Help with (academic) test

jakesfnm · #1 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 10:26 AM

I will be taking a grueling 6 hour (plus, hopefully, some snack and bathroom breaks) exam in June. I've had very good success in lowering my a1c (6.1 to 4.9) through diet and exercise. I think my carbs (about 75 a day/I'm 132 lbs.) may be a bit too low as I sometimes have more trouble concentrating/with energy level with this low carb diet. I may increase and test to see how I do, but I digress. During a test a year ago, I survived and passed the exam with green tea and lots of healthy carbs during snacks. At least I think that helped - I was still tired by the end of the exam (I'm an almost 59 yr. old female.) But I did well.

Anyway, do any of you have suggestions/experience in eating many more carbs than usual for endurance for an athletic event or academic event? I don't want to overload and get a headache or dizzy! Thanks.

morrisma · #2 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 10:30 AM

Have 2 drinks with you - water and cytomax.

duck · #3 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 01:52 PM

I did my CISSP in August...Though I had the benefit of CGMS, the proctors told me after the exam that they make accommodations for medical needs, so if I needed to test frequently, I would have been allowed to get up and test as often as possible (as it was, I wrote and warned them I would be attached to a Pump/CGMS, not to freak out and think it was some sort of device for cheating...anyway, to accommodate, they put me near the door in the back so I could indeed get in and out with little to no distraction).

Now, as far as what foods? Now is the time to test your endurance and what foods would work best for you. I literally only ate a small breakfast, and took some beef jerky in a clear plastic bag and some water in with me...Even with the stress of the exam, I stayed VERY stable through lunch time. I finished my exam about lunch time, so I stopped and put the booklet away (I was going to go over all my answers), ate lunch, and looked over all my answers. All in all, according to CGMS, I never tipped 200 and never got below 120 that day. But I had been preparing for it (from a diabetes-standpoint) for a few weeks.

So in short, test, prepare, and make adjustments as needed before the exam. And let your proctors know you may need to test your blood sugar, etc, just to avoid suspicion.

bkburns · #4 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duck

I did my CISSP in August...

I can't imagine how high my GL was when I sat for my CISSP (was not diagnosed then). I was pretty stressed before, but the exam was not that bad at all.