12 hour overnight shifts! How to eat and document?

lkyeomans

I need advice. On the weekend I work two overnight 12 hour shifts. I have in the past not done well with this, gaining the weight I lost in the week past and taking a few days to relose the weight. Any suggestions on what to eat? I typically stay awake all day Saturday come home on Sunday and try to sleep from about 1 until 6 and on Monday I usually sleep from 10-2 and go to bed at normal bed time. Also when do I log my calories? Do I go by the clock and record anything I eat after midnight as the next day or do I count it until I go to bed for that day. Please any suggestions would help, this has always been a problem for me.

dothompson

I would set a time and count everything after that time as on the next day. Midnight is good or maybe the time you usually go to bed.

I would also imagine that you would need healthy snacky things since you'll obviously get hungry, but it will be odd to eat an entire meal in the middle of the night. I think I'd take some fruit, yogurt, string cheese... stuff that'll keep you out of the candy and chips you'll be prone to go to otherwise.

Good luck!

Shellz206

I used to work overnights as well. Anything before midnight was one day, and anything after midnight was the next day! I wasn't on MFP then, but I was keeping a diary. Log everything AS you eat it!

FaithandFitness

I work one or two overnight shifts a week and I get so discouraged with them. Even sticking to the calories, the lack of sleep throws my scale off, makes me feel awful and generally messes me up. I tend to have a nutritional breakdown around 3am. (I am typically up the entire day before the shift, work my 12, sleep for 2 and then continue on my day) I count everything on the actual date I eat it, and I try to drink plenty of water and tea during my shift to offset bad decisions.

eeeekie

I've heard you log it as you eat it. So if you wake up and eat your breakfast at 11pm then log it as breakfast...so on and so forth.

anemoneflynn

It's pretty easy to reset the names of the meals in MFP to match your schedule - I would pick a time like when you usually get up and count that as the start of a new 'day' so that you can be sure to eat properly. If it was me, and I switched my 'days' in the middle of when I was awake, I would end up eating all of the next day's calories before it was over every time ... I think it's better to use the time you're awake and active as your 'day.' But like I said, make it work for you and rename the meals to help you track things. I have times on my diary because I try to stretch things out over the day.

Jellyspider

Oh this is hard. I'm there too! It is hard because I want to eat to help myself stay awake. Just try to keep busy at work, and eat healthy and eat only out of hunger. Drink hot tea at the other times. Good luck.

wdwghettogirl

I used to work overnights as well. Anything before midnight was one day, and anything after midnight was the next day! I wasn't on MFP then, but I was keeping a diary. Log everything AS you eat it!

Agreed! I sit at my computer AS I'm eating and log everything. That way you don't forget anything. If you aren't able to log on the computer at work, be sure to write it all down. Get a notebook or a journal or something and make it your best friend. Take it with you every time.

ffemtchris

Being a shift worker is a challenge, both for the strain on the body clock as well as the midnight munchies.
When I was doing shift work (12 hour shifts like yours, rotating between days and nights) I would still try to eat meals normal for the time. For example, 6 p.m. was still dinner food, 12-1 am was lunch food, and I either ate breakfast food right before trotting off to bed or when I woke up. Small snacks in between those meals as needed.

As far as MFP goes for logging calories, I would stick to the calendar days rather than try to go back and forth with the shifts.
Since it seems like your nights are only on the weekends, you can still keep some semblance of normality the rest of the week.

Snacks: Probably the toughest part when on nights. Not sure how active your shifts are (ours varied depending on rounds, testing, etc.). I like veggies because they can be filling without too many calories. Fruit, cheese, crackers, etc. add up to calories quickly for even small amounts. Rotating between different ones (carrots, celery, broccolli, etc) helps keep it from being boring. The hardest part is avoiding the community snacks that others put out (salsa and chips, cheese and crackers, etc).

Hope this helps and good luck. Thinking about it and planning it out in advance is a good first step.

EHuntRN

I too have been struggling with this as I work 3-4 12 hr nite shifts a week...what works best for me is to log it on my days...because when I wake up at 4 pm before I go to work...thats my breakfast and when I eat lunch at 2am thats my lunch and when I eat my oatmeal when I get home thats my dinner...i have a meal 4 logged in that I only use on my first day of work because I had a regular breakfst and lunch...a lunch at work and then something when I get home in the morning...I have a co-worker that is on here also and she does the anything after MN on the next day...but we label our meals by the number ie..meal1, meal2 and so on...but my life is opposite the real world on those days...so from the time I wake up, i think I should have 12 hrs to complete my diary as the person working a 12 day shft 7a-7p...so mines should go from 7p-7a!!! Thats jus what I do....hope this helps!!!

As far as snacks...I usually pack lots of fruits, veggies, string cheese and Greek yogurt and much on them through the night...