Eating healthy during those long night shifts

Nurses Stress 101

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I am starting a 12 hour night shift next week. I am trying to eat healthy and get back in shape. I was wondering what some people bring to eat at night during their shifts. Also, how do you eat during the days that you are sleeping?

Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

Forget "breakfast food" vs "dinner food". Eat what you like any time of day, just in reasonable portions. When I worked nights I liked to take a small (10oz) box of frozen sugar snap peas. By the time I was able to eat they would be thawed and were wonderful. Worked with a nurse who bought salad fixins' by the bulk but had a different salad each night. Topped with tuna, fajita chicken or beef, boiled eggs, nuts, fruit, edamame beans ---you can really change it up a lot. Like to bake several potatoes at once then refrigerate. For a meal I reheat, then top with chili or beans, or whatever you like.

Specializes in Rehab, critical care.

For healthy snacks, I bring a piece of fruit, and healthier chips. For instance, I love sweet potato and apple chips, so I'll bring those from time to time. Granola bars are also a staple of mine, but those are not particularly healthy, I guess, just kind of neutral haha. Always a yogurt, too. And, of course, I always have something unhealthy in there like a piece of chocolate or some Oreos lol.

For my actual dinner, it's usually a lean cuisine, sandwich, hummus, or tuna (starkist makes those lunch to go packs, and I buy the sabra hummus with pretzels on top).

The hardest part for me was not eating right before going to bed in the morning. Don't do that! I just couldn't do it. I gained weight, and that was the main reason I went back to 3-11. Otherwise, I loved nights.

You will develop your own eating schedule. I eat my main meal with my kids just before I go into work, I take leftovers to work when we have them. I usually grab something small from the cafeteria (ours is open until 1) and maybe a snack in the early morning hours.. I don't eat before I go to bed in the morning. The snack is what will get you. I am trying to bring healthy snacks with me so I can avoid the candy bars we sell at the nurses station. I have worked nights for 3 months and, so far, I look like I've lost weight, at least that's what everyone says. I think it has redistributed as muscle where I went from sitting in nursing school to walking for 12 hour shifts.

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