Overnight shift workers

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dippystick
dippystick Posts: 168 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How do you log your meals and your excercise when your day covers 2 days? Do you split them on the midnight hour or do you count your day as from when you get up till you go to bed after your shift?

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  • trachnurse
    trachnurse Posts: 51
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    I use midnight to midnight for my logging. I have worked nights for a long time, and that seems to be the best way for me personally. Good luck!
  • ashheartshawaii
    ashheartshawaii Posts: 18 Member
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    I always did mine just from when I woke up to when I went to bed.. I tried to focus more on weekly totals vs. daily totals when I was working overnights.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    when I wake up my "day" starts...even if its really night
  • ansonrinesmith
    ansonrinesmith Posts: 755 Member
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    I just log Breakfast as the first meal after I wake up, and go from there.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    How do you log your meals and your exercise when your day covers 2 days? Do you split them on the midnight hour or do you count your day as from when you get up till you go to bed after your shift?

    My day = when I wake up until when I go to sleep even if that is technically on 2 different days.

    If you look at my diary, it appears to be like any other day walker's diary. But, my schedule is actually more like breakfast at 4:00pm, snack at 7:00pm, lunch at 9:30pm, snack at midnight, dinner at 3:30am. I get off work at 7am and go to the gym, then take my melatonin and go to bed around 9am and normally sleep until 4pm.

    I don't eat or log according to what time it is. I do exactly what I used to do before starting third shift, just at different times of the day.
  • Asher213
    Asher213 Posts: 46
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    I happen to be doing an overnight shift right now! I always seem to log midnight to midnight
  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
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    I first started logging midnight to midnight, but changed to logging wake to sleep as a day because that really is my "day". It just makes more sense, especially when you want to look up something you logged in a prior day.
  • taramaureen
    taramaureen Posts: 569 Member
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    Midnight to midnight. I work 3rd 4 nights a week, then am up during the day 3 days a week so it's just easier that way.
  • sjvirkus
    sjvirkus Posts: 7 Member
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    How do you log your meals and your excercise when your day covers 2 days? Do you split them on the midnight hour or do you count your day as from when you get up till you go to bed after your shift?

    There is a setting where you can change your meal names and have up to 5or6 different times. You could try changing them to 2hr or 3hr blocks.
  • efwolfcub
    efwolfcub Posts: 99 Member
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    I log midnight to midnight - that's the default for MFP and it just makes it easier in my head - I'm already very careful when I describe working days though since I work 11p-7a - its important to be specific :)

    but yeah, I re-named my meals to "work, before bed, and dinner" - since those are generally my 3/day.
  • allie7383
    allie7383 Posts: 865 Member
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    Yeah I use midnight to midnight as well, but changed the headings in my diary and split them into 8 hour blocks, so I start my day with whatever I eat at work.
  • crisnis
    crisnis Posts: 83 Member
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    I do midnight to midnight because my schedule flops twice a week - I'm on graves on the weekend and days during the week... what a mess! That's the easiest way for me to do it. Seems to work ok...
  • niknak30
    niknak30 Posts: 58
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    I do a rotating roster so I figure that midnight to midnight works best for me. First night is always the hardest because I eat my three meals furing the day and then a filling snack just before midnight so its almost like I eat 4 meals. That said, I try and plan it well so that whilst it is 4 meals, the calorie is equivalent to what I would normall eat in three.

    Sometimes the last day is like that as well particularly if I don't sleep after my last shift
  • dalgirly
    dalgirly Posts: 280 Member
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    I've been figuring this one out. I have been doing midnight to midnight. But I may change, as today, I slept all day then had a small breakfast when I got up, then a dinner at work... and now my calories were all wonky (but I wasn't feeling totally tip top shape either).
  • dippystick
    dippystick Posts: 168 Member
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    I've changed my meal times to Before work, 1st break, lunch, 3rd break, 4th break (if I stay for a 12 1/2 hour shift), before bed. I work from 4:30pm-3/5:30am. I don't eat a full sit down meal at all during the week. I work in a metal shop so I don't have a desk job. I get a lot of lifting and walking in during a normal day because that's what my job is. I don't sit down much.

    What screws me up is I sort of flip on the weekends, especially if I don't work on Friday nights. My normal work week is 4 10s. If I have three days off I get morphed into a day person. Mondays are hard.

    I take my own lunches, I get 2-3 20minute breaks and 1-1/2 hour lunch break. I make my meals and freeze them in individual serving sizes so I can just grab and go everyday.
  • Crystal817
    Crystal817 Posts: 2,021 Member
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    I just log Breakfast as the first meal after I wake up, and go from there.

    Pretty much what I do. I have my diary labled Breakfast (3pm), Lunch (11pm), After work (7am) and then I have a section for random snacks.

    I log from the time I get up until whenever I go to bed. :smile:
  • GettingFit4Me2011
    GettingFit4Me2011 Posts: 112
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    Sounds like I am not the only one with a messed up eating cycle! I tend to work 12 hours (2-3 times) a week with a few days off then working again. I will leave the house by 5:30PM and not get home until 8AM. How's that for a work schedule! I tend to get back to the day schedule when I am off, with going to bed around midnight.

    I have to figure this out too, because I tend to eat small meals while I am working and my calories are all screwed up too.

    Any suggestions for time for me. Let me go play with the times...
  • GettingFit4Me2011
    GettingFit4Me2011 Posts: 112
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    Ok....I am going to try to play with these times since on my days off...I do eat a breakfast, lunch, supper. I work nights and on my days off, I will go back to a day schedule. I am also finding that I do not eat enough calories when I am working, which is not good.

    Let's see if these times will work, since I do tend to sleep 9AM-3PM while working.

    4PM-8PM
    8PM-10PM
    11PM-1AM
    1AM-8AM
    8AM-1PM
    1PM-4PM

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