911 Telecommunicator-12 hr shifts
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Bobanji
Posts: 79 Member
Hello Eveyone,
I'm new to MFP and I'm looking for motivational support from everyone! I have gained way too much weight since having a sit down job. I am a 911 Telecommunicator and I work 12hr shifts, 4 days on/ 4 days off, 2 days and 2 nights. As if sitting all day isn't hard enough, the 12 hr shifts are killer and then having to transition every week from day shift to night shift back to day is horrible. Not to mention all the stress from this job. Working in 911 basically means I can't leave my desk because I'm waiting on 911 calls. Trips to the bathroom are pretty much hurry down the hall and hurry back and if someone calls in sick to work, that means no lunch break at all. I live outside the states so, yeah not getting a lunch break isn't illegal here but we do get paid for it. This job has been hurting my sleep patterns a lot too and I've gained so much weight and the transition from day shift to night shift causes me to need to eat an extra meal on that day. I need to lose weight for my health. And even though I don't much like this job mostly because of how unhealthy it causes me to live, I'm stuck here at least for a while until new opportunities arise. Job market is tough. Please add me as a friend as I need as many friends as possible to get me through this weight loss process.
I'm new to MFP and I'm looking for motivational support from everyone! I have gained way too much weight since having a sit down job. I am a 911 Telecommunicator and I work 12hr shifts, 4 days on/ 4 days off, 2 days and 2 nights. As if sitting all day isn't hard enough, the 12 hr shifts are killer and then having to transition every week from day shift to night shift back to day is horrible. Not to mention all the stress from this job. Working in 911 basically means I can't leave my desk because I'm waiting on 911 calls. Trips to the bathroom are pretty much hurry down the hall and hurry back and if someone calls in sick to work, that means no lunch break at all. I live outside the states so, yeah not getting a lunch break isn't illegal here but we do get paid for it. This job has been hurting my sleep patterns a lot too and I've gained so much weight and the transition from day shift to night shift causes me to need to eat an extra meal on that day. I need to lose weight for my health. And even though I don't much like this job mostly because of how unhealthy it causes me to live, I'm stuck here at least for a while until new opportunities arise. Job market is tough. Please add me as a friend as I need as many friends as possible to get me through this weight loss process.
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Replies
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Feel free to add me! Can you stand up and take calls? I've done desk squats and calf raises if that helps.0
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The nice thing is our desks are able to move up and down so I can stand when I want to. I do need to do that more often and the desk squats and calf exercises sound like a great idea. I'm definately gonna have to try that. I guess the main reason I dont stand too often even though I can, is its a funny position to type. People are usualy screaming into the phone and we have to be ready to take it all down as quick as possible. You've made up my mind though, I'm going to at least start out standing during our more slow hours. Hey it will help keep me awake too. Thanks !
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I am in the same boat, Coast Guard, 13 hr shifts...on my *kitten*. I do wall push ups everytime I go to the bathroom. I also make sure I am alsways filling my water. Also, even though my work days have barely any free time, just 15 mins of cardio makes a big difference in my day. Today I did about 30 mins before my shift. On my off days I make up for it and make sure I do at least an hour a day of activity.0
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No lunch breaks? Can you chomp on some fresh veg's at your desk? Betty0
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Well we can eat at our desk but sometimes all hell breaks loose and all our phone lines start to ring. One day I nearly choked myself after taking a bite out of whatever I was eating that day and had to swallow it whole when the phone lines all went off. Other times, I have to immediately spit out whatever I am eating to answer a call. Yeah so needless to say, even though we can eat at our desk, it really needs to be something we can eat fast and hope a major incident doesn't happen. Apples, carrots, anything crunchy is no good. Made that mistake before and boy did that hurt going down my throat.0
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My husband is a 911 Telecommunicator, with those crazy 12 hr day/night shifts as well. He had the hardest time for a while. I'm not sure what all his "at work" practices are but I'm sure he feels your pain. His MFP name is Wahoospartan if you'd like to friend him, he may have some pointers.
There's also a group called Cubicle Jockeys. It hasn't been active for a while but if you check out the threads there's some good ideas there. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3036-cubicle-jockeys0 -
I am also a 911 Dispatcher and have gained a lot of weight working at the center. Luckily, our shifts are only 8 hours but we end up doing quite a bit of 12 hour shifts due to staffing shortages.
I have only recently started with MFP (well, at least being faithful to it). My shift is normally 1400-2200 but that ranges 4 hours either direction at any given day. After work on Tuesday and Thursday, I try to go to a 24 hour gym we have in town. It helps when I am able to do so. It would be nice to be able to do some exercises at our consoles. Will have to check on the suggestions given.
Best of luck on your weight loss journey. Keep us posted on how you are doing.0 -
i'm also a 911 dispatcher. We work 12 hour shifts, and rotate between nights and days, also with no lunch break. i have found planning my meals and not having my deputies get me food has helped. I also will raise my desk up every few hours and just walk in place for a few minutes. Of course, I will hit the gym before coming into work, usually squeezing in 20-30 minutes of cardio.
I also have seen the mini bikes that you can set in front of your chair and use while you are sitting.0 -
Hi My name is Carollee and I work at a large hospital as a patient observer, which means a "Sitter" sometimes 8 or 12 hour shifts, I might do 7a to7pm, thank God I don't rotate shifts!!!!
I am 56 yrs old with arthritis so I have to be careful when I do workout. My job is heavily involved with the mentally ill, we struggle to get a break to rush to the bathroom, can't eat in the patients rooms.
Most of the patients are so stressed out that we do not want to get them excited, sometimes they are swearing at us or threatening so the idea of doing squats in front of agitated people is something that I'm not excited about doing. Others are so depressed that they lay in a darkened room all day long and you sit in a corner trying not to disturb them0 -
I wear my leg weights to work so everytime I get up, its a work out.0
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I used to have a pair of pedals under my desk at work. I put my desk on bed risers to make it taller so my knees didn't hit.
I just bought the pedals at walgreens that are supposed to be used to increase circulation. They cost about $25.
I've been planning on doing that again. I just kept it at no resistance and pedaled nearly all day long. On days when I didn't pedal as much, I'd up the resistance and do it shorter periods of time.
Then other people started buying them, too!0 -
I am a night shift 911 telcommunicator working 12 hrs shifts, I started my weight loss journey 6 weeks ago, and what I try to do is every shift raise my console and do some sort of moving (ex walking in place, squats, leg lifts, etc) for atleast 30 mins per shift.0
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Hi There! My name is Rayme. I'm 35 years old and live in central Pennsylvania. I joined MFP awhile ago, but just got serious with it again this week. I've downloaded the app and am tracking everything (good and bad).
I'm a 911 telecommunicator so I work odd hours and spend my whole shift sitting at my console. It makes my journey a little harder for sure but I'm determined not to let it be my excuse any longer. I love some of the ideas for being active while on the job. You guys are huge help already!!! I'm looking for some new friends to keep me on track and motivated.
Hope to talk to all of you soon!0
