stretching my calories for first nightshift

gazzasgirl

i work night shift 3 x a week from 10pm-8am, i nurse special a patient on a ventlator and confined to one room and sit a lot thru the shift and am lightly active. i never weigh straight after a nightshifts as the scale is all over the place, i wait until i have a good sleep at night get up in the morning and weigh as usual......generally im happy with the result. my starting weight on jan 10th was .270 pouds, i now weigh 242 pounds a loss of 28 pounds. I am 52yrs 5ft 7in and eat 1400 cals my BMR is 17480 my TDEE is 2350, i am aiming to loose 2 pounds a week., i generally do well, however did have one week where i stayed the same. i have not started exercize, im too tied working and keeping house but do go on walks where possble. I only take an apple and an orange to eat during my shift and lots of water, cos its difficult trying to stretch the calories particually on the first shift when im up all day and then work all night.24hrs in total......any surgestions, its only the first shift i struggle with the rest i sleep during the day and my calories work out ok. many thanks Carolyn

Cait_Sidhe

My suggestion is to exercise before work so you have those extra calories to eat. Even if it's just a walk. Also you can try eating less during the day so you have more calories to work with during the night. It's hard, but not impossible. An apple and an orange is nowhere near enough to be eating throughout your shift. Even with a 500 calorie deficit, you should have at least 1800 calories to eat a day. I'm not sure why you're only eating 1400.

gazzasgirl

hi tanks, my calorie goal is set for a deficit of 1000 cals to loose 2 pounds a week.

Railr0aderTony

exercise in the morning before, that way you build up extra calories for your night shift, this is how i do it, I work a swing shift , I work seconds on sunday and thirds on monday, so I get up monday and either work around the yard or hit the tredmill , then get a nap in, have normal dinner and have a bunch of calories for overnight snacks, i log them before I go to work and eat them all night. but that is just me, others i know go strickly from 12-12

taraefsmith

I also work night shift, but I work it 5-6 days per week. The first day back, I'm always over my calorie goal for that day, because I'm awake for more hours and need the energy from the food to get me through the day (I'm usually only over by 200-300 calories, I make sure to make healthy food choices, ESPECIALLY on this first day back). Even with the overage on the first day of the week, it usually works out that by the end of the week, my weekly calorie goal is still in check because on the last night of my work, I usually eat less calories than planned for the day. I have been consistently losing weight, even with this overage on the first day and the minimal calories on the last day. To me, it seems like it evens itself out. One day of calorie overage isn't going to make a big enough difference that it's worth starving yourself on that first day back to work.

I also wanted to mention that I'm eating on 1400 per day, per my doctor's recommendation, and it's what myfitnesspal says I should be eating for my weight loss goals. So, my advice is, don't let one day get you down. As long as you are making wise food decisions, it should work itself out in the end.

Lucylikesrunning

Hi!
I do night shifts too and I try to exercise before my shift so I have a few cals to play with. I also start the next days food from midnight so I have more cals. Hope this helps. My first night always sucks as I am so tired!! And I work in acute medical so run around like a mad thing all night!

Cait_Sidhe

I always exercise before my first shift for this reason. It gives me more calories to eat during the night. We actually have the same goal of 1400. My diary is open if you think it might help. My first shift of the week is usually a Tuesday, so you can go back and look at the Tuesdays (I don't eat clean and sometimes I mess up). Eating more protein during the day and during my shift also makes me feel less hungry. You might also want to consider upping your calorie goal to 1600 or even 1800 for that one day of the week though. You'll still be at a deficit and you'll still lose weight but that'll give you more to work with.