Working graveyard...

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C12254
C12254 Posts: 198
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone else work a graveyard shift? I work 10p-6am.
some days i have to wake up as early as 10am so I eat breakfast. as well as lunch around 2p and then dinner around 8-9 ish or whatever before I leave to work. and a snack with the kids thrown in there somewhere. That should be enough food, yeah? but I still get REALLY hungry around 1-2am. Like to the point of feeling sick. Is that the fat girl in me just WANTING to eat. Or does anyone else get really hungry when they work over night? If so, what do you grab for a snack tat wont kill your calories but fill you up? (I work in a grocery store so the choices are endless)

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  • JayStu
    JayStu Posts: 332 Member
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    No it is not your the fat girl inside you, it is that you are up when your body should normally be sleeping so it is looking for enegery. The best thing to eat would be nuts as they are high in vitamins, minerals, protein and essential fats.
  • jbruced
    jbruced Posts: 210 Member
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    Personally, I think you need to switch your eating times to be more in line with your work schedule instead of the day time schedule you are currently eating. I worked several years on a similar shift and my wife has worked graveyard shift for the past 23 years. We eat according to our schedule not the rest of the worlds schedule.
  • Dunkirk
    Dunkirk Posts: 465 Member
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    Can you change your eating pattern to have one of your meals around 2pm? Going 8 hours while working without eating doesn't seem fair to your body.
  • respygirl
    respygirl Posts: 15
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    Half of my shifts are night shifts. I either work 7am-7pm or 7pm-7am. When I work nights I usually leave myself enough calories to have a small meal at work....or I restart my calories at midnight for the next day since I will be sleeping for part of the day anyways. I usually bring a salad and some pillars turkey bites(only 50 calories each). Some sugar free jello is always nice as a snack and some veggies and dip.
  • C12254
    C12254 Posts: 198
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    Personally, I think you need to switch your eating times to be more in line with your work schedule instead of the day time schedule you are currently eating. I worked several years on a similar shift and my wife has worked graveyard shift for the past 23 years. We eat according to our schedule not the rest of the worlds schedule.
    I eat when I get hungry. Not on a schedule. If I wake up earlier, I get hungry earlier (or maybe i just notice im hungry). If I have the chance to sleep in, I do. I just feel like im always eating or hungry
  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
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    I work midnights, 6:30 pm to 7 am, four shifts in a row. I have done this for nearly a decade now. I eat every 3-4 hours whether it's day or night. I try not to let myself get very hungry, because then I become ravenous and uncontrollable. I don't starve myself just because it's dark outside.
  • likeabanner
    likeabanner Posts: 88 Member
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    My full time job is 8pm-8am and my part time job is varied daytime hours. I ALWAYS eat a big meal before I go into work to hold over cravings. Usually around 1-2am I eat a snack, like yogurt or veggies and dip. It's not wrong... it's right to be hungry like that. I've been doing overnights for 8 years now between different jobs and I've always had to eat in the middle of the night.
  • jennifershirsch
    jennifershirsch Posts: 27 Member
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    Does anyone else work a graveyard shift? I work 10p-6am.
    some days i have to wake up as early as 10am so I eat breakfast. as well as lunch around 2p and then dinner around 8-9 ish or whatever before I leave to work. and a snack with the kids thrown in there somewhere. That should be enough food, yeah? but I still get REALLY hungry around 1-2am. Like to the point of feeling sick. Is that the fat girl in me just WANTING to eat. Or does anyone else get really hungry when they work over night? If so, what do you grab for a snack tat wont kill your calories but fill you up? (I work in a grocery store so the choices are endless)

    I work in a grocery store as well...mine is open 24 hours. I was wondering if maybe we work for the same company?
  • Lochlyn_D
    Lochlyn_D Posts: 492 Member
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    My husband is working nights for this week so we have completely changed our schedules. He works 5 - 330am. We eat breakfast at 2, lunch at 6 and supper at 9.
  • kindasortachewy
    kindasortachewy Posts: 1,084 Member
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    I work 6pm-6am and am doing 19/5 Intermitting Fasting - working for me
  • AprilRN10
    AprilRN10 Posts: 548 Member
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    I work nights. I have worked nights for the last seven years straight and I did it off and on for five before that. I work two jobs. One is 7p-7a and the other is 10p-6a. I eat something small such as a turkey sandwich before I go in. Every three hours or so I eat something small such as fruit or yogurt. Between one and three is when I eat lunch. I eat again after I workout. I just make sure that I make healthy choices that are as low cal as possible so that I CAN graze through the day/night because that's how my body works on nights. I eat lots of salads, vegies, fruits, yogurt, nuts...those types of things.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    I work 6pm to 6am currently, and I try to eat normal meals at abnormal times. Breakfast is usually around 5pm and is fairly small. I eat lunch around midnight, have some fruit or cereal around 3am and then eat dinner around 7am. I do tend to start getting ravenous around 11:30 pm or so. It's just your body's circadian rhythm being in conflict with your sleeping schedule.

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