Help with getting started while working the night shift

I don't have this type of experience, but here are some suggestions:

protein bars - Cliff bars are good as well as Think Thin bars
Apple slice and Peanut butter (you can slice the apples before hand and add lemon to keep from browning, just bring a little PB for dipping)
Mini wraps - that you can pop in your mouth, you can do veggies, turkey, etc. I find flavored humus to be better than mayo or mustard, its a bit more filling.
Yogurts (if you have storage, at least on days when you get a break that would work easy)

Hope it helps.

I was going to suggest packing portions of snacks. A peanut butter and jelly sandwhich can fit on with goals and be eaten on the go. A thermos with soup? Warm foods
Can be packed in thermoses for a change of pace( it is freezing cold here so I have comfort food on my mind)

For what it's worth I admire you for the work you do. Have been contemplating going into nursing but wondering if I am to old to start out. Good luck!!!

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I work nights, 12 hours shifts 3 to 4 nights a week. Here's what I do.

Work day 1: this is the toughest day, I am basically up for about 22 hours straight, so I don't eat something until I have been awake about 7 hours. I eat my breast fast around 5 pm, a snack at 8:30, lunch at midnight, two more snacks, and then dinner at 4 am.

Work days 2,3, and 4: I eat at the same times as the first day, but since I have been sleeping all day it's not so bad lol.

First day off: I get home in the morning and sleep till about one o'clock. This is my switch around day. No breakfast, I eat lunch when I get up and have dinner that night, then to bed like all the regular people. The rest of my days off I eat at normal times.

Hope this helps.

I find working out on nights when I first wake up the easiest, gets it out of the way.
I set up my day to record my food in 4hr intervals starting at 6am since thats just about the end of the day when I'm on nights and I rarely eat before that when on dayshift. Look at my diary if that sounds confusing.

Hey! Night shift nurse here. What I've been doing the last few months that has worked well for me:

I buy a lot of frozen dinners (usually about 300 calories a piece) so I at least have that to start with. I eat a fairly regular dinner before I go into work and count that as Breakfast. While I'm eating/logging that meal, I go ahead and pack everything for the night. I go ahead and pack enough snacks to fill my calories for the entire shift. Sometimes I don't eat everything, and sometimes I eat a snack on the way home. Either way, I have all my allotted calories packed for one night so I'm not heading to the vending machines at 2am.

I eat my dinner when I get the chance to sit down and then my little snacks throughout the night (ie while charting). My favorites so far:
-smart pop popcorn
- fiber one bars
- any of those 100 calorie snack things
- frosted mini wheats
- a cup of hot cocoa if I'm craving chocolate
-tons of fruits and veggies. I buy in bulk on my days off and have them ready to go for the work week.

Hope this helps, and feel free to add me... I'd be glad to support!

Though I am not a nurse, I do work in a hospital doing overnights, most of the time they are 10hr shifts.

I usually try to fit my gym time in the morning AFTER my shift. I know that I am tired and am probably not going to get the most out of the work out, but that is what works for me. I don't like going before my shift as then I will already be tired going in and that makes for a long night. It also surprised me how much I am physically capable of doing even after no sleep. Some of my best runs have been after an overnight.

As for eating, I log everything in a 24hr period with the day broken up in 4hr blocks (I believe someone else also mentioned this). I try to keep my locker stocked with dry goods for emergencies, which usually means I look like a squirrel lol. oatmeal, a variety of granola/protein bars, tea bags etc are the usual.

My biggest advice is to plan what you eat, in the morning or the day before, that way you know what you need to pack.

Feel free to friend me, I love chatting with and supporting the people on my feed.

how bad do you want it.....
just do it...
i start at 4am.

I work in health care as well and I also work nights.

I worked nights at my previous job. Started the job at 155. Didn't really gain any weight until the following year, when I moved and pretty much stopped walking. (I used to walk to work. Walk to stores frequently. Etc.) All of a sudden I was 170. Whoops. The worst part? My co-worker and I would always run to places like 7-11 or BK since that's all that was open and get junk. I'm 5'9" and I was just hitting the overweight mark at that point. Because of my erratic sleep schedule, I was eating all kinds of crap at any hour of the day.

Then I got laid-off. I looked in the mirror and saw that my love handles had doubled in size---I already knew that but I was just trying to ignore it or hoped the weight would just come back off. I decided I needed to make a change that I started when I wasn't working and continued so far into today, back on night shift. Since then, I've actually lost more than thirty pounds and I'm in the 130s.

Keys for me:
-You need to bring something light to snack on or eat. Everyone had pretty good suggestions. I don't love yogurt but I try to bring yogurt fairly regularly, especially since I seem to be starving when I get home and feel like stuffing my face. Since you're working longer shifts than me, you might need an actual meal and a snack or two. I definitely second something like wraps/sandwiches. Pre-planned lunches/snacks are really important because otherwise you just grab what's around.

-Sometimes, when I get home, I try to get outside so I can see some sunlight. Makes me feel so much better just getting a little bit of daylight. Try to squeeze in maybe a half an hour of exercise when you get home a few times a week. If I don't do it when I get home, I try to do it before I leave for work.

-Sleep schedule is so important. Mine is always annoying but I try to stay up many of the nights I'm home just to keep it semi-normal. Black out curtains? A must. Otherwise? Me being awake=me being bored/restless=me eating.

i work 12 hour nights also -- my biggest hurtle is avoiding all the food everyone else brings.
popcorn has been a life saver because you can munch on a ton of it for low calories and i buy the powdered flavorings for a variety - one night might have kettle corn flavor, next is jalopeno cheddar.
i also mix oatmeal into some yogurt before i leave home, then when i have a chance to eat the oatmeal is softened up, so get the yogurt flavor with the satifaction of oatmeal. good grab and go food.
i am trying harder at getting the protien in - i like the 'life choice' protien bars - they don't taste so much like a protien bar -- i keep these on hand for nights i want a candy bar
-- my second goal this year (after weight loss) is more sleep, because the less i sleep the worse i eat, when i am over tired i have even caught myself getting up -basically sleepwalking- and eating crap and going back to bed, barely realizing it untill it is devoured
--- i mostly do my workouts on my days off - my work days are more devoted to sleep. but i try to add small exercises into my shift, like squats while waiting for pt to get out of bathroom, jumping jacks after discharging a pt (this is easier for me since i work in ER and have more rapid turnover and have a minute or two of down time between pts.)

I'm also a night shift nurse and work 3 back to back 12's a week Wednesday-Friday. I find that if I count my calories from midnight to midnight, it makes calorie counting a LOT easier than trying to cram things into one day and figuring out how to place them the next day. I also changed my meal names to Meal 1, Snack 1, Meal 2, Snack 2, Meal 3, Snack 3 because "Breakfast", "Lunch", and "Dinner" just stressed me out. Now when I eat at 3 a.m. I just plug in the calories and move on. I'll also do things like lunges down the hall or squats while charting, and when I get up around 3 p.m. I'll do p90x and then take my shower. Utilizing the crock pot for dinner is also VERY helpful. I pop a meal in before bed, have dinner with the family in the evening, and then pack leftovers to take to work for my middle of the night meal.

Hello! Lots of positive advice here and I work events and catering that work out to be around 12-14 hour shifts 3 days a week on my feet with about enough time to cram in a small snack (2 to 3 times) within the evening. Also raising 2 boys so I like quick and easy! I bring 3 items with me every time which generally consists of a fruit, protein on some greens and a granola bar that has a little chocolate drizzle for extra yum factor.

Here are examples of what I bring to eat;

1. A banana or a clementine or some berries

2. Organic salad greens with some chicken breast slices ( I usually don't get much more exciting since I aim for speed) with a side of my favorite dressing to drizzle on top.

3. A KIND bar, my current fave is cherry dark chocolate, it's just a bunch of nuts and fruit squished together, no fake stuff. They have lots of different flavors.

I also take a big hot travel mug of cinnamon apple tea, it tastes good and sweet once you steep it long enough ( my fave is celestial) and it's a great zero calorie drink that gives you something other than water.

Feel free to add me as a friend and good luck!