how to lose weight as a busy new nurse

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2011

Because you aren't eating anything, or aren't eating well during the day, your metabolism has probably slowed way down. In the morning when you get up, eat something for breakfast. Even something small like a hard boiled egg with toast or a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice will help kick start your metabolism. Drink water throughout the day. Fill up a one liter water bottle and leave it on the nurses' station and take sips whenever you walk by it. Staying hydrated is also important when trying to lose weight. It would also be to your benefit to take some time, even just ten minutes, for lunch. Bring something quick and easy like a salad, a container of fresh fruit, or veggies and dip. If you don't eat, your body thinks that it is starving, so it is going to save all of the fat that it can for energy later on.

FlyingScot, RN · Jul 22, 2011

Although it sounds counter-intuitive, if you don't eat you will not lose weight. Without the proper amount of food going in your body will go into "starvation" mode and you can actually gain weight. First and foremost you need to spend a month logging EVERYTHING you eat into a food journal. By everything I mean everything. Every piece of candy or that one cookie you snagged from the nurses station. You may find yourself surprised at what you are really putting into your mouth. After your journal is complete you need to sit down and have a come to Jesus moment when reviewing it to really see how you are eating. Then you have to decide for yourself that it's time for no more excuses. There is no good reason to eat poorly, there is no good reason to not do at least some exercise (as long as you have no identified medical problem that precludes it. Achy feet do not count). One of my co-workers who is at least 100lbs overweight was moaning to me that she "couldn't stop eating". I looked at her and told her that it wasn't that she couldn't stop but that she wouldn't stop. That drew her up short.Nobody was forcing donuts down her throat. And lastly why in the heck are you working 5 12's in a week? Do you want to kill yourself? You need to rethink your work schedule. What you are doing is insane! I understand treasuring your down time but you need to "treasure" yourself more. I could go on (and usually do) but I don't want to overload you. Being healthy is not all that difficult. It just means sacrifices that many of us are unwilling to take and work that most of us don't really want to do. But you CAN do it.

sbostonRN · Jul 22, 2011

I usually bring a Chobani and granola to have for breakfast but don't end up eating it til later. Will try to start eating that first thing in the morning. Also I joined Sparkpeople so I will track all my food there, no matter how bad it is!

I am not scheduled for 5 12's...I come in a half hour early to get my med cart in order and get vitals on all of my patients (which takes awhile) before my med pass. I don't usually finish all my work until the very end of my shift, and then I have notes on all the patients to do. Most of the other nurses do not work so much so I think it's just time management which will come with time.

Zen123 · Jul 22, 2011

Not on a diet here but trying to eat healthy. I stock up the fridge with fruits n veggies. On my days off I cut up all the pineapple, cantaloupe, any good stuff into zip locks. I boil a lot of sweet potato's/whole ..keep them in the fridge. I buy a protein bar and coconut juice at health food store. Naked brand sells a lots of blended fruit juice. My lunch bag is all a mix of zip locks of food. No time for break at work so I too eat and run and nibble on fruits n veggies. I wake up late -I drink my coffee and sweet potatos! Eat always b4 going to work! When I have to snag take out I opt for subway and a fruit smoothie somewhere.

popeyepalmer · Jul 22, 2011

The previous posting were correct. Try to eat numerous small servings of something low in simple sugars during your shift. Try finding some kind of snack bars or something you can keep in your pocket or the nurses station that you can take a bite or two now and then. This will keep your metabolism going when their is no food to digest you will start burning lipids. It is counter intuitive but it works. No Sugar or White breads will definitely help you lose weight. You need to change your eating habits. If you are getting home and eating a large meal and then going to bed that will not help as your body is not using the glucose it creates but storing it as fat. Hope you succeed.

Katie5 · Jul 22, 2011

We find and make time for what we value the most.

Katie5 · Jul 22, 2011

Not on a diet here but trying to eat healthy. I stock up the fridge with fruits n veggies. On my days off I cut up all the pineapple, cantaloupe, any good stuff into zip locks. I boil a lot of sweet potato's/whole ..keep them in the fridge. I buy a protein bar and coconut juice at health food store. Naked brand sells a lots of blended fruit juice. My lunch bag is all a mix of zip locks of food. No time for break at work so I too eat and run and nibble on fruits n veggies. I wake up late -I drink my coffee and sweet potatos! Eat always b4 going to work! When I have to snag take out I opt for subway and a fruit smoothie somewhere.

Your post is as zen as your username:yeah: :up:

Hithere · Jul 22, 2011

Set yourself up to win. Meaning, figure out how much time you are willing to commit to being good to yourself. Can you dedicate 5 minutes a day to start? If not, how about 2 minutes? (If you just snorted and thought to yourself, "Give me a break, I can totally do 2 minutes, who can't?!...If you were still on the fence about 2 minutes, then think about 1 minute or even 30 seconds." Then that's the magic amount of time.) During that 2 minutes (lets say in the morning before you leave for work) you do something healthy, be it 20 jumping jacks and then eat a boiled egg on your way out the door. Something. The purpose of spending a laughably small amount of time up front is to get over the hump of getting started. Anyone can dedicate 2 minutes to something. Over the coming months, perhaps add multiple 2 minute health sessions to your day or add a minute or more to your time--the goal here is to create a sustainable habit--not to do what we all tend to do which is start out by waking up 2 hours early, working out hard at the gym and then quitting after 1 week! :) Slowly change your habits. This process should be painless, and even fun. When you are driving to work think about some healthy, nourishing snacks you can make ahead of time that you can grab and go in your fridge. Perhaps, chopped up celery, apples, grapes, eggs, cheese sticks, mixed nuts, bottles water, baby carrots, V8, other veggie/juice smoothies, etc.

Think about time chunking your food prep and exercise routine. Perhaps the day you do laundry is the time when you do the most food prep, or you do jumping jacks during the first commercial on your favorite show--get creative and have fun with it!

You are important, and are worth investing 2 minutes a day into your wellness--if anything this 2 minutes is the biggest investment you can make into your career as you will last longer! ...Keep us posted on how things go! :)

stefanyjoy · Jul 22, 2011

You remind me a lot of my mother. She's an RN, she's always very busy, hardly ever eats, but she's about 60 lbs overweight and it just doesn't budge. I keep telling her it's because her metabolism is totally shot. She only eats about 1x per day, usually not a very nourishing meal at all, and hits the vending machine throughout the day. It's terrible!

You need to revamp your diet. I know you're super busy (60 hrs a week!) but what is more important than your health? Plus, once you start being better to your body, you will have a LOT more energy to tackle that hectic schedule, you'll sleep more soundly and rebound from a crazy day much easier.

My personal advice to you would be to first, eat whole, nourishing foods, at least 3x per day. All ingredients should either have a mother or come from the ground. Think of your body as this highly efficient machine that is fueled by pure foods -- are you going to muck it up by eating processed garbage to get stuck in the gears? If you have no idea what an ingredient is, how do you think your body is processing it? If you clean your diet, your metabolism will soar. Also, as a pp said, staying hydrated is important.

Also, I would suggest an exercise DVD that does not take a huge chunk out of your day. I got very fit initially from Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred -- it's only a 20 minute workout with a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down and it will hit every area of your body. If you have trouble with the disicpline aspect of exercising, I'd also recommend the Couch 2 5K program. It's very simple, only 3 days per week. It has a set schedule for you to adhere to, with giving you a final goal (to run a 5k). No matter how out of shape you are to begin with, if you stick with the program you WILL succeed.

Good luck! I hope you are able to find something that works for you.

Telelizard · Jul 22, 2011

Your biggest problem is that you are not eating throughout the day. By the time you have time for a meal, you are probably starving and the last thing you want to eat is a salad so you eat carbs? I would suggest buying healthy finger foods that you could snack on throughout the day...very important to keep your metabolism up! Apple/peanut butter, almonds, etc.....you can google healthy finger foods. I would also suggest doing some calorie counting on myfitnesspal.com or the website that you mentioned. This really worked for me, but I have to confess its a pain! What I took out of it was I learned that I was eating alot more calories than I thought. And of course, exercise! I can understand you are exhausted, but you have to force yourself sometimes to even walk around the block a few times...anything helps! Good luck!

noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 22, 2011

Your calories in>your calories out.

Keep a food journal. Write down exactly what you eat. Add up the calories.

Utilize the Harris Benedict Equation to determine your caloric needs:

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

Modify your intake to make it

Aim for slow and steady weight loss. 1-2 pounds/week.

There are 3,500 calories in a pound. So, you'll need to cut 3,500-7,000 per week to obtain this.

Eating higher protein and lower carb is proven to be more effective in helping people maintain a lower calorie diet because you'll feel more satisfied. Don't take it to the Atkins extreme though. It's not a good idea.

I pack a lot of finger foods for work. Kind of like the types of foods you would pack for a person with bipolar in the manic phase.