Night shifts

Options
starryeyedsnoozer
starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm a nurse and I work 2 nights a week which completely throws my eating habits. I find I either eat rubbish all night - loads of toast and biscuits at the nurses station or I eat virtually nothing. When I get home and go to bed (around 9.30am) I never know whether to eat breakfast before I go to bed, or to leave it and eat when I get up. Then I have the dilema of what to eat - its around 4pm and do I eat breakfast? or do I wait an hour and half for dinner? What do other shift workers on MFP do?

Replies

  • JD1805
    JD1805 Posts: 45
    Options
    I have a small meal before going to bed.. usually a breakfast type meal. I have toast and head to bed. When i get up I eat again 2 hours later or so when i get to work then again midnight .. I try to hold out to the morning and have some snacke in between. I try to bring in veggies or salad as fillers. I work from 6pm-6am.. What throws me is today i will be up for almost 24 hours and i don't know how to adjust calories that way. Good luck!
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    Options
    I work 12 hour rotating shifts. You can eat what you are comfortable with. If you want breakfast at normal breakfast hours do that. If you like breakfast after you wake up, do that, or you can skip the breakfast type meals, and just eat something you would normally eat for lunch, or dinner. Tonight I had a protein bar, 3 hours later, chicken, broccoli, and a potato, 3 hours later tuna salad, 3 hours later will be a protein pudding, then I will go to bed. I'll probably wake up to a protein shake, then I will work out, have another shake, then go to work again.
  • cjreesejr
    cjreesejr Posts: 22
    Options
    oh here we go the dreaded over night shift. i guess my answer depends on what time you work..here is my eating habits for my overnights...my shift is 12p-8am on weekdays and 8p-8a on weekends. What I do is I eat breakfast at a normal time between 5-7am.I recommend closer to 5am cause if i eat later i dont sleep.....when I get out of work i have a snack around 9a-10a.....eat a normal time lunch.....go to bed(hopefully)...wake up....eat dinner around 7p....then I have a preworkout snack around 9p and workout 930p-1130 p..have a well-balanced post workout snack(like a bar,yogurt,cottage cheese,and etc)...around 2am i have a snack.....some tips are stay away from certain carbs that pick you up and crash...like candy and banannas(do that to me)..my roommate also introduced me to a great energy drink.i'd look into it if i was you. Its called FRS(they range from 25-90 calories per can).I was definetly skeptical but tis not your normal energy drink.its loaded with b vitamins and other minerals and has a minimal ammount of caffeine 48mg(about half a cup of coffee)..good luck with this challenging diet and I hope i helped
  • starryeyedsnoozer
    starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
    Options
    I have a small meal before going to bed.. usually a breakfast type meal. I have toast and head to bed. When i get up I eat again 2 hours later or so when i get to work then again midnight .. I try to hold out to the morning and have some snacke in between. I try to bring in veggies or salad as fillers. I work from 6pm-6am.. What throws me is today i will be up for almost 24 hours and i don't know how to adjust calories that way. Good luck!

    Oh I hadnt even thought of the calories. Somedays I'm up at 3.30-4pm and then do a night shift, awake all the following day and then go to bed around 10pm the next night- so that's a 30 hour day. It will make me look way over my calories! LOL!
  • jcnurse
    jcnurse Posts: 16
    Options
    I'm also a nurse and I work 12 hour shifts. I eat just like a protien bar when I get up at like 2pm and that is like my breakfast. Then about 6ish I eat what I consider my lunch. Then it's off to work at 7p. I try to take low fat snacks and just pray it slows down enough for me to eat a decent dinner around 1am. Hope this helps. Good Luck!
  • starryeyedsnoozer
    starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
    Options
    I'm also a nurse and I work 12 hour shifts. I eat just like a protien bar when I get up at like 2pm and that is like my breakfast. Then about 6ish I eat what I consider my lunch. Then it's off to work at 7p. I try to take low fat snacks and just pray it slows down enough for me to eat a decent dinner around 1am. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

    LOL I know that feeling, hoping it slows down! I think I'll stock up on protein bars and take a salad in or something. I couldn't face a hot meal in the night but I might manage a pasta salad or something. Thanks guys.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    Options
    I have a small meal before going to bed.. usually a breakfast type meal. I have toast and head to bed. When i get up I eat again 2 hours later or so when i get to work then again midnight .. I try to hold out to the morning and have some snacke in between. I try to bring in veggies or salad as fillers. I work from 6pm-6am.. What throws me is today i will be up for almost 24 hours and i don't know how to adjust calories that way. Good luck!

    Oh I hadnt even thought of the calories. Somedays I'm up at 3.30-4pm and then do a night shift, awake all the following day and then go to bed around 10pm the next night- so that's a 30 hour day. It will make me look way over my calories! LOL!

    I schedule my meals midnight to midnight. Even though I haven't gone to bed yet, I have started another day. (mealwise). I've found it to be more consistent caloriewise. I usually nap before my first night shift so I am usually under calories on that day, but the rest go pretty good.
  • starryeyedsnoozer
    starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
    Options
    Thanks Dave, that's a really good tip!
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    Options
    i work night shift at a hospital too. I pack my own lunches and snacks. I work in radiology, so basically I do ER patients all night, so thats where i hang out most of the time. And of course they love to bring in cakes and cookies etc. I just have to make myself have the will power to not eat them. But i just pack my own stuff and make sure I eat at certain times. I work 7p-7a

    my eating schedule during work nights is like this..
    I eat breakfast around 7am (oatmeal or cereal)
    I sleep
    wake up and eat a light dinner
    at work i have a snack around 11pm (usually leftover dinner)
    I eat my lunch at 230 am or so
    If i am hungry i'll have another snack around 5-6am
    i go home, eat breakfast and then hit the gym.
    come home have my protein shake then go to bed. and start the process all over again.

    ps.i also schedule my meals midnight to midnight.
  • Delphi
    Delphi Posts: 97 Member
    Options
    I work 3rd shifts and I find that I eat small meals throughout the night. Actually, it works better for me as I think it keeps my metabolism constantly recharging. Plus it keeps me satiated. Planning ahead always helps as well, then again I work from home doing ER reports, so I don't have a vending machine down the hall.
  • stephanielynn76
    stephanielynn76 Posts: 709 Member
    Options
    I work prn night shift too. I bring a TON of snacks up there. I usually have one real "meal" (chicken breast/brown rice/steamed vegetable) then other stuff... apples, oranges, carrots, turkey sandwich, peanut butter on toast, fiber bars or protien bars, bananas, almond milk for my coffee, lays light potato chips, etc. I basically eat all night whenever I am hungry as long as I don't go over my calories. Here is how I handle the calories. If I know I'm going in Monday night I try to get a good cardio burn that day so I have extra calories to eat. Everything I eat over the course of the night I log as if I ate it on Monday. When I get home in the morning I eat cereal and that's the first Tuesday entry.

Categories