Working Night shifts...

Heather_Jeanie

Ok I work midnights 4 days a week, and then the other 3 days I am awake during the day.... SO I flip flop alot on when I am eating... I have started keeping track of my food from 12am-Midnight, and then whatever I eat after midnight counts as the next day... anyone have insight on to whether this is the best way to track it or if there is a better way?????

skeene07

I just keep it simple and track from the time I wake up(whenever that is)....until the time I go to sleep (whatever time that might be).
Has worked great for me

princessmedic

I always do from the time I wake up til the time I sleep also-my days before and after my shift rotation usually are uneven-with maybe 4 meals on one day and 2 meals on another.

bbb84

I started midnights again two weeks ago and thus far I have been tracking from midnight to midnight. I am still losing weight and I find that this is the easiest method for me, also I don't have to change the day I am recording on. But IMO it doesnt matter how you track as long as your are meeting your calorie and exercise goals for that "day".

chuckyp

I also consider a day as wake-up to bedtime which for me is usually about 10:30am to 4:30am.

tarjake

i work midnight to noon so midnight starts my "day"

spasm198

I work 12-hour night shifts, 3 times a week as well.. I also have been doing midnight to midnight, working for me so far.

Victorious_One

I do 6am-6am. I'm a night/early morning owl, so I'm up at odd hours (like now, it's almost 3 am for me!). I have a hard time getting my protein in, so sometimes I eat around 4 or 5am and count that food toward the previous day's intake.

I'd say try different times and see what's easiest for you. You may want to keep 12-12: that way you can start counting when you get to work, and count everything you eat until you get to work the next day. You may also do an 8am-8am, starting the counting when you get off work.

It would be difficult for me to start counting in the middle of something...say, sleeping, or working. I like to start at the beginning, if that makes sense.

jesinterrupted

I do three 12hr night shifts in a row (7p-7a) and then the other four days of the week are anyone's guess, depending on what my plans are. Because my schedule tends to be kinda all over the place, I find it easiest to just let the diary record from 12a-12a like it's set. I agree with those who've said that as long as you're consistently recording the same 24hr period and meeting your fitness/calorie goals during that time you'll most likely be successful.

Steph70508

I'm really glad to hear others thoughts on this! I work two 12 hour night shifts a week 7P-7a every Saturday and Sunday night. On Saturdays I usually sleep in until 10a and stay awake the whole day. This nearly always puts me over my calories or starving, because I put the cutoff of that day at 12a Sunday. I was wondering if other night shift people find that they are tempted to snack more when they work. I usually do much better during the week than when I work. It doesn't help that my co workers bring "bad" snacks to share...feel free to add me too night shift peeps!