An LSAT distance tutoring student of mine recently emailed me:"Any tips on what to eat for breakfast the morning of the LSAT? I know you say to have a big breakfast, but what? And what do you suggest for the break and to drink?"
At least one of the items pictured above is not part of a healthy LSAT breakfast.
If you guessed FourLoko, you're on your way to a top LSAT score. Congrats!
(McDonald's probably isn't part of any healthy breakfast, but there's a reason I didn't go to medical school.)
More about food in a bit, but first, coffee and cigarettes (breakfast of champions?).
I've already gone over whether coffee, cigarettes, and gum are allowed on Test Day. Now, the question remains, should you drink coffee or have cigarettes in the morning before the exam?
Answer: Do whatever you normally do. If you normally have coffee or cigarettes in the morning, don't try to go cold turkey now or you'll almost certainly find yourself with a pounding headache.
I don't know why you'd suddenly take up smoking, but now's not the time to start (if there ever was). Coffee will probably empty your intestines in the middle of the exam if you haven't had it in a while, so it's probably not a good idea for folks new to it.
You want to be fully alert, so a pre-test wake and bake isn't a good idea. What you do after the test is up to you (assuming it's for medicinal purposes, of course). Maybe California will vote to legalize next time, folks.
Oatmeal with bananas, raisins, or cranberries is probably about as healthy as it gets, while mild enough that it shouldn't give you any stomach issues. Eat it well before the exam starts so that you'll have time to go to the bathroom (oatmeal has lots of fiber).
Perhaps I misspoke - yogurt and granola might top oatmeal and fruit for "healthiest breakfast of the year." Again, it's mild and has carbs, but unlike oatmeal, yogurt has lots of protein as well. (Perhaps the nutritionists can chime in with their recommendations.)
Eggs have a lot of protein. However, depending upon how you cook them, you might also end up with lots of fat. Fat can make you sleepy. For this reason, lay off the butter and oil. Consider eating them hard-boiled, perhaps with a little salt for flavor. Alternatively, you can go the Rocky route and drink them raw, but don't blame me if you get salmonella.Pancakes, waffles, muffins, bagels, cold cereal, etc. are also all good, just make sure you have also some protein.
Cold (or warm) pizza is probably good too (cheese has protein), but this is coming from a guy who sometimes eats leftover burritos for breakfast, so you may not want to listen to me on this one.
The bottom line is that you'll want to eat some carbs to give you energy, and some protein to improve your mental performance.
(This site appears to have some simple, yet comprehensive, nutrition advice. This link on it is also good.)
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LSAT Snacks For During The Break:
Try not to be the guy who brings this:
Here are some more practical alternatives that the proctors will probably allow:
Granola bars: quick to unwrap, easy to eat, sugar
Bananas: quick to peel, easy to eat, sugar
Water: reduces thirst
Juice: reduces thirst, sugar
Coffee will likely be cold by now, but I suppose it's ok if you don't care about that sort of thing.
With all beverages, don't drink too much in order to avoid bathroom breaks. Your test center may have a water fountain, which would eliminate the need to bring a water bottle. Or maybe you're one of those people who's paranoid about tap water or lives in a part of the U.S. / world where the water's unsafe to drink.
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See all LSAT Test Day tips.
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Discuss the best breakfast foods and snacks in the comments. I'm sure that most of you know more about nutrition than I do. If you know something, please comment!
A hard boiled egg and a piece of toast with peanut butter is my breakfast of choice. Plenty of protein to keep you full but not too much food for someone who can't eat all that much early in the morning :)
ReplyDeleteI'm planning on a 20oz redbull (no sugar) with 6 hard boiled egg whites only. Then more redbull in a water bottle for a snack and granola bars with gummy fruit snack (i know, i'm childish)
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorite is:
ReplyDelete-a medium sized bowl of large flake oatmeal, with flaxmeal and raisins. Topped with maple syrup (as I'm Canadian).
-1 banana
-1 hard boiled egg
-1 cup of black coffee
-1 glass of orange juice
It's a fairly large breakfast, and eating it does take a while. Once you've gotten it all down it'll hold you over for quite a while though. I think the ritual of making a big breakfast in the morning and listening to your favourite academic/political radio program really gets things moving in the morning.
I agree that eating the proper breakfast is a must. If you eat a big breakfast it's also important to give yourself enough time to eat it and digest it properly.
ReplyDeleteI took the test Saturday and I ate:
-- An English muffin toasted with cheddar, with two eggs, two slices of Canadian bacon, and a dash of hot sauce.
-- Half the coffee I normally drink (factoring in that I was already sufficiently nervous)
-- Half a banana (saved the other half for my snack at the test center).
-- A yogurt with a little bit of granola.
-- A very modest amount of orange juice, cranberry juice, and the Blue Machine Naked Food Juice. Just enough juice to get a boost from the vitamins; I had to make sure I didn't take in too many sugars and have a blood-sugar crash during the test (obviously no two people have the same metabolism, so this concern might not apply to others).
It was a big breakfast but it lasted me into the afternoon (test finished around 2:00). I took my time eating too, so as to avoid any indigestion.
My advice to any future LSAT test-taker would be to know your own metabolism, plan for your own caloric and nutritional needs, and know how much caffeine (or whatever stimulant) you can handle. If your nerves naturally give you an edge for tests, work with that.
I recommend eating dinner-type food for breakfast, that is if you have a habit of doing so. I ate rice and chicken the day of my test. I was energized the whole day.
ReplyDeleteWARNING: The following may sound crazy to do but it worked for me and MAYBE it would work for you. I STRONGLY suggest testing the following tip out on a pratice test.
I also recommend taking Milk of Magnesia (me: CVS brand) a few days before test day (to be on the safe side: at least 7 days before the test) - I took it the Wednesday morning before (but I don't recommend you doing the same if you remembered to take the Milk of Magnesia earlier). The Milk of Magnesia would help to clean out your intestines and to soothe stomach craps if you have any, so you may find yourself going to the bathroom to do #2 for a few days straight.
The day of the test (after breakfast), I took the recommended amount of Pepto Bismol (around 6:00 am) so I wouldn't have "to go" midway of the test. During the test, I didn't suffer from stomach craps or indigestive problems. Again, this tip MAY work for you.
*Test it on a practice test, NOT on the actual test.*
December 12, 2011 12:03 PM EDIT
ReplyDeleteDrink a full cup of water with the Milk of Magnesia and a full cup of water with the Pepto Bismol.