does night shift make you fat?

Nurses General Nursing

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I gained 25 pounds over the last year and a half after starting a night shift position. after 3 and a half months of HARD HARD work, (excersizing and dieting like crazy) i finally lost the weight. but i am afraid that i am going to gain it back. it is soooo hard to excersize regularly working 12 hour night shifts. I feel like its easier to gain weight on nights because i am eating at weird times. Has anyone else gained weight from working nights or is this all in my mind?

Specializes in CV/CTICU.

I gotta consider myself lucky then. I have been working night shift for 6yrs, 3nights per week, and still able to maintain my weight. In fact, I am in my best shape ever. cos I try to be very conscious with what i eat and when i eat esp I am working night duty. I try not to eat in the middle of the shift. I usually have a dinner before my duty and breakfast after my shift. Then I will wake up around 2pm for light lunch or so.. I really try hard not to eat during the night by brushing my teeth right after the dinner :D I know a silly idea :p

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I switched to nights 4 months ago and I lost 25lbs, I love nights!!! On day shift I never had time for lunch and would binge eat when I got home. Now I bring my own food and I stay away from all the junk food thay everyone else brings in. I sleep til 3:30 go to gym before work, I couldn't do that on days. I don't eat after 1am, and I drink plenty of water during my shift. There are alot of nurses that are heavy on night shift, put it is a personal choice to eat better and stay fit no matter what shift you work.

I find I am less stressed on nights so that has really helped with my eating habits.:yeah:

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.

Night shift doesn't make me fat at all. I am 5 foot 9, 135 lbs, early 50s. This is what I typically eat.

Wake up for work - have two large coffees with creamer. One Yoplait yogurt before I leave.

At work - gulp down sandwich usually made on a "with everything" bagel while I chart. One diet Coke, lots of water.

Come home and have nice healthy meal including all food groups. Go to bed with a full belly and sleep well.

I don't technically work out - though I should. I get lots of exercise at work, almost non-stop. Most pts complete dead weight with Q2hr repositioning. Many are greater than 300 lbs. Had a 750 lb man last night. Talk about weight lifting :eek:

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Specializes in ICU, CVICU, Surgical, LTAC.

Okay again for those of u that manage to work out on the nights you work 12 hours how much sleep r u getting? I have decided to take alienrn's advice and just have soup, tea and water while at work. I'll just go straight to bed after work instead of eating. It has been about two weeks since I have stopped extreme dieting and so far I haven't gained anything back yet. Does anyone know of any good diet pills?

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Specializes in ICU, CVICU, Surgical, LTAC.

well so far so good! Haven't gained any weight back this week. I actually lost another pound! I've been taking some of the good advice on this thread and trying to just focus on drinking tea and soup at work and I just go right to sleep when i get off work instead of eating first. I still am unable to work out on the 3 days i work but i have been staying strong with working out for at least 2 hours on the other four days i'm off. It seems to be working. Thanks again to everyone that posted great advice and encouragement. I guess night shift doesn't make you fat if you adjust your lifestyle to accomodate it :D

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