Night shift and weight loss

quietpeace961

Night shift really makes for crazy eating times. Anyone have success?

mellyboobear

I work night shift as well. I eat dinner at about 5 and generally have to go to work at 6 or even 7 some nights. When I come home I just shower, have some water, and head to bed. Sometimes though, when i HAVE to intake something, ill eat half a peanut butter sandwich. and thats all until the morning Cx

Dana_E

I did, back in college. I worked night shift at a bank, went to school in the morning, lost 70 lbs in ten months. In some ways it was easier to control my eating on night shift because food options were more limited, and grocery shopping at 2am on my nights off was wonderful! I would get up around 6 or 7pm, eat breakfast (poor college student, so usually some combo of eggs and oatmeal), then go walk/jog, come home and shower, pack a lunch for work. For lunches, somewhere between midnight and 2am, I ate a lot of frozen bean and cheese burritos (quick, cheap, filling, relatively nutritious), microwave steamed veggies, and chili. I would make a big pot of chili with some pasta and eat it all week long (cheap, filling, nutritious). Then I would get off work at 6pm, grab a bite to eat (don't remember what), and head to class. I would come home around 10am and sleep. I really wasn't trying to lose weight, and it just sort of happened. I think it was a combination of being broke ($25/week grocery budget in 1999, so I had to make every dollar count), vegetarian (hey, it's one of those things you experiment with when you go to college), and single (didn't have anyone sabotaging my "healthy" eating efforts).
Night shift is hard. Best of luck to you.

Dvdgzz

I've been on nights for 16-17 years straight. Hasn't affected my success. Like Dana said, my options are more limited. Almost all restaurants are closed on my way to work and I can't order delivery, lol!

quietpeace961

Thankyou for the time ideals. I eat healthy foods but my weight tends to stay with me. Every time I start doing well I wind up either getting sick or my migraines come back with a vengeance.

LincolnPete69

I work days and nights on rotation, and am also a diabetic.......I tend to eat small portions but regularly and it is difficult but I am getting there slowly.....best thing is being able to go food shopping at 6am when everyone is still waking up

mamadon

Night shift here. 12 hour shifts. I lost 118 pounds and have kept it off for two years. I look at each day as simply a 24 hour eating period and log accordingly. It doesn't really matter the times of day that you eat, just the caloric amount. My days off, I eat at the usual times. Work days, breakfast is usually about 5pm, lunch is midnight and dinner is 4 am. I wont lie, the hardest day for me is my first day back at work after my weekend. I get up around 9 in the morning, but don't eat until 5.

rlpomeroy

I work 2nd shift, I get off at 2:30am. I love going to the gym then. I have the place to myself.

Dvdgzz

mamadon wrote: »

I lost 118 pounds and have kept it off for two years.

Wow, awesome! Grats!

BodyByBex

I've done pretty well on night shift. 84 pounds down and counting. The only frustration I have is my gym partner for lifting is a day walker

But it just means I'm waking up at the equivalent of 4:30 in the morning to go workout at 5 in the afternoon.

BodyByBex

mamadon wrote: »

I lost 118 pounds and have kept it off for two years.

Amazing! Great job!

mamadon wrote: »

I look at each day as simply a 24 hour eating period and log accordingly. It doesn't really matter the times of day that you eat, just the caloric amount. My days off, I eat at the usual times. Work days, breakfast is usually about 5pm, lunch is midnight and dinner is 4 am.

This is what I do. I have my food diary set up for 6 increments at 4 hours each, starting at midnight.
Like this:

12am-4am

4am-8am

8am-12pm

12pm-4pm

4pm-8pm

8pm-12am

It works for me.

rlpomeroy

I tend to put it in any slot that works to make it look more spread out through the day/night, looking more at the whole day than any particular window of time.

mamadon

Thanks guys!!

Snooozie

yup I have.... shift work adds yet another challenge in the mix, but everyone has some kind of challenge in their life that impacts on em. it will just take time to find out what works for you... my diary has no actual meals in it.. it only has one category "Food today" - so I just log whatever goes in my mouth while i'm awake LOL.. some days if i'm not sleeping well my diary looks pretty heavy on the numbers, but over the week the calories all balance out to my goal...

there are a couple of groups/threads on here for shift workers; try searching keywords ike "3rd shift" "midnight" and nights etc and you will find some great resources and ideas from others in the same boat as us LOL..

quietpeace961

Thankyou

quietpeace961

Great job! I can only eat at work on my lunch break but I'm gonna try and work it out.

markuscuellar

I recently moved to a mid shift 1045pm to 0730am. Does it make sense to restart after you've slept?

markuscuellar

markuscuellar wrote: »

I recently moved to a mid shift 1045pm to 0730am. Does it make sense to restart after you've slept?

For example: I eat breakfast at midnight, lunch after work, dinner at 11am and sleep until about 6 or 7pm. When I wake up, has my body "reset"? Or is it simply eating X amount in a given 24 hour period?

quietpeace961

Sounds like you have it figured out better than me. Your body will let you know if it's not working.