Nurses who work 12hours shifts!?

jgilbey
jgilbey Posts: 79
in Motivation and Support
I am one- a nurse who works 12 hour shifts... We all know its a lot of walking, standing, stressful. I wore my HRM once and it noted 1000cal burnt from 7am-12:30pm. i know its not super accurate but still we DO burn a lot.

So my question is, do you log or dismiss if you go over a little on your numbers on your work days?

I only work sat-sun. And I don't log my calories burned but I don't stress if I go over. What do you do?

Replies

  • NeuroticVirgo
    NeuroticVirgo Posts: 3,671 Member
    bumping. I know there are Nurses or at least other people on this site that work long shifts on their feet, I'm surprised you haven't gotten to many responses yet.

    My suggestion (though I'm not in the same situation) is to look at why your going over. Did you go over a little bit because you were hungry and eating nutritious foods...or did you go over on snack foods, chips, and candies etc. If its the first reason, and your still losing weight then don't worry about it. If its the second reason, maybe try not to dismiss the overages.

    Have a few nurses in the family, and they always complain there is sweets and bowls of candy just sitting everywhere, and that its hard to not grab a handful of M&M's every 30 minutes because its like a never ending bowl.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Not a nurse, but I do a lot of extra work over the weekend.

    My suggestion: Log everything, including the extra exercise you get from doing the extra work. 1000 calories in a 5-hour period is very reasonable if you're on your feet all day and walking around a lot. Log them, then hold yourself accountable for the calories you ate to support them.

    The more you know, the better tools you have at your disposal.
  • MzMandi1025
    MzMandi1025 Posts: 78 Member
    I'm not a nurse, but I work 10 hour overnight shifts where I'm on my feet the whole night. I was considering wearing my HRM to work, but I work at a corrections facility & I'm not sure if we're allowed to take stuff like that in. Anyway, I would think that the 1000 calories burned would be pretty accurate because we still do burn calories at rest. I took my daughter to a Botanical Garden over the weekend & according to MFP I burned 1000 calories in a 3 hour period, I thought that was a little bit high. What I really want to do is get a pedometer to see if I'm getting anywhere near 10,000 steps a day.
    I don't stress if I go over my calories, because I know 4 nights a week, I'm up & down walking around. & I don't view this as a diet, but as a lifestyle change. So if I go over my calories, I just work towards doing a better job the following day. I don't log the walking on my work nights because I haven't used the HRM, & I think the calories burned according to MFP would be insanely off.
  • luvmycoffee
    luvmycoffee Posts: 112 Member
    I am an RN & I work both 8 & 12 hour shifts. I have always wondered how much we burn running around with not even enough time to eat, pee, etc.! :wink:

    I never stress on going over on my long work days, but I notice I am under on those days(sometimes) because I run out of time...IF I have the willpower to avoid the buffet of unhealthy treats that are always there. :grumble:

    My thought is~Don't stress it. We have enough stress to deal with, right?

    Best of luck to you! :flowerforyou:
  • scubachick2287
    scubachick2287 Posts: 57
    I am a nurse and I work 12 hour night shifts. My advice is to log everything especially those peanut butter packages and graham crackers :-) No, I don't think it is worth "stressing over" but I know I will stress the repercussions later when I get on the scale.

    I found myself eating atc when I started working nights because sometimes I don't sleep well during the day. I currently practice intermittent fasting. It isn't for everyone but it has helped me restrict my "snacks" when I'm home and should be sleeping anyway. I also avoid the cafeteria and bring my own lunch to work so I know exactly what I'm eating and how many calories are in it.
  • jennscooper
    jennscooper Posts: 5 Member
    I know that I am well over a year late on this reply... but I also work 12 hr shifts as an RN. I have not worn a calorie counter to work, but a coworker does wear her dot fit monitor (similar to what biggest loser wears around their arms). She claims that she burns 2300-2800 calories in a 12 hr shift. We work on an orthopedics unit, nights are a bit less because we are sitting more working on the paper work. I always lose weight when I work and pack my lunch... one of the only reasons I was happy to go back to work after my maternity leave was over. one month in and I have lost 5lbs... and I was not counting calories. Time to start that and see how well I do in the next month!

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