the overnight worker

rosekcat
rosekcat Posts: 9 Member
in Getting Started
So for the last few years I have been on the overnight team at my local walmart. Every time I try to do a food log I am stuck with the fact that my lunch is at 2am, I was wondering how other people chose to log there meals when you have abnormal eating times? Any ideas are much welcome!!!

Replies

  • rbiss
    rbiss Posts: 422 Member
    Just think of it as 24 hours. You wake up and eat "breakfast" before you go to bed it's "dinner." I would just manually manipulate it to make sure its all on the same day.
  • rosekcat
    rosekcat Posts: 9 Member
    I also don't always eat breakfast foods for breakfast..
  • pteryndactyl
    pteryndactyl Posts: 303 Member
    edited June 2015
    I don't think what you eat for breakfast really matters when it comes to your initial question. Choose one day and log all your food from the moment you wake up and the time you go to sleep on that day. When you wake up again, that starts the next day.

    e.g. I don't work night shift but my bf does, so lately I've been staying up til 3-4am on his nights off to spend more time with him. So right now it's 11:30 pm on 06/09, but if I don't go to bed until 4am on 06/10, anything I eat before bed will be on 06/09's food log. Even if it's technically 2am on 06/10. Because I woke up on 06/09 and still consider 2am of 06/10 part of that day. But after I go to bed and wake up again, food goes on my 06/10 log.
  • rosekcat
    rosekcat Posts: 9 Member
    I see what you're getting at thanks both of you.
  • pteryndactyl
    pteryndactyl Posts: 303 Member
    Another thing you could try is re-naming your meals (under settings - diary settings) and using times (midnight-4am, 4am-8am, etc.) instead of the traditional meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), if that makes it easier for you to keep track.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    edited June 2015
    pteryndactyl wrote: »
    Another thing you could try is re-naming your meals (under settings - diary settings) and using times (midnight-4am, 4am-8am, etc.) instead of the traditional meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), if that makes it easier for you to keep track.

    Seconding this.

    Edit: additionally, since your eating times are going to be sporadic, look at your overall weekly deficit if that helps as well.
  • rosekcat
    rosekcat Posts: 9 Member
    edited June 2015
    I think my real issue with the tracking of my exercise because the vivofit I use splits the activity at 12am messing with the calories I eat and burned per day
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    rosekcat wrote: »
    I think my real issue with the tracking of my exercise because the vivofit I use splits the activity at 12am messing with the calories I eat and burned per day

    It may also mess with your calories if you aren't doing steady cardio (I.E lifting heavy boxes the entirety of your shift, moving constantly, ect). Activity trackers are awesome, but generally only accurate for steady cardio. Sounds like the splits are a whole different problem. I have no idea how to use one (since I do not own one), but would it be possible for you to track the results before 12AM, and then log for the next day for anything after 12:01AM?

  • pteryndactyl
    pteryndactyl Posts: 303 Member
    The only thing that comes to mind would be, if possible, change the time zone on your activity tracker? So if it has a watch, that'd be wrong, but the sync could link up more closely to your "day."
  • rosekcat
    rosekcat Posts: 9 Member
    Well that's something I will think about that's for the advice.

Categories