Overweight travel nurses!!

Specialties Travel

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I'm currently a Critical care nurse and very interested in traveling. I have done my research and decided on the top 4 travel agencies that I will be applying to. There is nothing holding me back from moving forward EXCEPT my weight! I know this may sound ridiculous, but I have this mental block that I have to be more fit before I begin traveling. I am a very strong, confident person who rarely allows my weight to prevent me from doing what I want. My weight has NEVER interfered with my job performance at all. I have lost 35lbs over the last 4 months from working out 4-5 times a week and changing my eating habits. With all of that said, I have a few questions. Am I able to become a travel nurse being overweight? Are there any current/recent overweight travel nurses who can share your experience with being a travel nurse? Should I lose some more weight before I travel? Should I just try and get over this mental block and go for it??

Thanks in advance for your intelligent and professional responses!

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Get over it, but keep going with your healthy lifestyle!

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Ha, it sounds like you have the problem well under control. I'm jealous.

The worst thing about getting old(er) is when you suddenly can't eat like you used to without ballooning up! I hate it!

Good luck in your future fitness endeavors!

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I am sure you will do fine, but i am curious to why you would even be concerned? I dont think i do much different physical wise as a traveler as i did before. I am on a different spectrum from you, i only weigh around 92 pounds, have never really been able to gain weight. Im not really rhat thin, since im only a little over 5 feet, but have never found traveling and being able to get things done as a nurse matters as to where you are location wise. I am almost 50, and very healthy, but would worry about my age slowing me down more then anything else, and with that i hope i have another 15-20 years left in me :)

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Anyway, what i am trying to say is that good or bad, i have found that there have been alot of scary nerve wracking things that always come up , but as long as you know you are healthy and know ahead of time your physical limits ( if you have them) dont let that stop you from traveling. i have been told many times that " im so tiny to be a nurse" as if nurses all have to be a certain height and weight. We dont , ( even though there are alot of times where i have to stretch to hang iv fluids:) ) but i dont think weight, or lack of it, has any importance.

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@aTOMicTOM..Thank you for your response!

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@ nedRN...Yea that's the other thought that I have is just to get over it! I will definitely continue my healthy lifestyle regimen. Thanks for your response!

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Anyway, what i am trying to say is that good or bad, i have found that there have been alot of scary nerve wracking things that always come up , but as long as you know you are healthy and know ahead of time your physical limits ( if you have them) dont let that stop you from traveling. i have been told many times that " im so tiny to be a nurse" as if nurses all have to be a certain height and weight. We dont , ( even though there are alot of times where i have to stretch to hang iv fluids:) ) but i dont think weight, or lack of it, has any importance.

Im really not sure why it would be of importance. I guess is just a mindset that I have to change. Im only in my late 20s with no physical limitations and no current health issues except for my weight, which puts me at risk for health complications. So I'm strongly thinking about moving forward with it! Thank you again for your enlightening response!

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Go for it! I ran my tail off as a staff nurse and that hasn't changed as a traveler. If you can do your job now you should be fine as a traveler physically. Sometimes what I find harder is just the mental exhaustion from learning new routines fast.

Congrats on the weight loss!

Ps - I had the company find me housing for this assignment, and my apartment has an exercise room open 24 hours. No gym membership! ;) see if you can find something like that and it can make it even easier to keep up with your healthy lifestyle. :)

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Go for it! I ran my tail off as a staff nurse and that hasn't changed as a traveler. If you can do your job now you should be fine as a traveler physically. Sometimes what I find harder is just the mental exhaustion from learning new routines fast.

Congrats on the weight loss!

Ps - I had the company find me housing for this assignment, and my apartment has an exercise room open 24 hours. No gym membership! ;) see if you can find something like that and it can make it even easier to keep up with your healthy lifestyle. :)

Thank you so much! This really helps. I will definitely include that on my wish list when looking for housing because gym memberships can get expensive, especially if a contract is required. So I will inform my recruiter and request that my housing at least have a gym! Thanks again!!

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Sometimes the hospital has a gym available to employees. I believe I've used four hospital gyms in my career. Private gyms are more negotiable than you might think. I've never paid more than $30 a month and never a signup fee. I did have to wait a month once for one to come down to my price (a really nice gym with a pool). I've discovered that as nice as gyms are, that I can get just about a good a workout using outdoor play equipment (middle schools are usually the best) and use my body weight for resistance workouts. For cardio I have my feet, the great outdoors, and a bicycle. So I haven't paid much recently. Some gym chains are nationwide with reciprocal use agreements so if you are lucky, your current membership can work on assignment. But that is very hit and miss every time I've looked into it.

But as you know, diet is far more powerful for weight control than working out. That is where being on the road can hurt and discipline becomes even more important. What kills me is road trips. I can get into a good diet routine when I'm on assignment and home of course.

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Sometimes the hospital has a gym available to employees. I believe I've used four hospital gyms in my career. Private gyms are more negotiable than you might think. I've never paid more than $30 a month and never a signup fee. I did have to wait a month once for one to come down to my price (a really nice gym with a pool). I've discovered that as nice as gyms are, that I can get just about a good a workout using outdoor play equipment (middle schools are usually the best) and use my body weight for resistance workouts. For cardio I have my feet, the great outdoors, and a bicycle. So I haven't paid much recently. Some gym chains are nationwide with reciprocal use agreements so if you are lucky, your current membership can work on assignment. But that is very hit and miss every time I've looked into it.

But as you know, diet is far more powerful for weight control than working out. That is where being on the road can hurt and discipline becomes even more important. What kills me is road trips. I can get into a good diet routine when I'm on assignment and home of course.

That is exactly one of the things I worry about is continuing my diet. When I search for available assignments in different cities, I also look for local gyms as well. I just got back from vacation this week and having to get back in my routine of eating healthier. I'm a little nervous that if I begin traveling, I will fall back into old habits of just eating fast food all day and night!! I don't want that at all.. I know I just have to remain discipline and continue what I'm doing! On the flip side, I'm hoping to meet a variety of people who I can connect with and possible hang out, work out with and etc.. This may be already be a thread on here but..Is it easy to meet other travelers or other staff members on assignments??

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