Do you work nights?!?

124

Replies

  • biggzie34
    biggzie34 Posts: 1 Member
    i work nights. and yeah its hard to lost weight and work nights for some reason. ive worked nights going on 11 years now at a hospital and would like that kind of support like you do. oh and by the way my name is heather.
  • laxwyo
    laxwyo Posts: 192 Member
    I work 630pm to 630am. Not bad when I'm busy but boredom kills. I guess sunflower seeds are ok yo gnaw on. Anybody do anything to be active?
  • thisisjl
    thisisjl Posts: 1,074 Member
    I work 630pm to 630am. Not bad when I'm busy but boredom kills. I guess sunflower seeds are ok yo gnaw on. Anybody do anything to be active?

    fortunately or unfortunately for me I work alone in my office at night and I will walk laps around the office. Sometimes I will do lunges, squats, modified push ups just to keep me awake. I work 11-7am...2 hours to go yippy 1 day down 5 to go!
  • medell123
    medell123 Posts: 1
    Yes I work nights 11pm-7am and 7pm-7am, its hard because i was always snacking on the wrong things, I got a plan toward healthy snacking;-)
  • laxwyo
    laxwyo Posts: 192 Member
    I work 630pm to 630am. Not bad when I'm busy but boredom kills. I guess sunflower seeds are ok yo gnaw on. Anybody do anything to be active?

    fortunately or unfortunately for me I work alone in my office at night and I will walk laps around the office. Sometimes I will do lunges, squats, modified push ups just to keep me awake. I work 11-7am...2 hours to go yippy 1 day down 5 to go!

    I try to walk briskly wherever I go and we have lots of stairs, so I kind of find reasons to go places, but some nights are just killer with nothing to do. Btw, my last one! 3 days off! Going out of town which is probably harder than anything to stay on target.
  • lbrittenson
    lbrittenson Posts: 21 Member
    I think its extra hard only working 2 nightshifts a week (weekend package) getting into some routine has been difficult for me.
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
    You guys will have to give me some of your food secrets for the nights and how you manage that with sleeping. I think I have a decent routine and eating schedule going on now, but I would like to learn how everyone else does it too!!


    Here is how I work it...

    I work 10pm-6am....

    3/4pm: Wake up
    4/5pm: Breakfast
    7/8pm: After Gym Snack
    10/11pm: Lunch
    1/2am: mid-work snack
    4/5am: Dinner
    6/7am: pre-bed protein
    7/8am: Sleep

    Keeps your metabolism up and I bring my food to work with me to make sure I eat healthy (which can be hard, because there is a full kitchen with all kinds of goodies that we are allowed to eat whenever - part of why I gained this weight in the first place!)

    ;P

    I work nights. 5x a week 11pm-7am. I started working this shift in March of 2009. The hardest part was adjusting with my sleep. I was tired all the time. It got better when I found out I had diabetes type II Dec. 2009 which was the start of turning my life around. Now the hard part is the social life or in my case lack of one. I have Mon/Tues off and my friends usually are not up to doing stuff since they work your typical Mon thru Fri dayshift sechdule. Traditional weekends to do fun things don't really work for me since I work them too.

    my typical routine:
    2/3PM - in bed to sleep
    10:30pm - wake up head into work
    11pm-7am work. usually have my 1st meal of the day at some point. Also where I work it's rarely busy on the weekends so I'll go outside 20-30 mins to walk or jog usually around 2/3 AM. I work at a Naval base that's secure so I don't need to worry about traffic or crazies other than the occasional drunk sailor confusing me for a woman and hitting on me. (it's the damn moobs. they're shrinking but not fast enough damn it! :laugh: )
    7am - get off work and head to the YMCA
    8am-11am - Zumba, weights, walk, swim laps in the pool. I also recently been riding this exercise bike that's kind of like a virtual video game. you can ride against other cpu riders or chase dragons. I think it's called Expresso Rider or something along those lines. kinda fun
    11am-2pm shower at the YMCA head out to do errands if I need to and I usually have my 2nd meal here.

    Sleep for me is important. Usually eat 2x a day but there are times that I get so busy I will eat all my calories for the day in 1 sitting. I especially do this if I know that it will cut into my sleep. I tried the multiple 4-6x small meals thing, tried the sleeping in chunks 2-3 hours, wake up do stuff, sleep another 2-3 horus. It just doesn't work for me.
  • lbrittenson
    lbrittenson Posts: 21 Member
    I do 12 midnight to 4 am, 4-8, 8-12, 12-4, 4-8, 8-midnight every day, that way I sort of stay the same all week even though I only work 2 overnights.
  • laxwyo
    laxwyo Posts: 192 Member
    Man, these guys I work with can get some good sleep in! I definitely have the opportunity, but just can't. Every now and then I can, when I am hung over, but these guys do it like a switch.
  • Pip_squeak
    Pip_squeak Posts: 132 Member
    Is anyone working tonight.........uhhh........this morning?
  • michiganer
    michiganer Posts: 38 Member
    Is anyone working tonight.........uhhh........this morning?

    Yuppers. Til 6am est. I work 12 hour shifts 6am-6pm.
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
    Is anyone working tonight.........uhhh........this morning?

    Yuppers. Til 6am est. I work 12 hour shifts 6am-6pm.

    I am here until 7am PST.
  • michiganer
    michiganer Posts: 38 Member
    Is anyone working tonight.........uhhh........this morning?

    Yuppers. Til 6am est. I work 12 hour shifts 6am-6pm.

    I am here until 7am PST.

    Hope you guys are having a good night! I use the app all the time but this is really the first time to the website. I'm looking for a few friends so add me if you want to share some support!
  • GoTakizawa
    GoTakizawa Posts: 21
    I work midight to 8am. I wouldn't mind some more buddies. :happy:
  • amyram
    amyram Posts: 108 Member
    I work 4 on 4 off, get off at 8 am. Last one tonight. Then 12 days off which is the best part about working shift, lots of time off. :smile:
  • GoTakizawa
    GoTakizawa Posts: 21
    My body refuses to get used to night schedules.

    I don't think they can!! Our bodies have this...natural clock. I could never live in Alaska!! But it's even harder if you do nights like I do, for 3 nights and then go back to a regular schedule for 4 days, just to go back to nights for 3.

    Unless you are naturally inclined to be a graveyard shifter, like me! I find it much harder to live the 1st shift lifestyle.
  • GoTakizawa
    GoTakizawa Posts: 21
    I'm an evening shift worker! Blah! I work 4-12... I would say most of us on the night work are in public safety or nursing? Am I right?!

    Telecommunications at a Hospital.
  • amyram
    amyram Posts: 108 Member
    Control room operator in a gas plant in northern BC.
  • GoTakizawa
    GoTakizawa Posts: 21
    You guys will have to give me some of your food secrets for the nights and how you manage that with sleeping. I think I have a decent routine and eating schedule going on now, but I would like to learn how everyone else does it too!!


    Here is how I work it...

    I work 10pm-6am....

    3/4pm: Wake up
    4/5pm: Breakfast
    7/8pm: After Gym Snack
    10/11pm: Lunch
    1/2am: mid-work snack
    4/5am: Dinner
    6/7am: pre-bed protein
    7/8am: Sleep

    Keeps your metabolism up and I bring my food to work with me to make sure I eat healthy (which can be hard, because there is a full kitchen with all kinds of goodies that we are allowed to eat whenever - part of why I gained this weight in the first place!)

    ;P

    PS: tinfoil on the windows and/or an eye mask will be your BEST FRIEND. Make sure you sleep in a super dark environment. Better sleep means better weight loss... and keeps you healthy (melatonin levels up, etc.)

    Hey maybe I am doing this right?! I pretty much follow the same kind of schedule, though I need to improve on my food choices.
  • satxtrap
    satxtrap Posts: 120 Member
    I love working nights. Basically I just offset my schedule 12 hours. (sleep, get up, work, workout, do whatever, repeat)
    I get up at 8 PM have breakfast and get to work at 10 PM. About 1 AM I have a snack. At 4 AM I have my "lunch". I leave at 6 AM and when I get to the house I have my "dinner", wait about an hour, and then hit my workout. I try to crash between noon and 1 PM. On weekends I hit the gym at 2 AM and it's almost always all mine. :)
  • iluvjc4ever
    iluvjc4ever Posts: 10 Member
    I work nights at a trauma center and I work in the Emergency Department or Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. My shift is 6pm to 6:30am typically 3 nights a week; occasionally more. The hardest part for me is switching back and forth between night shift and the day shift for the rest of the week since I usually work Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and then I wake up with my kids Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday day. I consider breakfast the first meal regardless of whatever time I wake up. So if I'm not working then that may be 7 am but if I do work then this may be 4 pm. I work in the hospital so it gets tricky to always eat healthy because we have a cafeteria and vending machines and then the departments I work in are notoriously bad for potlucks and having junk food on hand. For example tonight in the MD pit someone brought in oreos and del taco burritos and sodas....grrr. So every time I need an order updated or have a concern the bad food is right there. I love working nights because it means I get to spend all week at home with my kids and they are sleeping for most of the time that I'm at work so that they don't realize how much I'm gone and we don't need a babysitter since my husband works during the day.

    I've done pretty good at not gaining more weight working night shift although that tends to be a common problem since we are messing with our circadian rythmn (that's what responsible for telling us when to sleep). So working night shift when we tend to start feeling tired we tend to start eating more in order to help us stay awake and thus it's easy to keep finding more weight. Just make sure that you sleep in a dark room and try to make sure you are actually getting enough sleep and it should help you to not feel like you want to eat to stay awake...

    Anyway, it's nice to see so many people on here are in the same situation I am in regarding both the weightloss goals and night shift. Best of luck in your journey!
  • LittleNicci
    LittleNicci Posts: 284 Member
    I work 11pm - 730am :-D
  • abaka123
    abaka123 Posts: 48
    I work night shift at the hospital- 3 12 hr shifts 7p-7a. I have the same struggle as most people. More so with excerising than eating. I goto bed at 830am try to wake up at 230pm to walk the dogs and 45 min of cardio. but some people dont understand sleeping 6 hours during the day is WAAYYY different than sleeping 6 hours at night. If they think it is, then they should try it for a week. So when I wake my energy is zilch and feel like a zombie walking the dogs. I havent had problems with dieitng bc i bring small snacks to work, i love the green giant instant veggie steamers. very filling. I cook a weeks worth of chicken breasts and bring the veggies- what a filling meal. also bring apples and penut butter, carrot sticks, celery, small yogurts.
  • ikoiko33
    ikoiko33 Posts: 43
    I worked nights and a split shift of eves/nights for 2 years ... on a six day rotating schedule. It was the split shift that really messed me up - 2 nights, starting at 11PM followed by 2 eves (3PM - 11PM) with what was supposed to be 2 days off in between. But, considering that I has to be at work at 11PM on my second day off, I never really had a full 2 days off in a row. This of course didn't take into account overtime and being ordered into work.

    As whatever time off I had, I was trying to catch up on sleep, I found it very difficult to exercise and keep fit. I gained a lot of weight, and it wasn't until I got back onto a "normal" schedule that I was able to exercise on a regular basis again. Even six years later, I still have some difficulty with a routine sleep schedule.
  • boomrain
    boomrain Posts: 74 Member
    Yes I work nights 11pm-7am and 7pm-7am, its hard because i was always snacking on the wrong things, I got a plan toward healthy snacking;-)

    I hear you. When I FIRST started working nights, I wouldn't eat anything ALL day and then when I would get to work, I would just eat all night...and NOT the right things. In a year, I gained like 40 pounds and I was like, enough is enough. It definitely is hard to find that balance and the right things to eat that are going to keep you full and energized. It's a really tough lifestyle!!
  • boomrain
    boomrain Posts: 74 Member
    I love working nights. Basically I just offset my schedule 12 hours. (sleep, get up, work, workout, do whatever, repeat)
    I get up at 8 PM have breakfast and get to work at 10 PM. About 1 AM I have a snack. At 4 AM I have my "lunch". I leave at 6 AM and when I get to the house I have my "dinner", wait about an hour, and then hit my workout. I try to crash between noon and 1 PM. On weekends I hit the gym at 2 AM and it's almost always all mine. :)

    I pretty much follow this same schedule, only I go to sleep after my "dinner" because I have to drive to my gym...and I don't want to risk falling asleep at the wheel even if I think that I am awake enough. So I go to sleep, I wake up about two hours before work, I go to the gym, eat, and then head to work.
  • boomrain
    boomrain Posts: 74 Member
    My body refuses to get used to night schedules.

    I don't think they can!! Our bodies have this...natural clock. I could never live in Alaska!! But it's even harder if you do nights like I do, for 3 nights and then go back to a regular schedule for 4 days, just to go back to nights for 3.

    Unless you are naturally inclined to be a graveyard shifter, like me! I find it much harder to live the 1st shift lifestyle.

    I have a friend who is also what you would call "A night owl." She always lived a night life and she's also a huge gamer...I have no idea if that has ANYTHING to do with staying up late, but she says that she's always up late playing games. She says she is not a morning person at all, so the night shift is actually perfect for her. So, I would say yeah, if you're the type of person who is constantly up all night anyway, then graveyard is totally meant for you. I am capable of staying up, obviously cause I work nights, but my body and I don't prefer it. So, I can be a night owl, but I am SOOO a morning a person. I am ALWAYS up early on my days off, my girlfriend thinks I am nuts because I just can't sleep in for very long. If get a good 8 hours, then I am up and ready to go. This job would be easier on me if I was able to get more sleep on the nights that I work. I only sleep for about...4-5 hours because I can't seem to STAY asleep...so that's the biggest issue that I am dealing with.
  • boomrain
    boomrain Posts: 74 Member
    I would just like to say that it's really awesome that I was able to start this and find so many people who are in the same boat as I am. It is extremely comforting knowing that I am not the only one struggling with this. It's also nice that we're all here for the same reasons, to get healthier. It's a great support system! Thanks everyone!!! :) Feel free to add me if I haven't already added you and if you haven't added me! I'm always looking to dole out some support and/or advice the best I can and I love the support from all of you. So thanks again! I start my overnights again tomorrow (Monday) night, 9pm-9am so I will be around for sure!! :)
  • Poppymcgook
    Poppymcgook Posts: 6 Member
    Hi there folks please add me to this site as any advice and tips would b greatly appreciated x I'm a nurse and I work nite duty from 8pm-8am then might work a few days x I really don't no wot way 2 work my daily intake etc and how do I go about seeing people's dairies 2 give me an idea as wot 2 eat (i also have an under active thyriod which doesnt really help matters) thanks in advance x ps not very good with computers x
  • pinkprincess1952
    pinkprincess1952 Posts: 194 Member
    Its gonna be a long night... the hospitall is full and very busy...

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