Official Nightshift thread!!!

Hey, cool idea on starting the night-shift thread. I just started work at 10 PM, am here 'til 7 AM. I work at a residential facility for developmentally disabled men, and I'm basically here to make sure no one comes or leaves and to take care of the guys in an emergency. There's not much I actually have to DO at night, so I feel blessed to have this position because it allows me to go to school!

Lately I've been wondering if this shift and my whacked-out eating/sleeping schedule is affecting my weight-loss, though. Or maybe I'm just hitting a plateau, we'll see. I feel like my schedule is probably even a bit weirder than the average person on the night-shift because I'm allowed to sleep during my shift. I usually only sleep about 4-5 hours during my shift because I do have to get one of the residents up to go to the bathroom at midnight or later and I don't like to fall asleep before then because it's hard to get back up once you're sleeping. So after that, I usually eat something and fall asleep between 1-2 then wake up around 6 to get residents up for the day. At 7 I go home, do schoolwork 'til noon (I only have online classes right now), eat, then go to bed for 2-3 hours.

I think I may need to try something different because I think not getting a full 8 hours at once is kinda screwing with my head. By the end of the week I'm usually just so ready for a break, and often that "break" includes from my diet. I am trying to adopt healthy eating as a lifestyle, but 1200 calories really gets old. It'll be so nice once I can maintain at 1700 again :happy: Unfortunately I still have 70 lbs. to go before that happens.

Anyways, I guess this is just late-night blathering now! Just nice to know (from reading the other night shift thread) that there are others who can relate.

Thanks for doing a night shift thread, i too work mids with 2 afternoons thrown in a week also. Gets my body all confused especially every monday when i work 7pm-7am and then have to be back at 3pm on tues. No time to work out and most of the time i am running through a dirve through for food. Though my boyfriend is trying to make a habit of having something for me when i get up or i run to subway instead. Its hard on midnights, i dont know about the rest of you. But i have a boyfriend who i love with who works days so i usually tend on my days off to follow his schedule. I dont think my body knows whats going on half the time.

Well I'm a night shift person too. I work from 6pm to 6am. The one good thing about my job is that we have treadmills and get to exercise during our breaks. So I get to earn some extra cals. Just until recently it was soooo much easier to go in the kitchen and sit there for all my breaks and lunch hour and just eat. I had been trying to gain will power for the past 6 months to start eating right and exercising but I just couldn't. I even contemplated having either the lap band or gastric bypass but it just didn't make sense cause I don't have any health issues other than being over weight. And even If I did get the surgery I would still have to learn to eat right but now with possibly other health issues due to side effects from the surgery. So I chickened out and decided to eat right and exercise. And here I am, reading success story after success story to keep myself motivated.

I work a 12.5 hour night shift also and of course can't sleep on the job. I am a nurse. I have been doing it for 10 years now. I work a week, off a week. It does mess you us and if I couldn't get sleeping pills to help me sleep the day away I wouldn't be able to do this shift.

But I do like it. Quieter, no docs or families around so we can concentrate on just the patients. Who don't sleep either. Since I have been eating better and everyone on my floor is dieting it is easier to not have junk food and I walk during my breaks. Unfortunately we are also losing staff as new people will take this shift but as soon as possible they move to the days. So I am always training.

I'm a nurse, as well and work the night shift. I think it's the hardest lifestyle to lose weight successfully. I am really interested in how to be successful and not go over my calorie limit when nights turns into days and days into nights. Any suggestions or "tricks" to continue to lose on the night shift?

Best of luck kmc! I joined the site a few months ago, and just recently got really back into it. I found that being involved in the message boards and making friends is really helpful. You Want to log in, track your progress, see how others are doing! I'm on the site now as much as anything else! When I'm bored at work I'm on here reading constantly!

And so it has happened. I had a night off last night, and my whole diet went down the toilet. When you work the night shift, you never get to go out and have fun with your friends. So last night, I had it off so my friends naturally wanted to have a great night while I was there. We had a few drinks and ended up finding free Coldstone ice cream. I ended up racking up over 2400 calories yesterday from the alcohol, juice mixers and then the 500 calorie coldstone treat. How do you balance having a great time with your friends and still be on a diet?!! Once again the night shift has ruined my diet... this time not by working at night, but but working so many nights that I get deprived of a normal night life! Just needed to rant about my complete lack of self-control last night. I feel so awful How do you have a normal social life and work nights? I'm in college and everyone has class during the day and relaxes at night. Is this just a sacrifice I'm going to have to make? No social life in exchange for a job and a healthier life style? How do you make a decision like that? Am I just being silly? Any thoughts?

Knight, Do NOT feel bad... You don't want to start punishing yourself every time you go out...Unfortunately there is somewhat of a sacrifice when it comes to working night shift, but I've tried to look at it from different angles. I'm young and heck yes I love to go out and have a good time when I can. Honestly the worst nights for me are Fri and Sat, since that's when most of my friends go out. Also, I have to work every other weekend, so over the past 3 years I've been on nights I've missed out on going out a fair amount. On the flip side I think... I have great job security, b/c who seriously WANTS to work overnight? Next, I think about the money, and calories I'm saving by not going out to bars, out to eat, the movies, etc.. All this said, you can still have a life. Many a time I've met up with friends for dinner, with my scrubs in my car and gone straight to work if things ran late. I love ice hockey, and, even though I don't like to do this, if it's a game I desperately want to go to and I have to work, I'll go and leave early to catch the train back, or I could drive myself and get to work on time. It's a tough adjustment, and I've been where you are, but believe me there is a way to balance life with night shift :flowerforyou: