Eating right on night shift.

I am a nightshifter RN as well.. and I bring my own stuff. I have a cinch sack bag full of handy snacky things like almonds, protein bars, raw vegetables, fresh fruit, Blue Diamond nut crackers (looove those!), tuna, cream of wheat instant packets, etc. I bring things that I can eat every couple hours, on the go, because we really don't get the luxury of a sit down 30 minute meal on nights. It's peck as I go type eating.

I work night shift also and find it extremely difficult to have willpower! I pack my food every night and every night I snack with the rest of them. UGH!

I work night shift as well, I take my own lunch. I take a meal, and snacks. I take low fat puddings, nuts, fruit. Stuff like that. I try to snack every couple of hours. My co-worker is a snacker too. We have a small unit so it's usually just me and her, or me and another nurse. Sometimes we will have 3 nurses or a 2 nurses and a cna, and we all snack all night long. We all have our own diet thing going on, so when one is snacking we watch each other's pts until they are done and vice versa. You just have to plan your night for a few months and when you get yourself to a place where you feel comfortable to go without an eating schedule, your body will remind you.
I set my diary up so that I have time periods to eat when I am working and BLD and a snack on my days off. On my days off, I actually have to set an alarm to remind myself to eat, because I work 5 nights a week and am off for 2, usually Monday and Thursday. But you too can set your alarm on your phone, to remind you to eat a small snack, because we have to sustain our blood sugar while we are working. At first I set mine for every couple or 3 hours, but everyone has different needs, so just do what works best for you.

Permanent night shifter here (working right now!)- I feel your struggle. If only it were so easy to just walk away from the snacks! My biggest problem is the eating to stay awake factor. I don't get to sleep before coming into work so by 2 or 3am, my body is craving carbs & caffeine to simply stay awake. I give into the caffeine - I drink lots of tea - it helps to curb my hunger for the sweets. I also pack my own food - I'm in the midst of P90x so I am focusing on a good amount of protein - which also helps with the energy factor. In packing my dinner/snacks, I try to account for the idea of having something to eat ever 2-3 hours. I bring fiber 1 (90 cal) bars, string cheese, peanut butter, veggies, fruit, 100 cal bags of popcorn, etc for snacks and then try to bring a solid regular dinner as if I were to be eating at home. If I can stay busy until after midnight, I am usually ok. I always have a protein bar on my ride home from work and do not eat anything else once I get home. I do find I consume most of my daily calories (probably 75%) between the hours of 12a-9a.

I'm a radiographer in the NHS so there's lots of various shifts for me, I've told everyone that I'm serious about loosing weight and since fewer people are asking me if I want junk, which is nice still trying to find the right foods that will see me through 8pm-8am with out having to resort to caffeine drinks.

Best of luck to you, just remember working in a hospital your surrounded by kind and caring people so just ask for help.
Mel

You are right about being surrounded by good people. Most of us have the same goals in mind, as to rather they carry them out or not is a different story. But I do love my family I have here at the hospital.

How many of us in this post are working right now? Slow night for me - logged in to update my food diary and check the message boards!

I'm a night shift RN working right now as well.......and I had just posted in my newsfeed here that I always eat too much at work. Boooooo....Not to mention I left my snack bag at the house. Sigh.

I work 12 hour nights as an RN also, and it is difficult. Try eating a good meal before you go in, and take healthier snacks with you. I usually have a KIND bar and some instant oatmeal, maybe a cheese stick or yogurt. Then eat a good breakfast in the morning!! And, if you can manage a quick walk before or after work, you can burn off a few more calories so you can snack a little more!!

STAY AWAY FROM THE BREAK ROOM! There's always temptation in there. Bring lots of healthy snacks! Sometimes I find myself binging on my snacks to stay awake, but I feel better knowing I'm at least binging on healthy snacks than running to the vending machine or eating bad snacks. Drink lots of water, too!

i work overnight as well ... and am working right now. Since i work at a hotel and am the only overnight person at the hotel at this time its kinda easy for me to stay away from snacks. I usually bring a sandwich of some kinda made with the 40 cal bread and usually pretzals or popcorn of some sort. I also bring some kind of fruit and a vegetable and that usually holds me over till 7am when i go home. I work a ten hour shift and usually dont even eat lunch till 130 - 2 am .

I do shifts as well- a mixture of evenings and nights mostly. The key for me on nights more than anything is to make sure that the dinner and snacks I pack are things that I love. No leftovers of food that is just food. I have to make sure it is something I am really looking forward to eating and that way I don't mind knocking back other good things.
It helps with my motivation and keeps me mentally satisfied

Permanent night shifter here (working right now!)- I feel your struggle. If only it were so easy to just walk away from the snacks! My biggest problem is the eating to stay awake factor. I don't get to sleep before coming into work so by 2 or 3am, my body is craving carbs & caffeine to simply stay awake. In packing my dinner/snacks, I try to account for the idea of having something to eat ever 2-3 hours. If I can stay busy until after midnight, I am usually ok. I do find I consume most of my daily calories (probably 75%) between the hours of 12a-9a.

I edited the above some but I basically do the same thing. I work 10pm to 830am at a local Casino at an IT Support Specialist. ( I sit in front of a PC all night long lol) I eat with my wife when i get up around 4-5pm. I count that on the previous day even though i just woke up. ( I might change that in the future but it works for the day's i'm off.) After midnight i start my new day. I bring in my own food most days.

I love the Special K cereal, all of them. The Oat's N Honey, and Cinnamon Pecan are probably my favorite though. I've also discovered this oatmeal made by Better Oats. It's $1.29 for 5 packets and averages 130-160 cals. It has flax seed so that helps out with other areas too. Keep clear of the Pop if all possible, it's just unneeded calories.

What's really helped me stay awake is these multivitamins i've been taking. GNC Mega Men's Energy & Metabolism. I'm sure there is a Women's formula of this too. I just feel much more alert, and not so darn groggy.

Do try to eat more often and smaller portions, those oatmeal packets don't keep you full long but they don't have many calories either. Try to find small snacks, meals you can eat. I've got this little Copco reusable cup (They can be had for like 5-10 bux.) i keep on my desk. It holds 3 cups of water. I try to drink 2-3 of them each shift. It also helps when i do eat i don't eat so much.

I hope my ideas and rambling helps you some. I'm just typing things out as I think of them.

Good Luck!

Another night shift RN... I have been bringing a lot of healthy snacks with me as well as my dinner. I figure it is easier when you have choices so I make sure I have them. Whatever I don't eat I take home and do it again the next night. I am also at work right now. I do anywhere from 3-5 12hr night shifts/week. I quit going to the cafeteria at night too. I have lost 11 lbs. since the first of the year and I have to say, it's getting easier for me to say no to the not-so-good stuff!

Working nights can definitely be hard. (Also currently at work - med tech in a hospital lab) I usually eat a breakfast meal when I wake up, then have a healthy snack during break (cottage cheese, cucumber, carrots, etc) and then I do best when I pack my own lunch. Eat a protein bar on the drive to the gym after work, protein drink when I get home and maybe a light dinner after my shower before bed in the morning.

I'm working nights, but my situation's different. There are only 2 of us in our office, so I don't have the outside influence that you do.

However, I've found that using myfitnesspal keeps me focused on where I am in regards to my daily goal.

I still have the candy/coke machine available (don't say I shouldn't bring cash, because these machines take atm/debit cards).

Hang in there, it's worth it.