Gatorade vs water

lady macbeth

Since it's a few weeks before test day, I want to plan what I'm going to eat for the next two weeks and during every PT/practice. For the break, I'm unsure if I should bring/drink water or gatorade. I know water is the most logical thirst quencher but I want something that will make me less inclined to use the bathroom and I heard gatorade is good for this.

For snacks I'm thinking of bringing ritz crackers and dark chocolate M&Ms or Nutella & Go breadsticks with dark chocolate M&Ms. If there's any snack/beverage combo you guys have ritualized, I'd love to hear it!! Does anyone drink gatorade instead of water?

AudaciousRed

LoL. Couldn't help it..

But seriously, I just brought water and only drank half of it during break. I brought an oatmeal creampie as a boost of energy, a super quick eat, and to quiet my stomach. If there are bathroom lines, you'll literally be eating during the wait. Make it easy.

jakeplummer

FYI, I took the test this past June and the proctors said we were only allowed to bring in water. No Red Bulls, cans of coffee, etc.

lady macbeth

@jakeplummer said:
FYI, I took the test this past June and the proctors said we were only allowed to bring in water. No Red Bulls, cans of coffee, etc.

whaaaaaaat. the lsac website explicitly says "beverage in 20 oz max bottle" not specifying what kind of beverage is allowed. your proctor liked to break the rules i see lol jk but what if the red bull (or beverage of choice) is in a plastic container?

lady macbeth

@AudaciousRed said:
I brought an oatmeal creampie as a boost of energy, a super quick eat, and to quiet my stomach. If there are bathroom lines, you'll literally be eating during the wait. Make it easy.

was the brand of the creampie, little debbies?

Seeking Perfection

Water. This isn't a sporting event(I'm not recommending gatorade for sporting events, but I'm not not recommending it then either. Maybe it replaces some electrolytes or something?). This however is the LSAT.

Why would you want a big sugar rush followed by an inevitable crash during a long timed test?

Edit:
As far as food I enjoyed some cubed cheese chunks dururing the breaks of my test.

Leah M B

@"lady macbeth" Actually this is the LSAC policy, straight from their website: "beverage in plastic container or juice box (maximum size: 20 oz/591 ml) and snack for break only. No aluminum cans permitted."

So nothing in aluminum cans, which Red Bull and such are. Must be in plastic or a juice box.

I think something heavy in protein and with less sugar is better for break to avoid any sugar spike and crashes. I like to eat a Larabar or 2. I brought water for my first LSAT and forgot to buy a water bottle for the 2nd one, but grabbed a Vitamin Water from the vending machine that was there. For both tests, I just only drank about half the bottle to make sure I wouldn't need to go to the bathroom. Just enough to slightly re-hydrate. I would personally stay away form Gatorade because of all the sugar. And also because I think it's extremely gross hahaha. My mom used to make us drink Gatorade every time we were sick when we were kids and now I feel sick if I drink it lol. Bad associations I guess.

lady macbeth

@"Leah M B" said:
@"lady macbeth" Actually this is the LSAC policy, straight from their website: "beverage in plastic container or juice box (maximum size: 20 oz/591 ml) and snack for break only. No aluminum cans permitted."

Actually, I know what it says on their website. it's called paraphrasing

lady macbeth

@"Seeking Perfection" said:
Water. This isn't a sporting event(I'm not recommending gatorade for sporting events, but I'm not not recommending it then either. Maybe it replaces some electrolytes or something?). This however is the LSAT.

Why would you want a big sugar rush followed by an inevitable crash during a long timed test?

Edit:
As far as food I enjoyed some cubed cheese chunks dururing the breaks of my test.

gatorade has electrolytes! through osmosis, they help the body retain more water making you need to urinate less. on the december test, i had to pee so badly and ended up going in one of my sections. i got home and canceled my score the very next day. i was sooooooo upset. so now i'm extra extra careful and want to do everything to make sure that doesn't happen again. i know some people like to drink water with matcha powder during their break, but i'm super sensitive to caffeine, which is why i don't do coffee or red bull, monster etc.

Leah M B

@"lady macbeth" said:

@"Leah M B" said:
@"lady macbeth" Actually this is the LSAC policy, straight from their website: "beverage in plastic container or juice box (maximum size: 20 oz/591 ml) and snack for break only. No aluminum cans permitted."

Actually, I know what it says on their website. it's called paraphrasing

Ah I missed your last line where it said the aluminum part, my bad. Read too fast. lol

Super annoying though that the proctors actually do enforce rules differently at different locations. LSAC is not very good at consistency among them. Because it's definitely not that just water is allowed, but true that no aluminum containers are. ::shrug:: Sometimes I think LSAC just makes things difficult for difficulty's sake.

lady macbeth

@"Leah M B" no worries. sorry if i came off sassy! i had one proctor that was really cool. let us have our phones as long as we put them in some basket up front. even let me get my lip balm (i'm addicted to lip balm aka i need it) during the break. for my second and most recent take, where i had to pee during the test (which is why i'm so anal about what beverage i'll have to hydrate myself lol), i had the most ball-busting old lady as a proctor. i actually kind of caught a 'tude with her slightly. i accidentally went ahead on bubbling my info into the scantron and she was like "we're not up to that part yet." and i was like "i don't have to listen to you" and she said "we have to follow instructions and do this part together or else you'll have to be removed" and i was just like "i'm sorry" lol i think it was cause i was already nervous and just didn't want to be bothered.

anyways, i am also thinking of maybe bringing avocado toast? i don't know. i want something that will give me an energy boost and hold me over for the next hour and a half after the break. ANDDDD won't make me have to pee. i'm asking for a lot.

Seeking Perfection

@"lady macbeth" said:

@"Seeking Perfection" said:
Water. This isn't a sporting event(I'm not recommending gatorade for sporting events, but I'm not not recommending it then either. Maybe it replaces some electrolytes or something?). This however is the LSAT.

Why would you want a big sugar rush followed by an inevitable crash during a long timed test?

Edit:
As far as food I enjoyed some cubed cheese chunks dururing the breaks of my test.

gatorade has electrolytes! through osmosis, they help the body retain more water making you need to urinate less. on the december test, i had to pee so badly and ended up going in one of my sections. i got home and canceled my score the very next day. i was sooooooo upset. so now i'm extra extra careful and want to do everything to make sure that doesn't happen again. i know some people like to drink water with matcha powder during their break, but i'm super sensitive to caffeine, which is why i don't do coffee or red bull, monster etc.

I would rather not drink anything (assuming I had such a problem with drinking water) than drink a bunch of sugar during the test, but you do you.

AudaciousRed

@"lady macbeth" said:

@AudaciousRed said:
I brought an oatmeal creampie as a boost of energy, a super quick eat, and to quiet my stomach. If there are bathroom lines, you'll literally be eating during the wait. Make it easy.

was the brand of the creampie, little debbies?

@"lady macbeth" said:

was the brand of the creampie, little debbies?

You betya it was
I know.. probably a poor choice, but it seemed to work fine for me.

samantha.ashley92

@"lady macbeth" The avocado toast thing is the most millennial thing I've heard all day. I love it.

Also, I'm glad I read this, because now I know to bring my energy drink poured into a plastic bottle haha.

samantha.ashley92

Oh, 10/10 would recommend making sure you're well-hydrated the few days before the test. Hydration levels don't reset when you wake up!

ChaimtheGreat

I would recommend whatever you have done before- keep doing. I have a Red Bull every morning and afternoon. So I bought really small plastic water bottles and poured Red Bull in them. You are nut just choosing a beverage for mental rejuvenation but also mental comfort. A familiar drink that reduces stress may be more valuable then a new drink that has slightly more hydration. I didn’t answer your water v. Gatorade question but this is wha I thought about when choosing my snack.

lady macbeth

@"samantha.ashley92" said:
@"lady macbeth" The avocado toast thing is the most millennial thing I've heard all day. I love it.

Also, I'm glad I read this, because now I know to bring my energy drink poured into a plastic bottle haha.

haha what energy drink do you use? i'm really sensitive to everything like that. the only thing i could really tolerate is herbal tea. and haha i eat two avocado toast sandwiches every morning -- aka what i plan to eat on test day as well.

lady macbeth

@ChaimtheGreat said:
I would recommend whatever you have done before- keep doing. I have a Red Bull every morning and afternoon. So I bought really small plastic water bottles and poured Red Bull in them. You are nut just choosing a beverage for mental rejuvenation but also mental comfort. A familiar drink that reduces stress may be more valuable then a new drink that has slightly more hydration. I didn’t answer your water v. Gatorade question but this is wha I thought about when choosing my snack.

the only time i've ever had red bull was at the club once, i got a vodka redbull. otherwise i can't do energy drinks, not even pre-workout or anything like that. are we allowed to bring more than one bottle? i'm leaning more towards bringing the light blue gatorade and just hydrating with water everyday for the week leading up to test day.

ChaimtheGreat

@"lady macbeth" said:

@ChaimtheGreat said:
I would recommend whatever you have done before- keep doing. I have a Red Bull every morning and afternoon. So I bought really small plastic water bottles and poured Red Bull in them. You are nut just choosing a beverage for mental rejuvenation but also mental comfort. A familiar drink that reduces stress may be more valuable then a new drink that has slightly more hydration. I didn’t answer your water v. Gatorade question but this is wha I thought about when choosing my snack.

the only time i've ever had red bull was at the club once, i got a vodka redbull. otherwise i can't do energy drinks, not even pre-workout or anything like that. are we allowed to bring more than one bottle? i'm leaning more towards bringing the light blue gatorade and just hydrating with water everyday for the week leading up to test day.

Haha I am not saying you should drink Red Bull- I am saying you should drink whatever you have been drinking up till now. The Vodka Soda is for the night after you take the exam lol

samantha.ashley92

The energy drink I use really depends on the day. I have heart problems, so I really have no business drinking any of them. I usually stick to an 8-oz Red Bull, but there are certain Monsters that aren't carbonated. They would be perfect for LSAT day because pouring something carbonated into a bottle would make it lose its carbonation. (Flat Red Bull is horrific.) If you decide to try anything caffeinated, like an energy drink or a Starbucks double shot can, I would highly recommend taking practice tests with the drinks, too. The last thing you need is to find out that you crash super hard two hours after drinking it!