midnight shifts ugggg.....

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kellyj5201
kellyj5201 Posts: 57 Member
in Motivation and Support
ok so i work in EMS as a dispatcher/EMT and sometimes work the midnight shift. since my schedual varies from week to week i sometimes work a couple afternoon shifts and a couple midnight shifts each week. so how does everyone else track their meals when they work midnights????

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  • BruceHedtke
    BruceHedtke Posts: 358 Member
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    I work third shift and I just use midnight as my cut-off. Whatever I eat before midnight is for the previous day, whatever after is for the following day. Since MFP switches to the next day at midnight, it makes it easier to keep track.
  • kovarczi
    kovarczi Posts: 1
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    Im doing it right now with you...at midnight, I track all the food consumed after midnight on its regular day. I use a 12:00 am-11:59 pm schedule.
  • Biggirllittledreams
    Biggirllittledreams Posts: 306 Member
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    I work third shift and I just use midnight as my cut-off. Whatever I eat before midnight is for the previous day, whatever after is for the following day. Since MFP switches to the next day at midnight, it makes it easier to keep track.

    Same!
  • SephoraJunkieRN
    SephoraJunkieRN Posts: 9 Member
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    Im doing it right now with you...at midnight, I track all the food consumed after midnight on its regular day. I use a 12:00 am-11:59 pm schedule.

    I work PM shift and track it like the above poster as well and so far it's worked well for me.
  • Falcon
    Falcon Posts: 853 Member
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    I work third shift and I just use midnight as my cut-off. Whatever I eat before midnight is for the previous day, whatever after is for the following day. Since MFP switches to the next day at midnight, it makes it easier to keep track.

    I added food for the following day and ended up gaining weight not loosing it. Your reset is after you get sleep. Never mind when MFP switches the day. If you eat something past midnight it should be categorized into Aug 14 and not the 15th.

    I find if I don't eat after 4 in the morning then I still loose the weight.

    Remember you're working late at night but that doesn't mean to not have something halfway through the shift. If you don't then you're metabolism slows down.

    I've been swinging shifts for 8 years.
  • ElizIvory
    ElizIvory Posts: 141 Member
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    I work late nights/have a late night schedule. I always log from wakeness to sleep on one day in MFP unless I've been up 24+ hours. I mean, for me one day is from being awake to being asleep. I also do a lot of my eating post midnight. I also work out that late as well a lot. I've lost about 50lbs so far doing it this way, it is also easier on my ego and eyes to wake up with a fresh slate the next day. :)

    I think it is what works best for you. For me it would drive me nuts to switch to the next day if I haven't gone to bed yet.
  • Falcon
    Falcon Posts: 853 Member
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    I tend to split up my eating from the time I wake up to the time I leave work.

    It doesn't mean to over eat, just means to balance when to eat and how much. If you find that balance while on the midnight shift you'll do just as fine.

    It doesn't make sense to switch to the next day because you could accidentally have an incorrect amount either by minus or positive above or way below the calorie count.

    Makes it confusing if you have to constantly subtract what ever you ate past midnight. I find it would confuse things. It's easier to keep track from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed on the same day instead of switching to the next day.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
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    My day starts at noon when I wake up - 'breakfast' is at 1ish pm, 'lunch' is dinnertime with my hubby 6pm, off to work at 8pm, midnight or 1 am is my 'dinner' which is mainly a light protein snack. Anything in between is categorized under 'snack' and I pre-log dinner and late snacks so it all goes on the one MFP day. My rounds on my security beat = 4-6 km a night measured are split to count pre midnight exercise on one day and post midnight exercise on the next.
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    I tend to split up my eating from the time I wake up to the time I leave work.

    It doesn't mean to over eat, just means to balance when to eat and how much. If you find that balance while on the midnight shift you'll do just as fine.

    It doesn't make sense to switch to the next day because you could accidentally have an incorrect amount either by minus or positive above or way below the calorie count.

    Makes it confusing if you have to constantly subtract what ever you ate past midnight. I find it would confuse things. It's easier to keep track from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed on the same day instead of switching to the next day.

    Not sure what you are saying.

    Maybe because I've been logging midnight to midnight for the past two years and have my diary set to time blocks, it just seems easier to me.

    Have to find what works for your life, though.
  • Falcon
    Falcon Posts: 853 Member
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    in another words I work the grave yard shift and my day starts at four in the afternoon sometimes six. Depends on how late I sleep.

    My night shift is between 11 and 7 so for me it doesn't make sense to cut myself off at midnight.

    I eat a certain amount from the time I get up to when I go to work. And what calories I don't make, I will prepack my lunch take it with me and eat something between 3 and 4 in the morning but try not to eat anything past 4. I find that really works well if you work the grave yard shift.

    I document everything on the same day. If I don't then I find it confusing if I start documenting on the next day.
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    Ah. I sleep 1600 - 2200 and then work 2330 -1000. I eat whenever I the have time or the inclination so it just works better for me to track by time blocks instead of meals. (diary is open if you wish to see what I mean)
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
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    midnight to midnight. even on my days off, when I flip to a normal day schedule I still log my food the same way.
  • alereck
    alereck Posts: 343 Member
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    My diary is set for: 9am / 12pm / 3pm / 6pm/ 9pm/ 12am

    So when I work the nightshift whatever I eat at night I log into the 9am spot since I usually sleep between 7am - noon. If you work at night you are probably skipping a day meal because you're sleeping, just log under that meal.

    :-)

    I love working nights.

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