I need some help here! :eek:

I am not looking for sympathy, coddling, lectures or criticism, only serious ideas/suggestions that I can apply to my life to get me back on track. I've seen from reading the boards that a lot of ladies on here are nurses so they can probably best understand my situation and give me solid feedback because I'm sure they've been there, but I'm open to all ideas, from everyone.

This may be somewhat scattered, so please bear with me...

I'm having several problems adjusting the band to fit my lifestyle right now due to my schedule/job. So I guess a little background first would be good...

I work in a busy ER. I work 12 hour night shifts 7pm-7am. I work a stretch of 7 days on, 7 days off. Which equals out to roughly 84 hours in one week, give or take. I am not a nurse (yet...working on that part now) but the Unit Secretary (or HUC depending on where you work). Which means I'm pretty much chained to my desk my entire shift, save for the times I volunteer to run errands in an attempt to get in some movement :biggrin: and my ten minutes sometime between midnight and 3 am where I grab my dinner out of them fridge, heat it up and use the restroom while I'm waiting. I'm probably making this sound horrible, but in reality, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my job. :sneaky:

My weeks off are fine. I've got a good routine going and feel like a normal human. Most my weightloss happens during this time. :biggrin:

My weeks on are a completely different story...:biggrin:

Working out is a challenge. When I work out in the morning, it amps me up and I have a horrible time winding back down to be able to go to sleep...which is already hard enough during the day. Trying to wake up to work out in the afternoon and get to work on time is craziness because I'm exhausted from poor sleep quality/fried nerves/stress/etc (especially towards the end of my week), my mornings are everyone else's evenings so the gym is packed, traffic is horrible, etc. (Sounds like a lot of empty excuses, even as I'm typing it, but please bear with me here, because it's my reality). :biggrin: As I've stated before, I try to get up and move around as much as possible...answering call lights, running errands ( getting ffp from lab, running paper work to registration, getting the charts from our fast track instead of waiting for them to be dropped off, etc.), asking to go on walks on the rare occasions we're not busy or I'm not needed, etc. but a lot of times we're too busy and I simply don't have time or am not able to leave the desk because everyone else is busy and I'm the only one at the nurse's station.

I'm also wondering how people manage to chew properly that have jobs such as mine. :blushing: My phone rings constantly and my desk is always covered in charts, so if I don't make quick work of getting my food in my belly and out of my mouth/off my desk, it becomes a problem rather quickly. As a result, I'm inhaling food and getting overfull. I spend the majority of the last few hours of my night feel nauseous and have come dangerously close to PBing several times. This isn't a huge problem now as I haven't had a fill yet, but I know it will be once I do and I'd rather just get things figured out and form good habits now. Maybe sticking to soft foods such as yogurt/soup? Or just having a Protein shake for my work meal? I'm just worried about relying too heavily on slider foods because as those of you who work in these enviroments know, there's a constant supply of candy/snacks/other unhealthy garbage available for grazing to keep energy up and keep you awake since no one knows when/if they may get the chance to stop and eat and I don't want to not feel full enough and fall back into that bad, bad habit. :biggrin:

Also, since I pretty much do nothing but work and sleep during my week on, I basically have 12 hours to get in all my protein and Water...which are all spent at work. Water is not as hard. I don't always manage to get it all in, but I bring 2 1 liter bottles with me everyday and sip constantly; the protein is much tougher. The way I have been structuring my day goes something like this:

5pm-6pm (depending on when I feel awake enough to get up) Breakfast

12am-3am (depending on when I get time to eat at work)

lunch

7:45am-8:30am (depending on when I get home for the day)

Dinner

Then immediately after that, bed.

Repeat x7 days...well 6 because on my last day I stay up until roughly 7pm (or whenever I pass out from sheer exhaustion, but it's usually about 24 hours) to reset myself so I can be awake during the day and function like a normal person on my week off. :cursing:

I'm pretty sure this is not the greatest approach.:biggrin: (The eating right before bed thing, not the staying up...that, I can live with. lol)

So that's where I am. Have to say I'm not loving it. Love my job, my life is great, just a little (ok, incredibly) frustrated when I don't see the scale move for 2 weeks out of the month because of my schedule. Would greatly appreciate useful feedback on how to make this band work for me amidst the chaos.

Edited August 31, 200917 yr by KatieKateKate

I am in nursing school right now, but I worked in a very busy doctor's office right after my surgery and I just recently quit to attend nursing school. I know how frustrating it is to not have time to eat like you are supposed to. The doctor I worked for wouldn't even give us breaks and lunch was always rushed. It is very hard to chew right when you don't have time. I used to just take soup to work and eat that for lunch. I would also take yogurt and things like applesause. I know these are all slidder foods, and we aren't supposed to eat them alot, but sometimes we have no choice. I always found that yogurt kept me pretty full. Another option is crackers. I don't know about you, but for me, anything crunchy goes down really well. I used to eat cheesits a lot. You can buy the small individual bags and they really aren't that bad as far as calorie wise and they do have some protein. Peanut butter crackers are another option, also protein bars. Just be careful with the bars, some have a lot of sugar. As far as exercise, there really isn't a lot you can do there, except maybe get in some extra workouts on your weeks off. Good luck!

I dont work in quite such stressful conditions, BUT I find myself always having to eat quickly, for example, getting myself to work and kids to school in the morning, there's no way I can sit down for 20 minutes to eat a bowl of Cereal.

So I choose things to eat - like muesli (which doesnt go soggy) that I can have a spoonful, carry my bowl up to the bathroom, dry my hair and have a few spoonfuls, carry the bowl back to the kitchen, make the kids lunches, have a few spoonfuls.

In fact, I can get in a breakfast of cereal AND fruit like that, I could never eat it in a single sitting, so in a sense I'm eating around the band, but a good breakfast really sets me up for the day and means i eat way better overall.

For lunch, I would do similar with a sandwich, or cheese and crackers, a garden salad or something cold and non messy which COULD sit on my desk and be eaten forkfuls at a time rather than have to get the meal all over and done with.

As to exercise amping you up, I've found that over time,t that effect has gone away from me and I can run late at night and then be able to sleep, as my body has gotten used to it.

I had to go to the emergency room one day (hit my head on the ice) and the triage (sp) nurse who got my information had been banded. She said she got it years ago before it was "adjustable". Anyway, her strategy was to basically graze all day. She didn't have "meals" but simply snacked during her shift. It worked for her and I can see how you can structure your Snacks so that you always have something healthy. As far as Protein is concerned, you might invest in some protein bars. I usually have one a day between lunch and dinner because there are so many hours between the two meals.

Other than that, here are my suggestions to take to work with you.

1. sliced apples (in a little lemon juice so they won't brown), bananas, or other seasonal fruit.

2. 100-calorie snack bags (purchased or portioned yourself) of your choice

3. fruit and/or applesauce cups

4. fat-free yogurt

5. prepared Protein shakes

6. protein bars

7. sandwich already cut in small pieces so you can take a little and leave the rest in the fridge

For exercise, don't worry about the gym. Get out and walk. It's free and you can do it whenever. You don't have to do it all at one time either. 10 minutes here are there is better than nothing.

You'll have this band for a long time. You will come up with a strategy that works for you. When you do, please share it with others who will benefit from your wise advice.

We have a similar schedule it seems. I'm an ER nurse and work 6 of 7 then have 7 off. Honestly, I don't lose as much on the week I work because I just don't work out. I used to try and it just didn't happen. Regarding eating during my shift, I understand where you are coming from. I take a Protein bar in my bag every night - it's easier to take a bite here and there than to get an actual meal some nights. I also keep a few meals in the freezer there in case I do get a lunch break, though. I eat "dinner" as soon as I get home in the morning, then clean or watch TV until around 10am so I am not eating right before lying down.

Reading over this, I realize it's not very helpful, LOL. Guess I just wanted to empathize. :biggrin:

Ok, please tell me how some of you eat sandwiches??! I can't get them down because of the bread!

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your replies and give a little update.

You all had great suggestions and I've been trying them over the past couple weeks to see what works and what doesn't.

I am now taking more slider/convenience foods with me to work and taking sort of a grazing approach to eating my work meals. A lot of yogurt, crackers and cheese, Protein shakes, etc instead of actual meals. I do still keep a couple lean cuisines in the work freezer or run to the cafeteria for a salad if we're slow and I have time for dinner. Thank God summer is over so we seem to be slowing down some now that motorcycles, ATV's, boats, etc are being put away for the year!

My hospital also has a contract with WW and nearly everyone I work with signed up at some point over the past year and has been following the plan. I resisted for as long as possible thinking my band would be enough, but maybe it's not. I still have to learn to eat healthy and stick to a proper diet, right? So I signed up for that yeterday and will actually start next week after I see my doc for my apt on Monday. I talked it over with her beforehand and she wants to take some points away and tailor the program a bit to fit my band. Hopefully I can also talk her into a fill because I'm in desperate need of some restriction!!!

As far as excercising goes...special thanks to Lori Ann for understanding where I'm coming from since it seems we live a similar lifestyle. I too have decided to stop the insanity and just accept my limitations. No more trying to work out on my weeks on, then being stressed if it doesn't work out right, then beating myself up about it. ENOUGH! In a perfect world, I'd be working out everyday for an hour or so reguardless of what else was going on. Turns out we don't live in a perfect world, and understanding that has made my life so much easier and less stressful!

That being said, I have teamed up with some people I work with and am doing the couch to 5k program...as time and my schedule permits...and am shooting for our local Icebreaker 5k at the end of April. It'll be my first one and I'm super excited...if not a little terrified...about it! Also, another coworker and I have gotten into the Zumba craze and ordered the dvd's online. That starts next week when she gets back from Portland.

Hopefully the combination of all these things will help. I've been super frustrated lately with the fact that although people keep noticing and commenting on my weightloss, my scale is still stalled and I haven't been able to move down a clothes size yet. (in jeans anyway) Soon though, hopefully very soon!

Glad to hear you are working out a routine that works for you. Working this kind of schedule is tough, although I wouldn't trade it for a nine to five job!

I had to ask - what is Zumba? Never heard of it.

Glad to hear you are working out a routine that works for you. Working this kind of schedule is tough, although I wouldn't trade it for a nine to five job!

I had to ask - what is Zumba? Never heard of it.

Thanks Lori Ann! And I agree, even with it's imperfections and the chaos it creates in my life at times, there's no way I'd go back to a 9-5 by choice!

Zumba is amazing! Or at least it looks that way from the videos I've seen. I'm a little worried about the intensity of the workout, but also excited to push myself to the limit and see what I can actually accomplish fitness-wise. And if I cam learn to move like the girls in the video I posted at the bottom, going to the clubs will be much more fun, since I'll no longer move like the white girl with no rhythm I am.

Here's the official description from the zumba website:

Zumba® fuses hypnotic latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic fitness program that will blow you away. Our goal is simple: We want you to want to work out, to love working out, to get hooked. Zumba® Fanatics achieve long term benefits while experiencing an absolute blast in one exhilarating hour of caloric-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements meant to engage and captivate for life!

The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms, and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat. Add some Latin flavor and international zest into the mix and you've got Zumba®!

You can see it in action here:

That's pretty funny! I don't think I will ever be able to look good doing some of those moves, lol. Seems like fun though. Thanks for the link.

That's pretty funny! I don't think I will ever be able to look good doing some of those moves, lol. :biggrin: Seems like fun though. Thanks for the link.

lol, I doubt I ever will either, that's why I ordered the dvd's. That way I can make a fool of myself in the privacy of my own home instead of going to the gym to do the class like everyone else I know.

Zumba is amazing! Or at least it looks that way from the videos I've seen. I'm a little worried about the intensity of the workout, but also excited to push myself to the limit and see what I can actually accomplish fitness-wise. And if I cam learn to move like the girls in the video I posted at the bottom, going to the clubs will be much more fun, since I'll no longer move like the white girl with no rhythm I am. :thumbdown:

Here's the official description from the zumba website:

Zumba® fuses hypnotic latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic fitness program that will blow you away. Our goal is simple: We want you to want to work out, to love working out, to get hooked. Zumba® Fanatics achieve long term benefits while experiencing an absolute blast in one exhilarating hour of caloric-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements meant to engage and captivate for life!

The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms, and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat. Add some Latin flavor and international zest into the mix and you've got Zumba®!

You can see it in action here:

Oh wow - that looks like quite a workout - and alot of fun too! I love workouts that are "dance" - esp if there are steps that i THINK i might be able to do (granted, some of those..well...hmm not sure! lol). I might have to try this!

I use light orowheat...they are tiny pieces of bread, but they are whole wheat and I toast them. I also use a few crackers and make mini sandwiches that are more manageble while eating on the go....

Ok, please tell me how some of you eat sandwiches??! I can't get them down because of the bread!