Any other night shift-ers out there?

aelizabethw05

So I've begun this weight loss journey before (many times), and most times seem to give up after a week or so and just go back to my old eating habits, but I'm incredibly determined this go around.

SO I'm only 10 days in at this point but I'm finding that my work schedule is going to be a challenge.

I'm a nurse, I work 12 hour night shifts from 7pm to 7am.

I'm finding that it is incredibly hard to find balance between on and off days with my food intake. If i'm working days back to back I have a hard time getting in the calories that I need and there's not a lot of time between working and sleeping to prepare food, pack my lunch, etc. If its the first night back to work I'm usually awake a good part of the day and then go to work and am awake for 20+ hours and I don't know if i should count my calories from midnight to midnight or from when I wake up to when I go to bed.

Just wondering if anyone else out there works night shift or has any words of wisdom? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Amy

kiwikuchenvogel

Hey, I have the same problem working nights and it can be very challenging to adjust my night work with getting some sleep and training, not to mention on my off days a totally diff. rhythm kicks in.
Here is how I count calories,on the first day of work I stand up at 7 or 8 ( can't sleep in when I didn't work the night before) then I eat breakfast and go all day how a normal day would be besides that right before work I eat a bigger portion then I would when I have off.
I can't eat at night so this will be pretty much my last source of food till the next day ( sometimes I take a little snack like a granola bar for the half an hour break ) next morning I bike home ( so first training session is done) I also am not hungry after work so I just go to bed. Wake up eat breakfast ( I sleep around 5 hours ) 2nd training session then lunch then dinner again right before work.
I don't think that is the healthiest way to do it but I also don't know what else to do. A lot of times when I work I don't net out the way I should so it worries me.
I hope someone else has a good advice and that we night shiftler can still have a healthy life style

aelizabethw05

bump:)

handb2

I work nights (also a nurse), one set every 5 weeks or so, 12.5 hour shifts. The first day, i normal try to have a lie on which means i either have a late breakfast or early lunch, then dinner right before i go to work, then i only have snack food at work like fruit, low cal museli bar, small pack of popcorn and lots of tea/coffee. Then in the morning if im hungry before bed i might have a bowl of cereal which i count as breakfast for the next day, then again dinner before work and snacks at work. If not, i might have my cereal when i wake up and bring something substantial to work with me to have on my break, by the second night im usually hungrier during the night. Its tough but u have to be organised, otherwise you either wont meet your goal or you'll go way over by indulging in whatevers convenient and probably unhealthy. I think, although its difficult, its important to eat small and often, its hard on your metabolism if you go all night without eating. You will lose quicker if you eat often throughout the night.
You need to be organised when it comes to excerise too. When i initially started trying to lose weight and improve my fitness i decided that being on nights was no longer an excuse to do no exercise all week. At first i would go for a walk before work, then shower and change at home, then i realised the hospital was only 5mins further than the distance i was walking around my village so i decided to burn the fuel in my body instead of the fuel in my car. Mondays i do the usual gym or swim before i start night shift, tues eve walk to work (45min), wed mornin walk home from work, (wed eve and thurs morning drive) thurs eve walk to work, fri mornin walk home and so on, so that i get in 45mins each day and because i'm goin somewhere i hardly feel like i'm working out. And i just shower and change when i get in to work. When u think about it, you'd only spend that time watchin tv or reading anyway and it helps me sleep so much better once i get home. Great way to clear the head and de-stress too. Do u live near your work?

Srtasleepypants

So i havent quite figured out the working out thing but i think i have the food figured out... So this is how I do it.

On the first day of work i wake up at 9-930 and eat breakfast, go to the gym, eat a late lunch. At about 1600-1630 I take a nap till 1730, then when I wake up and have a snack before work. I take my dinner with me. I have found since I started working nights I am hungry 24/7. The next day I sleep about 5 or 6 hours and eat about the same way.

I was so worried that I would just end up eatting all the time which is highly possible and really end up with a problem. However, as I said I have still not figured out the gym thing but have managed to make the scale go the other direction with just food control.

alexandrahusk

I work nights 7p-7a so I definitely feel your pain! I also work with some other nurses on the same shift who use MFP but do things a little differently than I do. I personally log my calories from the time I was up to when I go to bed. That way I am NEVER hungry. I eat a small meal before I leave for work, then pack a TON of snacks and eat two more small meals there. Usually I just bring a ton of easy to eat fruits and veggies, canned tuna, hummus, lean cuisines (If I have no other food at home), and obviously I drink tons of water and tea. I *try* to plan my meals the day before because I like to sleep up until the time I have to get ready and leave, so on my days off I try and make extra of my meals so I can take those to work. Subway is great for when I'm running late and need a meal! I grab a foot long and eat it for two small meals.

As far as working out goes, I've found I CANNOT get up before work to work out. I just can't. I have to do it when I get home. Yes, I'm tired after 12.5 hours of work, but if I come straight home and change my clothes, i find it's much easier to just get it done. Then I just head straight to bed.

I hope this helps!

StatHaldol

I work the same hours, 7pm-7am a week on and a week off. It works out best for me to log from midnight to midnight, when I started doing that, it was a lot easier to keep up with my calories (or it seems so to me).

artickb22

I'm a nurse as well and work 3p-midnight. I pretty much have changed my whole schedule. I'll have a pre workout snack around 10 or so, then have breakfast around 2pm before I get ready for work. Then I bring two meals to work with me and some healthy snacks. I bring fruit, carrots, broccoli ect to snack on then I'll have my lunch and dinner. It's kind of a hassle to have to carry all of it in to work but it works for me. I don't like to eat after I get off work cause I'm usually going to bed within a couple of hours.

Jumeka

HEY
IAM NIGHT SHIFT WORKER ALSO I AM STRUGGLE REALLY BAD TO BALANCE MY MEALS. I WORK 6-4AM OR 8-6 AM AND MY ENGERY LEVEL HAS GONE DOWN SERVERALLY.

IT'S GLAD TO SEE OTHER PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING TOO.

Wanderlost

I'm a truck driver, and I work nights and I rarely work the exact same hours. Talk about a challenge for both diet and exercise. I do take 12 hours off in between shifts to make sure I get the proper amount of sleep, and have time to exercise, shower and eat breakfast before work.

I log my meals from when I get up, until I go to sleep. I basically run my night like a day. I eat breakfast before I go to work, then pack several items to eat for lunches. I eat about every 2-4 hours something between 300-600 calories. Then when I get home I have dinner, something very very small before bed. I try to keep "dinner" under 300 calories and avoid carbs as much as possible since it's right before bed. Might not be the best to eat right before bed, but it's the only way I can get through the "night" (day) and make it thru my workout at the gym before breakfast the "next" day. And it's been working for me.

I found that once I got into a rhythm it because much easier. Preparing some foods ahead for the week helps too (chicken, hamburger patties, etc..) I can pop them into the Microwave at a Terminal or cook them in a little cooker I keep in the truck if I'm not going to be near a terminal. Planning has been the key. Sometimes things get screwy at work and my plan falls apart so I hit Subway from time to time when that happens.

fumigoh

I work the same hours, 7pm-7am a week on and a week off. It works out best for me to log from midnight to midnight, when I started doing that, it was a lot easier to keep up with my calories (or it seems so to me).

I totally agree with logging your intakes from midnight to midnight. Apart from sleeping in the day time after work just eat normal meals as usual(breakfast,lunch dinner, snacks too).

I'm working at a hotel and usually would have night shift once every 3 weeks or so. For the first day on starting my night shift, I would tend to have a very late breakfast(say about 12pm - 1pm) and a very low calorie meal that is. After this meal I would usually run my errands(bills,banks,cleaning up) and nap till 6pm. After a nap getting ready for work, that's when I would have my lunch about 7pm. My work starts usually at 11pm so I'll usually bring my dinner(also quite a light dinner) and eat them about 12 midnight. I find drinking more water when you are doing overnight shift helps you to get less hungry when you work and also it's good to keep you hydrated throughout the night. Snacking on fruits, nuts, yoghurts most of the night.

After work on the next morning, I'll usually have a very light breakfast at about 9am and sleep in till the next meal which would be at about 7pm. And the cycle goes round and round. And I'll usually schedule my workouts after my sleep before my lunch at 7pm.

Hope this helps. Cheers!!

brittfj

@fumingoh
I work the same schedule and have a hard time the first day going to work. I end up adding all the calories from the time i wake up until the time i go to bed, of course i end up going over but it gets too difficult (such as if the night is busy thinking of when i ate what and at what time) to put everything in and then to which day. The next day i am always under so i suppose it ends up evening itself out. I hope this helps! Keep up the good work!

A_Shannigans

I suggest you plan your meals ahead perhaps make some things you can freeze to take with you on your work nights. I work nights too right now from a home office but soon I'm moving to a regular one so I have to make a plan for getting my cals in.

as far as logging I don't think it matters that much whether you log from 12am -12 am or the time you get up to the time you go to bed. I do mine 12am -12 am out of force of habit and so far my 1st week I dropped 3 lbs. I exercise when I get off work. While I'm on shift I take any opportunity I can find to get in a little movement as well.

PythagorasStorm

I work four different shifts in sets of 2, 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm, 11pm-7am or whatever hours I want (for research), and I struggled at first, but I think routine is the key. Although I can't have the same routine for every day, I keep the same one for every day of a certain shift. I also find that I get super hungry on nights, so I have my lunch during the night, then my breakfast when I wake up at about midday (and then no meal until dinner). I also pretty much have the same thing for 'breakfast' every single day, and the same thing for 'lunch', which I also find helps (but maybe I am just really into routines!). It is hard though, and its taken me a long time to establish a good routine, and I have to say, saying no to the vending machine is a lot harder when its 3am and your not thinking rationally anymore!

MerBear1985

I work the same shift schedule, except I rotate between nights and days. Still haven't gotten it 100% figured out especially with being awake so long that first day before starting nights (I usually just go over a bit because I am awake for longer). My food diary is set up in time increments like:

Midnight to 8am
8am to Noon
Noon to 4pm
4pm to 8pm
8pm to Midnight

I track midnight to midnight...this helps take away some of the confusion for me as to which place I put what I eat. As for not having time between shifts to cook, on my days off I make up a bunch of healthy meal mains and put them in single serving containers in the freezer. Then all I have to do is pack them for work. I do the same with fruit and veggies, have them all ready in the fridge so I can just grab them. Works with nuts etc as well. Ziploc snack containers and bags are my best friend working shift work! This way you get in your calories but aren't sacrificing sleep to do it.

Hope this helps

Feel free to add me as a friend if you want to. 12 hour shifts can be brutal!!!

3dogsrunning

I work 7-7, two days, two nights, 4 off. My dayshifts I eat 6 smaller meals over the day (note - meal frequency and timing is irreverent for weight loss. It does not affect your metabolism , 1 huge meal or 6 smaller ones, it doesn't matter. I eat 6 meals because it keeps me from getting too hungry). When I get up on the day of first backshift, I have a small meal or two, then I nap. When I get up, I eat supper and eat about every 4 hours. I log from the time I get up that day until I go to bed the next morning. When I get up after the first backshift, my day starts over again and I eat 6 meals over the shift.
I can be over on the first backshift, but tend to eat less the first day off because I sleep for part of the day. It averages out.

It doesn't really matter how you do it though. Pick a way that works for you and stick with that.

As for no time - I cook a lot of food ahead of time. I also freeze what I can to bring for lunches. If I am really slack, I will run to the grocery store and buy a whole roast chicken (enough for 3-4 meals), cans of tuna, prepared salad and Uncle Bens brown rice pack you throw in the microwave. My local grocery store also sells individual sized cut veggies and fruit so I grab one of those. Of course being a nurse you may not have the luxury of running to the grocery store on shift.