What Do You Eat?

Published

What do you eat to get your through a long day of school/clinical?

I always try to eat breakfast. A green smoothie or an egg with a piece of toast. I want to try to stay away from coffee/carbonated beverages.

Do you eat lunch (do you even have the time?)

What do you think gives you the most energy, while keeping you alert?

Thanks!

Specializes in Med-Surg.

Breakfast-toast with peanut butter or yogurt with granola and berries. One cup of coffee, water and multivitamin

Lunch-deluxe salad with cheese or chicken or both. Rice crackers. Or veggies and dip. Sometimes granola bar and handful of almonds. Always have water on me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm a big guy (6'6", 270lbs) who needs plenty of fuel throughout the day. I try to eat healthy: protein packed breakfast, small amounts of caffeine and sugar, light lunches, fresh fruit and veggie finger foods for snacks, breakfast/granola/fruit bars. It's not always possible, sometimes you have to eat a Crispy Creme doughnut for breakfast.

I have three secrets.

1. Don't eat a heavy lunch. Nothing hurts worse than the wall you hit 2.5 hours after you scarf down a pound of lasagna for lunch. Supplement your light lunch with quick snacks, but don't eat a gut bomb in the middle of your shift.

2. Drink lots of water. Dehydration will flip your day upside down in a hurry. I like to keep a gallon jug at the nurses station. Many times I'll add a small amount of flavoring (lemons or limes, Mio, diluted gatorade) just so the taste keeps me interested in coming back.

3. You're going to need a quick source of fuel handy for those shifts where you just can't get enough time to sit and eat. I have invented a secret applesauce recipe that's guaranteed to keep you fueled. Get a large jar of no sugar added applesauce. Remove one cup. Add 3 scoops of your favorite protein powder. Then add 3 of those squeezie pouch baby foods, preferably vegetable varieties. Shake well and enjoy. This will probably end up looking like a stool sample and may smell like one too. But understand that it's full of carbs and protein, and you can easily gulp a couple hundred calories in a few seconds. You can usually come up with some pleasant flavors (chocolate protein powder, 1 banana puree, 2 green bean purees - tastes an awful lot like a banana split even though it looks like split pea soup).

If adding all that makes you squeamish, try just the applesauce. It's a great combo of complex and simple carbs with a little fiber thrown in for good measure.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

3. You're going to need a quick source of fuel handy for those shifts where you just can't get enough time to sit and eat. I have invented a secret applesauce recipe that's guaranteed to keep you fueled. Get a large jar of no sugar added applesauce. Remove one cup. Add 3 scoops of your favorite protein powder. Then add 3 of those squeezie pouch baby foods, preferably vegetable varieties. Shake well and enjoy. This will probably end up looking like a stool sample and may smell like one too. But understand that it's full of carbs and protein, and you can easily gulp a couple hundred calories in a few seconds. You can usually come up with some pleasant flavors (chocolate protein powder, 1 banana puree, 2 green bean purees - tastes an awful lot like a banana split even though it looks like split pea soup).

If adding all that makes you squeamish, try just the applesauce. It's a great combo of complex and simple carbs with a little fiber thrown in for good measure.

That is completely disgusting and awesome! I never would have thought to try that. I'm small 5'1, 115ish and I eat A LOT compared to other girls I see. I am definitely writing that one down.

Anyways, I am fairly active so my body needs more calories than if I was just sitting all day and not working out.

Breakfast: Depending on time, I will have oatmeal with freshly cut strawberries. Green tea. If I am running late, I will make a smoothie. There are TONs of recipes online! My go to smoothie is green. I use 1 banana, 4-6 strawberries/blueberries, large handful of leafy greens, about 1/3 cup oatmeal, tablespoon vanilla greek yogurt (if on hand), and then almond milk as a base. On these mornings, I typically need coffee. I try not to drink more than 8oz. Sometimes, when I have extra time, I will eat eggs and applesauce.

My husband will make oatmeal, top with applesauce, topped with eggs... I have not been able to try that but he loves it.

Lunch: I will do a salad... leafy greens (no iceberg), carrots, bell peppers, a tomato, etc. I don't like dressing (other than caesar) so I normally eat it dry. Some days I will also eat a packet of tuna with it,

Dinner: About every three days, I grill a bunch of chicken to use through the week. I normally eat that with two different veggies.

Snacks: I will have something from this list between breakfast and lunch and sometimes twice between lunch and dinner. It just depends on what I ate and how active I was..

-Nuts and seeds! I love hazelnuts. They are higher in fat so I try to be careful of how many I eat. I also love pumpkin seeds. There is this pumpkin seed granola I buy that is amazing! It is a little sugary, so watch portion sizes. I really like this recipe for easy bars: KIND bars 2.0 - Primal Bites

- Green apple w/peanut butter

- "snackable" veggies: basically anything you can eat raw and quickly

- bananas, those little cutie oranges

- hard boiled eggs

- Protein shake: I use muscle milk cookies and cream flavors. There are DEFINITELY better protein powders out there. However, this one isn't horrible and it tastes good. I'm super picky and this one works for me and doesn't upset my stomach. I will mix it with almond milk to get some extra calories and it tastes better. This is what I will drink between breakfast and lunch so my body has time to use the sugars before storing it.

Side note: as other said, stay hydrated!!! This will make or break my day. Also, stay active, even if it is just 20 or 30 minutes. That is better than nothing and it will give you so much more energy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

RubySlippers.....what brand of granola? That sounds great!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have a really hard time eating super early in the morning, so I force myself to get at least a little something like a granola bar or a piece of toast down. I am lucky in that we have to take our breaks during clinicals (people who "have to" skip a break get marked down for poor time management). We get one 15 minute break and one 30 minute break. Since I don't eat much before clinical I make sure to eat some nuts or yogurt or something during the 15 minute break. For lunch I either pack a sandwich or something left over from my dinner the night before. I also pack fruit, veggies, and anything else that sounds good to me. I eat anything I don't finish at lunch during post conference. I also suck down a TON of water throughout the day.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

I force myself to eat a humongous amount of food in the AM -- oatmeal or egg burritos, some kind of fruit, yogurt with cereal mixed in, a ton of water and juice if it's handy. I try to avoid coffee/caffeinated beverages until the middle of the day when it's about all I can get in plus a Clif bar. I find I lose my appetite a lot throughout clinical so I keep it simple. Seeing pt trays and then the food in the cafeteria my peers manage to eat and I'm like ick! I may try to mix in a little more produce throughout the day but it's hard transporting food the first few weeks since we aren't allowed to use the fridges in the breakrooms so it's difficult to know until I get a good survey of what is kosher and what's verboten.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
RubySlippers.....what brand of granola? That sounds great!

You know, I actually have no idea what the brand is... I take it out of the box and put it in a container as soon as I buy it. I get it in bulk at sams club :) It is amazing and both of my kids love it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion