Gaining weight in homehealth

caliotter3 · Apr 25, 2010

Heh, try full time night shift. Fast food before work, then stop at grocery store for the night time stash, then maybe drive through breakfast on way home, or even Denny's. Constant eating! Much more than 25 pounds. And then you try to sleep on and off all through the day, no exercise whatsoever, too tired for that because the sleep keeps getting interrupted. Then all of a sudden it is time for work again, and the cycle continues. I'm about to try to sleep right now, except I've got a toothache.

KateRN1 · Apr 25, 2010

Buy a small, lightweight cooler and pack your lunches. Carrot sticks, celery sticks, apples and cheese, salads, yogurt, whatever things you like. Scope out a nice park for eating or eat on the go, if you choose. Freeze some water bottles to keep your food cold and you hydrated.

Excercise is still the tough one. Complete your documentation in the pt's home rather than saving it until you get to your own home and you may find that your productivity increases dramatically and cuts down on what you're having to do "on your own time."

maryen · Apr 25, 2010

I can so relate! With the current pt. I have they say everybody gains weight. High stress and no breaks makes for horrible eating habits and too exhausted to exercise.

anticoagulationurse · Apr 28, 2010

I have gained about 30 pounds since starting HH. I attribute it to this relatively sedentary HH nursing gig, and poor eating habits.

I agree with KateRN1's charting suggestion. When I started doing this in the patient's home there was so much less for me to do at home on my time. If I;m going to be taking notes about the visit for later charting, I figure may as well input into the computer rather than "write" it twice! However, my days are still long and I rarely have time to exercise on my work days, which leaves little time to work out. Also, I blame fast food which I have quit eating in the last month.

tewdles, RN · Apr 28, 2010

The drive thru food is really a big baddie in this line of work...that and soda pop or other high calorie drinks (any of us like "foo foo" coffee drinks with whipped cream on top?).

I have a wonderful husband who packs a lunch for me most days...he drove for a living also and so understands that part of my "lunch" needs to be a snack food that I can munch on when I don't have time for a break. Dried fruit is perfect for this, this week I am eating dried cranberries in the car...YUMMIE.

I am sure that most of us will become a bit more active after work hours as the days continue to get nicer and longer. It genuinely is difficult to get adequate exercise when your normal home time is between 6-7pm and it is dark out already. I have the incentive of a large dog who dearly loves to run next to the bike...so a nice long bike ride most evenings is helpful to me.

It is interesting to me that most of the nurses whom I know who work in the field in either HH or Hospice are not substantially overweight...but most of the nurses whom I know who work 3rd shift in a hospital or facility are. I think that sleep patterns and that stress may play more of a part in that weight gain than we acknowledge, but that is JMHO.

nursemomof3boys · Apr 28, 2010

I have gained 20lbs since I started in Nov. I just ordered acai berry out of frustration!

KateRN1 · Apr 28, 2010

The drive thru food is really a big baddie in this line of work...that and soda pop or other high calorie drinks (any of us like "foo foo" coffee drinks with whipped cream on top?).

:sofahider

(I try to limit mine to once a week, generally on Friday as a treat for getting through the week.)

Willow Moonsidhe · May 2, 2010

I have just discovered I have food allergies so my eating has become so difficult. But I do love dairy queen's moolate too much. It helps me on long hauls keep awake so I have gained about 15 pounds.

Blessings,

~Willow

didi768 · Sep 25, 2010

I am gaining a ton. Hungry at work, hungry when I get home, eat before work, never enuf sleep, it's endless.

I hate myself.

Luv2care0907 · Sep 26, 2010

Ive noticed that since Ive started homehealth, Ive gained quite a bit of weight. When I get home, i have too much paperwork to even think about having time to exercise. When driving from patient to patient, its so easy to just run thru the drivethru and get something quick to eat. Ive gained about 25 lbs. Anyone else experiencing this? Any ideas?

In December of last year, I weighed upwards of 200 pounds. Today, I weigh in the 150s. I have lost a good bit of that weight since doing HH. I have been doing Quick Weight Loss, the diet that Rush Limbaugh encouraged. I admit that going to work takes a bit of planning. I have a canvas bag that I put 5 bottles of water in plus my dinner and protein bars, Quick Boost (I use FRS) and pills and fruit. I carry a zip lock with those little extras in it. When I come home from work, I set up my bag for the next day minus my main meal(s). I usually eat two meals at work.

I found QWL to be very expensive. So I have done my homework to find alternatives. I did that at Vitamin Shoppe. I hope that helps. I have just come to the conclusion that I can't eat like other people eat. If I want to be skinny and healthy, the gooey, yummy, is not for me. :)

cathrn64 · Sep 26, 2010

Wow! This is sooo me! I have the worst problem with fast food. I find McDonald's so easy to eat while going from house to house! It is killing me! I have been in home care for almost 19 yrs. I am still fighting this. I know I need to schedule time to eat during the day, but I usually don't. I know I should pack lunch, but I usually don't. I also know I should do more charting during my visits, but there is too much to do. The pt's get upset if I spend too much time looking at my PDA, instead of them, so I end up charting at night and do not have time to work out. (but I still love homecare!)