what to eat day before/day of test?

[HTxFrog]

I've always heard that the day before you are doing something that requires a lot of energy you should eat a big pasta meal. I don't really know the scientific reasoning behind that, but after searching the internet for a little bit and not finding anything on the topic, I figured I'd just see what you guys thought. The day of the test I'm kind of having trouble figuring out what to eat too. My test is at noon, and I know I don't want to eat a big meal right before the test, but I also know that if I don't eat enough I won't have enough energy to get through it all. I'm thinking maybe eat something at 8-9 like I normally do and then have a powerbar or something at 10. 2 hours before the test should give it enough time to not suck all the blood out of my brain and into my intestines. Then during the test maybe have some sort of snack like another powerbar or maybe one of those powerbar gel things and a gatorade. Or maybe a banana or two, I read that they have an optimal glycemic index or something. I don't know. Any suggestions?

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[allymunro]

I ate more or less constantly through my test (I took at least a 5min break after every block except the first one). I'd noticed while studying that I didn't work as well when either hungry or post-prandial so I tried to just keep eating nuts, chocolate and cereal bars. I think it worked because I never felt distracted by needing to eat or felt sleepy from just having eaten too much. Oh and coffee. I drank quite a bit of that as well. We were told in a lecture that you perform best if you have the same conditions during the exam as during studying (ie if you smoke (I don't), smoke during breaks and if you drank a lot of coffee studying (I did), drink coffee during the exam!

 

[Ookluh]

I wish my test was at noon so that I could eat a huge breakfast and just snack throughout the test/afternoon.. but unfortunately mine's at 7:30am =\

Anyway, I've always heard that eating some protein in the morning is a good plan.. can't go wrong with eggs, hash browns, some fruit and orange juice 😛.. and I have the same plan as what ally did - just going to snack the whole way through.. I'd rather have 7-10ish minute breaks the whole way through and just eat a protein bar or bag of nuts than take 5ish minute breaks and then have a 30 minute lunch, after which I always just get super tired..

 

[MilkmanAl]

The carb loading thing isn't really all that useful unless you're also going to be running a marathon while taking Step 1. All you really need to do is make sure you eat things that are healthy and easy to digest. Small portions and moderate protein will help resist the insulin surge that makes you feel like a nap. METRx Big 100 bars are where it's at, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[ar2388]

shouldnt one focus on eating complex carbs? isnt that the best brain food? or did i hear that randomly somewhere and its not actually true?
for my MCAT i went a little crazy with whole wheat pasta. had it every morning 3 days before my exam and the morning of my exam.

 

[IMGUSMLEStep1]

Carb loading builds your glycogen stores. It's more useful for sports than academic tests. Since the only source of energy your brain uses is glucose, you'll want to try to keep your blood glucose up by eating frequent sneaks.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

Anyone else find it a bit ironic the confusion being expressed over this issue by people that are about to take a test that will be testing them on this very same concept?

 

[PokerDoc]

I'm eating some hibachi for dinner the night before..

my fav 😀 😀

im prob gonna pick up a subway sandwich to bring with me on test day along with 2 energy drinks (i hate coffee) and 3 power bars.> I prob wont use that many but id rather have extra.

 

[_T_]

Might be a stupid q but are we allowed to bring coffee/water/etc into the testing station?

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

Might be a stupid q but are we allowed to bring coffee/water/etc into the testing station?

Nope!

 

[dienekes88]

Don't change anything.

My plan:
Between blocks 2 and 3: Snickers bar
Between blocks 4 and 5: double decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich, diet coke.
between blocks 6 and 7: Fresca, maybe a cereal bar or a few fig newtons

 

[PokerDoc]

Nope!

you get a fridge to put stuff in right, and a locker for your bag? you know so I can keep all my mind steroids armed? lol

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

you get a fridge to put stuff in right, and a locker for your bag? you know so I can keep all my mind steroids armed? lol

I'm not sure about the fridge, but you do get a locker to put your stuff in. I would check this out:

USMLE testing information from the horse's mouth

 

[VoiceofReason]

asking for diet advice for step 1 is kind of ******ed even for SDN but the answer to your question is not food. Rather, consistent good sleep is the best thing you can do to avoid fatigue in the days before, and the day of, the exam

if possible take .25 mg of alprazolam 9 hours or so before you need to awaken the next day.

 

[badasshairday]

What about diphenhydramine the night before? I'm talking about like 10-12 hours before you need to be up. Take it like at 8:30pm so you can sleep and be restered for your 8am test. I'm not going to have access to any Rx sleep meds.

Just wondering about any hangover effects of the benadryl.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

What about diphenhydramine the night before? I'm talking about like 10-12 hours before you need to be up. Take it like at 8:30pm so you can sleep and be restered for your 8am test. I'm not going to have access to any Rx sleep meds.

Just wondering about any hangover effects of the benadryl.

I've had much better luck with doxylamine succinate. YMMV.

 

[mq123]

What about diphenhydramine the night before? I'm talking about like 10-12 hours before you need to be up. Take it like at 8:30pm so you can sleep and be restered for your 8am test. I'm not going to have access to any Rx sleep meds.

Just wondering about any hangover effects of the benadryl.

I once took some for allergies a while back, and never again will I take sedative anti-histamines. I slept almost 12 hours that night and woke up very drowsy and was drowsy the entire day. I guess I have low tolerance, but I wouldn't try anything like this the day before the test, especially if you don't usually do it.

 

[VoiceofReason]

a minimum dose benzo would be ideal, i think using antihistamines or anything else really is risky for your quality of sleep.

get some from a friend or family member if possible, a third of the people you know are on xanax probably

and obviously if you always sleep well no matter whats goin on then don't worry about it

 

[killinsound]

rocking the zolpedam... tried it a few nights ago, no hang over.

 

[MoscowAbe]

I think its better to just start going to sleep earlier at least a week before your exam date, early I mean no later than 11.

 

[badasshairday]

So I went with an anti-histamine last night. Took the full adult dose of NyQuil (doxylamine succinate). Worked well, knocked out right away. But definitely had a hang over affect. Maybe I'll just have a shot of JD, and the pediatric dose of NyQuil the night before. Will give that a try tonight. The only thing that sucks, tolerance screws with dosing. Whatever though.

 

[dienekes88]

I think its better to just start going to sleep earlier at least a week before your exam date, early I mean no later than 11.

+1

I've been working on waking up early and going to bed early for the entire time I've been studying.

 

[PokerDoc]

So I went with an anti-histamine last night. Took the full adult dose of NyQuil (doxylamine succinate). Worked well, knocked out right away. But definitely had a hang over affect. Maybe I'll just have a shot of JD, and the pediatric dose of NyQuil the night before. Will give that a try tonight. The only thing that sucks, tolerance screws with dosing. Whatever though.

Lol I still have 6 percocets, maybe thatll do for me.

 

[HTxFrog]

Well my test was yesterday, so I guess I got it figured out. I took 2 doxlamine tablets at about 8 so that they would be worn off well before noon the next day. I slept like a baby and woke up really well rested. I take antihistamines before bed fairly regularly, so I knew the effect it would have on me. I woke up at 8 or so then had a bowl of cereal and a huge glass of instant breakfast. At ten I ate a powerbar and banana. I brought ensure, powerbars, bananas, gatorade, monster, some powerbar gels, and some little candies. I ended up eating one banana after the first test block, and drank an ensure after the third block. I drank a little gatorade after each block. I felt like I had the perfect amount of energy the entire time, and never felt sleepy or tired at all, so I think it worked out perfectly.

 

[Alfalfa Bill]

DO NOT take any first generation H1 blokcers! As you all propbably know they have anti-adrenergic and ANTI-MUSCARINIC side effects. Ach is important for forming memories. I wouldn't take the chance of forgetting a lot of what I studied the day before.

 

[kunfu]

What happened to good old fashion sleep, followed by Caffeine in the morning? You guys already sound like your dependent on pills to sleep.

 

[878956]

Reviving an old thread but I think they are doing this to combat the feelings of anxiety they have on test day.