Evening shift and BAD eating habits!

[RNcDreams]

Hello

To all you evening shift folks out there, do you ever find yourself eating when you get home?

It's almost 1am by the time I wind down and get to bed, and it seems like eating is a part of that "wind down" routine.

Do others do this?

Any pointers for better eating during evenings?

We work a tough shift.... busy from start to finish. I think we're in the mode of eating whenever we can, just in case. Which means on not-so- busy days, we're not eating out of hunger.

HELP!

I still want my scrubs to fit .

[voraciousj]

I've noticed that I tend to eat as well when I get home from a 3-11. It's driving me nuts because I have noticed the numbers slowly creeping up on my scale . *sigh* All I can do is try exercising more...and trying to pick better things to snack on when I get home.

[Jolie, BSN]

I think lots of 2nd shift workers have this problem. I found that it had little to do with hunger, though. When I got home from work, I had trouble winding down. That led to over-snacking and watching lots of bad late night TV.

I finally disciplined myself to have 1 snack when I got home, followed by a hot bath and then off to bed, regardless of whether or not I felt tired. It soon became a routine, and I was able to go to sleep without a problem. Over-eating solved.

Good luck!

[Dolce, RN]

I do this too. I find that I want to stop for chocolate on my drive home. I find that it helps if I bring myself a light dinner (eg Salad, soup, etc) and bring along a "snack" to eat on my way home. Having an apple saved in the car helps. But, I'm totally with you about needing food to help wind down after work.

[BookwormRN]

I'm right with you....snacking and bad late night TV to wind down. I'm trying to kick the "bad" food habit, by trying carrots/apples, etc. and instead of TV (which really winds you up again), I pick up a good book. This does help me wind down faster and I go right to sleep when I go to bed. (If I don't fall asleep in the chair first!!)

[Dottie78]

I'm not a nurse yet, but my mom who was an LVN for 15+ years worked 3-11 shift and ate when she got home. She says that's how she gained all her weight! She said she was too busy to eat at work, and was hungry when she came home, which was usually past midnight. She'd eat, and then go to bed.

Sorry I don't have any advice, but maybe try snacking on a piece of fruit or have some veggies (carrots, cucumber, broccolli, or celery sticks) with some low-fat ranch dressing when you get home, instead of junk or a big meal.

[nurseinlimbo]

I actually eat less on evenings and nights, I am not a big breakfast eater, often have a very light lunch, like half a bagel or a yogurt fruit smoothie, or soup. For supper I pack crackers and a tuna snack, with a fruit cup and bottle of water. I am guilty of snacking on the treats that others bring, but if they aren't there I don't do that either. I rarely if ever eat when I get home. On nights it's even worse. I make supper for the family, eat light with them (it's my breakfast) I usually pack a snack food for the middle of the night, like popcorn, fruit cup or crackers and cheese, and drink water and tea. When I get home I usually go straight to bed, so I'm really only eating one meal per day.

[Sonjailana]

Try to eat a big bowl of cereal when you get home or low fat popcorn. These foods give me the sensation I'm chowing but the high-volume low calorie situation is better. I think it is the easiest shift to gain weight on!

[CHATSDALE]

for some reason the 3-11 shift was always the most difficult for me to wind down from. i couldn't go to sleep right away and sitting and watching tv while everyone else was asleep will lead to bad eating habits

[NurseCard, ADN]

I typically get off work at 7:30 am and have a terrible habit of STILL having a decent sized breakfast then, even though I'll be going to bed fairly soon!

I may actually be switching to 7a-7p soon though. Hoping my eating overall will get better then.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Yes, I have this habit too. I also crack open a beer and drink the whole thing. I know it's not healthy, but after a night of running my behind off, I need a little time to wind down before I can go to sleep, and food and beer help me to do that.

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

At my old job, everyone was assigned a time for dinner and it was expected that you be off the floor at that time. I didn't eat much after work at that job. Where I am now, you have to find someone to watch your patients and I am frequently the only one not on 7A--7P so those guys are finishing up their shift when I would want to take a break. Between the timing and being busy all the time unless you have an enforced break I find I just don't eat a lot of times. That's when I eat my dinner on the way home-and THEN look to see what's in the cupboard and fridge! (And it's never the healthy stuff that looks appealing...)It's turning into a real problem for me.