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Stamina Juice.

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Stamina Juice.

by ok24by7 » Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:52 pm
Hi All,

I haven't taken the real test yet but on the practice tests I feel I am one of the low-stamina victims.

I wonder what is a good way to get over this?!?
A gatorade or one of those 5 hour energy jolt drinks?
I doubt if they can perform to make you perform.

But going back through what happend during my 4 hr test, I see couple of stamina draining things:
1. Did not do a tough prep for AWA. So during the test I started thinking too much and stressed on AWA. But all are supposed to breeze through AWA.
2. Same should apply to Quant also if you fall into the strong math background groups.

I think GMAT demands you to have a strong background already in atleast one of the 2 sections - Math and verbal to get over the 700 barrier with a 2 month prep.

So if one can breeze through AWA and Quant, I think mental stamina reserve would still be enough for the Verbal to get you ashore as planned.

Looks like this is not at all an issue for some of the folks here as I rarely see this issue being posted.

Comment please.... If you guys know how to save the Stamina Juice.


Thanks.
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by bilko » Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:12 pm
You need to eat the right foods, not rely on energy drinks. Here's what I recommend, whether you're taking a test or not:

breakfast: eggs, fruit or yogurt, toast, plus a little OJ. covers all the bases.

lunch: PB&J or peanut butter & banana sandwich, or tuna sandwich

snacks: apple (fabulous brain and energy boost), banana, granola bar, 1/2 protein bar (don't eat these every day as they can mess with your stomach), cottage cheese or a stick of mozzarella, handful of nuts. Do two of those or one with some Gatorade (not a whole bottle!! You'll be running to the bathroom.) and you'll stay perky. Water is important too. If you're dehydrated, you'll get tired quickly. Another great snack is peanut M&Ms...you get the sugar, fat and protein all in one.

I try to mix one fruit or protein with a carb and/or fat for a snack. The fruit will give you a quick burst, and the fat or carb will help sustain your energy and keep you from getting hungry. The protein is more of a long-term solution, so definitely get some good protein in for breakfast. Not too much, though, or your stomach will rebel on you!

Make sure you don't eat too many complex proteins on test day, and no starches like pasta, rice or potatoes. Those will make you groggy.

Hope this helps!
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by ok24by7 » Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:08 pm
Bilko u rock!
Hope it really works but did u forget to add milk?
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by lunarpower » Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:17 pm
bilko wrote:You need to eat the right foods, not rely on energy drinks. Here's what I recommend, whether you're taking a test or not:

breakfast: eggs, fruit or yogurt, toast, plus a little OJ. covers all the bases.

lunch: PB&J or peanut butter & banana sandwich, or tuna sandwich

snacks: apple (fabulous brain and energy boost), banana, granola bar, 1/2 protein bar (don't eat these every day as they can mess with your stomach), cottage cheese or a stick of mozzarella, handful of nuts. Do two of those or one with some Gatorade (not a whole bottle!! You'll be running to the bathroom.) and you'll stay perky. Water is important too. If you're dehydrated, you'll get tired quickly. Another great snack is peanut M&Ms...you get the sugar, fat and protein all in one.

I try to mix one fruit or protein with a carb and/or fat for a snack. The fruit will give you a quick burst, and the fat or carb will help sustain your energy and keep you from getting hungry. The protein is more of a long-term solution, so definitely get some good protein in for breakfast. Not too much, though, or your stomach will rebel on you!

Make sure you don't eat too many complex proteins on test day, and no starches like pasta, rice or potatoes. Those will make you groggy.

Hope this helps!
this isn't bad advice, but make sure that you don't throw your diet into a state of total disequilibrium when the exam is impending. your body needs at least a couple of weeks to adapt to any new diet.
this is the reason for "travelers' diarrhea" and other afflictions that commonly arise from abrupt changes in diet, especially from traveling to foreign countries where one's normal foods aren't available.

you should also experiment with your diet and find what works best for you; what works for bilko won't necessarily work best for you, especially if you and bilko are of different ethnicities, activity levels, ages, and/or physical fitness levels.

just make sure that you eat fair amounts of all 3 macronutrients (carb, fat, protein) on test day. a deficiency in any one of the three can spell bad news for any sustained mental activity, just as it would for sustained physical activity.

one thing is for sure, though: hydration is king. try to drink up to a gallon of water a day, and even more if you work out.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by Steve » Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:58 am
The commentors above are right, avoid heavy food that your stomach will have a hard time digesting, absorbing blood flow from where it needs to be - in your head. I had a light caesar salad, an apple and iced tea, followed by Methylphenidate (what kids use to treat ADD). Unfortunately, the rumors were wrong, the pill did absolutely nothing. The best trick to building endurance seems to remain the oldest one in the book: practice.
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by ok24by7 » Wed Sep 03, 2008 1:56 pm
I agree with the eat right, practice more and no meth strategy(from Steve above) for Stamina building :)..

Thx.
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by II » Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:41 pm
absolutely agree with the "practice" ... the more you practice by simulating the (as closely as possible) real test environment (3.5 hours) the better you will be able to handle the real thing ! The more stamina you will build.

Even conducting "mini-GMATs" when practicing with OG questions helps. So doing 37 Quant questions in 75 mins for Quant, and then 41 questions for Verbal in 75 mins.

Dont forget to exercise and keep yourself active ... especially when you are working as well as doing intensive study. "Active body, Active Mind" !

Good luck !
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by caligmat » Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:10 pm
I would add that it's probably not a good idea to drink a ton of caffeine before the real test. I sometimes drank coffee before practice tests to keep my energy up, but found that during the real test my adrenaline was so high that if I had had coffee beforehand, I would have been really jittery and unfocused.
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by ok24by7 » Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:36 am
Below study suggests you to add glucose during the GMAT breaks!

The researchers figure the body reacts to these fluctuations by demanding food to restore glucose, a sugar that is the brain's fuel. Glucose is converted by the body from carbohydrates and is supplied to the brain via the bloodstream. The brain cannot make glucose and so needs a constant supply. Brain cells need twice as much energy as other cells in the body.

https://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/200 ... esuspigout
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