I eat pretty healthy and have a consistent workout routine, however I feel it's an uphill battle staying fit while working nights. I work 3 12 hour night shifts per week from 7pm-7am. My question to all the night shift RN's out there is do you eat after getting off your shift before bed?
I normally eat "breakfast" before my shift at 6pm, have a snack around 11 pm, a second snack around 3-4 am, and then I eat "dinner" before going to bed at 8 am. I have found if I do not eat something before going to sleep after my shift, I do not sleep well and wake up hungry around 12 p.m. I usually eat something light like egg whites and a piece of fruit.
Since starting nights about 18 months ago, I have gained about 7-8 pounds. I am trying to drop that weight and I'm wondering if eating before bed is stalling my efforts. I am currently 5'8 and 130 pounds, but was about 122-123 before starting nights. I have to work nights for at least another 6 months or so until a dayshift position open up, so I would appreciate any advice and insight my fellow night shift nurses can offer about ways to drop weight working nights!
I eat three meals - one before my shift, one during, and one when I get home. That's it. I sleep during the day and don't snack throughout it. If I don't eat before bed, I wake up a few hours later hungry and am unable to sleep.
I usually do eat, but I find that I sleep much better if I don't. As for weight loss, I've never found time of day to be a factor ...just what (and how much) I eat in a day.
This is also the case for me. I'll only eat after my shift if I know I am staying up.
I usually eat 'lunch' around midnight or 0100, so to not eat after work would be going 6+ hours without food. I've done it once or twice before but when I wake up, I am RAVENOUS. I always eat something after work, whether it's a can of soup, some peanut butter crackers, or an actual 'meal' like baked chicken and rice.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I worked 12-hour night shifts for 5.5 years (mid-2010 until December 2015). My weight yo-yo'd up and down until I started exercising first thing in the morning, immediately after my shift ended. I went from 180 to 128 pounds, representing a loss of 52 pounds in eight months.
And yes, I'd eat a high protein 'breakfast' before going to bed. It would usually be full fat cottage cheese or turkey cold cuts with a slice of sharp cheddar.
Contrary to popular beliefs, dietary fat is not the enemy...on the other hand, refined carbohydrates will cause carb-sensitive people like me to become bloated and gain weight uncontrollably due to an exaggerated insulin response.
OP, thank you for starting this post. I was about to post something similar to this but I didn't really know how to word it the right way. I really appreciate all of the responses from nurses who have been working nights. I am starting nights on a med surg floor next month (7p-7:30a) and trying to figure out how to transition from working day shift. I changed my unhealthy ways (drinking too much alcohol, binge eating, and fast food) and began living a much more healthy lifestyle about 5 years ago, lost 40 pounds, and have kept it off thus far. I have been unsure how working night shift and planning my meals is going to affect my weight. I workout 4-5 days a week and was unsure when I should work out. Should I work out right after getting home, before going to sleep? Or get up at 5pm and work out before my shift starts? I have heard both suggestions from nurse friends. I'm not sure what will work best for my body and I plan to try it out both ways to see what works best for me, and not to distract too much from the original post, but any other suggestions would be much appreciated :)
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
OP, thank you for starting this post. I was about to post something similar to this but I didn't really know how to word it the right way. I really appreciate all of the responses from nurses who have been working nights. I am starting nights on a med surg floor next month (7p-7:30a) and trying to figure out how to transition from working day shift. I changed my unhealthy ways (drinking too much alcohol, binge eating, and fast food) and began living a much more healthy lifestyle about 5 years ago, lost 40 pounds, and have kept it off thus far. I have been unsure how working night shift and planning my meals is going to affect my weight. I workout 4-5 days a week and was unsure when I should work out. Should I work out right after getting home, before going to sleep? Or get up at 5pm and work out before my shift starts? I have heard both suggestions from nurse friends. I'm not sure what will work best for my body and I plan to try it out both ways to see what works best for me, and not to distract too much from the original post, but any other suggestions would be much appreciated :)
First of all, congratulations for keeping the weight off!
When I worked nights, I ate my first meal at 6:00pm, a second small meal at about 10:30pm, a third small meal at about 3:00am and a light 'breakfast' when I arrived home. My largest meal of the day was usually the 6:00pm one because I'd become sluggish if I ate too much late at night.
As a carb-sensitive person whose body reacts poorly to refined carbohydrate, I performed most optimally on salads, soups, cold cuts, string cheese, baked chicken, cottage cheese, tuna, protein shakes and bars, and ground beef patties without the bun. I basically did well on a high protein, moderate fat diet.
It depends on my mood honestly. A lot of times I'll eat dinner foods before going to bed (my system says it's dinner time). Which can vary from a salad to soup to any sort of meat.
If you're looking for more breakfast type foods I use the carnation breakfast packets - which are AMAZING! I have all the flavors but my favorite is taking the chocolate packet and mixing it with powdered PB2 peanut butter. It's like a chocolate peanut butter milkshake. Generally I drink this on my way to work anyways but it keeps me full for 4-6 hours. I love these things. The carnation packets I recommend getting at a Costco or Sams club (you get bulk for like $10) and the PB2 I recommend getting off Amazon. You can get two huge containers for $15.
You'll note that most folk really try to eat during the working shift. The tip would be to 'always be prepared' with something you've brought with you. Even if you don't always get the chance to have a meal break, you've got something sensible when you do. It beats the raid on the candy/soda machine.
I absolutely eat right after shift, and before going to bed; usually on my 30 min drive home. It's just raisins or a banana, nothing heavy. But I too will otherwise wake up starving around noon, and would have to get up anyway to eat something. Even if it did cause me some weight gain, I'd take that over loosing precious sleep. Like others have posted, I actually lost weight working nights, as my body just wasn't ever in "the mood" to eat. So, very simple 'clean' small meals combined with working/walking for 12 hours is what did it. While I ate typically healthy, it just wasn't "enough" food.
I'm assuming your diet isn't bad, and the weight gain may not be from eating something small and healthy just before bed, but perhaps from that meal being bigger, as you had said that is your dinner. Research has shown that night shift can just have that effect on some people, and weight stability is just harder to manage, no matter the diet, etc. In my humble opinion, maybe try clean eating throughout the night and maybe your last snack around 5am or so to help tide you over until you are "supposed" to wake up. Good luck, I know how frustrating weight gain can be, as mine has mostly fluctuated in the past when working days
I find this discussion fascinating. I have worked night for 30+ years, and find that if I eat before bed, I wake up ravenous (as in 'Give me food- ANY food! Get out of my way- I NEED FOOD RIGHT NOW!'). But if I go to bed straight away (even if I'm hungry) I sleep well and do not wake up hungry at all.
This is also true of my night time sleep. Odd, isn't it?
I eat three meals - one before my shift, one during, and one when I get home. That's it. I sleep during the day and don't snack throughout it. If I don't eat before bed, I wake up a few hours later hungry and am unable to sleep.
I have the same issue! If I do not eat before going to sleep, I wake up at noon or so and I disrupts my sleep!
I worked 12-hour night shifts for 5.5 years (mid-2010 until December 2015). My weight yo-yo'd up and down until I started exercising first thing in the morning, immediately after my shift ended. I went from 180 to 128 pounds, representing a loss of 52 pounds in eight months.
And yes, I'd eat a high protein 'breakfast' before going to bed. It would usually be full fat cottage cheese or turkey cold cuts with a slice of sharp cheddar.
Contrary to popular beliefs, dietary fat is not the enemy...on the other hand, refined carbohydrates will cause carb-sensitive people like me to become bloated and gain weight uncontrollably due to an exaggerated insulin response.
Congrats on your weight loss and healthy lifestyle changes! Very good information!
seasidesoul
200 Posts
I eat three meals - one before my shift, one during, and one when I get home. That's it. I sleep during the day and don't snack throughout it. If I don't eat before bed, I wake up a few hours later hungry and am unable to sleep.