If you have an irregular sleep pattern..

bomoftheeast
bomoftheeast Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
How does one log their daily intake?

I sleep at 9AM in the day and wake up at 5PM... so half my day becomes the next day!

Do you consider 1 day to record calories from the time you wake to the time you sleep.. or.. if it hits midnight all the food you consume after midnight belongs to the next day?

Replies

  • naariel
    naariel Posts: 37
    You can change the settings and instead of names like breakfast or lunch, your put X to Y AM/PM. You can have 6 meal names, so each "meal" would be a 4 hour period. (0 to 4 AM, 4 to 8 AM etc.) Then it doesn't really matter if you consider your day to be from 0 to 11:59 PM or from your getting up to the next time you sleep, you'll have a 24H period food diary and that's what matter since your nutritional needs are calculated for a 24H period.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I personally count a day as starting when I get up, and ending when I go to bed. If I was to wake up and eat in the middle of the night then I'd count that on the previous day. So, either do it like that, or do it from midnight to midnight (or any other 24 hour period). Some people do it that way. As long as you count all your calories, it doesn't really matter when your day ends and begins.
  • bomoftheeast
    bomoftheeast Posts: 4 Member
    You can change the settings and instead of names like breakfast or lunch, your put X to Y AM/PM. You can have 6 meal names, so each "meal" would be a 4 hour period. (0 to 4 AM, 4 to 8 AM etc.) Then it doesn't really matter if you consider your day to be from 0 to 11:59 PM or from your getting up to the next time you sleep, you'll have a 24H period food diary and that's what matter since your nutritional needs are calculated for a 24H period.

    Ah! I get it, so it is better if I plan my meals at regular intervals to counter my irregular sleep pattern yes?
  • bomoftheeast
    bomoftheeast Posts: 4 Member
    I personally count a day as starting when I get up, and ending when I go to bed. If I was to wake up and eat in the middle of the night then I'd count that on the previous day. So, either do it like that, or do it from midnight to midnight (or any other 24 hour period). Some people do it that way. As long as you count all your calories, it doesn't really matter when your day ends and begins.

    I was thinking I should do that too.. count from the time i wake and stop when I sleep and consider the time I wake up the next day!

    Thank you both for your replies! I will see which would suit me better!
  • gogoboobzilla
    gogoboobzilla Posts: 91 Member
    I work all 3 shifts in the same week. To keep things simple, I long things strictly on a 24 hour basis. If it's after midnight, it's on the next day. Period. if this causes you to be over one day and under the next - big deal. Just look at your net calories for the week.
  • bomoftheeast
    bomoftheeast Posts: 4 Member
    I work all 3 shifts in the same week. To keep things simple, I long things strictly on a 24 hour basis. If it's after midnight, it's on the next day. Period. if this causes you to be over one day and under the next - big deal. Just look at your net calories for the week.

    Ah I see okay! Thank you! That is a very good way to go too! I have heard some people advising us to alternate our calorie intake on a day to day basis too. Example, 1500 calories on day 1, then 1300 day 2, and back to 1500.. to sort of stimulate our metabolism.

    This could be a pretty good way to deal with the irregular sleep pattern!
  • katielshelby
    katielshelby Posts: 137 Member
    You can change the settings and instead of names like breakfast or lunch, your put X to Y AM/PM. You can have 6 meal names, so each "meal" would be a 4 hour period. (0 to 4 AM, 4 to 8 AM etc.) Then it doesn't really matter if you consider your day to be from 0 to 11:59 PM or from your getting up to the next time you sleep, you'll have a 24H period food diary and that's what matter since your nutritional needs are calculated for a 24H period.

    Smart solutioN! :smile:

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