Working Night Shift

[jjordan8130]

Is there anyone who's working nights with DS? How are you feeling? Are you able to keep up with eating? How about weight loss/maintenance?

I was moved to nights because I switched departments at work and will likely be on nights for some time. Maybe 1-2 years. We move to days by departmental seniority/medical necessity. I worked dayshift after my surgery and my weight loss was slow, but consistent. I'm concerned because I've lost 8 pounds in the last week alone. I have been able to manage my vit schedule with nights, but eating is SO incredibly hard. I've done a lot of protein shakes because they're fast and easy. I've tried eating junk (carbs....lots of carbs) thinking that would help slow the weight loss down. I'm not really sure what I need to do. I've worked nights before years ago and that alone makes you feel nauseated and gives you loss of appetite. I'm scared I may lose more than I should. (I'm especially scared I'm going to waste away....even if it's an irrational fear) I'm really happy with the weight/size I am right now. I don't want to lose much more. I'm 5'6 190 and a size 14. I feel really good and healthy where I'm at. I understand that it's still overweight, but it's 110 pounds down from where I started in March.

Advice?

 

[Elizabeth N.]

You are not going to waste away. Eating crap is an excellent way to totally screw up your intestinal flora. Stop that.

Plan your food more, prepare more stuff in advance. Eat more cheeseburgers.

One of my crazy schedule lifesavers is chicken salad. Can of chicken (I prefer Kirkland), stir it up with mayo and whatever else just like tuna salad and nosh. Cheese cubes, bags of nuts, jerky....I carry that stuff with me all the time. And McD's double cheeseburger is a cheap fix in a hurry.

 

[Whit]

Once you settle into a schedule you should be ok. I'm 5'6 too but 117 I am not underweight according to my Dr so you can still lose weight and be ok. At this point let you body do what it needs to. Bounce back will happen and you may be sorry you slowed down the loss at 190.

When my husband worked nights I packed his food just like I would if his schedule was during the day.

Good luck

 

[jjordan8130]

I really needed to hear I'm not going to waste away!!!! I wonder if that's something newbies struggle with once they get close to goal? I don't like eating crap. It makes me feel like CRAP! I think nuts and jerky are a great idea. I need things I can keep in my pocket. It's rare that I actually get a lunch break on either shift. Lunch usually consists of standing and eating while watching monitor strips. There's not always someone to watch for you. I'm about to start my work week over and do three in a row. I'll plan some meals and pocket snacks. Thank you!

 

[jjordan8130]

Once you settle into a schedule you should be ok. I'm 5'6 too but 117 I am not underweight according to my Dr so you can still lose weight and be ok. At this point let you body do what it needs to. Bounce back will happen and you may be sorry you slowed down the loss at 190.

When my husband worked nights I packed his food just like I would if his schedule was during the day.

Good luck

I agree I could lose more. I don't want to be tiny though. Just a healthy comfortable size. I think part of my problem is I can FEEL my bones! I don't even know what to do with that! It definitely takes some adjusting. How far out do you start to plateau and maintain?

 

[Whit]

You can make tuna or chicken salad in advance and put it Ina small Tupperware container. If your worried worried put it in a lunch bag with an ice pack and take it out and put it a pocket with a plastic fork to eat later it will be fine for a couple of hours. Remember when your mom packed your lunch? Mayo for hours on. Sandwich and I never got sick.

 

[Mary_J]

As far as 'feeling' your bones, the fat you have will redistribute so you don't feel as boney. And don't worry about getting too thin . . . . 'too thin' rarely happens, and even when it does it levels back out. Bounceback happens for most, and you're likely not an exception

 

[Whit]

Every one is different. I am at 2 years post and for the past 6 months I have been bouncing around my lowest weight. My bones stick out at first I was alarmed but now I'm used to it. I know I will bounce up and I'm ready for it but apparently my body isn't. I know it will happen Though. I keep my carbs between 80-100 which is higher then most but it works for me. You'll find out what works for you. Just let your body do it's thing and keep nourished. You still have a lot to lose before you are in danger.

 

[jjordan8130]

I'm sure you're right. I'm still in my first year. It's like being a new mom with your very first baby. You freak out over EVERYTHING! With your first kid they weren't allowed to play in the dirt...by the fourth you don't care if they're covered in it and eating it. I'm just trying to figure all this out. At one of my post op visits my surg told me I'd hit 120's and look really sick for awhile and I'd have to eat eat eat to come back up. I have that in the back of my mind too. I saw the post about Alm. and CC lengths. I looked at my op note and calculated my percentages just for S&Gs. My alm is 45% of my total bowel length and my CC is 22.7%. My CC is a little longer compared to others, so maybe that will make a difference in how I maintain.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Dealing with change is hard, I know it is for me! Don't sabotage yourself because almost everyone has bounce back and you might regret it later. We're about the same right now, and I'd like to go down another 15-20 pounds so that if I bounce back to this weight, I'll be happy. If I bounce back to over 200, it'll bother me.
As far as food goes, I don't get normal lunch breaks, so I can only eat on the go. I pack 4 meal/snacks everyday, all things that can be eaten cold and with my hands while I'm doing something else.
Some ideas for things to keep in a ziplock in your pocket:
Hard boiled eggs
Rolled up deli meat & cheese
Leftover grilled chicken or steak, cut into strips or chunks
Italian cured meats (prosciutto, salami, sopressata, pepperoni, etc) sliced or cubed with some cheese cubes
Jerky
Nuts (there are sooo many yummy flavors of almonds available now, both sweet and salty!)
Protein bars
Low carb granola http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/low-carb-granola.1219/
Bacon! For me, if it's cooked in the oven until SUPER crispy, just before burnt, it's good cold

 

[jjordan8130]

Dealing with change is hard, I know it is for me! Don't sabotage yourself because almost everyone has bounce back and you might regret it later. We're about the same right now, and I'd like to go down another 15-20 pounds so that if I bounce back to this weight, I'll be happy. If I bounce back to over 200, it'll bother me.
As far as food goes, I don't get normal lunch breaks, so I can only eat on the go. I pack 4 meal/snacks everyday, all things that can be eaten cold and with my hands while I'm doing something else.
Some ideas for things to keep in a ziplock in your pocket:
Hard boiled eggs
Rolled up deli meat & cheese
Leftover grilled chicken or steak, cut into strips or chunks
Italian cured meats (prosciutto, salami, sopressata, pepperoni, etc) sliced or cubed with some cheese cubes
Jerky
Nuts (there are sooo many yummy flavors of almonds available now, both sweet and salty!)
Protein bars
Low carb granola http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/low-carb-granola.1219/
Bacon! For me, if it's cooked in the oven until SUPER crispy, just before burnt, it's good cold

You're fabulous! A lot of the nurses I work with bring boiled eggs. I've always brought shakes, peanut butter, and protein bars. I love the ideas!

 

[k9ophile]

I'm having the opposite problem. I 'm having a very hard time adjusting to a day schedule after 8 or so years on the 3:00 to 11:30 shift. I did have a fridge and microwave available for left overs or anything else that needed them. Being in your job would be difficult any shift you work because nurses don't get scheduled breaks or mealtimes. Think of how you handled it on days: it's more or less the same thing, at least while you're at work.

 

[jjordan8130]

Days was SO much easier though. I felt like eating. I would at least eat breakfast when I went in and dinner when I got home. I literally walk in my house and head dive into my bed now. I have never functioned well on nights. Never. Last time I ended up dependent on Benadryl to sleep (150mg) just to get 6 hours of sleep. Changed over to ambien after a year. Took double the regular dose. Then it took me a year of being in days to wean off the ambien. I had a terrible time. We have 11a-11p shifts but that's a wait list too. I'm hoping some spots open soon. We have a lot of girls graduating with their masters.

 

[Munchkin]

I worked nights for 5 years post DS. I thought it was easier because fewer people around meant fewer people bringing in treats! At home, I usually had dinner with the family, it was my breakfast. And I took my first dose of vites at home. I always packed a lunch to take to work and maybe some snacks like cheese sticks or jerky. At work, I had a food drawer in my desk. I always had protein shakes, jerky, nuts, etc. Lots of times I would make up a big chicken or tuna salad and take enough for several meals and just leave it in the fridge at work. In a pinch there was always something like a bag of peanuts in the vending machines.

When I got home in the morning I would put something in the crockpot for dinner and just let it cook all day on low. Take my second dose of vites and go for a 5 mile run with one of the dogs. I would have some kind of protein leftovers and go to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat! I usually worked 10 on 6 off. And everything I cooked was in bulk so I would be guaranteed to have leftovers.

My best advice to you is to lose while you can. Bounceback is real so if you can get to 10% BELOW goal, that is perfect! Don't even think about losing too much unless your for real BMI gets too low. The day will come when it is hard to lose. Promise!