Police, public safety, EMS, nurses.

Sox90716
Sox90716 Posts: 976 Member
edited November 12 in Motivation and Support
What has been your biggest challenge working in the above professions?
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Replies

  • lillmssy
    lillmssy Posts: 67
    Where do you want me to start??????
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say, "Other people."
  • Sox90716
    Sox90716 Posts: 976 Member
    I should have qualified it much better. What has been your greatest obstacles with weight loss/maintenance and finding time for exercise with our chosen professions?
  • vabrewer33
    vabrewer33 Posts: 185
    I am a nurse which means I am on my feet all day long. My biggest challenge was finding motivation to take my hurting feet to the gym everyday after work. I work steady shifts so I don't have the problem with snacking that shift workers (especially night shift) has. But it is irritating to have overweight nurses lecturing people about health-the double standard is very annoying so I DID NOT want to be "that nurse" :)
  • JohnK580
    JohnK580 Posts: 55 Member
    The hours are very erratic. Being on call adds to that. Hard to plan.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say, "Other people."

    LOL - you can take that shot in bright daylight too!:laugh:
  • Paul_Hodge
    Paul_Hodge Posts: 15
    As an EMT, I think that the hardest thing was the schedule. It seemed like it was nearly impossible to eat healthy. Just finished a call, lets get dinner. So you head to the nearest grease pit, go to put that first bite in your mouth and there it is. The tones going off for the next call. It's very difficult to lose weight while working on an ambulance.
  • CottonCandyKisses
    CottonCandyKisses Posts: 246 Member
    I'm going to butt in as the spouse of a police officer. I know how hard it is for men and women in your chosen professions(police, public safety, EMS, nurses) to have a normal lifestyle, let alone a healthy one! I do all the cooking so I will cook/prep extra healthy things so he can bring extra and put it in the fridge at the PD or keep at the fridge at home. That way between calls he can grab things like :hard boiled eggs (peeled in a bag), grilled chicken breasts, grilled hamburger patties, washed/cut/sliced/prepped fruits&veggies, high fiber/protein granola bars, protein shakes, string cheese, almonds, and pre-portioned dinners in tupperwares. We have a treadmill in the basement and he has a mountain bike he likes to ride. I love my police officer=)
  • projectxreborn
    projectxreborn Posts: 204
    This is totally off topic (sorry) but I just wanted to say thank you for the jobs you do...I can guess it is a very thankless
    job dealing with the public but there are many of us who appreciate very much what you do. My 10 yr old son is alive
    because of quick thinking EMS that helped him.
  • Onaughmae
    Onaughmae Posts: 873 Member
    Wow....this is a long list that I could possibly put down! Shift work is tough. I flip back and forth between a day and night schedule so my eating pattern is all over the place. Sometimes you only have a few minutes to sit down and eat a meal...if at all. Its tempting to grab a quick bad-for-you snack and go on with what you have to do. While I love my job ( I am a nurse in a level 3 NICU), it is stressful sometimes and it is tempting to try to comfort that stress with high calorie, high fat snacks.
  • JohnK580
    JohnK580 Posts: 55 Member
    Your role is a nurse is highly valued! As a law enforcement chaplain, I spend a good deal of time with ER and ICU nurses. (and NICU nurses at the children's hospital too!) You all are fantastic!
  • Aleluya17
    Aleluya17 Posts: 205 Member
    I'm a nurse and i'd say making sure I don't just eat whatever is easy because I have no time. I have to be careful to plan what I can eat quickly that isn't garbage.
  • Froody2
    Froody2 Posts: 338 Member
    Fitting in exercise before/after 12 hour shifts and of course, the dreaded night shifts. In truth, though, they aren't as bad as the 12 hours - I really struggle to do anything at all on these days.
  • amh1974
    amh1974 Posts: 79 Member
    My crappy schedule as a night shift medic, full-time school, single mother of 2 children are all things that mix up the picture. Let's not even start on the dumdums I deal with nightly.... All I can say is thank god I run by myself on a chase truck! Hear's to my 16 hour shift tonight! Yay me!!!
  • Eric7788
    Eric7788 Posts: 23
    12-8 is very difficult when it comes to dieting
  • RedMeeko
    RedMeeko Posts: 24 Member
    I work night shift, so pulling my butt out of bed to exercise before work is horrible.

    I've been taking my rest day for the week during a day I work because I can't force myself to work out on those days.
  • BrittanyLail
    BrittanyLail Posts: 40 Member
    It's hard to not snack on junk food sitting around...and it's also hard to go to the gym after working all day.
    But it boils down to how bad I want results. I'm the only one that can make the decisions.
  • mbajrami
    mbajrami Posts: 636 Member
    As a telecommunicator/jailer...it's definitely the sitting down all day. We usually stay so busy and are so shorthanded that we have to eat at our desks while we continue to work. Suuuucks. I move around as much as I can, but I can't just leave for anything more than a bathroom break.
  • biglew909
    biglew909 Posts: 57 Member
    I'm an RN on a Telemetry unit, and without a doubt the biggest issue I've had is managing the acute and unpredictable levels of stress at work, followed immediately by my inability to let "work" stay at work.
  • FabMrFox
    FabMrFox Posts: 259 Member
    <-- former Military Police. you start to look at everyone as a criminal of some sort.....everyone breaks the law to some degree and I still hate being lied to about it :) I'm no longer doing it becasue the constant schedule shifting around as well as long deployments realy suck for a marriage
  • tnmyers23
    tnmyers23 Posts: 108 Member
    I think it would be safe to say that the uncertainty of it all has to be the biggest obstacle. You don't know when you are going to eat so when you get the chance to it is something fast and you gulp it down, As for exercise you have to try to do it after your shift if you can still stand up.
  • FabMrFox
    FabMrFox Posts: 259 Member
    MP - crazy hours with no set schedule makes any type of food or workout routine hard to follow - not to mention you can't eat in the car! :)
  • momswanson
    momswanson Posts: 76 Member
    One word....STRESS! :ohwell:
  • kevie1021
    kevie1021 Posts: 543 Member
    I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say, "Other people."

    ^^^^^^ This!
  • girlonabikedc
    girlonabikedc Posts: 111 Member
    I'm a police officer & most of the time I patrol on a bicycle-that's good for the exercise, but not so much with packing my own meals. I try to carry snacks (dried fruit, bars, etc) with me in case I get stuck on a scene for hours at a time and I usually have enough room to carry a thermos of soup/stew for a meal. I will stop by a store with a salad bar to add some veggies/side salad. I've found the best way to stay on track AT work is to stick to a routine outside of work. I try to make sure I always get at least 8 hrs (not always possible), eat breakfast/ lunch before work (not always possible) and avoid alcohol/junk food on nights where I need to be at work the next day (sometimes temptation calls). I also always fine time to get at least 30 minutes of exercise, even if it means going for a run or walk at 1am.

    There are alot of things I can't control with my job (everything, actually) but I try to do as well as I can with the things I do control. I'm not perfect, but I don't need to be. I just need to be a little better than I was.
  • BelindaDuvessa
    BelindaDuvessa Posts: 1,014 Member
    As a telecommunicator/jailer...it's definitely the sitting down all day. We usually stay so busy and are so shorthanded that we have to eat at our desks while we continue to work. Suuuucks. I move around as much as I can, but I can't just leave for anything more than a bathroom break.

    We have to move around alot where I work...unless you're in the Control Box. Then you're pretty much glued to the chair. It's harder to find time to eat at my job, though, because we are on our feet most of the time. When we get a second to eat something, it's usually to scarf it down. I generally eat all 3 meals at work, as well as snacks, except my final snack before I go to bed. Working 12 hour shifts, I don't really have much of a choice, so I plan my meals and try to eat something every 2-3 hours. It's easier to do that on the night shift, because we aren't as busy. Day shift, though, it's harder to find the time.

    My greatest obstacle besides that is remembering to plan. I know that sounds weird but if I plan what I'm taking for dinner, I'm much more likely to stick with eating healthy than if I "wing it". I also only take healthy stuff when I plan, so it's easier to stay on track. I'm a huge boredom eater, so if I take healthy stuff to much on during those times, I have an easier time of it than if I didn't. Luckily, most of the family likes eating healthy, so I usually have good things to take to work.
  • jacksagod
    jacksagod Posts: 176 Member
    I think most of the time is trying to squeeze something healthy in before the pager goes off. Make dinner plans interesting when your an emt and your fiancee is a volunteer firefighter.
  • knwitall
    knwitall Posts: 420 Member
    Well, as a 911 Telecommunicator. I would have to say stress and sitting for 12 hours a day. Not very good for your health or circulation.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    My husband is a police officer and I work at a Sheriff's Office (book keeping & records). His biggest problem is definitely grabbing something convienent whenever he has a chance. That and guzzling Mt. Dew and sugary coffee drinks during his night shift (12 hrs at a time). I try to have healthy stuff ready for him to take, but it's not always possible and he can't always get back to the station to eat what he brings. Sometimes, you just have to roll with it. He is pretty good about exercising though - his agency offers a Crossfit program free to all employees (taught by someone who knows what they are doing & watches form, safety, etc). He also makes time to run a few days a week.
    I work around other officers and jail staff eating junk food and fast food all day. They grab what they can and what's convienent. A lot of them eat at the jail (we can have leftovers from the meals they serve the inmates) and that stuff isn't exactly healthy either. It's made to be full of calories and filling......heavy on the carbs, soy protein, nothing fresh.
    I am lucky to have a GREAT fitness room on site and they've upgraded it a lot recently. Which is helping to get some of my coworkers working out again. I'm seeing that people are starting to recognize the problem and wanting to do something about it....so that's a step in the right direction. That attitude definitely wasn't there when I started in this field 5 years ago.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    As a paramedic with 10 years in EMS, I've had a lot of time to eat like crap, sit on the couch in front of the boob tube at the station and put on weight while living in a cortisol-infused state of tension and stress for 24 hours at a time (working 24 hour shifts). The best thing to ever happen to to my health was finding MFP. I have lost 30 pounds in about 2 months and I now have a lot of baggy clothes and a resting HR of 68. It jumps up to 100 when the loud-as-hell annoying-*kitten* tones at my station go off and I'm pretty sure they've put me into atrial fibrillation a couple of times but I just vagal myself out of it so it's all good, but I digress... I have been overweight for much of my life and without MFP I would still be bloated and miserable. The biggest challenge for me was getting organized and having the tools to get healthy... MFP has given me both of those. I thank God every day for this website and the people I have met on it. Good luck to all of you out there working in the field of helping other people. Anyone out there who wants to add me, feel free. I'm active every day and I'd love to have you.
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