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Radcliffe suggests implementing simple changes such as eating yogurt for breakfast or lunch rather than not eating, planning meals a week in advance, eating smaller meals more frequently, and consuming more food earlier in the day when metabolism is higher.

“Many nurses are busy and opt to skip meals. When they finally do eat they pig out on the wrong foods,” Radcliffe said.

“I have nurses tell me they ate a vending machine lunch of trail mix and a soda. They think that’s healthy, but it’s actually very high in fat.”

If nurses can’t meet with Radcliffe in person, she coaches them through regular phone calls and e-mail.

“One of the most frequent laments I hear from nurses is that they don’t have enough time,” Radcliffe said. “I suggest they wake up 15 to 20 minutes earlier each morning and exercise, pack a healthy lunch for work, and above all, make their health a priority.”

Little changes, big difference

It’s hard to believe Julia Havey ever weighed 290 pounds.

The svelte brunette from St Louis is the picture of good health. She gives fitness and nutrition advice through her website [www.juliahavey.com], and is the author of the best-selling book, Awaken the Diet Within.

Nurses are among the thousands of people who turn to Havey for weight-loss guidance. They share how challenging it is to avoid work stations laden with candy and baked goods, and how stress causes them to eat on the run, grab snacks from vending machines, and skip meals.

Havey can empathize. Several years ago, over the course of 15 months, she shed 130 pounds. Her advice is simple — stop dieting and start making gradual lifestyle changes.

“I advise my nursing clients to bring a healthy lunch to work in a personal cooler,” Havey said. “Substitute protein bars or fresh fruit for candy, and keep sliced oranges or apples handy for a quick energy boost.”

Havey says simple steps, not fad diets, are the keys to developing a long-term healthy lifestyle, and she encourages nurses to begin making gradual changes in their own lives and to motivate patients to do likewise.

She also recommends clients identify their trigger foods and begin to slowly eliminate them from their lives. Two of Havey’s triggers were ice cream and pasta, both foods she previously ate several times a week and now indulges in only several times a year.

“So many people are looking for a quick fix, yet they didn’t gain the weight overnight,” Havey said. “It took me 15 months to lose 130 pounds, the same amount of time it took for singer Carnie Wilson to lose the weight after gastric bypass surgery. I don’t encourage clients to lose weight. I encourage them to change their entire lifestyle.”

Curbing emotional eating

Linda Spangle, RN, MA, knows the pitfalls of emotional eating all too well, and her new book, Life is Hard, Food is Easy, addresses the challenges of this coping habit.

“Many people try a variety of diets but end up failing because they slip into a cycle of eating, feeling bad, and then eating again,” Spangle said.

Her easy five-step plan addresses how to overcome emotional eating and be successful on any weight-loss plan.