Quirky Work Schedule - Need Advice

trufels24

Hi All!
I work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights from 6p-6a. I am having a major struggle with when to eat.

This is my typical week.
Monday, I get off work at 6am, sleep until around 2pm. Then I go back to bed around 10pm and sleep until 6:30 am.

Tuesday-Thursday, I sleep 10pm-6:30 am

Friday - I'm up at 6:30am and I "try" to get a nap in from around 2:00-5:00.

I work Friday night 6p-6a, sleep Saturday from 7a-4p.

I work Saturday night 6p-6a, sleep Sunday from 7a-4p.

So, if I'm on a plan that requires me to eat 6 times a day, how do I juggle that, particularly on Friday when I'm up for so long?

Thank you all for your help, advice and support!
Lesley

swoledier_em

My initial recommendation would be to simply eat when you're hungry.
BUT, at the same time I realize when logging your foods with such a schedule you're probably planning things out. Maybe focus on eating before the shifts, after the shifts, and 2 snacks within the shifts and sort of line it up like that perhaps? see when you're hungriest and when's easiest for you.

RodaRose

How are you required to eat that many times a day? Eat less often.
Or perhaps look at your calories per day as part of a weekly average. Three days a week you eat more and the other four days you eat less.

DancingMoosie

Do you get a meal break within your 12 hr shift? How about rest breaks? You could split up your eating by having a meal before, during, and after your shift; with 2-3 snacks in between.

trufels24

Thank you all for your responses!
The 5-6 meals are Medifast. I'm going to give it 31 days (for the simple reason that my Mom met her goal with Medifast, and had 31 days of food left over and gave it to me!)

As for the 12 hour shift - I basically sit in an office until I get a call. A call will occupy me anywhere from an hour to three hours, and if the calls come in back to back, it can last the entire shift. That being said - I'm a snacker, a stress eater, and a boredom eater. So, if I don't have any calls, then I'm guilty of munching non-stop. I do a lot of hand sewing and prior to the holidays, I had enough to keep my hands occupied - I just need to re-pack my sewing kit to keep my hands busy during the slow moments.

DnTeegen

When I worked night shifts, I would count my day as midnight to midnight. I also went over my calories some days and were under others depending on my sleep. As long as the week evened out I was happy with that. I can't imagine just sitting for 12 hours waiting for a call though! I'm a nurse so I was at least up and moving and able to keep busy when I just wanted to eat.

ana3067

You don't need to eat 6x a day. Eat whenever you are hungry for your desired meals.

The only reason Medifast may work is due to eating way too few calories. You can drink/eat the stuff all in one sitting if you'd like. Meal timing is not important for weight loss.

It's all about average weekly consumption. If your daily goal were something like 2000 (which I'm guessing would still be a good deficit for your current weight) then that means 14000 a week. If you are only awake for like 8 hours one day and then awake for 18 hours another day then you can simply have 2 meals on the first day and then 4-5 on the 2nd day. as long as your weekly average is around 14000 then you'd be fine.

trufels24

Thank you all for your replies. Until ya'll mentioned the weekly calories I have never known that was an option. With today being Sunday and me just waking up, I can stay a new well now and see how this goes. I appreciate all the replies!

Dnwestover, I'm anticipating a busy night tonight with the full moon. The delicate way to say this is that I work with the MEs office. So I do work with a lot of nurses, medics and of course the county Coroner's deputies. Therfore there is no prediction to my night.

cromulus

That's a rough schedule! The other thing you may want to do is substitute your snacks with healthier options. One thing that works for me is to have drinks available, especially coffee or tea. If I drink coffee, I will not eat anything. The other thing that works is involving my hands in an activity other than feeding my face - for you sewing might work well.

ana3067

trufels24 wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies. Until ya'll mentioned the weekly calories I have never known that was an option. With today being Sunday and me just waking up, I can stay a new well now and see how this goes. I appreciate all the replies!

Dnwestover, I'm anticipating a busy night tonight with the full moon. The delicate way to say this is that I work with the MEs office. So I do work with a lot of nurses, medics and of course the county Coroner's deputies. Therfore there is no prediction to my night.

If you cannot plan out your daily meals to eat an equal amount of calories every day, then looking at the average and allotting more calories to days you'll be awake for longer might work best for you. Otherwise you can also try pre-logging meals. If your days bleed into each other, such that you are awake from e.g. 6pm to 6am, then just pre-log a meal for the next day that would be eaten between midnight and 6am; then the rest of that day you'd have another, say, 1500 calories to work with if you decided on 4 500-calorie meals every calendar day.

elphie754

Hi. I too have a wonky work schedule. I work overnights with varying start times so eating was a struggle at first. What I did was I started counting "a day" as midnight to midnight. Even if my shift started at 9pm, after 12 am was a new day. That way my tracking remained consistent regardless of work.

kar328

I'm at work right now, with my wonky schedule. I'm a Labor and Delivery nurse, working 7P-7A three times a week and the days vary. I don't do more than three in a row (good weekend differential $). I log calories from midnight to midnight. I changed all the headings in my food diary to midnight to 6A, 6A to noon, noon to 6P and 6P to midnight.

If I was off the night before, I get up at 7ish. I will nap between 1:30 and 4. I cook a real dinner before I leave for work. Meals are never guaranteed since babies like to come in waves. I bring finger foods/easy to grab foods with me, hardboiled eggs, yogurt, cheese, apples/peanut butter etc. The cafeteria here is very limited at night, almost all fried. We have 24 hr Starbucks which I try to limit to once or twice a month (tonight was one of those). When i go home in the morning, I eat a light snack, then go to bed. I'm working tomorrow night so I'll get up at 4 and do the same steps again. If I was off, I'd get up at 1, and be "normal" to my bedtime at 11ish.

I prelog my food for the day so it's a bit easier to see what to do, how much wiggle room I have etc. I do 12 8oz glasses of water per day so I make sure I have at least 11 before I hit work. Depending on my assignment (like being stuck in the OR), having a full bladder isn't optimal.

These work for me. It usually comes out to eating something five times per day.

trufels24

kar328, You're in the same unpredictable boat that I am, just the opposite end of the Life Cycle! I work in the County Morgue, so there is not predictability in life whether it's beginning or ending. I think I have spent more time holding my own breath tonight with it being a full moon! I really like your plan. I've made notes and I'm going to reset my diary. My schedule is set for 6p-6a Friday, Saturday and Sunday - gotta love the shift diff! And Starbucks - it's a blessing they're not in our hospital. Our cafe closes at 10p, so unless I've packed snacks, then I'm out of luck! lol