Anyone Work Shift hours?

EllenFlickner

Anyone work weird hours, like 4pm to 1am....or the night shift, and prehaps have tips or suggests on how to stay motived, to balance getting exercise and enough sleep, along with eating healthy? I pretty much do okay on the eating healthy and staying in balance as long as I stay away from fast food. I just recently found a gym that I can go to at 4am before I go bed, but I am finding tough to stay energize with only getting 7 hours of sleep, so any suggestions or tips on how balance everything would be great. Thanks.

heartkermit

I work from 6pm till 2am. I find having a coffee @ midnight helps me keep going to get to the gym.
It's hard to get motivated some times but once you get in the groove it will be easy in no time

RodaRose

Make sleep a higher priority.

ernestrodgers82

Agree with @RodaRose. If you need more sleep to function, shorten your workout, do less housework, but make getting enough sleep a priority. Also, cook your meals ahead of time on your days off so you can stay away from fast food. Unfortunately, I gained 30 pounds while working shift from 2012 to 2015. I've lost almost all of that since then and would like to lose a bit more. Good luck with your total fitness pattern.

muscleandbeard

Yea...11pm to 7am. Usually 3-4 cups of coffee per night.

ivvassileva

I usually work a week of day shifts (9 to 6) followed by a week of either 16 to 1 or 18 to 2, and in the meantime I am a full time college student. I only sleep for 5-6 hours on average and I used to drink 5-6 cups of coffee a day.. I am now down to 1 in the morning and, if I really need it, 1 in the evening. I try to go to the gym after a day shift or before a night shift, as where I live tere are no 24/7 gyms. If I don't get to go, I usually exercise at home.
Not getting enough sleep is the absolute worst for me, but I count as a win the fact that I am not giving in to energy drinks and I managed to cut off fast food. Yey for me

findingtherealme2016

I work rotating shift work and my shifts are 12 hours long. I don't do a whole lot during my work cycle other than eat and sleep, sometimes I work out before night shift or after day shift. I find it is better to concentrate on eating right and getting sleep and leave the real workouts to my days off. Add me if you want to!

EllenFlickner

Had a great workout this morning once I got out of work, which was really late; however I think I over ate a bit yesterday since I couldn't eat anything before we went to the gym.So instead we stopped out for breakfast...what would be better choices to pick when one eats out for breakfast? what you anyone suggest or recommend? I've been trying not too eat out much, however had to have something and taking the time to cook once we got home meant that I would have barely had six hours of sleep before I had to return to work. So tough knowing how to plan this out.

EllenFlickner

sleep is really tough to get enough off, especially if I get off work very late....spending 15 hours at work, doesn't leave much time for anything....but will try to do better with fitting it in.

RodaRose

EllenFlickner wrote: »

Had a great workout this morning once I got out of work, which was really late; however I think I over ate a bit yesterday since I couldn't eat anything before we went to the gym.So instead we stopped out for breakfast...what would be better choices to pick when one eats out for breakfast? what you anyone suggest or recommend? I've been trying not too eat out much, however had to have something and taking the time to cook once we got home meant that I would have barely had six hours of sleep before I had to return to work. So tough knowing how to plan this out.

It depends on how many calories you have pre-planned for the day.
I like two fried eggs, two pieces of bacon, and one piece of toast with a little butter.
That is about 445 calories and 35 grams of protein.

---
If I need fewer calories, I get poached eggs and the bacon and skip the toast.

tomteboda

I used to work rotating shifts, it was tough. 12 am - 8 am (week 1) , 8 am - 4 pm (week 2), 4 pm - 12 am (week 3), with 5 days on /2 off (week 1), 5 on / 2 off (week 2), 6 on / 24 hours off (week 3). It was brutal. My coworkers gave me some advice that was absolutely fanastic about maintaining my health and sanity.

They suggested I rise 4 hours before I had to be at work, and go to bed 4 hours after work ended. This meant that no matter when my shift landed, I had some "prime daytime" to interact with other people, and also wasn't completely exhausted at work because it was in the middle of my day. Also, it meant I wouldn't feel like I was going to die if I had to come in early or stay late to cover half of someone else's shift.

So the 12 am - 8 am week I woke up at 8 pm, went to bed at 12 pm. I would generally have energy to exercise before work , if I so wanted . At the time, I did not so want; it was a factory position and during a single 8 hour shift I climbed approximately 60 industrial flights of stairs, and covered more than 25,000 steps. Frankly, that was enough exercise for me.

Even when I went to normal hours again, the habit stayed with me. I like having that leisurely time before work to get things accomplished, including a full workout.

I'd suggest trying to get up at 12 pm, and going to bed at 4 am. You can work out during normal gym hours (actually during completely non-peak hours, hooray!) before you're out of energy from work.

EllenFlickner

Thanks for the advice evrryont

BrideSept2017

I work 10p-7a and 6p-7a, and I've found that I do pretty well completely flipping my schedule. I eat at 6p, midnight, and 8a, with snacks when needed. I usually walk on the treadmill for a while after my 'supper', then sleep from 10a-6p. If you are having trouble getting to sleep during the day, I suggest melatonin and black out curtains. I bring healthy frozen meals, or measured out leftovers to work for lunch, and I try to keep busy so as to not snack all night. It helps that in my town nothing is open when I'm coming to or leaving work so I'm not tempted to get fast food.

EllenFlickner

i have gotten something down to schedule so hoping that will help as much as it can.
I get sleep between 7am -1:30/2pm....getting ready for work and have a breakfast,; work from 4pm to at least 1230am sometimes its more like 230am..but on nights I get out at 1230....I start dinner about 1am and eat within an hour or so that; do a few chores around the house, pick up my son at work around 230am...make sure him and his father have something to eat, then at 4am off to the gym for about an hour to so....so hoping having this schedule helps; of course that is as long as my other two kids continue to have rides into work in the am; but for now that is what it is. I eat meals at 230-3pm, then again 8/9pm...then last meal between 130/230am.

arj5150

I recently started working the overnight shift. I only have 4-5 hours to sleep during the day and a quick nap before work. My shift is 11p-7a, with an hour commute each way. I have settled into a more manageable eating pattern in the last couple of months, I was hungry ALL the time at first! I eat dinner with my family around 5:30/6pm, I have my "lunch" break at work between 3-4 am (usually leftovers and fruit), and I eat when I get home between 8-9am, sometimes eggs, sometimes leftovers.
We (I) cook a LOT at home and I plan for these leftovers to be utilized all week. I have 3 kids, so I can USUALLY manage to batch cook and not waste food and rotate for interest, but it is a challenge! Always have healthy food ready to go! Sometimes I wake up from my little pre work nap a little late, and I need to literally open the fridge and grab and go...

angelexperiment

I work 7 to 11/12. I get home have snack sometimes squeezed in a workout. Wake at 6am workout around 8 make smoothie leave for job 2 by 10 then eat am snack breakfast/ lunch there home at 3 pm snack 5/ 6 dinner 7 work 2 then I get off go to gym for 30 min hour.