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Late work schedule & eating habits

jamiekulik
jamiekulik Posts: 10
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I need your help!

I've recently started working the 12-8 shift at work (after working 7-3 for the past 2 1/2 years), now my question is how can I change my eating habits so I'm not eating dinner at 9:30 @ night?

Right now my schedule for food is:

9am- Breakfast (usually a high fiber english muffin, a piece of fruit, and a high protein or fiber yogurt)

1pm- Snack (sometimes a banana or another muffin, depending on how busy we are)

4:30pm- Lunch (usually left overs or a sandwich, piece of fruit & a yogurt)

6:30/7pm- Snack (anything from fruit to a yogurt or a snickers depending on what I have with me or what day of the week it is lol)

8:30- Dinner (pasta or chicken)

10pm- Snack

I don't know how I can change it around. My job is pretty laid back, so if I have a lighter lunch, I could probably have dinner @ work and then have a lighter snack when I go home.

Any suggestions are welcomed, as well as easy dinners for work or more filling snacks..

Thanks!

Replies

  • kristinlough
    kristinlough Posts: 828 Member
    I like big lunches. Could you switch and have a bigger lunch and a smaller dinner? That might help things ...

    Good luck!! :smile:
  • ikeweeks
    ikeweeks Posts: 4
    Jamie,

    I can help you with this one, I worked a very similar schedule. Not sure what you do so this may be more difficult for you, but here's how I did it.
    Still got up around 7-8 am had breakfast
    Ate my snack after workout arount 10:30ish
    Got to work at 11am
    Had my lunch in a bag and ate while I worked at 12:30-1pm
    Grabbed a snack on my lunch at 2:30pm
    Ate dinner at my desk at 5-6pm
    snack when I got home at 7:30pm

    I did this mainly b/c I could at my job. As long as I was working and eating they really could've cared less and it kept my body on the same schedule.
    Now, I have moved to night shift, 4-1am that's a whole other ballgame, been having all sorts of troubles getting adjusted to that.
  • ajswriter
    ajswriter Posts: 117 Member
    I agree with Kristin--a larger lunch is better so you're not trying to digest so many calories right before you wind down. That is a hard shift to do...sometimes, I do breakfast (yogurt, toast) around 7:30, lunch around 2, and then a small dinner around 6:30/7.
  • jamiekulik
    jamiekulik Posts: 10
    Thanks for the suggestions. I miss my 7-3 shift lol. I would have breakfast around 8, snack around 11-12, lunch was at 2, snack around 4, dinner around 6 & then a snack around 8 and be done for the night. I just started this shift last week, so I know it'll take a bit of getting used to. I'll definitely try the larger lunch smaller dinner thing..
  • rolandhulme
    rolandhulme Posts: 148 Member
    That is REALLY tough. I share your pain - just started a new job where we work regularly until 8pm/9pm (it's the new 5:30, my boss tells me!) and it's tough to eat sensibly when you get home.
  • jamiekulik
    jamiekulik Posts: 10
    That is REALLY tough. I share your pain - just started a new job where we work regularly until 8pm/9pm (it's the new 5:30, my boss tells me!) and it's tough to eat sensibly when you get home.

    They can keep their new 530 & give me back 4pm lol
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