Nurses working night shift

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gemmanicholl
gemmanicholl Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am currently on my 4th night shift in a row and was struggling not to reach for junk food, i have just ate 5 marks and spencer chocolate biscuits and now i feel really guilty as i have gone way over my calorie allowance. I would not mind too much if this was a one off but it isnt, it happens every time i work night shifts, i am ok for the first few nights and can resist temptation but come my 3rd or 4th shift all i want is sugar.
I have tried everything, including having my dinner before work then having snacks during the shift but this didnt help so now i bring my dinner to work and eat around midnight but by 3am i still want junk food.
Ay suggestions as to overcome these craving would be appreciated

Replies

  • jenpinkrn
    jenpinkrn Posts: 16
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    Fellow RN here, I would drink hot tea with a no calorie sweetener, good old broth or a sugar free hot cocoa or jello. Boom chicka pop corn is low in calories too. keep what your eating where it belongs in the kitchen or employee break room, not at the nurses station, so you have to go and get it every-time you want some.
  • kanuckkim74
    kanuckkim74 Posts: 21
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    These dreaded night shift munchies! I hear ya! I've been bringing nuts and organic sweet potato chips to eat as well as grapes/bananas/apples. The hot tea works well too.
  • robinaddison
    robinaddison Posts: 232 Member
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    Another fellow RN here...for me it's all about the carbs at 3am - I like oatmeal made with dried fruit (raisins, cranberries and papayas are my current favorites) and a handful of almonds or hemp seeds. It fills the sweet needs and fills me up...and helps me stop feeling quite so crappy from the sugar crash when I wake up the next afternoon.
  • LeahFerri
    LeahFerri Posts: 186 Member
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    I hear you... not a nurse, but a college EMT, crew chief. We have a food truck on campus, and if the crew's hungry after a late-night call, that's where we wind up. And it's street food. Definitely not healthful. And by that time of day, it's not like I have calories left.
    Sometimes I let it happen and accept it as a one-off. Other times I just take my crew and get a water to occupy myself when I'm with them, then re-evaluate whether I'm actually hungry when I get home. If I'm genuinely hungry, I find something small--some crackers or the like. If not, I either go to bed or make a cup of tea.

    ETA: when I was doing night shifts in the ED, I definitely wanted sugar late at night. If I could keep myself from buying chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies from the cafeteria before midnight when it closed, I would be fine. If not... I wound up eating a cookie the size of my face. Well...

    We do what we can. As healthcare providers, the hardest people to take care of are ourselves!
  • LynneMarie1773
    LynneMarie1773 Posts: 8 Member
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    Find a thing, a go to thing you find satisfying and sweet but that is not too horrible. I will cut up a Luna bar or skinny cow bar into small bites and sip on a cocoa or coffee to satisfy a sweet tooth. It try to have a very healthy dinner option or keep Amy's frozen products in the freezer in case of emergency munchies. Late night snacking is a dieting RN's worst enemy, besides co workers who bring fattening or sweet food, my mortal enemies...lol


    There is also a group for 3rd shift workers....
  • _TastySnoBalls_
    _TastySnoBalls_ Posts: 1,298 Member
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    my first rn job was night shift.....never. again.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    If you eat at midnight and know you get a craving at 3 am, plan ahead to avoid it. Pack something to eat at that time or just before.

    That and will power.
  • dolcebellaluna
    dolcebellaluna Posts: 7
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    I try to eat late in the evening, ~8 or 9 pm (sometimes even 10) and then eat something again around 2 or 3 am. I try not to eat after 4, because then all I end up wanting are sweets and junk food. I tend to keep zero calorie soda around or drink a ton of ice water. I get super snacky around 6 or 7 so I make sure I either get some eggs or a yogurt in for extra protein.
  • LyricDz
    LyricDz Posts: 4
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    Oh man. I'm an RN too and I find this really hard. I have to do 5x10hr night shifts a month (I know it's probably not much compared to some) and sometimes its ROUGH. If I'm doing them all in a row like I usually do, I try not to eat through the day at all except for breakfast before bed in the morning, then dinner just before I go to work again. Day 2-4 seem to be the hardest. I find weetbix at that 2-3am time works well. Light and unsalted popcorn is also a good one because it feels like cheating but really isn't, and smells good. I also have a low calorie (about 45 per cup i think) hot chocolate that is satisfying though made on water. Drinking a bunch of ice water or a cup of green tea helps too. Some days I go over my goal but sometimes you have to just to get through it. I'll try and make up for it by exercising a bit more later in the week.
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    Im not a nurse but I work night shift for over 10yrs now. I hope I can help you all by sharing my protocols. I understand everyone is different. But with a little will and determination it could work out for you.
    You need to train your body, and once your body adjust, which could take up to 8weeks, it will be effortless to lose those unwanted weight.
    Message me since MFP doesnt notify you/me like FB if someone responds to a post. We have to search and search our post...argghh!
  • aimsz
    aimsz Posts: 11 Member
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    I eat the healthiest when I'm at work on my shifts because I pack a strict lunch box to take with me. Breakfast of eggs/bacon/sausage lunch of deli meats and cheeses, lettuce for wrapping and condiments, greek yogurt, berries and nuts for a snack before the 5am med pass. Work has diet ginger ale so I drink one or two of those in between huge cups of ice water. It's when I'm at home that I'm constantly wanting to snack or have sugary foods. Ugh!
  • RaineyLaney
    RaineyLaney Posts: 605 Member
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    I work the night shift and I bring a vinyl lunch back that I put 2 ice packs in to keep my foods cold till morning. I have an open food diary for anyone to see. In my notes, I list what foods I eat at home and the times, I also do this for the foods I take to work. I also list what time I am sleeping too. (Very detailed). I usually eat my breakfast when I get home from work, and if I sleep later in the day, I will eat a snack before bed too. Then when I get up, I will have a snack (if I slept early in the day) or will eat my Lunch, (If I slept later in the day. I then take 2 snacks and a dinner to work with me and space those out about every 2 to 3 hrs.

    I eat 6 times a day, 3 main meals and 3 snacks. (I also am diabetic, so need to eat often, lower carbs (100 to 130 usually) and higher protein (no more than 131)

    Take a peek and see if what I do may help you out.
  • sjackson310
    sjackson310 Posts: 23
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    Oh boy. I am starting night shift at the very end of this month when I get off orientation (RN). I do like to eat the Special K Honey BBQ chips. The entire bag (medium sized, like 100 chips or so) is 380 ish calories. That gets rid of salt & sugar cravings for me.

    This is totally off topic, but do yall go to a "regular" schedule during the parts of the week you don't work? I am kind of scared to start being a night nurse. The hours look like they will seriously mess with my head lol and I want time to spend with my family :( When do yall sleep on your days off?
  • RaineyLaney
    RaineyLaney Posts: 605 Member
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    Oh boy. I am starting night shift at the very end of this month when I get off orientation (RN). I do like to eat the Special K Honey BBQ chips. The entire bag (medium sized, like 100 chips or so) is 380 ish calories. That gets rid of salt & sugar cravings for me.

    This is totally off topic, but do yall go to a "regular" schedule during the parts of the week you don't work? I am kind of scared to start being a night nurse. The hours look like they will seriously mess with my head lol and I want time to spend with my family :( When do yall sleep on your days off?

    Take a look at my food diary (read my notes). I work Mon-Thur third shift, then have to swing myself around to work 10:30am to7:00pm on Sunday. My notes say what times I eat, and yes, I do swing my eating around along with my sleep.

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