I work night shift, what do I do?

Rickd530

I work nights. 12 hour shifts. I do not sleep much, 4-5 hours per day, if I am lucky. This is obviously not good for weight loss, but I have no choice, it is what it is.

My main question...

If I work 7pm to 7am, I usually get home at 8-830 in the morning. I eat a small meal before I sleep. Otherwise I wake up after two hours, hungry. I sleep my 5 hrs, wake up and start it all over. When do I start tracking my calories??? Is the small meal I have before I sleep part of my caloric intake for the day? When do I stop counting the calories for the day? If I am to eat 2250 calories for my day, when do I stop and start? I am obviously burning more calories, but how many?

Please do not lecture me on my sleep patterns or work hours. That cannot change. Please just help me work through the counting part. I know there is a right way.

R

loic901

hmmm.... 7 to 7.... sleep 7 hours that is still giving you 5 hours a day for shower gym cooking cleaning travel time... anyway lol you dont want us to talk about that so.....


i work on night **** too i start a 23:00.

what i would suggest you is.. enter everything you eat just like a normal day .. if you wake up at 3 pm and eat ... put this as ur breakfast

then at 6pm(fictive hours) put this as ur lunch..

when eating at the job during the night put this as ur dinner

everything else in ur day put it in snack...


thats what i do and it works pretty well

nornyb

I also work 12 hour nights, this is how I do it and track on those nights.....
I eat a normal dinner before I go in, a snack at 2200, lunch at 0200ish and try for another snack around 0630 so I have energy for the gym (I go before heading home for bed) and then breakfast when I get home. My diary is open, feel free to check it out.

lacroyx

When do I start tracking my calories???

I track midnight to midnight

tricksee

you can start tracking anytime but its simpler to use a 24 period. Try not live by the clock, though. Time is just man made measurement.... you don't have to adhere to it. I don't live life by the clock.

AntWrig

you can start tracking anytime but its simpler to use a 24 period. Try not live by the clock, though. Time is just man made measurement.... you don't have to adhere to it. I don't live life by the clock.

Well said!

AprilRN10

You do what works for you. I work 12 hour nights as well. I have two jobs, a family, and I am a head room parent at the school so I do a lot of stuff there. I log my foods from midnight to midnight. My food log is set up in four hour blocks not in meals because It's not often I eat a real meal. I work 630p to 7a. I drive 40 minutes one way. So I get home around 8, take kiddo to school, go back home, send my man off to work, work out, take a shower, then go to bed. By then it is about 11a. I sleep til four and do it all over again.

mic1mam

I also work nights, 5pm-330am. When I get up is Breakfast, lunch before work, dinner at work, snacks for the remainder. Just pick a start time and stick to it. The label of breakfast,lunch, dinner is up to you.

EPingul

I also work 7p-7a... and I too track from MN to MN breaking it down in 4 hour segments. Doing it this way helps me graze through the night and reminds me that I should be eating small frequent snacks/meals... Make sure that you are eating good foods (pack a bag ahead of time if possible to keep you away from take out and vending machines). Drink lots and lots of water! Oh... and try to make sure that you aren't eating just because you are bored or just to stay awake! I'm soooo guilty of that! Typically I snack on fruit or yogurt at the beginning of shift, then eat a larger "meal" around 930-10pm... snack again at MN (protein shake), 2 am (sweet snack) and 4am (salty snack) and a slightly heavier breakfast when I get home right before bed. Hang in there! Night shift can make it tough! There is a great night shift group here too if you are looking for some folks to commiserate with you overnight! Good Luck!

IWantToo

Do not over complicate it. I use to work nights too and blamed nights on my weight, and then I went to days and gained 20 pounds in the first month that I am still trying to get off... utilize that night shift while you can.. i find that since my body was on a 24 hour cycle it burned more, i could eat way more without gaining.. now not so much... try and get 30-40 mins of exercise in before work and after...and just make good food choices.. dont worry about tracking precisely.. id say letyoure breakfast start when you get home from work and have that meal before bed and let your dinner end on your "lunch" at work I thnk thats hw i use to do it...

Rickd530

Thanks everyone. I like all of the ideas posted. It would be easier, for me, to stick to a schedule if I worked 7 days a week!

My first day back from days off is toughest. I ate like a normal person yesterday with no sleep and went straight to work. I packed snacks, lunch but had that total applied towards yesterday, not today (after midnight). So I didn't pack enough and am starving now. Trying to avoid the fast food and vending machines!!!
@RN Your schedule is similar to mine. I get the kids to school, but then have to turn around and pick them up as well. I try to get a work-out in there - either when I get home, or when I wake up. Sometimes its tough to motivate and get it done!

tattoosandheels

I work graves too! I work 9pm - 6am, and get home around 7:30. Normally I wanna go to bed, but I found that going to the gym immediately after I get off work for an hour or two THEN going home and going to bed (being asleep by 10AM) lets me sleep much better and I feel so much more pride in myself once I'm done. Its all about whether or not you want to make excuses or make results. I did the excuses thing (im not sleeping enough, but im hungry, blah blah blah) and it didnt do much for me. So i sucked it up and did what I had to do and went to the gym and lost 11 lbs in a month! keep your head up!

Cait_Sidhe

I also work 12 hour overnights (8:30-8:30) and get about 5 hours of sleep in between due to public transportation.

Don't panic. It's just a regular day to us. I use the 24 hour system that's been suggested. I have 6 time slots of 4 hours each (8am-12pm, 12pm-4pm, 4pm-8pm, 8pm-12am, 12am-4am, 4am-8am). I log what I eat in the time slot in which I ate it. I don't keep a night schedule on my days off, so again, I just log my food at the time in which I ate it.

24 hours is 24 hours no matter how you look at it.

RaineyLaney

I too work 3rds. I eat when I get home in the morning (I record that as my breakfast for the new day.. then I sleep, I eat my lunch right before going into work and then my dinner and snacks

I have an open food diary and log daily. I have type 2 diabetes (and hardly have to take my meds now). I do eat 6 times a day. 3 main meals and 3 snacks. I put the times I eat and my FBS in my notes. Feel free to add me

scpeach04

I work 3 12's Sunday - Tuesday 6p-630am and also balance that with another full time job. This being said I get limited sleep and exercise during my nights on. I try to start my week with exercise. Today I started my day with a 3pm Zumba class and my breakfast was at that time as well. I will continue my diary for Sunday until I go to bed around 7 am.

nornyb

Thanks everyone. I like all of the ideas posted. It would be easier, for me, to stick to a schedule if I worked 7 days a week!

My first day back from days off is toughest. I ate like a normal person yesterday with no sleep and went straight to work. I packed snacks, lunch but had that total applied towards yesterday, not today (after midnight). So I didn't pack enough and am starving now. Trying to avoid the fast food and vending machines!!!
@RN Your schedule is similar to mine. I get the kids to school, but then have to turn around and pick them up as well. I try to get a work-out in there - either when I get home, or when I wake up. Sometimes its tough to motivate and get it done!

I also log midnight to midnight and it almost always works out. I keep a few protein bars in my bag (and in the glove box of my car) just in case I have one of those crazy nights when I can't sit down and eat.

NurseSturgill

I work 12 hour 730pm-8am and have been struggling with this as well. It's good to see that there is no real right answer lol. I guess doing whatever seems natural to your life works as well as any other method.

AliTomy

I also work 7p-7a. Since I switch back and forth (i try and keep normal-ish hours on my days off) I just trach my calories from when I wake up to when I go to bed...whatever times that might be. It seems to be working for me pretty well. The first day I work it's a but hard to keep in my calories because I'm usually awake for almost 24 hours, and after the last night of work I sleep most of the next day/night so I'm under on that day so it balances pretty well. Just figure out what works best for you! I have coworkers that end at midnight - and that works for them.

Good luck!!

blisser99

I also work 12 hr graveyards. 8pm-8am and I just added an overnight lunch section and then of course my snacks. The days I'm off are daytime logs, and the days I work are overnight logs. The only part I get confused about is my Mondays and Fridays. My Mondays I stay awake over 24 hours and then my fridays I sleep mostly... So I do the 24 hours is 24 hours. I just hope my body recognizes the extra calories one day will even out with the fewer calories a couple days later.

Lmezz11

I work rotating shifts so instead of trying to figure out when my days end or begin I just track midnight to midnight.

Sandraleigh87

I work 12's as well. 6pm-6am. I consider it the beginning of my day when I wake up and the end when I go to sleep. Everything I eat in between gets logged as the same day that I woke up on.

shellebelle79

I too work 3rds. I eat when I get home in the morning (I record that as my breakfast for the new day.. then I sleep, I eat my lunch right before going into work and then my dinner and snacks

I have an open food diary and log daily. I have type 2 diabetes (and hardly have to take my meds now). I do eat 6 times a day. 3 main meals and 3 snacks. I put the times I eat and my FBS in my notes. Feel free to add me

I track my food the same way, but try to limit what I eat at home that way I don't end up eating 2 dinners... I'm just glad I'm not the only one working 3rd shift! I just hate when my body thinks its best to try and nap in the car on the ride home from work this is one of the reasons I have only 1 side view mirror... sleepy plus mail box... enough said! lol

Sarahlascelles

Sorry if I'm telling you something you already know...
Under settings there is an option to change from named meal times to time bands - that might suit you?

lilly_star

I work 12hour shifts as well rotating 4 days 3 nights from 6 to 6 so I know how you feel. I start my calories from when I wake up in the afternoon and I count my slow release protein shake before bed the next morning as part of the same day. So for example; breakfast @ 3.30pm - snack @ 7, lunch @ 10pm, snack @ 1am; dinner @ 4am, snack @ 7am (before bed). Works out well for me I am at goal weight and have now started a body sculpting program

Mutant13

I do a 6pm to 6am shift. I track from when I wake up, until when I go to sleep as the same day. It's best to keep things simple in my experience

_Libitina_

My husband works midnights 11pm-7am. I stay on his schedule. I maintain my breakfast (midnight), Lunch (3am), dinner (8am) I plan lots of snacks. Fruits and veggies as much as I want all night. I have a small snack between 10-11 then go to bed around 2pm. Sometimes you just need to find a good rhythm with your body.

I ended up gaining a lot of weight in the past while working this shift because I tried so hard to figure out when I should eat and not when my body wanted to eat.

Good luck and don't stress too much over it.

BonaFideUK

Its quite simple. Log everything you eat while you're awake. Whatever time you wake up, breakfast would be your first meal, etc...

reginaclay

I am in the same boat as you I work 7a to 7p. It is tough. Unless you are going to work out before going to sleep, I do not recommend eating an extensive meal before you go to sleep, but a sensible snack. Because eating a meal just before you go to sleep in my eyes would equate to would you do that if you were on a normal sleep schedule. For example, if I ate dinner at 5pm I would not be eating a meal at say 9pm just before I went to sleep... a good recipe for gaining weight. Being that you do work the night shift, I do not know what your caffeine intake is, but I would keep it to too cups of caffeine in a 24 hour period if you can swing it. You do not want to overstress your adrenal glands which would increase your cortisol levels...a good recipe for weight gain in the belly region. What I do, it I count my breakfast at 3am. Try to get in a snack around 07-0730 (When you are giving report if possible) Like a smoothie, yogurt with berries and some nuts. Something sensible like that so that you won't lie down on a heavy meal. I would consider when you awake to be your lunch (and your biggest meal) and then around 2200 can be your dinner (something sensible). My 3am breakfast usually consists of oatmeal with berries and flaxseed, some juice or milk. In between, drink your water, I often find that that is usually where I lack especially if I feel more hungry than usual. Also, if you find yourself craving the things that you should not eat, that is indicative that you have not gotten enough sleep. And I understand completely, I work off hours and I am a single parent of a very sickly little boy. With some work...it can be done. You just have to adjust. I hope this helps! Good luck!