any advice for ambulance shift work

utopiananon

hello Guys,

Im a new member and am trying to become healthy.... the problem is I work shift work.

I work in London as an Ambulance guy. I work 12 hour shifts (99% of the time with no lunch break) and we generally either do early shifts (7 - 19) or night shifts (19 - 07). I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how to start changing what i eat and the way i eat etc.

We see around 8 patients a day and have 15 minutes after the call to clean the ambulance have food/drink etc. We constantly end up eating sweets (candy) or junk food because the job requires my brain a lot (and the brain does love that glucose) but it is actually quite a sedentary existence. (i sit for 80% of the job..... inless its a bad day!). I would like to loose a bit of weight but i dont want to reduce my intake too much because because my brain is on over drive and will hunt down chocolate if im eating celery

so i was thinking of making 8 little packs of food to quickly munch on after each job so that i have the energy and dont feel hungry..... problem is i have NO idea where to begin. the problem is whenever i have tried to get healthy before i end up just eating vegetables and not gettin all the things that i know i cant do without in the job.

also if any one has any hints or ideas for food to make quickly that will satisfy my tired, grumpy, hungry brain after shift I would really appreciate it as well.

I know its a big diet brief but any advice would be greatly received (or else chocolate will probably kill me).

my mission is to become healthy by september..... but the olympics are a comin' and we are all gonna be working A LOT so its time to get smart.

much appreciated and thank you in advance,
Andrew

kalynn06

I did long shifts, and it is hard to not eat candy constantly. I know that I lived out of vending machines on my surgery rotations. It is possible to do better than that that though.

You might have more success with balancing your snacks instead of just going for veggies. Adding fat and protein to each snack will make you feel fuller longer. You just have to manage portions. If you pick celery, add some peanut butter. Cottage cheese and an apple or some veggies is another good choice. Greek yogurt is a favorite of mine as is a mix of a mini box of raisins and 0.5-1 oz walnuts or almonds. You can even add a little bit of chocolate occasionally if it's not a trigger food for you. Also make sure to drink water with your snacks as that will help you feel fuller.

Keep trying new combos until you find things you enjoy. If you have to force yourself to eat it, the candy is going to be harder to resist when you're tired.

Legals81

I think the thing is to be prepared and bring whatever snacks you need with you therefore you wont be so tempted by the candy as you'll have an alternative. Dark choclate, the 70% cocco stuff is good for an energy boost and the calories are not as high as milk chocolate if you feel you need a brain boost. Best of luck!

goblynn

The 8 smaller meals sounds like a good plan. This way you can eat every 1-1.5hrs which should curb any hunger pains.

My suggestion would be nuts. I love chocolate dusted almonds (24ct/serving)

I've also found that cruncy things help my brain. Carrot sticks, nuts, pork rines...ymmmmm.

Perhaps you can get your co-worker to do it w/ you, this way it will be easier as you won't be tempted as much if you are both making healthier decisions. Or, at least tell them what you are doing so they are less likey to put you in the position where temptation wins.

hpsaucette

Try to eat more protein then carbs, it's supposed to fill you up more and generally has lower calories. So chicken pieces, ham, maybe small homemade meatballs in a lil sauce, or bresola, or hard-boiled eggs, jelly. And to those celery sticks/carrots slices maybe a healthy dip to make it more interesting? Or make salads with interesting ingredients like avocado and small amounts of cut up bacon? You could fill a Thermos with some hot soup? and drink more water.

You'd have to invest in some nice tupperware basically.

Good luck and well done with such a noble and helpful job, thank you from someone whose used the ambulance services more then once

Suziq1023

I think the thing is to be prepared and bring whatever snacks you need with you therefore you wont be so tempted by the candy as you'll have an alternative. Dark choclate, the 70% cocco stuff is good for an energy boost and the calories are not as high as milk chocolate if you feel you need a brain boost. Best of luck!

I agree here - be prepared. I pack a lunch daily and eat two meals and two snacks away from home five days a week. Boiled eggs, sugar free instant oatmeal, thin bagel sandwiches, salad with sugar free dressing, fruit, veggie snacks with a yogurt dip, pretzels, sugar free jello cups, 100 calorie snack packs - and microwave popcorn - string cheese or wedges. The advantage of the prepackaged is that you are immediately aware of the calories consumed. I have blue ice and a thermal lunchbox and even my salads do well in the Oklahoma heat. If you have access to a microwave you can do cups of soup too - the chunky ones, not broth.

Suziq1023

^^^. As a matter of fact I do better during the week than the weekend because I'm better prepared and more structured.

ironanimal

Nuts and fruit will give you the energy you need. Perhaps blend your fruit and fill some bottles to quickly chug for energy. That combined with a handful of nuts will be a good energy hit.

ClascyParra

My husband was a paramedic for 17 years working the overnights in NYC (now he is a nurse in the emergency room still working night shift) and since we started dating 13 years ago I'd pack food for him so he could have something every few hours. I'd put it into a cooler bag so that food wouldnt go bad. Food also had to be quick and easy to eat because you guys sometimes get back to back calls and there is no break to eat.

But one thing that helped my husband take off the pounds while still keeping a mostly sedentary job was finding places to jump out of the ambulance and get a quick burst of exercise. He and his partner would take turns keeping an ear on the radio for a call while the other was out of the ambulance doing the exercise. They would keep a jump rope in their ambulance to get some quick cardio....park near a building that had a metal construction structure to use a bar to do pull ups....squats can be to anywhere....find a building with lots of stairs to run up and down. These are just a few ideas....

As far as food...it all depends on what your diet is like....but here are some ideas of what I would send with him....

-Pasta made with low fat dressing mixed with chopped veggies and tuna or chicken for protein
-sandwich of low fat cold cuts and mustard
-protein bars are quick and easy
-a serving of raw almonds and some dried fruit for a quick pick me up snack
-greek yogurt with cereal to mix in
-crackers or veggie sticks with hummus
-string cheese
-fresh fruit
-cold bean salads

During the winter I would also pack hot food into small thermos containers so that they would stay hot
-brown rice with chicken or turkey chili
-chicken stew
-veggie and bean stews
pretty much anything that I could make in a crockpot got thrown into his thermos

Hope this helps.....

dhakiyya

I agree about pre-packed healthy mini meals. You also need to get some healthy carbs into you early in the day, because these give a sustained slow release of glucose into your blood, as opposed to blood sugar spikes then troughs (which will leave you feeling tired, grumpy and hungry). Oats or weetabix would make a good breakfast. Be careful of wholegrain bread as a lot of it has high fructose corn syrup, and beware of brown bread which is not wholegrain. Also lots of protein through the day, each snack should contain protein, this also helps to slow the release of sugar from the carbs into your blood, i.e. sustained level of energy.

I do meal planning like this - I start with a protein food, then for some meals I add a healthy carb, meals later in the day are low carb. Then add some vegetables, and if necessary, some healthy fat. Some examples of mini-meals that I like:

2 boiled eggs with or without home made wholegrain bread - you can use low fat mayonnaise/salad cream to make it into an egg mayonnaise sandwich. Tuna + low fat mayo or mustard/vinegar also makes a high protein sandwich. Or you can just stick the egg mayo and/or tuna mayo in a container and eat it with a fork, so you have the protein without so much carbohydrate.

if you like to eat boiled eggs on their own, they make an ideal, easy to grab snack. You can keep them in the fridge for a few days, i.e. boil them, peel them, store in a container in the fridge, grab one or two when you want a healthy snack. they're a great source of protein and healthy fat. (eggs have been frowned upon a lot in the past because the yolk contains cholesterol - however it's the healthy kind and has been shown to lower your blood cholesterol. of course how you cook your egg is important, boiled or poached beats fried)

1 low fat yoghurt - add half a teaspoon of pesto (for healthy fat) - dip carrots and pieces of egg in it. You can make all kinds of dips with low fat yoghurt. Or you could have hummous (find a low fat recipe, tahini has lots of healthy fat in, you don't need to add olive oil you can add extra flavour with spices etc) - you can buy small round containers that fit inside sandwich size containers so you can take it to work. IMO getting the right kinds of containers so you can take stuff like this to work will help

salad - start with a protein, e.g. chicken, tuna, egg... mix up with salad veggies of your choice, then make a healthy vinegarette with cold pressed olive oil and vinegar and/or lemon jucie, drizzle on the salad. This is a good choice for a work mini meal (done that myself lots of times) - quick to prepare, eat it out of the container at work. You can boil eggs, chicken breasts etc in advance and keep them in the fridge ready to be made into salads, to greatly cut down on preparation time.

Anyway there are some ideas that have worked for me, in terms of preparing and pre-preparing mini meals. I eat 4-6 meals a day, and don't like to spend hours in the kitchen. The key is to prepare well in advance, e.g. boiling eggs, chicken breasts and keeping them in the fridge, buying the right kinds of salad veggies, you can mix up vinegarette in advance and keep it in a bottle for quick and easy drizzling (home made is better than shop bought because you can be sure the oils are the healthy kind, no added sugar etc)

If you have access to a microwave at work, cooking e.g. an evening meal with extra, then sticking a small portion of it in a container in the fridge - you can take this to work the next day and microwave it in 3-5 mins and eat it at work.

utopiananon

thank you guys for the posts. all really helpful and thoughtful .... i guess the experiement begins!

i think there is an old army saying which is 'adapt and overcome'..... in my case i guess its adapt the food and overcome the belly.

if anyone one else has some ideas please drop them in.

for a first post on this website.... it shows its clearly a nice community!

ktbia

I work 12 hour shifts an RN, with the same issues. First, I NEVER spend any money at work. No vending machines, no cafeteria- I do not bring money. That saves me a ton of junk eating.

Somethings I pack for my day-
cut up oranges, bags of mini carrots, light string cheese, fruit, greek yogurt, hard boiled eggs, salads in a tupperware, leftover chicken.
I even will try to pack snacks, like nutrigrain bars or 100 calorie packs.

For me, mostly, I do better when I just stick to the natural stuff. Eating too many of the snacky stuff like bars and sweets just makes me crave them more.

doubglass

No way but to pack food. Brown rice and beans, high fiber bread (not too much), cold chicken fresh fruit, greek yogurt, all work. I like high fiber small rolls with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter for a snack after a workout. Try to limit yourself to one snack between runs. Get a quality lunch carrier that can hold a good ice pack (imagine you have access to plenty of those.)

SusanaLdn

also if any one has any hints or ideas for food to make quickly that will satisfy my tired, grumpy, hungry brain after shift I would really appreciate it as well.

I'd really appreciate it too!

hula808

I work shift work too.
The best advice I can give is "plan". Log your food into MFP the day before and pack your food with you. Fruit, veggies and dip sandwiches (quartered or in halves so you dont scarf down the whole thing at once) . I make home made muffins ( they take no time to make and have 120 calories in them_ and I take a few of those a day.
I even bring my giant water jug to work so I can keep track of exactly how much I drink. Whe I go to work I literally have a grocery bag FULL of food. And its ALL my food for that day. When I get home at 8 at night, I either do a exercise DVD or stationary bike or both ( then I pass out in bed in a quivering mess)

dylsmom99

i was a nyc paramedic for 15 years too and now I'm an er rn.. still in ny,,,,,,, always working the odd shift,, on midnights now and can't find any resemblance of normalcy..... came down with ptsd from 911.. so I'm battling that and weight loss,, not an easy combo at all...

always looking for friends to support and hint me along,,,

mikewpg1ca

It takes some pre-planning and prep, but as others have said for each shift make yourself snacks and a meal or two that you can take with you. Not sure if you have room for a small lunch cooler bag or the like, but that works well. The other option is become a firefighter and eat at the hall and actually get some shut eye on nights.

TrailRunner61

Good luck! I used to be an emt-i and I know how hard it is! Especially since a lot of restaurants offer discounted food to public service workers. I always tried to pack a healthy lunch and just ate it whenever I got the chance. The smaller the container, the easier it was to eat, since you never know when your next call is. I also packed healthy snacks like grapes and popcorn if I was working a shift that 'didn't include meals'. Staying away from fast food was the hardest thing for me. Pre-planning what you're going to eat would probably help some.

My husband works a lot of 16 hour shifts. I make up trail mix for him to have between meals and it helps him eat healthier food rather than vending machine garbage. He also eats caramel and chocolate crunch rice cakes and drinks a lot. Good luck!

watchtheworld

Have a protein shake or two?

ruby_red_rose

I have never doen ambulance shift work, so I cannot speak specifically to that situation. However, when I have to be out and about for a long time, I pack the following so that I do not succumb to temptation:
- hard boiled eggs
- cheese
- peanut butter (in squeeze packs)
- almond butter (in squeeze packs)
- nuts
- granola bars
- protein bars
- jerky (beef, turkey)

jessgrey2

Wow, the Olympics, that will be insane for you but exciting to work it! I am an ICU RN. My favorite thing to do is hit the salad bar at the grocery store and make a nice salad with meat for my main meal, with spinach, turkey or tuna, hard boiled eggs, chick peas, sesame seeds, beets.

To snack on string cheese and whey protein drinks are great for tying me over. Try to use willpower to not hit any big candy bowls in the ER's

If things get crazy and you half to stop for late night fast food, take a look at the online menu nutrition info, some options are not too terrible.

I'll probably get slammed for this but coffee helps too

Feel free to add me if you wish, medical peeps represent! xo

dylsmom99

i swear if one more person thanks us with a dozen donuts again i might send them to the trauma room,.. never to mind the endless pizza....... but I've been good!! i always have a protein bar in my bag for when everyone else snacks,, and tonight I'm trying nuts,.,, a handful here anywhere.. and want to hear something crazy,.. i was the biggest coffee addict ever,,,, i was doing 6 shots of expresso in my capuchino times two per night!!! i finally became immune to the caffeine,, in actuality it was putting me to sleep and making me soooooo nasty!!,,, i was on edge and offending myself,........... happy to report,,,, coffee free times 55 days!!!!!!!!!! and have never had so much energy!!!!,,,,

ahh,, bring on memorial day weekend in the trauma room,,,, the animals are sure to keep me on my toes tonight!