Night Shift and nutrition

Biffbradford · Feb 21, 2014

I've never seen the ER nurses on TV have this problem. You must be doing something wrong. :cool:

cassie77775 · Feb 22, 2014

Nope I've never had this problem and I always make sure to eat my snacks and dinner. Pack easy to eat snacks that have high calories. Full fat yogurt, nuts, protein bars, etc.

SwansonRN · Feb 22, 2014

I've lost about 10lbs since I started nursing. I only do 2 weeks of nights a month, but when I do I never eat on my shift. I know it's bad, but I just don't have an appetite at 3am. When I wake up afterwards I am ravenously hungry and eat a big meal. It's dysfunctional for sure. I would otherwise switch over to nights full time, but I think I'd just make myself sick eventually with the wonky eating habits.

I've read that snacking helps. Is that realistic where you work?

1fastRN · Feb 22, 2014

I get very little time to snack, that's the problem. Like I mentioned, some nights I don't even get a break. So my only solution that I can think of is to pack additional protein shakes for more quick calories. Winter months just suck and combined with short staffing and terrible nurse to patient ratios, it's not uncommon for me to come in at 7pm and not even have time to hit the bathroom until 4am. Oh yeah, and getting UTIs for the first time in my life!

Hoping that after winter our patient volume will decrease and staffing will increase as they've promised to hire more nurses....I'll believe it when I see it!

macawake, MSN · Feb 22, 2014

it's not uncommon for me to come in at 7pm and not even have time to hit the bathroom until 4am. Oh yeah, and getting UTIs for the first time in my life!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo :no:

For my entire adult life I’ve had a BMI between 21 and 22 with a toned body. Six months after my nursing career started I had a BMI of 19 and a lot less muscle. Not a great look.

I think that it was mostly due to stress but also skipping meals when I shouldn’t have. My time-management wasn’t overly impressive and I was generally overwhelmed. I probably burned 500 calories/working hour worrying that I forgotten/missed something vital.

I was also so stressed that I forgot about bathroom breaks. My very smart manager would find me in on the floor running around with a slightly crazed/glazed look and ask if any of my patients were coding or had a compromised airway/actively choking at that specific time. If the answer was “no” she’d gently (sort of ) push me in the direction of the bathroom. “Go pee and when you’re done go sit down and eat! How are you supposed to take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself?” Bless her. I heeded the advice about the bladder issue right away, the habit of actually sitting down for a meal took a longer to get into but I'm there now.

Seriously, you need to take your bathroom breaks. You simply have to. No matter how busy you are just take the three minutes (or however long it takes).

I work nights. I eat things that are quick and easy but high in energy and nutrients.

A typical night I’ll eat lots of nuts like almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts (plain, no salt) avocado, dried or fresh fruits. I often boil eggs and bring to work and throw in the fridge. They take no time at all to eat if I don’t have a lot of time. As another poster already mentioned, full fat yogurt is good. Sometimes working nights your appetite isn’t always all that.. which is why high energy foods are so great, you don’t have to eat a large amount.

HelloWish, ADN, BSN · Feb 22, 2014

Try adding some high carbohydrate snacks and meals!!! Your snacks sound like mostly protein and fat. When I gained weight rapidly it was because of carbs!

1fastRN · Feb 22, 2014

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
For my entire adult life I’ve had a BMI between 21 and 22 with a toned body. Six months after my nursing career started I had a BMI of 19 and a lot less muscle. Not a great look.
I think that it was mostly due to stress but also skipping meals when I shouldn’t have. My time-management wasn’t overly impressive and I was generally overwhelmed. I probably burned 500 calories/working hour worrying that I forgotten/missed something vital.
I was also so stressed that I forgot about bathroom breaks. My very smart manager would find me in on the floor running around with a slightly crazed/glazed look and ask if any of my patients were coding or had a compromised airway/actively choking at that specific time. If the answer was “no” she’d gently (sort of ) push me in the direction of the bathroom. “Go pee and when you’re done go sit down and eat! How are you supposed to take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself?” Bless her. I heeded the advice about the bladder issue right away, the habit of actually sitting down for a meal took a longer to get into but I'm there now.
Seriously, you need to take your bathroom breaks. You simply have to. No matter how busy you are just take the three minutes (or however long it takes).
I work nights. I eat things that are quick and easy but high in energy and nutrients.
A typical night I’ll eat lots of nuts like almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts (plain, no salt) avocado, dried or fresh fruits. I often boil eggs and bring to work and throw in the fridge. They take no time at all to eat if I don’t have a lot of time. As another poster already mentioned, full fat yogurt is good. Sometimes working nights your appetite isn’t always all that.. which is why high energy foods are so great, you don’t have to eat a large amount.

Great advice. I can relate a lot. I think being a new nurse (almost at my one yr mark) is a big contributing factor. I can never seem to catch up on my charting and I'm always so busy. Although, I never "fall behind" more so than the other nurses so my efficiency and speed is getting up to par. We are just so BUSY! I think as I get more comfortable in my role I will also get more comfortable in stepping off the floor for a bit.

Hell, if my co-workers can constantly take smoke breaks, I should be able to step out for a minute to cram something down my throat or empty my bladder. UTIs are like wildfire where I work, you would swear they're contagious LOL

Thanks for the insight :) Atleast my weight loss has "stabilized" and I'm still able to hit the gym a good 4x a week. Lawd, help me get through the rest of this winter!!

nursefrances, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2014

Try adding some high carbohydrate snacks and meals!!! Your snacks sound like mostly protein and fat. When I gained weight rapidly it was because of carbs!

Mmmmm, carbs.

I remember when I was in my first year and I wouldn't take a morning break. One morning I forgot my stethoscope in my locker. A nurse, who was my preceptor when I was a student, was having her breakfast. She said, "Come eat with us." I told her I didn't have time. She said I could take 2 minutes and eat. I ate my cereal and realized, Wow...I can take a few minutes and sit and eat something. You will function better too.

If you are going full bore for so many hours with no bathroom or food break you are not functioning 100% so you're probably dragging. This doesn't help with your critical thinking and time management skills one bit. By taking a few minutes to go to the bathroom, eat and drink something your batteries are refueled and you are a new person. You can run at full bore again and feel sane while doing it. You NEED to take a break. Unless someone is dying or in a crisis, you have to find time to care for yourself. No one on your floor should be getting UTIs because you don't have time to use the restroom. That needs to be addressed. :sniff: (Ok I'm taking my mother hen apron off now)

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Feb 23, 2014

Mmmmm, carbs.
I remember when I was in my first year and I wouldn't take a morning break. One morning I forgot my stethoscope in my locker. A nurse, who was my preceptor when I was a student, was having her breakfast. She said, "Come eat with us." I told her I didn't have time. She said I could take 2 minutes and eat. I ate my cereal and realized, Wow...I can take a few minutes and sit and eat something. You will function better too.
If you are going full bore for so many hours with no bathroom or food break you are not functioning 100% so you're probably dragging. This doesn't help with your critical thinking and time management skills one bit. By taking a few minutes to go to the bathroom, eat and drink something your batteries are refueled and you are a new person. You can run at full bore again and feel sane while doing it. You NEED to take a break. Unless someone is dying or in a crisis, you have to find time to care for yourself. No one on your floor should be getting UTIs because you don't have time to use the restroom. That needs to be addressed. (Ok I'm taking my mother hen apron off now)

^^^^ This! A hundred times ^^^^