Work dayyyy…
Big salad, small salad, Iced Oatmeal Raisin Luna bar, Honey Graham Z bar, Tazo chai tea, and 2 apples (gala and pinata)
So yeah. Moving on to the last of the AAAA (refer back to part 1 & part 2 if you missed it)…
3. The last issue I want to tackle relates to my days off. I cut myself MAJOR slack on work days (probably more than I should). But let’s face it, completing a 12 hour shift shouldn’t equate to a get-out-of-jail-free card. It’s not brain surgery (it’s heart surgery – ha!). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about trying to hit up the gym after my work days – I’m a huge advocate of giving your body rest. It took me a long time to recognize how damaging the stress of both work and exercising was on my body, so I am not proposing work-outs after long days on my feet in the hospital. What I have to do is remember that having an exhausting day is not an excuse to abandon my healthy lifestyle. On days I work (and days off too, to some extent) most of my snack-type eats aren’t photographed because I eat them in a hurry, or on the go, or while I’m cooking (you get the point…), and so what you guys don’t see are often several meals worth of non-meal food that I just pretend doesn’t exist. Additionally, I often have seconds or thirds of my meals and don’t bother taking pictures because, well, I just took a photo of the first plate. Now, it’s not the quantity that bothers me but the QUALITY. I have a good metabolism and I have come to terms with the fact that my portions are larger than life, but I don’t want to eat an entire bag of pretzels because I am lazy and call that my first course. It’s fine every once in a while, but I feel SO much better (it’s very noticeable) when I eat good, wholesome, clean food. So. Given all that, I am ready to get my act together. This means back to meal prepping in advance (I used to be so good about this but somehow it just fell by the wayside). Chopping veggies for the entire week ahead of time (you can’t be lazy when everything is already done for you), and having food on hand that is ready to eat in the moment.
I have already re-started this and am proud to say, so far, so good.
I came home from work hungry, and was thrilled to have everything at my fingertips to make a nice (relatively gourmet) dinner.
More on that later though…now I’m off to bed 
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Great job! Keep it up
i have no dobut you will be able to get on track if u want to
but honestly , i would dieee with 12 hour shifts so go you !
xox
shelley
http://findinghappinessandhealth.wordpress.com
keep up the good work! I should try to do more prep work for the week like you!
its a huge life saver! HUGE
I’m the same way…sometimes the clean eating just falls by the wayside! I have to say your schedule is far more demanding then mine, though- I’m impressed by how you do it!
My best friend always tells me how nice it is when she preps her food on the weekends…but I’ve never done it before. Maybe today will be the day!
The past few weeks I’ve been making a big pot of soup to eat when I get home from class or from work. It is so nice to come home to a well-cooked, warm meal!
I need to meal-plan more, though. I run out of soup around Wednesday afternoon and usually just eat salads for the rest of the week and ultimately spend a lot of time worrying/trying to calculate how many grams of protein I’m getting.
big soups sound perfect…i guess wed through fri need their own soup!
Workouts for me, especially after 12 hours on my feet, are just not going to happen….and I’ve accepted that. They usually aren’t quality workouts anyway, because I’m too tired and by the time I get home, forget about dinner! Even after an 8 hour shift, my legs are tired, but once I get home, change, and eat a snack, I can usually muster up some energy and enthusiam for a workout. I work with what I can do, and ditch the guilt. It dosen’t serve me anyway, it just saps my motivation.
I know you can do whatever you set your mind to, and if it is important to you, then you will make it happen. Good luck!
BUT…I do have to say–I totally think you deserve some slack, lol. I am always impressed with your lunches that you pack and your food choices, and I see no evidence of you abandoning your healthy lifestyle over the past months! It isn’t like you are sitting on your butt in front of a computer for 12 hours a day…you are on your feet running around, helping/lifting people in and out of bed, etc. I do think that having things preped and ready to go will make dinner SO much easier and less work for you–it does for me and I sit on my big butt in front of a computer all day for 8 hours, lol–and I think that it is a great goal
I bought lots of frozen fruit today to make yummy soft serve because all of your recent pics have had me craving it despite the -3 (yes–negative 3) temps outside! Now that is some good blogging
Courtney
the thing is, i know that i have high expectations for myself, and im the first to admit it, BUT, im also the first person to cut myself slack…and lately ive been finding excuses for everything. work is hard, sure, but its my job, and a hard shift (or regular shift for that matter) doesnt mean i can do whatever i want. trust me there are BAGS of un accounted pretz and pounds of hummus not blogged. and yes, thats plural.
do iiiii seeee escarole and beans…….
there was something else i wanted to say but i can’t remember.
hmmm
one week from today equals blind football date..
Awesome
Pre-preparing food makes life so much easier- just having things ready to go. I can’t imagine working out on top of 12 hours on your feet rushing around so def cut yourself some slack on that front though! You are probably the healthiest health professional I have met…unless you are a closet chain-smoker, but I doubt that 
Fueld by hummus and monster salads? I am so impressed by how you cope with your schedule- when I was working 12-14 hour days in NY, my meals were instant oatmeal, bananas and protein bars!
apologies for my appalling spelling…dang, I don’t even have an excuse
haha, no chain smoking…which is actually a rarity in my profession…so aggravating, dont get me started…
Planning can definitely be a pain sometimes, but you make a good point that it really makes life less stressful and easier in the long run. I definitely notice a difference in my energy level, stress level, and overall well being when I have time to enjoy meals rather than rushing through them.
i love the thought of focusing on QUALITY of food…NOT quantity! such a fabulous idea and non-restrictive, healthy view to have!
E, I was just thinking about this myself as I evaluated my SUPER lazy Sunday yesterday. This post is confirming my need to be more pro-active in making my eats for the week. I think I was good for the first 2 weeks of Jan, but then restaurant week comes up and that’s all I can think of so I start to abandon making a grocery list and my plan of having themed meals for the week. I look forward to your future eats, and continue to be motivated. Consider me your “planned healthy eats” cheerleader!
I stumbled across your blog and find it very inspiring! I am also an RN, and I’ve been giving myself too much freedom with food after I get back from my night shifts. Thanks for reminding me that those long shifts don’t mean I can abandon my health goals!
hey CC…i know exactly what you mean…i go through the same feelings. thanks for reading and commenting. its always nice to hear from another RN who knows just how i feel.