What Do You Do When....

tishka11

You sleep in one morning, or sleep at an irregular hour, and thus have less hours in the day in which to eat.
Do you:
Eat less calories for that day?
Eat the same amount of calories but just squeeze them all into the smaller time frame?

And do you still work out as you would have for any other day?
Do you just not go to the gym that day and eat less?

For example, last night i was out and only slept from 7am-11am thus i missed my breakfast and morning snack, but i dont feel i can fit the rest in so will only eat 650 cal for my day, but still do the same amount of exercise i would have done anyway (ironically burning about 700cal)

Whats the generaly consensus of when your sleeping times change?

chelle_fri

All diet and exercise plans remain the same regardless of when I wake up/go to bed. You still burn calories even when you are sleeping. 650 is a ridiculously low amount of calories, no matter what you are doing.

littlemegzz

I have had that exact same issue today. I slept in until 10am. I wasn't hungry when I woke up, so I just had an apple and some nuts to try and kickstart my metabolism.

I had lunch at 12:45, even though I wasn't really hungry, as I had a group meeting for uni at 1.

I snacked on a peach and some more nuts at 2:30ish, even though I wasn't hungry (had just bought the peaches and really wanted one).

I went for an hour walk after the meeting; got home and here I am, it's nearly 8pm and im not really hungry still.

I have also had water throughout the day. So yea, looks like I wont really go over 900 cal today. Im thinking I might increase my dinner a little just to bump it up - but I'm still not that hungry....

One thing to also note is that I am doing high protein, low carbs atm. My body seems to respond best to this.

mockchoc

You will regreat eating a very low calorie diet later on. Eat some nuts or nut butter, avocado, add some good oils etc.. anything to up your calories.

brit_ks_89

totally agree with you !

brit_ks_89

You will regreat eating a very low calorie diet later on. Eat some nuts or nut butter, avocado, add some good oils etc.. anything to up your calories.

totally agree with you!

NocturnalGirl

Sleep patterns doesn't affect my calories or workout for the day. One slightly off day is fine but you can always eat higher calorie foods to add the calories up faster.

TavistockToad

All diet and exercise plans remain the same regardless of when I wake up/go to bed. You still burn calories even when you are sleeping. 650 is a ridiculously low amount of calories, no matter what you are doing.

This!

nyxrun

I work nights...after the last night I sometimes sleep from 10 am until like 4 pm....then go to bed at 11:00 pm like a normal person. There's NO WAY I'll hit my calorie goal on those nights. I might eat 800 calories if I really try. conversely, there's always one day where it's really high calorie - because I'm eating another whole meal as I transition back.

My solution: I average my calories over the week. It's the only way I can manage and still keep sane.

13pointUNO

I work nights...after the last night I sometimes sleep from 10 am until like 4 pm....then go to bed at 11:00 pm like a normal person. There's NO WAY I'll hit my calorie goal on those nights. I might eat 800 calories if I really try. conversely, there's always one day where it's really high calorie - because I'm eating another whole meal as I transition back.

My solution: I average my calories over the week. It's the only way I can manage and still keep sane.

I'm in exactly the same boat. Like today for example....I'm done with work in an hour (@ 7am). I'll sleep for a few hours, get up for football, and be in bed by 9 or 10pm. However, on Wednesday I'll be up at a normal hour....maybe 7am....and I work nights so I'll be up for 24 hours by the time I get home. Just average it out.

JesterMFP

All diet and exercise plans remain the same regardless of when I wake up/go to bed. You still burn calories even when you are sleeping. 650 is a ridiculously low amount of calories, no matter what you are doing.

^This.

You don't need to eat the exact same number of calories every day, but eating so low just because you slept a little later seems a bit extreme. It won't matter for one day, but I'd be wary of seeing this as a "solution" for sleeping in. You can't always control the circumstances of your day, so you won't always be able to follow a rigid routine. Being able to be flexible with your eating will definitely help you in the long run.

elebel82

I handle it a little differently from the other shift workers and make it a day from when I get up until when I go to bed. I have one long day where I eat 4 or 5 fairly low calorie meals and one short day which I make my "cheat" day - still eat within my calories, but if I'm craving chocolate cake or fish and chips or a night out with friends = drinks, I make it that day. Whichever way you do it, if it averages out, then it's okay, but it's probably not best to take a 650 calorie day without making up for it elsewhere, your body is still needing fuel, it's working 24/7.

jennifer_417

I work nights...after the last night I sometimes sleep from 10 am until like 4 pm....then go to bed at 11:00 pm like a normal person. There's NO WAY I'll hit my calorie goal on those nights. I might eat 800 calories if I really try. conversely, there's always one day where it's really high calorie - because I'm eating another whole meal as I transition back.

My solution: I average my calories over the week. It's the only way I can manage and still keep sane.

I totally do this too!! I can sleep 18 hours sometimes on my 1st day off!

LoraF83

All diet and exercise plans remain the same regardless of when I wake up/go to bed. You still burn calories even when you are sleeping. 650 is a ridiculously low amount of calories, no matter what you are doing.

This!

Uh yeah. Me personally, I would celebrate that I now had more calories to "play" with for the rest of the day and have something that I normally couldn't make fit into my goal.

Of course, my goal is based of my TDEE, so there's not much that I can't make fit.....but still.

And, it's one day. Not worth freaking out over. One day won't make or break you either way. But you will probably feel sick if you don't eat much (especially if you are, ahem....hung over and lacking sleep).

AmberJo1984

On mornings I sleep later, I usually eat less for the entire day.