Maintaining a healthy lifestyle while nursing

[baileempoole]

Hi everyone! I am currently doing my pre-reqs for nursing school and I'm also a CNA in home health. I was wondering about some tips to stay healthy while being a nurse for future knowledge? I see a lot of nurses that say they've gained weight, eat unhealthy, and don't have much energy. Currently I work nights in home health so I just basically sit all night and I'm hardly active. I'm interviewing for some CNA positions at hospitals and I know it will be a lot more active work, which is what I want. I already need to lose 20lbs and I plan on dieting and learning to eat healthy before I'm in a program so I can learn. I also have been thinking about doing kickboxing classes. Is it hard to juggle exercise with work and nursing school? And once you're a nurse, is it hard to find the motivation to work out? Does night shift make a huge difference in your metabolism? Thanks for any input! I believe it's important we take care of ourselves as we take care of others! ♡

[River&MountainRN, ADN, RN]

My recommendation for exercise is to find something you can do at home. That way, with rotating schedules, you don't have the excuse of "well, I can't make that class" or "the gym is closed, oh well!".

I also find that a good multivitamin works wonders for when I'm being less-than-compliant with my "perfect" diet in helping me feel better. During my latest physical, it was also found that I was Vitamin D deficient and started on supplementation for that.

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

I agree about having a few convenient ways of getting exercise, whether that's a yoga app, weights at home, jumprope, or running/walking your neighborhood. I am a huge baby about exercise, especially if it's been a rough stretch of shifts - but if I have easy options, I can generally convince myself to do something. And every little bit helps; even if I planned to run a few miles but a few laps of sprints are all I can stomach, that's fine.

For eating, I make sure I buy easy fruits and veggies - baby carrots, apples, bananas. On more ambitious weeks I'll buy stuff I need to cut up and/or cook, but this way I have healthy foods to eat with almost no effort put into it. If I need to buy a pre-made salad, even if it's more expensive than making my own, I do it. Give yourself easy options to meet your goals, and take advantage of days when you feel really good to push yourself more with healthy eating and exercise.

With nights, it is tough to have energy for much of anything. Now that we're going into spring, it's getting easier. After I work a couple shifts, I'll make myself get up at 2-3 PM, but rather than immediately jump into anything (unless I have an appointment), I just drag myself outside to sit and feel the sunlight. After half an hour of that, I'm ready to face anything. In the winter, it's much harder, but I had a little success with a light box.

[Golden_RN, MSN]

Your ability to work out during nursing school depends on your other responsibilities - job, family etc.

I personally had a hard time staying healthy and doing noc shift because I never felt well rested. Other people do ok, so you will learn what works for you.

Make healthy eating a high priority now. While exercise is so important for health, most weight loss happens from your diet.