Any night shifters out there?

starsjen24

Hey all, nite worker here. Looking for new buds or and advice for best times to eat and exercise. Can't seem to get a routine going

yweight2020

Hi I used to work night shift and looking to work night shift again and when I did that was my exercise(walking all night in the hospital pt. care) and the two days I had off I would get formal exercise in. While at work since I was up all night that is when I would have dinner and snacks at work, I would pack my cooler and take all required food with me and refrigerate it at work, if you don't have a work refrigerator or don't want to put your food in it put ice packs in your cooler to keep your food fresh. Or carry sandwiches that don't require the fridge or soups, almonds and apples or other fruit for snacks I generally would make dinner at home and take it to work since that's where I spent my nights or eat before I go since it's so late and I would make something lighter to eat at my night shift lunch, when I got home it was breakfast time and bed time sometimes I would eat then sleeper mostly I would just go to bed and eat a late breakfast when I go up, it's mostly about controlling your calorie intake no matter when your eating so that you don't go over board if your goal is weight loss. Hope this helps keep up the good work.

Tintin13

Night shift worker here too. Trying to figure out a consistent workout schedule

fi_b

I'm currently on a 4 day rotating roster (4 days, 4 night, 4 days off) and I have found it best to literally just move your whole day. The only difference when I'm on day shift to night shift is I go to the gym before work as opposed to after.
As for times to eat, I personally don't use breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks - rather meal 1, meal 2 etc. Each meal is around 2-4 hours apart (goal being 3 hours, but sometimes you don't have the luxury of picking meal times! haha) and this makes it a bit easier switching to a different time frame. I actually find I want to eat less while on night shift so I make sure I have more calorie dense food to maintain a minimum calorie intake. However if you find you want to eat more (a couple of my friends do this) then have fresh veggie sticks or similar available if you can. Celery and capsicum (peppers I think they're referred to as elsewhere) are great as they are low calorie, high in fiber and the freshness helps you feel awake
Good luck!