Hey, where's my second shift friends?

Heatherjg0419

Any other second-shifters trying to loose weight? It can be hard, can't it? I find it hard to get moving during the day to get a workout in before work ...

Also, there's the snacking when you get home. It takes planning to have a snack at the appropriate time at work so I'm not tempted when I get home to have something to eat.

Then there's the sleep... ugh, I'm a beast and will eat everything I see if I don't have 8 hours. But my honey insists that 11 is too late for me to sleep. I'm going to need to wake his butt up when I get home to see how he likes it!

You think I can count kicking his butt as exercise? :-)

Anyway, just wanted to put that out there and see if anyone else is facing the same second-shift challenge.

auntiekei

yes healther it is hard to lose weight on other shifts. everything is based on a daylight shift.
Mine is really difficult because i come home around 1am and get back up at 6 to get my son off to school and then do an aerobic tape eat breakfast and then take a nap and then go to work from 3-11 and then go to gym and work out after work.
when you get hungry try drinking water at first its hard but it will get easier

darthtasha

Sadly I too suffer from the second shift. I have been having a lot of problems with things lately because of it, finding time to work out and do everything else including school work and class. Poptarts are great when you are running late and have to eat and drive (or so i tell myself).

dusty8907

I'm a second shifter , i just make do with what i can. Every morning i wakeup at 6am and get a good 30-45 minutes of fasted cardio in. Then i make breakfast and frer relaxing for a little bit, i cook my meals for the day. Packup everything then head to the gym from 9-11ish usually. Come back eat and go to work. Not snacking is hard, but i usually allow myself a handful of mixed nuts or a beef stick or even just a cheese stick for a snack. Willpower is key in a diet, i like to keep to a strict plan. It helps me discipline myself. Hang in there and motor on

gary8964

I work a kind of modified 2nd shift (1300-2130 hours) What works for me is waking up at the same time every day, and having the discipline to MAKE TIME for my work-out, which can be either cardio or strength training, depending on the day. I usually eat a warm meal before I head off to work and then some healthy low calorie snacks throughout the workday.

mego07

I work three 12 hour shifts and they are from 7p to 7a. Every time around 3a I get the munchies like something fierce. Those three days I do not have the energy nor time to get in a full workout. I try to eat healthy but boy, is it tough! I try to pack healthy snacks but I have a vending machine that literately sits 30 feet away from me. It is mean and taunts me.

tsh0ck

just figure snacks into the day is what I do. go to the gym after work, so get home 1:30 or so, usually. then have a post-workout snack of around 300 calories along with at least half a bottle of water. veg for an hour or so and get to bed.

usually wake up hungry at 7 or so. really hungry means a big bowl of oatmeal, less means an egg white sandwich or something. stay up for a few hours and then back to bed. (I find if I can eat a breakfast essentially in the middle of my sleep, I don't wake up hurting of hunger at noon, allowing myself to prevent going overboard for the first meal of the day/grazing.) will eat a bit after I get up for 'lunch,' then head in to work.

at work I figure on a small snack usually at 5ish, then dinner around 7 and another small snack around 10.

jarrettd

I'm a 12 hr nightshifter right now, 8pm-8am...we switch every 10 days. There isn't a lot of time to plan/prep food, or squeeze in a workout. It is a testament to sheer willpower that I give up an hour of precious sleep to get my training session done. I learned to be flexible and listen to my body. Sometimes sleep trumps exercise.

Food is the rough one. There are times that my brain and stomach are so confused by my odd hours that I can't make myself eat anything (I feel this is worse than overeating). Other times, I'm starving, and in a time crunch, the bad foods seem to be the quickest and easiest (but POP TARTS, Tasha?!?! Seriously?!?!) I try to plan and pack ahead of time so it's less likely that I'll make bad choices in a rush or hungry desperation.

RenNorman

I work a rotation 12 hour shift, so it's difficult to stay on track. I work out at least 4 days a week and sneak in some stairs at work as well. My fitness pal will really help me track my progress.

teachmond

Can I get a AMEN. I work second shift and find it hard to lose weight too. I usually go to bed between 1-2am and set my alarm for 9. It takes me a while to get out of bed and to the gym. I try to do a hr to a half hour before I train.with my trainer, on my days with out my trainer I do hr. of cardio and maybe hafe an hr. of core, shower, run home and go to work. I don't do alot of cooking because it's hard for me to make time to do that. I have no idea what I would do if I had kids. Anyway glad I'm not alone.

BigPapaGato

I feel your pain... I work 24 hour shifts and on slow days it's reeeeseeeeeeeeaaaaal easy to start snacking lol

MermaidFaith

i work from 3 pm to 1130 pm and usually stay up until around 2 am. I sleep until 10 or 11 then get up and lounge for an hour, do around an hour of exercise then shower, lounge, eat and then go to work. I always eat after i get home from work and usually immediately before i go to sleep. I sleep best on a full stomach for sure. My late night favorite snack is a giant bowl of fiber one cereal with some fruit on top and unsweetened almond milk. Fills you up big time and low calorie and cleans you out. Oh, and a glass of wine every night too. what can i say...... I do not believe in the "dont eat before bedtime" idea. If you are exercising and are training your body to work properly then it doesnt matter when you eat, just make sure that you stay in your calories.

i think that second shift is easier to lose weight on because after work i dont want to do anything except chill out and wind down. SO having all morning to exercise its great to me.

MermaidFaith

I have no idea what I would do if I had kids.

Ditto!! glad i dont have to worry about that right now!

mrmarius

i work 2nd shift, i was on it this time last year and i lost about 40 lbs, but they had me on a three month rotation so once i got put on third i gained half back, but now i'm on 2nd a gain so i'm out to lose again

Darlene4prayers

I work second shift as a manger for adults who have developmental disabilites. I am always on call 24/7, so alot of interruptions. I never had a weight problem until I reached my fourties. I've been struggling for several years to get back to my desired weight and back into a size 9. I so happy to be on MFP and talking to all of you.

farmerstan

2nd shifter. I only have fruit, veggies and one to two servings of nuts at my work for me to snack on. The most simple way to stop snacking is to remove the temptation. Every night after work I reward myself with an apple or an orange before bed. make sure to drink only water during your shift that also helps the hunger cravings and makes it ezer to fall asleep. it does for me anyways.

tsh0ck

am I the only one that does the gym after shift, then?

MermaidFaith

i have tried doing my exercising after work and i just feel bloated and gross from the day or something, just cant get into it as much. I feel my best working out before i have eaten anything for the day.

teachmond

At least your going to the gym. I guess it just shows you everyone is diffrent.

mrscotenh74

I have been on second shift for 5 months now and am having the same issue. I do really well during the day but can't resist snacking when I get home. I thought second would help me lose weight because I wouldn't be eating the same stuff as my husband. Instead I am still eating crap and now I am gaining weight! I don't know what to do with myself to get out of this funk.

Lmpantaleao

I am starting a new 2nd shift position. I will be working 3-12 M-Friday primarily, as a manager for a supermarket. I'm very active at work, walking about 7 miles in a typical shift. MFP has me at 1320 calories for 1 pound a week loss.

I hopefully am going to try to stick to the following schedule:

Up by 9am-Have breakfast, etc
10-11:30-Workout: either home elliptical, Workout DVD, run/walk around neighborhood, or gym
11:30-12:30: have lunch (turkey burger/salad with chicken, etc) & save leftover for dinner at work
12:30-1:30: Shower, get ready for work
1:30-2:30: Run errands, etc Have a snack (fruit, protein shake)
at work 3-12: Snack at 4:30-5 (piece of fruit/Veggie from produce dept), 7 or 8pm--Dinner (brought from home, or if not a Healthy Choice frozen dinner)
Get home at 12:30-glass of wine and late night snack (either a chicken quesadilla about 200 cal or other snack)
Bed by 2am

gogoboobzilla

I feel ya on the not being motivated to do anything before work. I've worked all 3 shifts recently, and the worst part about 2nd is oversleeping/not doing a darned thing before work. My advice would be to pledge to yourself to be in bed by X hour and wake up after X hours of sleep to where you have a reasonable amount of time to get stuff done, and THEN set a goal of gym X times a week.

As for the food issue, definitely leave yourself some calories for when you get home, and figure out snacks that satisfy you during that time. Think about how good you've been ALL day and if it's worth it to throw it away.

nancifer74

I have gained almost 50 pounds since being on 2nd shift:/
I had lost close to 30 in 2011/2012 before my wedding and gained a bit back after. But I really packed in on when I came to 2nd.
Any tips on controlling the binge eating before bed?

dekadai

It's the worst (especially when your employer feeds you all the time). I've gained 10lbs since I started working 2nd shift 2 years ago. I find that meal prepping in advance has helped with the binge eating when I get home.

jenniferhanisch5

I work three 12 hour shifts and they are from 7p to 7a. Every time around 3a I get the munchies like something fierce. Those three days I do not have the energy nor time to get in a full workout. I try to eat healthy but boy, is it tough! I try to pack healthy snacks but I have a vending machine that literately sits 30 feet away from me. It is mean and taunts me.

LOL This sounds so much like me!! I also work 6pm - 6 am and sit in front of a vending machine. I try to pack healthy snacks, popcorn, fruit, etc that I can sit at the desk with me. I also don't expect myself to work out those days. I work out the other 5 days a week and call it good. I also have an hour commute each way which adds to the day and by the time I get my youngest off to school dont even have time to sleep 8 hours