Night shift and diet

katrn05

I'm a nurse who works 12 hour midnight shifts. I go to bed at 9am and wake up at 3 in between shifts. I work at 7 pm and get out at 7 am. My commute is 45 minutes. I usually leave for work around 5:45pm. How should I plan my meals?

mamadon

I work the exact same schedule with pretty much the same commute. As far as weight loss, it really doesn't not matter at all what times of day you eat, as long as you are eating the right amount of calories. personally, on work days, I eat breakfast at 5 pm, lunch at midnight and dinner at 4 am. On my days off, I eat at usual meal times. Like, the above poster, I pre log my meals on my work days before work, but not on my days off.

RoxieDawn

Your diary says you eat 6 meals a day? When or at what times are you eating all of these meals during the day?

AspenDan

I worked 3rd shift at a hotel, 11pm-7am. That started me on an "intermittent fasting" schedule. Basically I only eat from 4pm-9pm ish, and worked 11p-7a, then slept 8a-3p.
The great thing is it allows me to eat really big, satisfying meals during the 5 hours that I do eat

frankiesgirlie

AspenDan wrote: »

I worked 3rd shift at a hotel, 11pm-7am. That started me on an "intermittent fasting" schedule. Basically I only eat from 4pm-9pm ish, and worked 11p-7a, then slept 8a-3p.
The great thing is it allows me to eat really big, satisfying meals during the 5 hours that I do eat

Perfection...

starryeyedsnoozer

I'm also a nurse on exactly the same schedule.
On my first night I eat a normal day's food (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, tea) then about 11pm (if it's not too manic) I'll have some ryvita and spread or soup, and a bit of fruit. At 2am/3am I'll have a popcorn bar, and I'll eat some porridge when I get home. Sleep til 3pm, and not eat until 6pm when I'll have tea with the family. Then the same "night shift food routine" as above, breakfast when I get home... Sleep til 1, eat a light lunch and then tea again.
It's very hard though, when I'm tired I want to eat more.

katrn05

mamadon wrote: »

I work the exact same schedule with pretty much the same commute. As far as weight loss, it really doesn't not matter at all what times of day you eat, as long as you are eating the right amount of calories. personally, on work days, I eat breakfast at 5 pm, lunch at midnight and dinner at 4 am. On my days off, I eat at usual meal times. Like, the above poster, I pre log my meals on my work days before work, but not on my days off.

So I guess 4am will be my cut off time for food then. What about on my first day off after a stretch? What time should I return to a "normal" eating schedule? After a nap? I usually try to get four hours of sleep in then make myself wake up to get my body adjusted to a day schedule if I'm going to be off for a few days.

katrn05

gia07 wrote: »

Your diary says you eat 6 meals a day? When or at what times are you eating all of these meals during the day?

I work during the night 7pm to 7am and scheduling break time to eat is unlikely so I usually pack my food and eat throughout my shift. If I know I'm going to be going into work at night, in the morning I will workout and eat a snack or small meal because I won't be eating again until 4 in the afternoon. It's very difficult to describe this in writing.

pitbullmamaliz

3rd shifter here, 9:30p-5:30a. I sleep generally between 7a-1p. I find that I've settled into eating one large meal around 4 or 5pm, and then I have a small snack between 9 and midnight, and another small snack between 1a and 3. Then I just don't eat between 3a and 3p generally. It works for me and it feels decadent being able to blow 1000 calories on one meal if I want to. :-) And if I do have a smaller than normal "big" meal, I'll have another small meal at night instead of a snack. My diary is open if you want to see.

mamadon

katrn05 wrote: »

mamadon wrote: »

I work the exact same schedule with pretty much the same commute. As far as weight loss, it really doesn't not matter at all what times of day you eat, as long as you are eating the right amount of calories. personally, on work days, I eat breakfast at 5 pm, lunch at midnight and dinner at 4 am. On my days off, I eat at usual meal times. Like, the above poster, I pre log my meals on my work days before work, but not on my days off.

So I guess 4am will be my cut off time for food then. What about on my first day off after a stretch? What time should I return to a "normal" eating schedule? After a nap? I usually try to get four hours of sleep in then make myself wake up to get my body adjusted to a day schedule if I'm going to be off for a few days.

On my first day off, I go home and sleep till around two. Then I just eat one big dinner that day and maybe a snack before bed that night. I kind of like it lol, because since I'm just eating dinner that day, I get to huge a larger calorie meal.

kar328

I work the same 3 twelves. I eat a real dinner about 4:30. The unit is busy, meal breaks are not the norm. I changed my MFP settings to six hour blocks, rather than try to figure out what food goes where. I keep the midnight to midnight calorie schedule. I bring foods I can grab with minimal prep (maybe the microwave, usually just a spoon or fork). I try to eat something protein dense around 2A and grab what I can during the rest of the shift, depending on how hellish the night is going (delivery room - can push for four hours with a patient). I try to eat something every two to three hours, but theyre small things. I'll have something light when I get home. If I'm working again that night, I get up at 4 and eat a real dinner again. If I'm off that night, I'm up at 1, coffee is mandatory, then I tend to eat light and protein dense foods twice during the afternoon hours, until dinner. I'm usually working out during that time (once the coffee kicks in). Go to be around 11.