Night shift workers....

blytheny

Hi! I'm a night shift nurse, working 3 12hr shifts/week 7p-7a (and sometimes an occasional extra 8hr overnight) and I thought I'd put some questions out for others who share my weird schedule, and how it changes our weight loss abilities.

Do you find it hard to eat your calorie goal on your days when you sleep after work, but then don't go back to work and thus are in bed 6-7 hours after you get up??

(Like yest for me - got up at 3:30, went to the gym for an hour, back in bed by 11pm. Because of the exercise, MFP said my calorie goal was 1900... but I only ate 1200, which is my normal "without exercise" cal goal. And that 1200 was only possible b/c I track my food midnight - midnight, so 550 cal was from midnight Thurs to 8am Fri... the other 650 was after I got up)

Do you think that impedes our weight loss?

Also, because we don't get regular, normal sleep like the rest of the world, I know the hormones given off in sleep are off for us, and it can make weight loss more difficult. Anyone ever heard of any remedies for this??

I find that when I have a week (or even 3 or 4 days off in a row) my weight drops MUCH more quickly... but I plateau (or even gain) when I'm working 3 or 4 nights in a row. Soooo frustrating.

So, any helpful thoughts/tips/ideas/things that have worked for others who work like this would be great!!

blytheny

bump....

jem302

I work shift work. I did three years of 12hr overnights on weekends, then Monday-Friday back to being up at 7am for school & life...now I've had 5 months off from that but am back to shift work although I'm working 2 casual jobs so I will be doing nights less. I found that this schedule WRECKED me. Emotionally, physically, mentally. As well, switching back and forth made it so difficult to figure out where I should be counting my calories/for what day. Eventually I would just give up because I'd be good for my 5 days, then have no idea what to do when I was up for 26 hours at a time...plus often I would snack just to stay awake.

I don't really know what it does to your body physiologically speaking, but I believe that just the whacked schedule is enough to impede weight loss based on lack of energy alone. At one point I worked overnights full time, and I never once felt rested enough regardless of how much sleep I got, I just never had any energy whatsoever so I don't think that's much better than the switching back and forth I've been doing.

michellechawner

I did the same... worked Thursday Friday Saturday nights 7P-7A at the hospital and went to school in the morning Monday-Wednesday. It screwed me up royally. I wasn't trying to lose weight at the time, but it did mess me up physically. I had to quit and got another job working afternoon after class, then went back to night shift a few years later (promotion to night shift supervisor). Within 9 months I was on disability for medical reasons, and once we figure out what it was, the dr told me if I tried to do night shifts again I would be literally killing myself. I had to quit my job, but thankfully I had a backup.

What helped me was staying on a schedule. The second time i did night shifts (2011) after work I did my workout... with gym and driving time and yada yada I worked 12A-8A, workout was at 9A, home by 1030A, cook breakfast get in bed by 1130A. Except on school days. Those days I didn't work out (school was only tue/thurs), and I came home, slept from 830 to 1030, then had class for 4 hours, then napped again after class and back to work. Finding a routine is what kept me sane. Even if I didn't want to work out, or was too tired from work, I still went, and I always felt better after.

Now I have a boring 8-5 desk job but my health has gotten better and i'm no longer "killing myself by working nights"

Sparlingo

Nights are tricky!

I do find that I eat less when I'm working nights/on post-nights days. But, I figure that I I'll just try to eat back more of my exercise calories on non-work days if I'm finding my rate of loss too quick or think I'm not retaining enough muscle mass. I'm toying with the idea of making my pre-night shift meal a protein shake to make sure I don't mess up my macros too badly when I have a lighter eating day.

I've been back at work following my maternity leave for about 2.5 weeks now, and actually I'm finding my weight loss has spend up again despite having less time for formal exercise. I've only worked 4 night shifts so far, though, so it's a bit early to tell if the nights will screw with my weight loss efforts.

Sure hope not -- that would be reason enough to find a "day job" for me .

grimendale

I haven't noticed any problems with weight loss due to being on nights. I have a set routine, and I make sure that I get my exercise in (I'm doing Insanity) and that I eat everything I need to after these intense workouts. The bigger issue for me is the fatigue from being on nights long term. I've been doing 12 hour days, six days a week for the last three months, and it's starting to make me very tired all the time. I find that eating enough and getting in the workouts help. I never want to drag myself out to do the routine, but I always feel better after I'm done.