Test day Diet strategy

I'd recommend that you avoid changing anything health-wise as the test draws near. Keep up a familiar diet, maintain your exercise routine, get enough sleep, etc.

If you still have a long time until the test, it may help to make an effort to eat healthier, but again, you don't want to change anything major on test day. If you are accustomed to having eaten at the time of your test, then you want to have eaten. (How do you like those verb tenses? )

A bit of readily-available glucose is good on test day. I go for a protein bar with some chocolate in it (because chocolate makes me happy) and a sweet iced tea or Vitamin Water. Others go for a piece of fruit. Make sure it's something you like, and that it doesn't take too long to eat. That 8-minute break goes fast!

I like being slightly hungry before an exam. But that's something I do only on exam day (not during practice). Chocolate during the break(s).

Thank you for the responses! I've been away over the holiday period hence the delay..


I agree, a bowl of porridge as suggested by my doc has my lethargy sky rocket after 2 hours or so.. Unfortunately, I don't get on with eggs (would have been awesome if I did though). What is PB&J?



All good questions! I have been experimenting over the last few weeks. Presently, I have half a smoothie in the morning (right after my first coffee; I NEED my coffee). The smoothie contains whey protein, milk, a little yoghurt and vegetable powder. I have the second half of the smoothie about 75-90 minutes later (with another coffee). Following this smoothie, I'm not having much success. The key for me is to keep meals small (otherwise lethargy) so I'm experimenting with (i) sandwiches (brown bread, lettuce, one slice cheese, chicken) (ii) 2 slices of apple with peanut butter.

I'm going to try adding sweet potatoes to the mix to see how that works. I don't have a definitive answer to the other questions yet as I've only just started to record times etc. What have been your success strategies re. diet?



Thank you for the practical suggestion! I will experiment with protein bars and beverages during my 8 minute breaks!

Sidenote: At first, I thought that you had made a mistake in your verb tenses. Oh dear - I need to study harder.. Could I ask you to explain the construction that you used, particularly the reason for inserting 'having' when using a progressive tense in the past? (SC - the bane of my life!)


Thanks Arjun, I've also thought about this but cannot seem to strike the right balance! Do you eat anything in the morning before the test? I'm just wondering what 'slightly hungry' means for you?

You must not be from America. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Gets your blood sugar going nice and quick.


If you're experiencing significant lethargy, you might want to check in with a doctor. Couldn't hurt. Also, are you getting 8 hours of sleep consistently? Try a meal with relatively low carbs-like a salad with chicken breast. See how you feel after that.


There is a little bit of an error. "...having eating" is not correct. Should be "having eaten."


You'll want to be careful with this. While it might work for some, it can pretty drastically backfire. The connection between blood glucose levels and mental performance is pretty well documented. If you're hungry, it's because your body is telling you that your blood glucose is low.

"A study by Sünram-Lea and colleagues found that a glucose drink significantly improved long-term verbal memory and long-term spatial memory in young adults. The effect was similar whether the drink was consumed after an overnight fast, a two-hour fast post-breakfast, or a two-hour fast post-lunch.5 Similarly, Riby and colleagues found glucose enhanced memory.6

The more demanding mental tasks appear to respond better to glucose than simpler tasks. This may be because the brain’s uptake of glucose increases under conditions of mild stress, which includes challenging mental tasks.4"

https://www.eufic.org/article/en/artid/G ... rformance/

I think we can all agree that the GMAT is a pretty mentally demanding task!!

For myself, the test was in the morning and I took some complex carbohydrates (nutrition bars) that lasted me all the way till after lunch. Make sure you eat something that you like actually, no point feeling downcast at the start of the exam from eating something you dislike!

Agreed! I took Dmitry's advice on board - opted for some protein bars with chocolate; seems to be doing the trick :D

Chocolate always makes my day! come to think of it, I brought some mango juice along as well to sip on during breaks. Perfect for a sugar high and happiness (perhaps too happy - that's why I messed up my first test)

On the grammar front, I adjusted the typo in my original post. (Thanks for the catch, Kelzie01! It was confusing enough already.) Here's the corrected text with explanation:

If you are accustomed to having eaten at the time of your test, then you want to have eaten.

The idea here is that if you are accustomed to a certain status, then you want to maintain that status. What is that status? Having already eaten. So if I am accustomed to the state of having eaten at test time, then I want to make sure that I have eaten by that time. Make sense, rs1?

And it's true, our beloved PB&J is not so popular outside the U.S. Those of you who end up at U.S. schools need to try a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at least once. I prefer the "natural" style of peanut butter that has no added ingredients other than salt. You have to stir the oil in when you open the jar. The cheaper brands are less work, but they have all sorts of junk added to them. I almost shipped a jar to one of my students in Abu Dhabi so he could try it!

Well, my V is stuck at 45 so apparently I just got lucky and caught you on an off day!!

The 99th percentile is a great place to get stuck!

Yes, I do have breakfast (I always take exams in the morning). Not sure how specific I can be about the quantity, but definitely "less than normal".

I can understand Kelzie01's concerns, but I'm not talking about being hungry to the point of distraction. I just feel much more focused when I'm slightly hungry.

This juice is made for your early morning breakfast routine, you can either drink it on its own before breakfast or along with it, if you so choose. It is super easy to make, and takes only a few minutes from the preparation stage to all the way to consumption. Here are the things you need:

Beet Root - 1 beet
Carrots - 2 medium size
Oranges - 2 fruit
The carrots and the oranges can also be used to make a juice of their own, to make that just process equal parts carrots and oranges through a juicer and collect the juice in a glass, and drink once done. For this particular drink, similar proceedings will be needed. Prepare the ingredients (washing, peeling, cutting), and then process them in a juicer. Collect the juice in a glass and drink. Best served early in the morning for a healthy start to your day.

more: okyalo

All of these are good suggestions.

My suggestion would be - whatever you do - don't drastically do something new or try something different. If you've never eaten or a certain mix of yogurt, for example, - don't all of a sudden test it on your body on the actual test day.

Instead, stick to routines you are comfortable with - so that you don't have any surprises.

Focus on relaxing and the test itself - food should be enough to give you energy - but not enough to the point that you have to go to the bathroom and take multiple breaks.

Keep in mind that if you do take breaks during the exam (except for outside the short breaks in between sections) - that the time will just continue to tick.

Before the test, give yourself a practice test and make sure you review your mistakes: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... ctice-test