How to eat on night shift

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 25, 2015

I work 23-7. "Breakfast" is at dinnertime with the rest of the family, around 1700-1730. I'll have a light snack of cheese or nuts before I go into work. Lunch is around 0200-0230. "Dinner" is around 0800 with the family's breakfast. Then I sleep. I pack high protein snacks and fruits to have while at work, but to be honest I almost never eat outside of lunchtime.

ICUMatador · May 25, 2015

5pm- Protein Shake

7-8pm- boiled egg/cheese stick (or some other high protein/low carb snack)

11-12am (Lunch)- protein+veg+1 serv. starch- i.e. Luvo/Artisan Bistro frozen meals

3am- Siggi's yogurt + berries

5-6 am (Dinner)- protein + veg- i.e. Amy's soup w/ Chkn Saus, Spaghetti w/ zucchini noodles

I've lost 50lbs over the course of 3 years. All while working night shift. 1200-1400 calories, high protein low starch diet. Only one serving of starch a day! Lots of water and at least 7-8hr is sleep! Take walks on your days off. Best of luck!! And don't be too hard on yourself (: meditation/yoga 15 mins before work just to get your mind right!

champagnesupeRNova · May 26, 2015

Eat "breakfast" when you wake up (in your case, 2pm). Eat a snack in the car or in the report room before your shift. Eat "lunch" anytime between 11-2am. Eat a snack sometime between 4-6am. Eat a larger snack at home before going to sleep. Keep nuts and granola/protein bars in your work bag, easily accessible to you during the shift.

ponymom · May 26, 2015

I drank no coffee or tea whatsoever while on nightshift (or at all), just lots of water or homemade lemonade. Once a week I rewarded myself with a small Pepsi on my shift (usually the shift before my off-time).

My eating schedule was as follows (for an 11pm-7am shift):

At home 8am breakfast of milk, juice, cereal or eggs, fresh fruit. No junkfood. Bed.

3pm light snack of leftovers from previous day's supper, fresh fruit, milk. No junkfood.

7pm supper of pasta or meat (a very substantial meal), milk. No junkfood.

Nap 8pm-9:30pm and upon rising usually very small leftovers or a half sandwich. No junkfood.

On way to work a piece of fruit and water. No junkfood.

At work cut-up fruit, a salad, soup, sandwich, nuts, carrots, cheese, crackers, maybe some leftovers. Sometimes one or two of these sometimes all of them! Always lots of water, and once a week a Pepsi. Homemade lemonade.

No junkfood, nothing out of a machine, no heat-n-eat meals,no ordering out, etc. No coffee, no tea, no 'energy' drinks, no smoking. No junkfood.

On way from home whatever I didn't finish eating at work. Water. No junkfood.

All told, I ate a *whole* lot of good healthy food, didn't gain a pound, and felt pretty darn good (never had the 3am crash) and fared about as well as is possible while working a night shift. I had the biggest lunchbox on my unit.

Nights are hard, I wasn't gonna let that shift beat me.

I also kept extra water and nuts, apple, etc., in case I got mandated.

On days/nights off, I stuck to the same healthy diet but I might make a pizza or similar.

Hope this helps.

ScrappytheCoco · May 26, 2015

I agree with mindful grazing of healthy snacks. Meal prepping on off days has been the only way I can avoid binging on 3am delivery with colleagues. I am on variables so mids or nights and my eating was whacked until I started being really conscious and prepping ahead.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 26, 2015

Meal prepping on off days has been the only way I can avoid binging on 3am delivery with colleagues.

Yep. My coworkers regularly order delivery pizzas, Chinese food, fried chicken, and other greasy crap. To avoid the temptation, I must prepare my food on my time off.

For instance, I'm at work right now. I've brought tuna, cottage cheese, yogurt, sugar-free Snapple, water, a protein shake, and other high-protein low-carb options.

Ashrnicu16 · May 26, 2015

I think grazing on healthy foods as others have suggested works best on nights. It keeps you from binging on junk and I've found it helps with the 2 to 3 am crash I used to experience.

I will eat a small meal when I wake up at 3. Usually one scrambled egg and a piece of whole wheat toast or a healthy bowl of cereal etc. I then eat a snack around 8 or 9 after I finish my rounds. This is usually a cheese stick and wheat crackers, fruit, yogurt etc. Then between 1130 and 1 I eat my dinner but it's still light like a salad and chicken or a healthy frozen dinner. Then if I have time I try to eat another small healthy snack about 4 or 5 am then when I get home I eat a small breakfast like a whole grain waffle and pb or a few strip of bacon and go straight to bed.

FloatRN19 · May 26, 2015

When I started nursing school I weighed 265. That school year and into the summer before the start of the second year I lost 80 pounds. Then after the third semester(4 total) I had to wait a year because I ran out of money. In that time I started working nights full time and between then and about a 2 months ago I put on 30 pounds. Since that time I started doing what I mentioned in another thread. For breakfast I'll have a protein shake, for lunch at work I will have a cliff bar, for a snack I've got almond chasew flax kind bars and then almonds if I need some energy at 4 am. For dinner when I get home I either grab some breakfast pizza from whole foods, bagels from breuggers or usually make some scrambled eggs and bacon.

Mr. Murse · May 26, 2015

First of all, drink lots of water. I mean like replace 80% of your fluid intake with water. This is hard for some people, but you can learn to really love just plain old water. I think people underestimate how much drinking more water can completely change you physically and mentally.

For nearly every shift I work, I usually bring a banana, an avocado, and an apple. I'll eat the banana as an early snack, the avocado for lunch with something more substantial like soup from the cafeteria or something I cooked at home, then the apple for a late shift snack. In between I'll usually snack on small handfuls of almonds.

Next, stay away from the sweets. Night shift is notorious for having too many sweets and there are not too many tricks to not eating them except will power and just avoiding them. Your body lies to you when you're tired and tells you a Krispy Kreme donut (or two, or three) will fill you up, but it's not true. Don't eat them.

As for exercise, I'm assuming you work 3 days a week on average, so what are you doing the other 4 days? I understand you have a kid, but that's all the more reason to get out and do something active for the both of you.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · May 26, 2015

When you want to eat during nocs, try to eat healthy real foods: eg dried plums, raw nuts, etc. prepack your meals. Stay away from sugary creamy coffee. I must admit, I lived on sugar free monsters and sugar free red bulls when I worked nocs!

When I got home after nocs, the best food for me was a healthy cold cereal with almond or soy milk plus tea--tulsi tea with holy basil to relax.

Please pre make meals so you have a healthy option staring you in the face when you get home!!

When I worked days, I packed real food, like hearty steel cut oats with nuts and fruit. Along with other healthy food.

Shuggahs · May 26, 2015

Plan a dinner menu for the week and cook before work. Take snacks and your good!

loriangel14, RN · May 26, 2015

Raw veggies, fruit and lots of water. I sleep until 3, go to the gym and then go to work