Losing weight and night time job.

Beastie1982

Looking for any tips from people who works on night shift. I have 3rd shift, full time job in hospital, I never rotate. From 6 months I can't find out my eating and exercising pattern. It's harder to lose weight since then. Please I need advice from people who have similar lifestyle. I appreciate

sparklemanatee

I work night shift (7p-7:30a) as a nurse and I think it's all about finding something that will work for you. For me, on work days I wake up at 4pm and go workout. I'm home by 5-5:30 and I have plenty of time to shower and eat before work. The days before I work I always prep my meals for the week. I'll pre-track my food and then adjust as I need to. As a nurse, sometimes I don't get time to sit down for lunch at work so I always pack tons of fruits and veggies and have healthy snacks stashed in my locker.

hekla90

I'm a nurse and work nights. It's not that hard- eat less. Bring your food to work. If anything it's easier for me because I'm busy at work, go home and am tired and sleep. Run on my days off and I'm good.

want2behealthy

im not a nurse, but i think working the graveyard shift would be easier as far as eating, i would bring my lunch and snacks. plus i think if you were home cooking, you would eat more? Best of luck

Unknown

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Beastie1982

Usually I try not to eat at night just light snacking and fluids. I eat normal breakfast just after coming from work but after that I'm going to sleep what I think is not good. I'm getting up around 4 and then I'm eating lunch. Dinner is around 7 after that I'm going to gym. I'm trying to get my exercise 3x a week but sometimes is very hard. I feel like I don't have enough energy.

Jburlen2007

I have been on 3rd shift for 4+ years and it is very tough to resist snacking. In my field, I talk to and interact with zero people, so the clock ticks slow most nights.


My advice: eat more fruits, yogurts and chew gum. It helps subside any cravings.

elphie754

nosajjao wrote: »

Night time working is bad for your body, there's not much of a way around it. Body science can be cruel.

Source? I have been working overnights for years and have no ill effects.

One of my previous responses to a similar question : I strictly work nights. What I did was changed my meals from breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks to 0000-0600, 0600-1200, 1200-1800, 1800-0000, so that all my days are 24hrs regardless of when I go to sleep, wake up or work. It seems to work well for me and the 24hrs match up with my Fitbit burn.

RodaRose

Beastie1982 wrote: »

Usually I try not to eat at night just light snacking and fluids. I eat normal breakfast just after coming from work but after that I'm going to sleep what I think is not good. I'm getting up around 4 and then I'm eating lunch. Dinner is around 7 after that I'm going to gym. I'm trying to get my exercise 3x a week but sometimes is very hard. I feel like I don't have enough energy.

If you can, keep to the same sleep schedule whether you are working or off. Certainly make sure you prioritize sleep -- get enough hours-- drop other things in order to take care of sleep.
It is o.k. to eat just before bed as long as it is not interfering with your sleep.

Beastie1982

RodaRose wrote: »

Beastie1982 wrote: »

Usually I try not to eat at night just light snacking and fluids. I eat normal breakfast just after coming from work but after that I'm going to sleep what I think is not good. I'm getting up around 4 and then I'm eating lunch. Dinner is around 7 after that I'm going to gym. I'm trying to get my exercise 3x a week but sometimes is very hard. I feel like I don't have enough energy.

If you can, keep to the same sleep schedule whether you are working or off. Certainly make sure you prioritize sleep -- get enough hours-- drop other things in order to take care of sleep.
It is o.k. to eat just before bed as long as it is not interfering with your sleep.

I sleep 6-7 hours and feels like I'm getting up without energy

wuwu90

I work 730pm to 710am as a nurse. When i first started nights 2 years ago i noticed the weight gain. Since then I've lost it all but at a cost. Working days were so busy and i'd always be on my feet. I never watched what i was eating and didnt have to. Now i watch everything and calorie count it. On my shifts i always pack a large salad and x2 large vegetable soups. Also just one funsize mars bar in case of emergency.

Beastie1982

wuwu90 wrote: »

I work 730pm to 710am as a nurse. When i first started nights 2 years ago i noticed the weight gain. Since then I've lost it all but at a cost. Working days were so busy and i'd always be on my feet. I never watched what i was eating and didnt have to. Now i watch everything and calorie count it. On my shifts i always pack a large salad and x2 large vegetable soups. Also just one funsize mars bar in case of emergency.

I work at the hospital too, most of the time is hard to sit and have meal during my shift

KateTii

I work two jobs which both have odd hours that are frequently changing. No two weeks are the same. My work day can be as long as 4:30am to Midnight.

What works for me is just eating when i'm hungry/can.

I meal prep lots of small meals that I can freeze then reheat when needed. Super easy!

jandsstevenson887

I would swing shift (afternoon to night) and I get up around 9-10am, have coffee and a light breakfast.
I eat my bigger meal in the middle of my shift and plan some snacks.
I exercise when I get off work (11pm-midnight)
I have a boiled egg and english muffin with cream cheese after I work out.
I only drink water other than my morning coffee.
I stay well within my calories every day.

LilRedRooster

I've been working nights off and on for a few years as an RN, 7p-7a. I don't keep a night schedule on my days off because I have a five-year old and significant other and want to actually see them, so my Monday, I start out with a normal day, stay up 24 hours, then sleep and go back. After my Friday, I get a short nap, then stay up the rest of the day to get back to my routine. I've found a few things make it easier for me at work:

1) I pack my own food, and I keep it in smaller portions. I'm a grazer, and the way my shifts go, I tend to graze and rarely have large meals. So I bring smaller portions of food, and make it easier stuff to heat if need be, like leftover meat and veggies, or prepared soups/fruits/salads, whatever, usually a day in advance before I start working. I also make sure I drink plenty of water and/or tea (mostly tea, let's be real), because working shifts tends to really dry me out. So I have a giant pitcher for making tea, which helps.

2) I log 12a-12p, regardless of whether I'm working or not. I don't log my "wake" hours, because those vary so extremely, so I log those 24 hours as my day, regardless of my sleep schedule.

3) I suck at working out in the morning, whether I'm off work or on, so my workouts are generally always around 3pm. Days when I'm working, I sleep around 8:30am after work, I wake up around 3, workout for an hour or so until about 4:30/5pm, pick up my kiddo, then go into work at 6:30pm. I usually try to workout the first day I'm back, then sleep and maybe take a rest day the next, but the time frame of 3-5pm usually works well for workouts to give me enough time to get back to everything, no matter which day back to work it is for me, and I usually aim for 4-6 workouts per week, just spaced however it falls with work.

4) If I miss a workout or am feeling like I need to wake up, I'll bring my HR monitor with me to work, and then take a break and walk the stairs for 20 minutes. Just up and down, and I count the number of times it takes me to get a round in, then I log it as exercise. Obviously don't always get to do that, especially when I'm stuck on the ICU side, but on a lot of nights, I can manage 20 minutes, and the stairs are usually totally empty.

5) I have a Garmin Vivosmart HR monitor to give me an idea of sleep patterns, HR, steps, whatever. Nice insight to how much activity I really do during the day, and some incentive to get up walking, etc. FitBits, whatevers work too, I'm sure, and I had a Vivifit for two years that I loved from Garmin. Any activity tracker is actually a bit more helpful with giving you a better picture of how you function.