Night shift...and counting calories from when to when?

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aquasw16
aquasw16 Posts: 342 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I work night shift, and I am wondering when it is best to count my calories? From when I wake up at 4pm to when I go to bed at 8am? A couple of the days I have to go to school from 12-430pm so I usually have a snack in there...and i just get confused as to what day to put everything into! Any advice?

Replies

  • birdiecs
    birdiecs Posts: 237 Member
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    Going from wakeup to bedtime works for me.
  • LilacSnow
    LilacSnow Posts: 238 Member
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    good question, and i don't have an answer for you. sorry! i used to work nights, and i don't anymore, but my schedule is still all screwed up so i was wondering the same thing.
  • stgmanitoba
    stgmanitoba Posts: 32
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    I work nights and like a previous poster I do wake up time to start and bedtime to end so me it's 2pm start and 8am end of day. I do occasionally work doubles which is trickey.. On those days I tend to try to keep to healthy snack and salads while I'm up then start my day again once I've slept. If you have that class on the same day you work nights I would count the calories into one of your days and keep it a high protiene snack to keep full. I find doing start of day when you wake up and end of day when you go to bed the easiest way of doing things, especially if your like me and on my days off I tend to stick to a normal persons schedule.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    I go from when I wake up to when I go to bed. Sometimes it gets tricky when I have to be up during the day, but I just play it by ear then. As long as it all gets logged, it's not all that important. I tend to look at my weekly average rather than worrying too much about individual days; that helps me.
  • RNTanya
    RNTanya Posts: 26 Member
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    When I worked 12 hr shifts I counted from midnight to midnight--24 hour period. I ate my heaviest meal when I woke up (dinner usually) since I needed the calories and energy to get through the first part of the night. I snacked on fruit and protein (cheese sticks) during the night and ate breakfast at 4am (oatmeal)...nothing too heavy before going to bed at 8am.
    And, I lost weight doing that :)
  • hshoemake223
    hshoemake223 Posts: 2
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    i count midnight to midnight...that way, i get new calories halfway through the shift! yay!
  • kmhenry84
    kmhenry84 Posts: 96 Member
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    I'd say wake up to sleep, just like everyone else... however I've never worked night shift. Do whatever works for you, just keep it consistant :-)
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    i do graveyard shift three nights a week, but i log from midnight to midnight.
    can take a look at my diary if you want to see
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
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    if you guys get bored, there is the official nightshift thread , many nightshifters hang out and chat.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/772807-official-nightshift-thread?page=16#posts-11632661
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    I log from midnight to midnight which also works for my nights off just as well.

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