NIght Shift and Tracking???

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soontobeslim2015
soontobeslim2015 Posts: 45
in Health and Weight Loss
So I work 12 hour nights and 12 hours day on shift currently I am working nights and was wondering how to track my food do I count all todays and tonights calories under today or after 12 should i log it in as tomorrow?? Thanks

Replies

  • anneuhbanana
    anneuhbanana Posts: 17 Member
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    I do 12 hr nights too and personally I log the day from when I wake up to when I go to bed as one day. I don't do the before midnight thing and start the next day after that. I relabeled my meals to help with tracking, like "wake up meal"..."night meal"... after midnight I do have to go back to finish my calories for my "day".
  • soontobeslim2015
    soontobeslim2015 Posts: 45
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    thanks thats what i have been doing too but wasnt sure if i was doing it right :)
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    soontobeslim2015 wrote: »
    thanks thats what i have been doing too but wasnt sure if i was doing it right :)

    It doesn't really matter which way you do it as long as you are consistent. I also worked shift work (currently on mat leave) and also did the same. WIth the way my shifts works and sleeping, one day I would be over, and the next I would be under, so it balanced.
  • soontobeslim2015
    soontobeslim2015 Posts: 45
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    thats usually how I am beczause your first day is alot longer lol
  • soontobeslim2015
    soontobeslim2015 Posts: 45
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    I mean you get up your first night as normal for me 7 am and dont sllep till like 9 the following day which is like 26 hours :(
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    edited February 2015
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    My schedule is all over the map, and I divided my diary up by 6 hour windows of time, i.e.
    12am-6am
    6am-12pm
    12pm-6pm
    6pm-12am

    Makes it much easier for me to just log food under the time-window I'm in on whatever day it happens to be, as opposed to trying to go by the whole breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks thing and keep it all contained in one specific day.

  • soontobeslim2015
    soontobeslim2015 Posts: 45
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    thats an interesting idea :) hmm
  • menotyou56
    menotyou56 Posts: 178 Member
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    I work 11pm to 7am five days a week so my counting starts at midnight. I'm usually done eating by 9pm or so everyday. Then at midnight at work I'll have a small protein bar or some fruit till I get home.
  • honeylove130
    honeylove130 Posts: 1 Member
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    I work shift work also. When im working nights, I sleep all day; therefore its hard to break up meals into several smaller portions. When I get off work, I'm to tired to eat breakfast. If I do eat, then I am not going to lay down after just eating and then it cuts into my sleeping time. Im not sure if it matters which day you add it, but if im working and eat something after midnight, I dont add to the new day.
  • bainsworth1a
    bainsworth1a Posts: 313 Member
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    I don't work shifts but when I first restarted MFP I sometimes ended up eating after I had completed my entry for the day if i did that I just counted my food on the next day. I don;t think it really matters as long as you track.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    I work 12hr nights. I log from midnight to midnight so that it is always consistent regardless of where my shift falls.
  • lisakirt
    lisakirt Posts: 19 Member
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    When I work my night shifts I do not eat at all I drink tea and water..I go home go to sleep till about 10 I have brunch prepare supper go back to bed at 1 till about 5 than I eat supper before I head out..its only 2 meals in the day but there bigger ones that I fit all or most my calories Into..it seems to work good for me.
  • gteachey
    gteachey Posts: 37 Member
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    I never thought about splitting my tracker into 6 hour blocks, and just logging it in the timeframe I eat it. That is one area I get stuck on, if my calories consumed from my waking to sleep matter, or the time I eat it at matters more. That could throw off my calories I need to eat for the next day if I consume most my food after midnight.
    I'm consuming 1600 - 1700 calories though, so I wonder what my best method to properly track my calories eaten would be. I'm doing Focus T-25 starting tomorrow, just finished 21 Day Fix and dropped 7lbs woo! Hopefully this will be a moot point and I'll see some great results with T-25 as well...I usually work 8PM -5AM, sleep 6AM-1:30PM, do my workout and eat then plan out what I'm going to eat for the rest of the day/night.
  • kar328
    kar328 Posts: 4,157 Member
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    I also changed my diary for the same six hour time blocks. I log midnight to midnight since MFP resets, as well as my Fitbit and my schedule is different every week. It works for me. Whatever will make you log every day is the right answer for you
  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
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    I've changed my diary to one meal - and just log everything I eat there - from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep.

    I have considered changing this slightly - as I wear a fitbit - and that runs midnight to midnight. Logging my food that way would make things neater as everything would tie up - but it all works out in the end anyway. No need to complicate things. Do what is easiest for you and stick with it.

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