Working the night shift

bperez45

Hello all, is there any one working night shift doing P90X or similar exercise that can offer advise on how to best follow the diet. I'm having trouble with the snacks during the night. During days that I don't work I can follow the diet plan no problem, but during shift, I'm hungry!!!! specially prior to going to bed.


Any advise?

casshole

I too work the night shift and do P90X, but I have never really followed the nutrition plan that well. My guess would be just to have it be the same as you would a regular day but so that "breakfast" is when you wake up, and "supper" would be closer to the time you go to bed. I try to eat my carbs in the morning so I can burn them off during the day, and protein after work out to help build muscle. Just make sure you dont eat too much before bed. I hope that helps you out a little :happy:

cutmd

Hello! I sometimes work the night shift. In the ER we cycle between days, swing, and nights. So that's 1/3 of my time. I did insanity before and finished p90x this week (well, I just have to do kenpo x and then recovery week). For all shifts my system is the same:

Hour 0- (After waking up): p90x/other main exercise
Hour 1- drink recovery drink (in my case chocolate milk), get ready for work, prepare meals, head to work
Hour 3 or 4: meal 1, ie oatmeal with almonds
Hour 6 or 7: meal 2, ie kale salad with tuna
Hour 9 or 10: meal 3, ie eggs and turkey sausage
Hour 11 or 12: come home, errands +/- nap
Hour 12 or 13: meal 4, ie turkey burger with green beans
Hour 16: sleep until hour 0

I aim for 400 cals or so for each meal. This way I don't get hungry. I know a lot of people who dont eat during the night shift, but thats when im upmand burning calories, so i dont change a thing. While they are starving and then bingeing right before bed i am enjoying my healthy meals. I plan out my meals the day before and bring them with me to work. It seems like a lot of effort but after a while it's second nature. Since joining the site I do my meal planning on MFP.

Hope that helps!

bperez45

Thank you for all your comments! Looks like I'm doing what everyone has suggested, what do you do during your days off?