Black Friday Nutrition

I hope that all retail workers might benefit from a thread like this.

Having realized that the big day is about a week away now, I as a retail worker am trying to examine how to nutritionally handle the big sales day after Thanksgiving. I've thought of some ideas I'd like to share, and I want to hear yours too.

If for some reason you don't know what Black Friday is all about read this. If not, skip down 2 paragraphs:

I will most likely be working a 20-23 hour shift with breaks that mysteriously disappear due to 2nd and 3rd wave rushes of people coming into see if we have the super discounted laptops we sold out of at 5 AM. I know I'm supposed to get 15 minute breaks intermittently, but we all know it never happens right.

It's going to be rough, stressful, and tiring. I'll be in constant motion trying to keep the computer department clean and sane PLUS attempting to annoyingly hand out credit card applications and bug people with protection plan offerings. Safe to say, I'll need energy and NOT donuts and pizza as my manager seems to think.

 

I'd love to hear everyone's ideas. I guess it's similar to a college student on the run, but with a huge energy expenditure.

So far I've come up with:

-Salads in tiny tupperwares with leftover round sirloin or grilled chicken breast. I top them with tomato and cucumber salad type of mixture and balsamic vinegar.

- Wheat or leftover plain Couscous with microwave-steamed bell peppers, red onions, and leftover thanksgiving turkey mixed in. Higher ratio of veggies to couscous for me, tho.

 

This is a GREAT post. I remember my black Fridays were weightloss deathtraps. Managers sometimes ordered pizza and our lunch breaks were always cut down to just 30 minutes so we'd all just pig out. It would be cold and picked-over but the only thing available because anyone who didn't pack a lunch didn't have time to go get anything healthier!

- If your store allows, ask to keep water bottles at your registers/stations to keep hydrated.

-Even keep a healthy snack like nuts or apple slices (stuff that won't be too messy) at your register.

-Do not wait if you're starving. That'll lead to overeating. Take a "bathroom" break if necessary to grab something quick to snack on.

-Pezzle was right on with the food ideas. Nutrient dense foods everyone!

-Sugar free gum is always a good option too if you don't need to talk too much and if it's allowed by your company's rules.

I guess the bottom line is to bring an arsenal of healthy food with you. Over pack your lunch if necessary. It's always better to bring too much than have to resort to an unhealthy choice.

Good Luck! Just imagine how many calories you'll be burning running around all day! :)

Jetswings makes some great point.  Try to stay hydrated and eat before you are hungry.  I've worked in retail for 10 years and have had more than my fair share of Black Fridays. 

A good one for me when I can't eat is a granola bar.  Sure, they tend to be a little sugar-y, but when I'm feeling stressed and need something satisfying before I dive into 5 slices of pizza or cake, it helps.  I like Fiber One bars cuz they have more fiber which helps fill you up, especially when eaten with 8-16 oz water.  That and a banana is like a mini-meal so that when you actually have a break to eat, you can make the healthy choice... like the salad you plan on bringing.

And yes, overpack healthy choices... even if you eat more than you usually do, if you do it with healthy foods, you'll feel much better physically and emotionally at the end of the day than gorging yourself on pizza.

I think this is my first year in a LONG time that I'm not really working retail on Black Friday as I work in a pharmacy!!

I was hoping to skip it this year, but alas being a college student has its serious downs. I have some bills to pay off and I can't afford the few hours our local small mom & pops offer me.

Not only am I working retail on Black Friday, it's big-box computer retail, as it's been for the past 2 years (Red Box, Blue Box, and now back to Red Box because their managers don't suck anymore). I'm really stressed about the whole thing... well working retail in general. I left for a reason. I just have to learn to let the customers roll off my shoulders instead of letting them dig their hateful "I want 50 percent off of this laptop for no good reason" claws into me. ;\

Staying hydrated will be tricky because I don't have any real place to keep a water bottle. After the first Doorbuster rush I'll just have to sneak for "bathroom" breaks or keep a bottle at the registers in the back of the department (lol lets pretend like we're still paid commission! hura!)

Also another idea I had was to make a good breakfast that morning with several nutritional components:

- Thanksgiving leftover turkey Frittata with apsaragus, tomatoes and squash. :>

- Half a Grapefruit and a handful of nuts.

I'm so glad I don't work in stores like this. I work in a deli at a grocery store, so on Black Friday we are usually dead. Even then though, we still get some people coming in for lunchmeat. It's like dude, are you sick of turkey?? Don't you have any leftovers?? LOL

Sandwiches!  You can never go wrong with those lol

Carrot/celery sticks aren't bad to munch on either for intermittent snacks.

yeah, i'm going to be working Black Friday from 3:30-11PM. but i get a break after a certain amount of time, being a minor. i'll probably bring a sandwich made with leftover turkey. but if we don't have leftovers (we're not having Thanksgiving at my house this year), then I guess I'll just make a quick sandwich out of something else or salad to take with me.

Aghhhh...this brings back terrible memories of when I worked retail in college on the busy days.

Just wanted to say good luck to all of you!

Bring your healthy snacks, get good rest when you're done, and maybe give yourself a nice treat/reward the next day for surviving it. I'm sure you will burn some extra cals rushing around picking up the messes people leave everywhere.

Original Post by ilovedietcoke:

Aghhhh...this brings back terrible memories of when I worked retail in college on the busy days.

Just wanted to say good luck to all of you!

Bring your healthy snacks, get good rest when you're done, and maybe give yourself a nice treat/reward the next day for surviving it. I'm sure you will burn some extra cals rushing around picking up the messes people leave everywhere.

Hah I've already got my reward chilling downstairs... a 6-pack of Blue Moon and an orange to serve on the glass. That, and a bottle of The Macallan scotch, 20 year old.

For some reason they only scheduled me from 3:30 AM - 1 PM for Friday, which is ridiculous. I think I'm going to masochistically subject myself to some hellish torture (and overtime) by staying until like 7 PM or coming back and cleaning the store up. Having been back on the job now for a few days, it feels good to be back and I'm having fun being the newest yet the only one who knows the in and outs of the sales floor (I'm surrounded by 16 year olds! ahh!)

Ah well, I think I'll be doing something with my thanksgiving leftovers. This year, alongside pizza, I've convinced managers to do a pot-luck so everyone's bringing something they made or leftovers.

 

My advise is bring it with you. I work 12 hour shifts and I found that if i didnt' bring the food with me and have it where i can grab something now and then by lunch 7 hours after i start i was in a bad mood and would tend to over eat when i got to it. Bring in a few cheese sticks and a sleeve of peanuts. Eat them on breaks if you get them standing there checking people out if you dont. it takes 2 mins to each a sleeve of peanuts gives you 260 calories and a ton of protien. Cheese sticks are easier with less benifit.

In the end, plan for it, pack for it and win.

joe