able to do everything and working out was the activity that got cut. Spouses and kids still need attention, honeydos around the house still need to get done and work wasn't getting cut either. There will be time after the exam to get back to the gym.

Licensed CPA
Passed each section on the first try with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

[TheHoundThatRides]

I use intermittent fasting on days I don't hit the gym. (basically, you just eat in an 8 hour window starting at lunchtime) It makes it easier to eat a reasonable amount of calories. As long as you eat your daily nutritional needs during the window you're fine. It sucks skipping breakfast at first but your body gets used to it. I'd recommend googling research on it if you're interested.

Also, a reasonably good run can be had in 20-25 minutes. Even running a quick mile is good. Really ask yourself if you really don't have that time to spare. If you can't leave the house, Tabatas are some of the hardest workouts I've ever done and can also be done in under 20 minutes.

BEC - 78 (August 2015)
FAR - 80 (November 2015)
AUD - 73, 67. (Ok I gotta confess I was even more lazy this time around)
REG - August 27th, 2016

[Anonymous]

eat better… 90% of bodies are made in the kitchen, not in the gym.

[Anonymous]

Precisely what @Bobcat87 said. I fluctuated within a few pounds during my studying time. My body doesn't react well with simple carbs so I made sure to consume veggies or anything low glycemic.

[Stilgoin]

I do the opposite of fasting. I eat 200-400 calories 6 times a day, shooting for 1500 total low glycemic foods per day. This way my brain stays nourished. I had gained 20lbs when I first started last year, but I am back down to my fighting weight now. Lol. I track my food with Fitness Pal. I don’t have much time for exercise, but I agree with others. It is more about what goes in than what I burn. I don’t have the energy to run the way I did before I started this journey, but I still make sure I get 3-4 good hours of cardio per week.

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[Anonymous]

I think we all still have to get some exercise in. Personally, I know I have to or I just cannot operate as well mentally. My brain is much sharper when I get my workouts in. And something is definitely better than nothing in that department. If you can get a good run in for 25 minutes, I think the benefits far outweigh the drawback of 25 minutes lost out of your day.

[Anonymous]

“I'll just focus on fitness once these letters are behind my name”

Yup. If anything I use it as motivation to get this test done faster – not that I'm going all that fast, but it keeps me going because I know the sooner I pass the sooner I can get back to my life.

Knowing I struggle to get any kind of workout in, I've tried to focus more on my nutrition. But even that is hard sometimes because it's quicker and easier to just grab something somewhere (which I know doesn't always mean unhealthy, but I'm human). So I just need to get through these exams.

[TheHoundThatRides]

What @aTmCPAwannabe said rings true for me. Sometimes I do get busy and don't exercise for a week or two. Maybe even a month or two. But I feel sooooo much more sluggish. A very very tiny part of me gets sad and uncomfortable as my body gets weaker.

When I sit down after a workout I'm so much more focused and ready to study it's a wonder I ever let myself go without it.

BEC - 78 (August 2015)
FAR - 80 (November 2015)
AUD - 73, 67. (Ok I gotta confess I was even more lazy this time around)
REG - August 27th, 2016

[Anonymous]

I didn't workout while I was studying. I've never been a gym person, more for a quiet workout at home, but a 25 minute workout was often out of the question. If I had 25 minutes extra, it was going to the people around me, not to a workout. I've never been good at prioritizing exercise, though – now when I'm working way too many hours, I'm not likely to exercise, either. Exercise saps my strength, not adds to it, so for me, I can't exercise and then study or then sit down to work or then scrub the kitchen etc.; if I exercise, I'm done for the day.

So, when I was studying, I didn't exercise, and I hoped to fix my body after it was done. I also didn't exercise when it was the busy period at my job (whatever that was at whichever job I had at the time), or when I had a lot going on personally, etc. If I was better at managing what I ate during stressful times, I would've been OK, but I wasn't. So, at the end of last year, I'd gained 80 pounds in the 3.5 years since I finished my Bachelor's. But, with better stress-management and more importantly better food-management, I've dropped 40 pounds of that in the last 5.5 months. So, while I still struggle to exercise (cause I still was at work till 8pm and 11pm this week 😐 ), I do think that the others who are saying that watching what you eat is important are very right. If you feel like you need to drop the workout time in order to balance family, study, and work, then by all means drop it. You can pick it back up later, but for now you can keep the damage to a minimum by watching the other factors (mostly food) that affect your physical health.

Oh, and when it comes to food, it's not just about eating the right things, or just about eating the right amounts, but some of both. Eating small amounts of only candy all day won't work, but eating large amounts of only fish and veggies all day won't work, either. At the same time, eating candy sometimes and eating big servings sometimes is OK, too.

[Stilgoin]

@Lilla Congrats on the loss!! That is amazing. I have to be diligent- I’ve always been a chunky girl. My husband eats whatever he wants and never gains a pound. I TRY not to be bitter. Haha

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[Snickets]

All diet man. Also with all of the things going on why not try those new P90x or Insanity videos? Their only 30 minutes and you can do them at home.

AUD 84
FAR. 78(expired/retake 5/9/16)
BEC 77
REG 76

[ScarletKnightCPA]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to sustain the gym while at the same time studying for the CPA, working at my job, pursuing my MBA and carving some time out for social activities. Gym had to go. Now that I have completed the CPA exam, I am still working on my MBA so commitment to the gym is still fairly out of the question but I have began making time to go out on runs.

Unfortunately there are only so many hours in a day.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[oldercandidate21]

Wow this hits home. My situation is very similar to Matt's. I am 36, work 40+ hours a week, am married and have two kids. So for some strange reason with all that going on, I decided last fall to start studying for the CPA exam.

Prior to this journey I was addicted to the gym. I would workout maybe 10-12 hours a week. I planned it around family duties, so I wasn't missing out on anything. But now I most certainly am absent in my families life. I've taken two tests and am just starting studying for my third, and I have no social life. If I'm lucky I go to the gym maybe 3-5 times a month, and my workouts are a fraction of what I am used to doing. I now find myself dashing past the mirror in the bathroom so I don't get a horrific glimpse of what I have become. Shaving and brushing is always done with a shirt on.

The only exercise I really get these day is walking the dog in the late evening (which is not my idea of exercise). I'll study till about 8:00pm then my wife and I will go for a walk with the dog for an hour. My kids are teenagers so they are fine by themselves (sometimes they even come along). Then on the weekends, I'll sometimes take the dog for a walk myself after studying and try to recount everything I have studied to that point in my head. Almost like a final review before I get to the final review.

So I look at it like this; hopefully this is all done soon. Maybe 6 months, maybe another year? When it's done I'm dedicating 3 months to getting back in shape. Until then, I'll just keep avoiding mirrors.

FAR - 75 November 2015
REG - 69 April 2016 (WTH? Test I got isn't what I studied for)
BEC - 81 June 2016
AUD - TBD

[Matt Douglass]

@oldercandidate21 – I have been avoiding mirrors like the plague! I like your idea of reviewing as you walk.

MS, Accounting - Done!

FAR - 83 (CPAexcel/Ninja MCQ)
AUD - 87 (CPAexcel/Ninja MCQ)
REG - 10/16
BEC - 11/16

[lolo]

Hello, Does anyone know how much does NASBA take to process exam registration ?

My Nick name is sunshine, but the fact is I have not been in touch with it since I started this CPA exam! IT HURTS

AUD - ✔ Passed Becker self study!
BEC - ✔ Passed Becker self study!
FAR - ✔ Passed Becker self study!
REG - TBD

[Author]

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