As students prepare for bar week, I want to take a moment to talk about one of my favorite topics, food. I admit it—I am a foodie and as much as I would like to make this post about my favorite restaurants in San Francisco, we can save that until after bar season.
Today, I want to talk about food as fuel for the bar exam.
Why is food important to think about for the bar exam?
Well, food is incredibly important when it comes to the bar exam because it is the single thing that will fuel your body while going through those challenging hours of exam time. Food and pure adrenaline!
Many students don’t think about what they are going to eat during bar week until, say, the day before the exam. This is not a good idea! Just as you have planned all other aspects of your bar week, you must think about food as well.
Breakfast.
I am not here to tell you what to eat (I am not a nutritionist or a doctor), but I do encourage you to eat something and make sure that whatever you eat keeps you full until lunch.
If you are someone who frequently snacks, the bar exam can be challenging for you. You need to be able to go without food for the entire morning session (most jurisdictions don’t let you eat in the exam room or even bring in food). So, no 10:30 a.m. granola bar for you!
Not sure what to eat that will make you feel ready for exam day? These folks have some specific tips (I Passed My Bar Exam and Bar Exam Mind), but my recommendation is to decide what will work for you by testing things out this week. Try eating what you are going to eat on exam day for breakfast. This may not be typical breakfast food (especially if you are planning to eat at your hotel) and that is okay (turns out you can eat just about anything for breakfast). See if it keeps you full. If not, then change it up!
Lunch.
Lunch is the same thing. You need to eat a healthy meal that will give you energy, be easy to eat, keep you full, and won’t make you sleepy (so no big pieces of chocolate cake). If you are packing your lunch and leaving it at the exam center for the morning, make sure nothing can spoil. If you are eating in your hotel room, the same rule applies.
Again, try things out this week. Make sure what you choose to eat makes you feel good and keeps you full.
Hotels and room service.
This is a quick discussion. Don’t rely on food from the hotel. If you do, you are taking a big gamble. You are putting your body’s fuel in the hands of someone else (bad idea). Also you are risking food getting there late or not at all. Then what will you do!
So come up with a creative plan! There are many ways you can make a hotel work for you when it comes to food.
- Rent a mini-fridge: Some hotels allow you to rent a mini-fridge for the time that you are there. Although I realize this costs more money, it may be something you want to consider.
- Bring an ice chest: I know that many students have come up with their own mini-fridge of sorts by bringing an ice chest with them and re-filling it with ice while they are at the hotel.
If you check out of your hotel, where are you going to eat lunch on the final exam day?
Many hotels require you to check out the morning of the final day of the exam. If you do this, you may not be able to eat your lunch in your hotel room (if you are staying at a hotel). Consider investigating late check-out options. Some hotels will let you pay (I know, more money) to keep the room until after the exam. You might find it is worth the extra expense to have a place to go during lunch.
Spending some time this week getting your food plan together is one of the best things you can do to keep your body fueled for bar week.
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If you enjoyed this post, you might want to check out these:
- Bar Study Tips: It’s July! Are You Freaking Out?
- Bar Study Tips: Getting Mentally Ready for the Bar Exam
- Bar Study Tips: How to Cope with Stress
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Comment from a reader on facebook: “I’d like to add that eating healthy and exercise during bar preparation were key factors for me. For eight weeks, I ate healthy foods and did moderate exercise about 5 days a week. During the entire two day exam, I felt well and alert, and not fatigued. Thank-you for the related articles posted on your website.”
How you treat your body is important folks!