Night shifts worker!!

Hi fellow night workers or anyone that has some advice. I struggle on my first night as im up all day then up all night. I find it hard to plan my food out for the weeks I do night shifts.

I also think they affect my weightloss. What do you guys eat on a night shift and have you any tips to plan the food Im eating whilst on them???
I would really appreciate your advice people :O)

Replies

  • darlandbaird
    darlandbaird Posts: 103 Member
    Hi fellow night workers or anyone that has some advice. I struggle on my first night as im up all day then up all night. I find it hard to plan my food out for the weeks I do night shifts.

    I also think they affect my weightloss. What do you guys eat on a night shift and have you any tips to plan the food Im eating whilst on them???
    I would really appreciate your advice people :O)

    I would try and watch out for carbs myself,eat protein! That is just my advice.
  • sandijones5783
    sandijones5783 Posts: 57 Member
    I would love to heard peoples advice since i just started working night shifts just a couple days ago and I'm already messed up from it but just started so hoping it gets easier.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    I work night shifts as well, and I hate what it does to my diet. I don't know about you, but at my job, I work the night shift all by myself, so I'm there all alone with no one to hold me accountable on food!

    I eat a substantial dinner right before I go in to work, that way I won't be hungry for a while. I take 2 tupperwares of complete meals (usually leftovers) that I can eat while on shift. Both tupperwares and the dinner I have already calculated to fit into my calorie count. If I get extremely hungry, I have a box of granola bars in my locker.

    There is also a snack bar in my office that taunts me. Basically, I just keep myself as busy as possible to keep myself from looking at it or wanting it.
  • Hey, I have the same problem, I work 2 day shifts 0730 - 1930, 2 night shifts 1930 - 0730 and the 5 off... I bring lotsa raw veggies to snack on sincec they have very few calories and a lot of fibre to fill you up... Also bring a protein source too!
  • JoDeeD
    JoDeeD Posts: 391
    I am no longer a nightshift worker but was for at least 7 years. I always drank a ton of water on night shift. I stayed awake because of having to go to the bathroom all of the time. I also ate popcorn and salads quite often. I worked in a small hospital so I never stopped moving either. Usually when I got off work I went and exercised for about 1/2 hour which helped me sleep better. Good luck on your journey!
  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
    I worked nights for years - I had to pack my lunch pail with extra stuff in case I worked over. I always had protein drink powders for that extra time over. I packed hard boiled eggs, veggies, cheese sticks and maybe some jello. I avoided the heavy carbs as they would make me tired. :flowerforyou:
  • jenna198500
    jenna198500 Posts: 4 Member
    all i can suggest is that u give urself a cut off time. so ur not eating too soon bef0re u go to bed. try and make out like u are working normal hours. so have breakfast before u start work, then lunch on ur break etc. that way u can eat at normal-ish times. if that doesnt work for u, try and have your meals in reverse. such as dinner for breakfast, lunch then breakfast for dinner. that way ur not having foods that are harder to digest at later times. also snack on nuts cos they are filling :drinker: i hope this helps
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    hope you get some good advice! must be hard! x
  • Luandanielle1979
    Luandanielle1979 Posts: 747 Member
    Thankyou for all your advice. Im going to try and just take some cerials and fruit and veggy sticks and see how I go on. if I cant manage on that i have some rye crackers and low fat cottage cheese ready. I just feel really tired when Im on nights and never know wether I should take it from the day befores cals or the following day. Thats what throws me the most :O)
  • It gets easier!!! I have worked 10pm -7am for about 5 years now. The hardest thing for me to figure out was when to go sleep. A lot of people go right to bed within an hour and a half of getting off of work. That really never made sense to me because if you work 9am -5pm you aren't in bed at 7:30? I established a routine where I don't got to bed until after noon. Where it is especially hard are your days off, when you are sleepy at 3pm and your family wants you to spend time with them. As far as eating goes, when I initially started working 3rd shift I lost about 30 pounds. I just recently started gaining the weight back so I am trying to nip that in the bud asap.