Night shift nurse, finally saying hi

2026-09-12 19:23

Hi all, Nancy here. 47, work nights in a busy ER in Ohio, and honestly the vending machine at 3 a.m. has been my worst coworker for years. Been lurking here since January and finally made an account.

The scale's down about 12 pounds since March, and the biggest difference is that a rough shift doesn't leave me ravenous anymore — that used to be the whole problem. I don't track much beyond my weight and whether the scrubs feel different; I get plenty of numbers at work.

Mostly here to hear what's working for other people and to complain about night shifts.

2026-09-12 20:47

Welcome. My LDL did the same when I dropped alcohol and lost 5 lb. ApoB settled by week 12. Retesting at 12 weeks gave me a cleaner picture.

2026-09-12 22:22

Your hs-CRP drop is impressive. Did you change training volume too? My LDL spikes whenever my weight is falling fast.

2026-09-13 12:07

Not panic, just curious. My ApoB moved opposite—down 12 points with similar changes. So maybe yours is genetic baseline?

2026-09-14 03:02

What was your baseline diet fat profile? If protein came with more cheese or red meat, that could explain LDL.

2026-09-14 15:40

Whey and eggs in the rotation, saturated fat kept low. LDL still climbed 20 points on the last panel. Curious whether that tracks for anyone else. Following.

2026-09-15 05:18

Post-viral inflammation can take months to settle. My hs-CRP bounced 2.9 to 1.4 to 2.2 before stabilizing.

2026-09-15 09:17

The waist-down plus CRP-down combo sounds like real improvement. LDL alone wouldn't make me rewrite the whloe experiment.

2026-09-16 16:09

But ApoB 101 is still low-ish for a 44M. What's your family history? That matters more than one bump.

2026-09-17 17:55

Early MI on my dad's side too, so I get why ApoB 101 got your attention. Lp(a) was the missing piece for me.

2026-09-18 23:00

Lp(a) was the missing piece for me too. Mine was high despite normal LDL. Worth knowing, not dosing.

2026-09-19 07:32

Did sleep improve before the labs? My LDL rises when I sleep more because I eat later. Weird but consistent.

2026-09-19 23:02

Eating later—same. My overnight glucose and LDL both drift up if dinner is after 8. Not saying causal.

2026-09-20 04:17

Six weeks is short. One point isn't a trend.

2026-09-23 00:28

True, but CRP 3.1 to 1.8 is more than swing. That part looks real. LDL could be noise.

2026-09-23 16:23

I logged 2 weeks of food and repeated the panel at the same lab, fasted. It cut the noise for me.

2026-09-24 09:41

Same lab matters more than people think. My LDL changed 18 points just switching labs. Waste of a panic.

2026-09-26 20:13

Welcome, by the way. This is exactly the kin dof intro I click on—numbers, timeline, a real question.

2026-09-27 19:46

I'm 47 and had a similar 8-week stretch: hs-CRP 2.8 to 1.5, LDL 118 to 146, ApoB 92 to 108. I was lifting more and losing about 1 lb/week. My doctor thought it was partly weight loss and partly genetics, but we didn't change anything until week 16. By then LDL was 126 and ApoB 96.

The biggest variables for me were saturated fat, fiber, and sleep consistency. I also noticed my HDL dipped during the fast weight loss, then recovered. What's your fiber intake? Mine was under 25g, and that was the next lever for me.