Official Nightshift thread!!!

Lee, hubby drives me crazy with that crap too! I only got good post-nights sleep today because he's out of town. At least I'm only on real overnights 1/3rd of the time. Don't know how you do it. I love those morningstar products, too, especially the black bean and the breakfast patty, but I have gluten intolerance so I've cut them out :frown:
Keep sticking to the exercise and eating right and it will pay off. I like the idea of leaving 150 or so "catch all" calories but otherwise try to eat my exercise cals...

Allie, when do you exercise? I always work out before my shift, whether it's at 10pm, 4pm, or 7am. I find it energizes me. If I work out before I sleep it usually keeps me up.

yeah a few years ago when i first started on nights, i joined curves (again), and would bring clothes with me in the car so i could go straight there after work. after a couple weeks of doing that i got so exhausted, and fell in and out of going. working out before sleep kept me up as well!
now, especially lately i've been really tired, and ready for bed by the end of my shift, so i'll get home and pretty much get right to bed and be asleep before 9 (i get out at 7). now i workout when i get up, or later on in the day, maybe around 5 or so. depending on the workout i either feel great (jogging/walking) or rather tired (turbo jam). i'm usually great when it comes to the first half of the shift, but like i said, by the end..ugh!

I am one of you !!!!!! A 32 year night shift RN, now in ICU... single mom with kids now in college....the shift diff is hard to give up and at least now with the tracker I have a way to shuffle calories when I am up at night or normal. My schedule changes weekly with those wonderfu l"we are short tonight, do you want to come in for time and a half" at 3 in the afternoon calls....I never know what life will look like. I found MFP through a co-worker, and in 2 weeks having to really admit what I eat when I post it is an eye opener. 5 lbs down, many to go, but going!!!!

Kmc, I think getting the friends involved is one of the best things you can do, if only just to have someone there to support you through the good and esp. bad days. The first time I started logging into MFP I fell out of it after a couple weeks. The second time I started up, a few months later, I really got into reading the message boards, and when I started actually posting I couldn't stop! I found friends on here, and it's so encouraging just to have someone say, good job! to you when you've completed your food diary for the day, that it makes you want to keep on going.

I've been doing Turbo Jam, and loving it so much that last night I ordered Turbo Fire. Hopefully I'll get it in the coming days so when I have off next week I can start it up, and won't have to have energy for work once I get my butt kicked lol!

brush your teeth, or have some tea, which might make you fall asleep.

awesome, thanks cutmd!! i can't wait to get it!! i was getting so excited just watching the advertisements for it lol

Hi my name is drea...my friend karen got me hooked up with my fitness pal...we both work as nurses at the same hospital on the "night shift"..We have been talking about weight lost and how we are finally going to start our journey..Well We Have Started and We Will Do This!!!!!

AH I AM SO GLAD you created this. I work 9pm-7am at a hotel, and there is A TON of downtime and a TON of snacks. It's really,really frustrating because I get bored, restless, and hungry and I end up binging at work A LOT. Sometimes I exercise at work but on the occasions that I binge it is really overwhelming and I feel out of control. Anyone else in this same boat? A few months ago at the hotel I was working the evening (3-9pm) and I worked as a stocker at a sports and outdoors store, so I was climbing ladders, stocking shelves, walking/jogging all night and of course I was dropping weight fast because I slept all day, and went to work at the hotel on a very busy shift, so less down time for eating, then went straight to a 10-7 shift of the ladder-climbing, etc... now I'm in school on my butt all day, then working overnight on my butt, and caving into cravings. Any suggestions or anyone else have this problem?

When I come to work I pack enough food to get me though my shift, using the calories I'm trying to keep. I don't bring money with me. If I"m feeling hungry I try to walk or climb stairs. There are water foutains everywhere and the water is nice and cold.

Hi all -
Just joined this website tonight. I started seeing a nutriontist 2 weeks ago and she set me up on this site. I've kept a food journal before, but never online. I've worked the night shift for the past year in a emergency communications center. It's definitly been a rollercoaster. First just getting use to a different sleep schedule, and second adjusting to a food schedule. I was overweight when I started and I've gained about 20lbs since I started on nights and its time to change. I think I was using nights as an excuse to eat poorly. The job is very stressful and crazy at times. Also scary: most of the dispatchers that have been on the job for years are significantly overweight. They even have special chairs. That totally freaked me out. I don't want to keep packing on the pounds. I do like to excersize but I live in Vermont and winter is fast approaching. I normally wake up around 4pm and pretty soon I'm going to be loosing my daylight hours to go walking/jogging outside. I guess thats my biggest worry right now. I'm glad this forum is here though. I moved to VT for this job and working nightshift has not been condusive to meeting people. So, thanks for being here! I'll try to post often. I really want to do this right this time.
-Meg