NIGHT NURSES: What's your secret?

2

Replies

  • psychRN83
    psychRN83 Posts: 71 Member
    I have been a night shift psych nurse for seven years. I started out as a LPN and am now a RN house supervisor working Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 12 hours 7p-7a. I am going to school for my masters during the week. What I have learned those seven years about eating during night shift...eating a lot of heavy carbs makes you slow, heavy, and tired!! Now every night I pack protein shakes, cheese sticks, greek yogurt, and fruit like grapes and oranges. I eat light throughout the 12 hours and carry water with me when I travel to to the three units I am in charge of. One nurse I work with brings a gallon of water and trys to finish it before he leaves. I avoid buying in for pizza most nights. I will buy pizza for my staff once in awhile because they enjoy it and most of the mental health techs are young college kids so it feels nice doing something for them:-)
  • tfire77
    tfire77 Posts: 29 Member
    Bump
  • dcmitchell01
    dcmitchell01 Posts: 76 Member
    Hi! I worked nights for years, but when I finished grad school was able to move to a day shift job (I'm a nurse practitioner). Congrats on graduation, and plans for school! I'm in the DNP program now, and know how hard work, school, and a family can be to juggle.

    So I agree, when I worked nights in the ICU, I needed to eat for sure, and yes, someone was order in either pizza or Chinese food every night. Pack your lunch, a little planning goes a long way. My diet is not super clean now, I'm doing nutrition bars as a meal replacement for breakfast. If you are OK with things like that, I highly recommend the Life Choice Wellness bars. I found them at Wal-Mart, and the Fudge Graham (15g Protein) and the Dark Chocolate (15g protein) are actually quite tasty (only flavors I have tried), and a box of 6 are $3.47 instead of like $6 for a box. Yes, a fair amount of carbs, but they have a little fiber too.
  • danibodani
    danibodani Posts: 41
    I am currently in Nursing school so this thread is a super interesting read and will be invaluable in the future. I can't life, it does scare me somewhat... I am definitely not a night owl.
  • psychRN83
    psychRN83 Posts: 71 Member
    Night shift scared me when I first started nursing but once I got used to it I found out that I liked working 12 hour nights rather than days. It is less hectic on night shift at many places of employment although we do hit our rough patches as well. The downside is most places have less staff on night shift depending on where you work. All in all, being a nurse was the best decision I made after getting out of the military, night shift included:-)
  • danibodani
    danibodani Posts: 41
    Night shift scared me when I first started nursing but once I got used to it I found out that I liked working 12 hour nights rather than days. It is less hectic on night shift at many places of employment although we do hit our rough patches as well. The downside is most places have less staff on night shift depending on where you work. All in all, being a nurse was the best decision I made after getting out of the military, night shift included:-)

    hehe I have found this on my evening clinical placement. It is sooooo much quieter than on days. I am so excited to graduate and make a difference in peoples lives.
  • williamlilly66
    williamlilly66 Posts: 1
    I wish I had known a secret, 11 years of night shift and added approx 120#. I worked in a pizza manufacturing plant and free pizza was always available in the break room-what a perk, now I really can't stand store bought pizza. I really didn't pay much attn as it came on slowly, but now I am VERY aware of my failing. Started new day shift job, much more active, going to the gym with my better half. Time to take back my health.
  • gtpjamie1
    gtpjamie1 Posts: 35 Member
    Hi! I worked nights for years, but when I finished grad school was able to move to a day shift job (I'm a nurse practitioner). Congrats on graduation, and plans for school! I'm in the DNP program now, and know how hard work, school, and a family can be to juggle.

    So I agree, when I worked nights in the ICU, I needed to eat for sure, and yes, someone was order in either pizza or Chinese food every night. Pack your lunch, a little planning goes a long way. My diet is not super clean now, I'm doing nutrition bars as a meal replacement for breakfast. If you are OK with things like that, I highly recommend the Life Choice Wellness bars. I found them at Wal-Mart, and the Fudge Graham (15g Protein) and the Dark Chocolate (15g protein) are actually quite tasty (only flavors I have tried), and a box of 6 are $3.47 instead of like $6 for a box. Yes, a fair amount of carbs, but they have a little fiber too.

    Thanks! I am also going into the grad nurse practitioner program so I have 2 more years of a crazy schedule!! All this helped me so much and the inside on the protein bars helps too. I always stand there in the store staring at the billions of options and have no idea what to buy. So thanks. Feel free to friend me:smile:
  • kar328
    kar328 Posts: 4,159 Member
    How'd I miss this thread when it started?

    I'm a 7P-7A nurse. Three shifts a week, sometimes three in a row like this weekend (weekend differential $$). I've been doing MFP since January.

    I changed my food diary to read Midnight to 6 AM, 6AM to Noon, Noon to 6 PM, 6 PM to midnight. I log on the appropriate 24 hour midnight to midnight day keeping with MFP. Like right now it's just after midnight, so I'm starting fresh.

    At home before I leave for work, I eat a regular dinner - I work in a crazy delivery room and sometimes you can have shifts where you can't even get to your food, so I make sure I've eaten something. I also make sure I have at least 8 glasses of water before I go to work, then anything I do here is extra credit - it's hard to drink water and suddenly be stuck in a delivery or the OR and really have to pee. I usually have some calories left for a protein bar, and a couple of cheese sticks. I used to not eat before my meal - ideally somewhere between 1-3AM, but realized this wasn't a good idea. I've found prelogging all this helps me see what's still available. I eat something for whatever you want to call this meal after midnight, and then have something light before I go to bed in the morning. If I'm off the next night, I get up at 1 or so and eat lunch, then try to be normal for the rest of the day. If I'm working, I get up at 4 and make a real dinner before going to work.

    It's definitely hard. I used to use the cafeteria but the limited night menu is pretty much all fried and even with the employee discount, it's overpriced. I had started bringing food before the weight loss thing. We have a 24 hour Starbucks and I am proud to say I haven't been in it since February. I drink coffee on the way to work and try to keep it to one large cup per day. Saves money and calories. Nurses are notorious for food and parties for all occasions, so I just try and take really small portions of things I can log and do the best I can.

    Gotta go close out last night's diary and start drinking water for today.
  • AfricaLatina
    AfricaLatina Posts: 111 Member
    Bump
  • geminiRN00
    geminiRN00 Posts: 6
    6 year night shifter here!
    I'm lucky because I am not really that hungry on nights. It's my days off that I seem to lose control and eat more or make poor choices. There is usually a lot of food brought in by other nurses. Stay away! I also make sure that I pack my lunch and have everything planned as far as what I"m going to eat. Also I never eat when I get home in the AM. I know some people have to but I am just never hungry when I get home so I just shower and go right to bed. I think eating a big meal after work is how a lot of night-shifters pack on a lot of weight.
    I worked last night and working tonight too. I woke up at 2:00pm and worked out before my shift. I find that I can survive on not that much sleep and still get workouts in. The weight is slowly coming off, but I don't have that much to lose.
    Hope that helps!
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    Loving these responses, I am halfway through my nursing degree and am getting prepared for whats to come :ohwell:
  • elizabeth616
    elizabeth616 Posts: 6 Member
    Bump- Starting nursing school the 15th and really do not want to lose my momentum from the summer!
  • psychRN83
    psychRN83 Posts: 71 Member
    I forgot tuna. Tuna is my best friend. I have been eating it every night I work for the last two weeks. Keeps me full but doesn't make me tired and is easy to tote around:-)
  • ERBred
    ERBred Posts: 33 Member
    This thread has been helpful. I am one of those that try not to eat about 2-3 hours prior to going to bed, even if it is a 7-8am bedtime. I try to make sure that my protien shake is taken between 1-3am. Bad news is that crazy hours and patient loads I don't really get a 30min lunch break, but good news is that I can usually find 5min to drink a shake.....and move on. Drinking lots of water keeps me running to the bathroom, but that also keeps you awake. High protien and Low sodium are what I aim for.
  • thistimereally
    thistimereally Posts: 74 Member
    Save for later
  • EBFNP
    EBFNP Posts: 529 Member
    I work nights occasionally as a NP, so when I do I pack a light lunch and drink tons of water. Usually I bring a can of soup, salad, and two pieces of fruit. I then go home and eat breakfast and continue on. My recommendations for the routine night nurses is to stay way from the snacks and the cafeterias. They definitely are a nightmare when there is down town to eat.
  • AfricaLatina
    AfricaLatina Posts: 111 Member
    I've just had to 'train' myself to only eat what I take in with me, to ensure that it's within my calorie budget.

    Also, I've had to learn to avoid the naughty stuff in the staff room - which is really tough but empowering when I succeed! :drinker:

    If I can't sleep much before/after a night shift then I have 4 smaller meals logged for the day (so breakfast, lunch, dinner and overnight meal which i have just before midnight). If I manage to sleep right through then I can afford a heartier dinner or 'breakfast' when I get home. :0)
    Everyone is different though and it depends on whether you get a break or not but i can't eat a full hot meal overnight like some or i'll go into a carb-coma and would be useless, on the other hand I can't work without eating at all.... :noway:

    good luck with finding what works for you :flowerforyou:
  • Liz1204
    Liz1204 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I am a 12 hour night shifter in the ICU. It can be crazy finding time to pee let alone eat anything. I tend to just bring light snacks that I spread out throughout the night to keep me going while not dragging from a meal "hangover" - if I eat a larger meal I tend to be more tired. My biggest problem is that I will get home in the morning and be starving and eat poorly before falling asleep:( And yes, if anyone tells me not to drink coffee, I might have to hurt you:)
  • gtpjamie1
    gtpjamie1 Posts: 35 Member
    How'd I miss this thread when it started?

    I'm a 7P-7A nurse. Three shifts a week, sometimes three in a row like this weekend (weekend differential $$). I've been doing MFP since January.

    I changed my food diary to read Midnight to 6 AM, 6AM to Noon, Noon to 6 PM, 6 PM to midnight. I log on the appropriate 24 hour midnight to midnight day keeping with MFP. Like right now it's just after midnight, so I'm starting fresh.

    At home before I leave for work, I eat a regular dinner - I work in a crazy delivery room and sometimes you can have shifts where you can't even get to your food, so I make sure I've eaten something. I also make sure I have at least 8 glasses of water before I go to work, then anything I do here is extra credit - it's hard to drink water and suddenly be stuck in a delivery or the OR and really have to pee. I usually have some calories left for a protein bar, and a couple of cheese sticks. I used to not eat before my meal - ideally somewhere between 1-3AM, but realized this wasn't a good idea. I've found prelogging all this helps me see what's still available. I eat something for whatever you want to call this meal after midnight, and then have something light before I go to bed in the morning. If I'm off the next night, I get up at 1 or so and eat lunch, then try to be normal for the rest of the day. If I'm working, I get up at 4 and make a real dinner before going to work.

    It's definitely hard. I used to use the cafeteria but the limited night menu is pretty much all fried and even with the employee discount, it's overpriced. I had started bringing food before the weight loss thing. We have a 24 hour Starbucks and I am proud to say I haven't been in it since February. I drink coffee on the way to work and try to keep it to one large cup per day. Saves money and calories. Nurses are notorious for food and parties for all occasions, so I just try and take really small portions of things I can log and do the best I can.

    Gotta go close out last night's diary and start drinking water for today.

    Thanks
    I am doing something very similiar. I start over fresh at midnight too. That way when I wake up at 2 or 3pm, I have already logged a few items and I m not trying to cram lots of calories in before 12a. If I dont work the following night I do something very similiar to you. It has worked so far! I have also picked up a cold tumbler and have been filling it up constantly and I'm finally getting in the water:smile:
    Feel free to add me!
    Jamie
  • gtpjamie1
    gtpjamie1 Posts: 35 Member
    This thread has been helpful. I am one of those that try not to eat about 2-3 hours prior to going to bed, even if it is a 7-8am bedtime. I try to make sure that my protien shake is taken between 1-3am. Bad news is that crazy hours and patient loads I don't really get a 30min lunch break, but good news is that I can usually find 5min to drink a shake.....and move on. Drinking lots of water keeps me running to the bathroom, but that also keeps you awake. High protien and Low sodium are what I aim for.
    I want to add in a protein shake and I'm curious as to the best ones. Other people on this thread have commented about shakes too.
  • gtpjamie1
    gtpjamie1 Posts: 35 Member
    I've just had to 'train' myself to only eat what I take in with me, to ensure that it's within my calorie budget.

    Also, I've had to learn to avoid the naughty stuff in the staff room - which is really tough but empowering when I succeed! :drinker:

    If I can't sleep much before/after a night shift then I have 4 smaller meals logged for the day (so breakfast, lunch, dinner and overnight meal which i have just before midnight). If I manage to sleep right through then I can afford a heartier dinner or 'breakfast' when I get home. :0)
    Everyone is different though and it depends on whether you get a break or not but i can't eat a full hot meal overnight like some or i'll go into a carb-coma and would be useless, on the other hand I can't work without eating at all.... :noway:

    good luck with finding what works for you :flowerforyou:
    I agree, avoiding the naughty stuff in the staff room IS EMPOWERING, when I refuse it! it feels great to finally say NO!!!
  • 86toronado
    86toronado Posts: 19
    I've been on nights for the past four years. I actually have the opposite problem from most: I do fantastic on work nights; only eating what I brought, and logging everything I eat... then that all goes down the drain on my days off!
    I feel like because I worked so hard for 2 or three 12 hour shifts in a row, I deserve this (fill in the blank here: pizza, wine, buffalo chicken tenders, oreos, ice cream, etc). If anyone has any suggestions for that mentality, I'm all ears!!
  • Vyshness8699
    Vyshness8699 Posts: 390 Member
    I'm a night nurse as well! I worked ER for the last year and I just moved back to ICU, and will still be on nights. I can tell you what I do and what some other girls I work with do (the ones who actually care about their health and don't order pizzas EVERY SINGLE NIGHT)

    I usually pack an ENTIRE day worth of meals (and go ahead and log them into MFP b/c I won't have time to later...) including breakfast/lunch/dinner and 2 snacks. This is obviously more difficult if you work in an area where they are strict about no food @ nursing stations...but you can still run into the break room and scarf something down real quick. And I ONLY allow myself to eat what I've brought. NO EXCEPTIONS. period. end of story. That's how I stay on track at work and it's actually pretty easy when you think of it like that. It's hard to say no to all the goodies people bring/order since there's nothing open but really terrible food at night. But when I tell myself- tough *kitten*, you brought your food so you will eat it and only it. Then I go about my day and don't worry about the rest. When I get home I don't let myself eat anything since I've already used up all of my cals and I just go right to sleep and wake up a little early and try to do a little workout- treadmill, HIIT etc. shower get ready pack lunch and do it again. On the days where I'm transitioning to days again, I usually try to wake up early so I can sleep again that night and flip back to normal, and I'll just eat as if it were a normal day (if I wake up @ 3 I'll eat something small then eat normal dinner and go to sleep at a "normal" time then wake up the next day and boom it's a normal day again.) you just have to be creative and figure out what works for you.

    Other people I know will eat only @ home and not let themselves eat @ work (which I think is crazy b/c I'm pretty sure I burn a million calories in the ER or ICU... and I couldn't make it through 12 hours of not eating.) And a lot of people I know barely sleep and they wake up like early in the day and do stuff then go to work and sleep for like 2-3 hours-these people have children and I know that I'm lucky that I don't so I can stay a little more focused and get more sleep. These people just eat during day time hours and snack healthy during the shift.

    Hope this helps :)

    This pretty much sums up what I do also !!! Gr8 advice
  • JazzyMelody
    JazzyMelody Posts: 9 Member
    I'm a CNA on a Neuro floor and work 7P-7A.... I eat before I go into work and bring my NutriBullet and bring lots of fruit to work to make a smoothie.... but lately I have found that Danon Light and Fit Greek Yogurt will hold me for a good 3 hours.... and I also Bring some Edamame to steam in the microwave... drink lots of water.... the yogurt and edamame hold me until I get home usually.
  • touchofred
    touchofred Posts: 28 Member
    Ah I completely understand where your coming from. I have a days nights rotation. Pretty much I don't overly flip my eating habits, just my sleep. So I'll come home and eat something, then wake, eat something, exercise, eat something and go to work. I'll pack a few things incase I get hungry, but overly I try not to eat through the night. I always tell myself it's a tired hungry and not a hungry hungry since I am eating during the day time, if that makes sense? Comes down to listening and knowing your body too. It's really unnatural no matter what you do =/
  • A_Healthier_Me2013
    A_Healthier_Me2013 Posts: 227 Member
    ^ bump in case i start working nights lol
  • zoodocgirl
    zoodocgirl Posts: 163 Member
    Funny, when I worked overnights as an ER vet I actually lost weight. Perhaps part of it was that I am vegetarian and was pretty poor, so the available fast food that was open at the time didn't really interest me.

    I'd eat a normal meal before I started work at 6 pm. I never had time or motivation to eat a huge "lunch" at work so I'd often pack instant oatmeal and/or some yogurt. I'm sure I partook if there were leftover goodies in the break room, but I just wasn't ever that hungry in the middle of the night.

    When I got home between 6-8 am I'd make "dinner" - a lot of times something egg-related or a quesadilla with veggies bc I wanted to go to bed ASAP, sometimes have a glass of wine (is this not the weirdest phenomenon, night shifters?!) and go to bed! I lost 7 lbs in 3 weeks without really trying. Rarely exercised at that point. For some reason I just had less appetite in the wee hours.
  • sweetace2k5
    sweetace2k5 Posts: 8 Member
    I do the same, I've worked night shift since getting my license 4 years as a LPN and 6 as a CNA( 1 year on nights). The biggest I got is just before having my daughter at 313 lbs. after I had her I decided I need to lose the weight so I can be here for her when she gets older. When I started MFP in 2/20/13 the second time I weighed 291. I was put on a 1200 cal diet by a doctor. I would make and bring my food to work, cut out soda, and not order anything out or get out of the vending machine. Today 8/28/2013 I'm down 72 lbs at 219 lbs and I've never felt better!!!!! My goal weight for now is 180. Good luck to you. I hope this helps!
  • nursenelson
    nursenelson Posts: 295
    no tips
    I also am a nurse and I am working a night right now!
    I am finding that it is helping that my fellow coworkers are also eating healthy and exercising. They are both on MFP too!
    We challenge each other, and help with choosing healthy food choices
    we workout at work as well
    (night shift anyways, day shifts are too busy)
    Night shift sucks *kitten* for the metabolism etc but we do what we gotta do.
    Good luck and add me if you'd like!

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