allgeckos

My roommate and I were making fun of meal prep the other day (to me it conjures images of roided up gym-bros and those gimmicky containers), but TBH it is a great idea. Just another good habit that I need to integrate into my life. When I started getting into strength training a few months ago I bought whey protein for post-workout, at first it was gross but then I realized I could disguise the flavor by adding it into fruit smoothies instead of just whey+milk. Coffee & I ... we have a love-hate relationship. I have gone through periods of abstinence from caffeine, and times when I drank it three times a day just to function. Currently I am finishing my last week at my two waitressing jobs, a mom and pop Italian place where I am the resident barista, making everyone iced espressos, and a corporate chain where I utilize Red Bull and Starbucks to survive my double shifts. Once school starts I am hoping to wean myself off it again, I find that caffeine interferes with my sleep, especially as I get older (I'm only 25 but I can no longer just doze off two hours after downing a latte like I used to).

I am starting grad school in the Fall and finding these tips very helpful! In undergrad, I actually lost some weight that I had gained in my party-hardy Senior year of high school by following a vegan diet. For me it boiled down to eating less processed food, and cooking at home more often, a philosophy I still follow 5 years later, despite the fact that I have chosen to add meat back into my diet. I decided that a 100% vegan lifestyle was too extreme for me, at this point in time, and I was missing out on key nutrients. When I do eat meat, it is something lean like chicken, or a small portion like a few crumbled slices of bacon in an omelet. Also, I try to stay active as much as possible since I find this leads to an overall increased sense of well-being (as lrlrlrlrlr mentioned, tired/over-caffeinated sedentary co workers). In undergrad I would utilize free street-parking and walk to class since I lived off campus, and I would try to squeeze in a workout between classes or class/work. I graduated in Dec 2014, and it was not until the past 6 months or so that I really got back into working out. I've had a membership to a certain Judgement Free gym for much of my adult life, and would casually go here and there. However in the past half a year I started working with the personal trainer they have on staff, and I have gained a lot of strength and confidence. I used to run cross country in high school so I have decent endurance and lower body strength, but I have really seen a lot of improvement in my upper body strength and other weak areas. Since my job during Grad school at UM will be at their Fitness center, I hope to continue using the gym to keep my body and mind healthy. So basically, my little life advice is: 1) Prepare meals at home as often as possible, eat before you go to class or pack breakfast/lunch. I also love my crockpot, so easy to use and hard to screw it up! Haha. 2) Walk rather than drive if possible. This helps with stress too. If I have a big project or exam coming up sometimes I just need to take a break and walk or bike around the neighborhood to clear my head. Yoga is nice for this too. 3) Find a sport or activity that you enjoy. Set goals and achieve them. For me, this was working out 3x/week with the trainer. We started with 30 minute sessions and now its 1 hour, 3x a week. Even though this is not an intense commitment, I have seen my strength improve drastically and am able to motivate myself to go work out even if I am not in the "mood"... once I get in the gym I know I am there to work and generally get a good session in anyway. Well, hopefully I can stick to my own advice once classes begin! Only time will tell ;-)

Speaking from personal experience, high GRE scores (specifically, 162 Verbal, 154 Quant and 5.5 AW) are the main reason I got into my Master's program at UM, despite my low GPA. And by low, I mean very low: 2.78 to be exact. Granted, this was for my last two years; my first two years at Community College I had a 3.6. Still, if I hadn't studied my butt off for the GRE and gotten great letters of rec from my former professors, I doubt I would have had a snowball's chance of getting in. My advice is, buy a GRE study book, and download a free study app or two on your phone. I scheduled my test date for three-ish months after I bought the book (Manhattan Prep 5lb GRE book, $15 on Amazon). I spent about 15 hours a week studying, and took 4 free online practice tests before the exam itself. Here are a bunch. Not all are great, but I took all of the top three, and they were very similar to the real thing (one of them lets you take it twice). https://crunchprep.com/gre/2014/free-gre-practice-tests Good luck!