Any other night shift-ers out there?

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

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?

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!

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.

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.

@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!

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!

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.