Healthy Balance

It seems to be inevitable for me: Studying for the CPA exam does not equal weight loss no matter how hard I try. Sometimes I maintain. Sometimes I gain.  I religiously track every calorie that goes into my mouth. I use a heart rate monitor to track every calorie I burn during my workouts. I do the math. I burn more calories than I take in. So what gives?

I am an accountant. I sit at work for eight hours a day in front of a computer. I come home from work and I sit in front of the computer for hours on end every night studying.  My exercise time is 5 am every morning. After I am done getting ready for work but before I actually leave for work, I sit in front of the computer for those precious couple of extra minutes of study time. My life is in front of a computer!

This week was not the best week. I had to make a hard decision that caused me to be upset, but was the right decision. While I did not go over my calorie range the food I was eating this week was not healthy at all. No nutrients and no vitamins. My food choices have been getting progressively worse. I feel like I need to munch while studying. Am I hungry? No but I want to munch and crunch. This week the scale went up. Normally I am not one to focus on the number on the scale. I am more focused on how many push ups I can do, how high I can jump, how hard I can push myself. But I have not been focused on what I have been fueling my body with lately and the number on the scale this week shows it.

This has got to change! No more excuses. Yes I am still going to be sitting in front of a computer for hours on end a day. That can't change. I will always be an accountant, until I am a CPA. But to be a CPA I need to study. And studying means sitting at the computer all day. I am still getting up every morning and working out everyday. I will continue to do my 1/2 hour to 1 hour workouts a day. They help me stay on track. Get my blood flowing and give me the energy to keep studying. 

So what am I changing? My food choices and this mindless munching that I seem to be doing. My plan is to get back on the path I was before. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner.  I will make healthier choices. Breakfast is normally cereal. Morning snack will be fruit. Lunch will be packed full of protein. Afternoon snack will be veggies. Dinner will be a balance.

I will not let achieving one goal completely throw me off track from the other goal. The second goal may need to be slowed down so the first can be accomplished. I will work in unison to be able to achieve all my goals.

Stress! Stress! and MORE STRESS!

My life is pretty stress free except when it comes to my career goals aka studying and passing the CPA exam. Just the  thought of preparing for an exam that could have questions on everything you studied or have nothing you studied, then having to wait for your score until the third week of the third month of the quarter, no matter when in the prior two months you actually took the exam makes me stressed. Not to mention having to put the rest of your life on hold. You have to tell your family and friends "No. I can't do that but thanks for the invite" A LOT! Some people get it, some don't. And having to listen to the ones who don't get it only adds to the stress.

I have to do something to relieve this stress. It's not healthy to feel like that all the time. I am physically and mentally exhausted. I always try to make a little time for myself. I take deep breaths and get a good night sleep every night. But my favorite way to relieve stress is by working out and getting a great sweat on. I feel that I sweat away all my stress!

I love working out. It gives me a natural high. I might even say I am slightly addicted to it. I have a million workout DVDs. Ok, maybe not a million but I am pretty close to it!

One of the reasons I was really upset when I found out I didn't pass my last section is because I knew that I had to revamp my daily workouts as I always do during testing time. I can't "waste" an hour or more of precious study time. On work days I normally wake up at 5 am. When it's not testing time I will do an hour workout before work. However, when it is testing time I only workout for half hour. I use the other half hour to review some of the information I studied the night before. It may not be much but every second counts in the study world.

Don't get me wrong, whether I work out for half hour, an hour or more I work out HARD. I can feel myself getting stronger. I can do more push ups. I can jump higher. I can lift heavier weights. I feel better about myself. The blood gets flowing. The brain works better. A working brain helps me study and retain more information. So I take the time each day not only to study but also to get my mind and body ready to sit in front of the computer for hours on end.

Take care of yourself in every aspect of your life. I take steps every day to better my mind and body every day. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Life is Happening All Around Me

Passing the CPA exam is high on my priority list.  It may even be the highest.  The CPA exam is hard and takes sacrifices and motivation.  Some days it is easy to sit down and study. Some days it is the last thing I want to do. I know I have to put my life on hold to reach my goal.

This weekend in particular is hard to sit indoors and study. It is the Fourth of July weekend. Long weekend. Days off of work. Picnics. Parties. Outdoor activities. Fireworks. All needs to be put on hold until next year. Most people understand that studying is my first priority and they silently cheer me on. (They can't be loud about it or it will interrupt my studies!) Then there are some people who say "You're studying agaaaaaiiiinnnn????" Yes, I am studying again. No, I can't to go away for the weekend. No, I can't go to your picnic. No, I can't watch the fireworks.  Do I want to do these things? Of course! Who wants to be stuck inside studying when they could be having fun with friends and family? Not me! But I know where my priorities are.

When I finally pass the CPA exam, I would have made my own "fireworks" that will be brighter than any fireworks I would see this weekend. I know this because I would have finally completed the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my entire life. It will be something that I will be carry with me forever. I will be proud of myself. And I know in the end the people who kept asking "again" will be proud of me for not giving up on my dreams.

This will be the time that I spend my summer holidays inside studying. I know it will be worth it in the end. Next summer when I am at these picnics, parties and gatherings, I will be a CPA.

Good News, Bad News

Good News: I passed all 4 parts of the CPA Exam! WooHoo!
Bad News: Two parts expired by the time I finally passed the fourth section and I need to take them again.

Good News: I already passed those parts. I know I can do it again.
Bad News: I have to keep studying and putting my life on hold.

Good News: Audit doesn't expire until November, 2011.

Bad News: Audit expires November, 2011!

I can't even begin to tell you the feeling of the weight of the world being slightly lifted off my shoulders when I saw I finally passed BEC. If I passed it the same time last year I would have already been a CPA for a year. I studied for BEC for almost exactly one year! One year on the same topic and I only just passed by the skin of my teeth. I passed with a 75! BEC is a killer and I am so glad to have that behind me. I know that finally passing BEC, I will not let it expire.  I don't know if I would be able to put myself through the torture of  BEC again. So I won't have this negative attitude. I won't need to retake it. That's just negative thinking and negative thinking is not me!  

I initially was thinking of taking FAR the second to last week in July and taking REG the last week of August fully knowing that if something went wrong I had the fourth quarter testing window to retake either of those sections before Audit expires.  However, thinking about it, I feel like I was setting myself up to fail those sections. I would have only given myself about a month to study for each. While I did just study for FAR last quarter there is SO much material. I can't even begin to grasp it in a month let alone know it all in a month! And I haven't looked at REG in 18 months! Besides the crazy amount of material that is needed to know, I already have two vacations planned. One in July and one in August.  That means on my vacations I would have to study the entire time and not be able to relax at all.

Time for a new plan.  Sitting down thinking about it..... wait strike that While working out and thinking about my goals and what I need to do achieve them (because yes working out is still a priority in my life. Not number one but it's up there), I decided that I would be better off only sitting for FAR this quarter. I will take it mid August.  I will take my books with me to the beach. I will bring my laptop and study every chance I get at the house. I will even have to sacrifice a few days on the beach to sit in the house and study. Yes, it stinks. I would much rather be laying out in the sun and having fun with my family. But if I don't do this now, then I will never be able to enjoy my family time because the big black cloud known as the CPA exam will always be lingering over my head.

I plan on taking REG in the final testing window. I will have about two months to study and refresh on all the tax laws and business laws. I need to know this as Audit will expire this testing window. There are no two ways about it. I will be a CPA before 2012 hits.