Odd Sleep Schedule, Got a Question

brandonryan86

Ok, I have an overnight security job for my school. They allow me to eat whatever leftovers are in the fridge from dinner and lunch (it's a small private college ). Well this presents a problem for me because I can't figure out how to enter things if I eat after 12am. I mean...I haven't gone to sleep, so in one way it's still the day that I started work on, but technically it's the next day.

How should I manage my calories? Should I consider each day's calorie goal relevant up until the time I sleep, or until it hits 12am and is technically the next day?

LuckyLeprechaun

whatever you pick, (and it doesn't matter either way), as long as you do it that way consistently, you're good.

NoAdditives

I would choose whichever option works best for you. If you can stay within your calorie goal tracking all the food you eat up until you go to bed, do that. I think that would make the most sense for your body.

bottom

I'd pick a time and just stick to it. No matter which day you count the calories on, it needs to be consistent.

I also have leftovers available at my work, but sometimes I find it easier to bring my own food. It's easier to stick to a strict calorie count and to limit myself to what I really want to eat at a meal. Don't let availability determine whether or not you'll stick to your dietary plan! Stay strong! :happy:

KarenJean81

You can use the back arrow by the date in your food diary if you want to log as the day before.

brandonryan86

Wow, I didn't expect such a quick response. Thank you!

Yeah I do bring my own stuff sometimes. The cafe' doesn't always make the most healthy food (really they have a reputation for some of the most cheesiest Mac & Cheese I've seen, lol). Bringing my own stuff gets pretty expensive, though, so I don't do it alot.

Thanks again for the quick response. I will stay strong, no doubt!

eillamarie

Personally when I eat that late @ night (which sometimes has to happen when you're up writing papers until 5am) I record it under the previous day. I consider a day's worth of food to be when I woke up and went to bed.

MegJo

I also work 3rd shift. I record it under the previous day - From when I wake up to when I go to bed all goes under one day. But I know a lot of midnighters that do it the other way and log their food 12-12. My diary is open if you want to take a peek. Maybe try it each way and see what is more comfortable for you.

Naomi91

I have the same exact problem! I always log them as the same day. I dont consider it to be a new day until i get my sleep :]

HealthyishWithMaggieG

Yeah, it's not really as important when you log your food. Just break each day into 24 hour blocks and use the same start/stop time from day to day, whatever you're considering to be your "day". I'm just a night owl, by nature. So, if I eat anything before 3am, it still gets counted as the day before.

Something to consider though... do you keep the same kind of schedule on your days off? For food recording purposes, you should log it the same, even if your sleep pattern changes.

thektturner

I work nights as well. My days go from noon-noon instead of midnight to midnight. I usually go to sleep around 8am or so and wake up around 4pm. So I just pretend that my time that I'm awake is normal. I enter everything on the day that I woke up. So, I JUST got done eating my lunch and I have it as Monday's lunch.

From when you go to sleep one day until you go to sleep the next, as long as you're semi-consistent about sleep, should probably be your day. I figure that's how metabolisms work and that's how everyone else journals their food. It only gets confusing when a day-shifter tries to read it.

sexygenius

it depends on how my calories were that day..if they were bad i log it as the next days food lol

MamaRandall

I also work 3rd shift. I record it under the previous day - From when I wake up to when I go to bed all goes under one day. But I know a lot of midnighters that do it the other way and log their food 12-12. My diary is open if you want to take a peek. Maybe try it each way and see what is more comfortable for you.

I just took a peek at your diary and like the way you have it set up. I work graves so I eat and sleep at different times, but I think maybe it will be more beneficial to me to log everything for the time I am awake on the same day. I'll be giving it a try!

rai8759

i work night shift 2 and sadly sometimes i'm up waaay longer than a normal day or i take short naps throughout the day... depending if i have to switch my schedule or not. because of this i can't track my food from when i wake up to when i go to bed. So... I switched all my meals to a 4 hour window (12mn-4am, 4am-8am, 8am-12pm, 12pm-4pm, 4pm-8pm, 8pm-12mn) and track midnight to midnight. I find that if I pick a time other than that i didn't track well.

JaneZv

I work nights 2 to 3x a week and i can't really categorize my meals by time as my routine changes. The first meal after i wake up (is breakfast) till i go to bed is a "day" for me, i don't correspond my day to the rotation of our planet.

Lyadeia

I have the same exact problem! I always log them as the same day. I dont consider it to be a new day until i get my sleep :]

This is what I do.

I work from 11pm to 7am, sleep from 8am to about 2ish pm...and I log everything from "breakfast" which occurs around 2:30 in the afternoon through "dinner" which is that same time frame of awakeness as my day.

It really doesn't matter what time of the day you eat, but I would log what you eat during a single period of time that you are awake as the same day. That's what I have been doing since getting stuck with 3rd shift 2 years ago, and it has worked for me.

trachnurse

I work nights too, and have been using midnight to midnight for my food diary. For me this works well because I don't have to do anything differently for my days off. Good luck, I am sure you will figure out what works best for you!