Is floor nursing making you fat?

amygarside · Apr 3, 2013

Sometimes it can do that too you if the hours are erratic. however, maybe you can find a way not to binge it. It can be a disaster for your health.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2013

i have lost weight since working as a nurse. I now do 3 12hr night shifts. I eat before i go to work than at work if i can between 1-3am. I try to go to the gym for 1-2hrs cardio on days off and try not to eat when i get home from work. If i am working i eat less than at home so the more i work the less i weigh. I used to/still like to eat when bored, etc . I try to just eat when I am really hungry and do not buy any sweets or junk food or i will eat it. Most of my thin friends and co workers do NOT over eat. i know a few people who only eat 1 meal a day .

Tait, MSN, RN · Apr 3, 2013

I made myself fat. At my first job there was a 24 hour McD's across the street. Each night someone would go on a run. I gained 20#. At my second job I brought my own lunch and maintained my weight. Before I got pregnant I brought my own lunch, plus protein shakes for the early morning, walked, and worked out and lost 30#. Stress is a factor in any situation, and there is plenty of it in nursing, however it wasn't until I understood the decisions I was making in regards to my eating habits and exercise that I got control over my body.

I moved just as much, if not more in any other job I ever had, waitressing, video store clerk, printing press worker, as I do in nursing and my weight was still reliant on my habits more than my job description.

Tait

wooh, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2013

Never have understood how running around like a crazed herd of buffalo for 12 hours straight could make anyone fat.

Because you aren't eating while you run around. So your body holds onto calories because it thinks it's starving. Then you make up for it at the end of the shift by FINALLY eating. And your body holds onto all those calories because it thinks tomorrow it's going to starve. Nursing can really jack up your metabolism.

I think it was the second post that was right. You've got to graze while you're working.

Tait, MSN, RN · Apr 3, 2013

Because you aren't eating while you run around. So your body holds onto calories because it thinks it's starving. Then you make up for it at the end of the shift by FINALLY eating. And your body holds onto all those calories because it thinks tomorrow it's going to starve. Nursing can really jack up your metabolism.
I think it was the second post that was right. You've got to graze while you're working.

Definitely! Little sensible meals. Protein, cheese, water etc every couple of hours.

FlorenceNtheMachine · Apr 3, 2013

Track your calories, it's always what worked for me. And it didn't matter if I grazed or ate two or three meals a day, just the total amount of calories I ingested vs how active I was. There are even some that believe intermittent fasting (hours) is good for your metabolism.

I tried it, it made no difference to me really. Didn't hurt, didn't help. Count the calories until you can eyeball it. After 8 years of counting, I still underestimate.

Oh and yes nursing is very unhealthy! So many people bring delicious, unhealthy food to share!! It's been a struggle to maintain my weight. The only way I've been able to is to, bring my lunch, wear a pedometer, and only nibble on the sweets, politely.

Morainey, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2013

Grazing on healthy items works well for me. We don't usually have treats kicking around at night, because day and evening shift get those for the most part. I also drink lots of water and avoid pastries in Starbucks on the way home. Plus I exercise during the week. It's fairly easy for me to drop weight once I put my mind to it, it just requires a lot of discipline.

sistasoul · Apr 3, 2013

Stress eating at work and after work and not getting regular breaks to sit down and eat. I have lost and gained back the same 25 lbs. 3 times in 4 years. Can stand to lose another 10 pounds. For me, nursing is causing a lot of stress and I am not coping with it in a healthy way. I drive by a Walgreens at 1 AM after a stressful shift and I buy an 8 ounce bag of chips and eat them in 45 minutes when I get home and then go to bed. This is not to mention all of the sweets at work I wolf down on the run. It is my own fault I know but I never ate like this before I became a nurse.

OCRN3 · Apr 3, 2013

Yes I think it's stress that making me eat. Its my own fault too, by the time I noticed what I'm doing in halfway down wolfing down a burger.

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Tina, RN · Apr 3, 2013

As I have gotten older, I have become an "emotional eater", for sure.

In my younger days, I'd get stressed, lose my appetite and lose weight. I also had the time and energy to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Now, I get stressed, bake/cook something yummy (or hit McD), and eat too much. I never understood the term "comfort food" until now. So, I can't totally blame nursing for my fatness. Being 38 years old, married with children, stressed, and working full time adds to it as well...

joanna73, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2013

I eat small healthy meals: fruit, eggs, nuts, smoothies, soup, wraps. Fast food and junk makes me very lethargic overall, so unless it's my treat days, I eat well. The after effects of junky meals are just not worth it.

Exercise for 20-30 minutes three to four times a week also helps me keep my energy up.

multi10 · Apr 3, 2013

Just as we plan for our patients, we are also able to plan for ourselves. Calories are important. It is important, if you want to lose weight, to track the calories that you take in every day. There's no getting around it.