Graveyard shift Starving!

Vermilliana
Vermilliana Posts: 42 Member
edited November 14 in Food and Nutrition
I am an overnight worker and my job is quite physical. I have been finding lately that somewhere around 3AM, I get to Starving. Not hungry, but stomach-cramping, nautious, Starving. I eat twice on my shift, and I make sure they are nutritionally valid meals, but its not enough. Even when I eat More, I still end up hungry as all hell. I do weight train, and my daytime life is rather busy as well, so my sleep is lower than it should be, but that can't be helped. I also make sure I eat well during the day. I'm looking for something that I can take at night to curb my hunger until morning, or at least make it managable until my next meal. I was told that garcinia cambogia helps to take the edge off, so I might give that a go...any other suggestions?

Replies

  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,646 Member
    are you losing weight right now? could be just too low of an overall caloric deficit if so. If what you say is correct, your TDEE could be 2500-3000 calories or higher.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Make some adjustments so that you get more sleep. Sleep is vital.
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
    You're not eating all your calories. Are you saving them for a reason (like weekend meals at restaurants), or are you just trying not to eat all of what you burn from exercise?

    MFP designs your calorie target so that you would get the rate of loss you asked it for (0.5 lb, 1 lb, 1.5 lbs or 2 lbs a week) even if you didn't work out. So you're supposed to actually eat your target calories. And then when you exercise, you're supposed to eat that too! (Although many people recommend starting with eating 50-75% back, in case the estimated burn is too high.)

    If you have calories left to eat, take some snacks!
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Eat
  • Vermilliana
    Vermilliana Posts: 42 Member
    magerum wrote: »
    Eat

    When 2 apples, 2 oranges, 15 baby carrots, a Healthy Steamer meal, a clif builder bar, a natures path pumpkin flax bar, and a quarter cup of almonds over the course of 8 hours still leaves me starving, "Eat" is not really a helpful suggestion *L*
    Futuremanda, I use MFP to control what I eat during the day, as that is my less active portion of my day. I eat more at night than what I put on my log, and keep track of that seperately as I address it as a time that is "Outside" of my normal day...I tried to use MFP to add that in and ended up getting squeamish when I saw +1200 in BIG RED NUMBERS (along with all the other numbers being High and Red. It was ugly) *L* So, I keep that log seperate. Right now, I am trying to figure out how much I need to eat to keep myself satied. Problem is that I am just not getting to that point anymore. I've been doing graveyard shift for 8 years now, and this problem has arisen in about the last 8 months or so and its frustrating me. I've looked into appetite supressant diet supplements, but those contain things that rev the metabolism which would be counterproductive and would be a very stupid way to go. I'm not looking to lose weight this way...hell it leaves me wondering how anyone could Possibly endure starving themselves to thinness...I'm just looking for something that will get me from my 3am meal to my 7am meal.
  • Vermilliana
    Vermilliana Posts: 42 Member
    _John_ wrote: »
    are you losing weight right now? could be just too low of an overall caloric deficit if so. If what you say is correct, your TDEE could be 2500-3000 calories or higher.
    No I'm not, thats the kicker. My weight hasn't budged in a while. I had an odd increase in weight a few months back, just weight, not size..everything still fit just fine. (no, I didn't record it on MFP, I thought it was water weight and it would just go away *L* ) and I've been stuck at that weight ever since. I can't imagine that I am consuming so few calories that my body is holding onto it, as that would mean that I need more than 3500 cal a day (I don't record what I eat at night on MFP, I keep track elsewhere so the numbers don't scare the hell out of me). I'm 5 feet tall, and not huge, so that seems really unlikely. I'm thinkin I'm going to have to drop the $160 on a full body fitness assessment to figure out what the hell is up.
  • xxgabriellaxxchanelxx
    xxgabriellaxxchanelxx Posts: 62 Member
    Have you tried Garden of Life meal replacement powder? It's filling and has a lot of protein, and tons of good stuff in it! :) Drink it with a like 16 oz of water and it should do the trick :) Hope this helps!
  • nottinix
    nottinix Posts: 2 Member
    edited March 2015
    Maybe add some chicken breast or salmon to your night meals. I find both of these are filling. That is, if u eat meat :) and skip the cheese and nuts... They pack in a lot of calories and fats which you might as well replace with lower calorie options. Fruits are fine but again the sugar spike wont last long. I make vegetable juices/smoothie with kale, carrots, cucumber, etc and just one apple. Lots more fluids perhaps will help. And i'd stay away from protein bars because I personally don't find them filling or satisfying. Just see them as treats you eat once a week :) make overnight oats and add peanut butter or cinnamon. Eat avocado in salads with pickled vegetables for taste. Again, these won't make your calorie intake too large at night but are very satisfying.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    Stay away from the bars and eat real food. Chicken, steak, pork, eggs, oatmeal, potatoes, pasta, etc. Bars make a good snack, but they are never very satiating.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    If you don't get enough sleep, your body tries to get energy in the form of more food--there have been studies showing that lack of sleep increases hunger and calorie intake, especially of carbs/simple sugars. Sleep more and I bet you want to eat less.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    It looks like your diet is pretty low fat most of the time so maybe get some foods with more fat.
    It also looks like you don't eat all your calories so you could probably choose some higher calorie foods for your meals or eat larger quantities. Maybe you could drink some milk between 3AM and 7AM.
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    Swap one of the apples and oranges for a protein. 200 calories of chicken is way more satiating than 200 calories of fruit. Add more carrots, they add chew satisfaction without many calories. And I'd ditch the bars too. They tend to be very sugary. Not that there's anything wrong with sugar necessarily, but for many people, because it spikes insulin, it often makes people hungrier. Add some eggs and maybe more veggies.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Vermilliana wrote: »
    magerum wrote: »
    Eat

    When 2 apples, 2 oranges, 15 baby carrots, a Healthy Steamer meal, a clif builder bar, a natures path pumpkin flax bar, and a quarter cup of almonds over the course of 8 hours still leaves me starving, "Eat" is not really a helpful suggestion *L*
    Futuremanda, I use MFP to control what I eat during the day, as that is my less active portion of my day. I eat more at night than what I put on my log, and keep track of that seperately as I address it as a time that is "Outside" of my normal day...I tried to use MFP to add that in and ended up getting squeamish when I saw +1200 in BIG RED NUMBERS (along with all the other numbers being High and Red. It was ugly) *L* So, I keep that log seperate. Right now, I am trying to figure out how much I need to eat to keep myself satied. Problem is that I am just not getting to that point anymore. I've been doing graveyard shift for 8 years now, and this problem has arisen in about the last 8 months or so and its frustrating me. I've looked into appetite supressant diet supplements, but those contain things that rev the metabolism which would be counterproductive and would be a very stupid way to go. I'm not looking to lose weight this way...hell it leaves me wondering how anyone could Possibly endure starving themselves to thinness...I'm just looking for something that will get me from my 3am meal to my 7am meal.
    1. That's really not that much food over the course of 8 hrs.
    2. 1200 calories is a very small amount. Most people start off with that because they plug in to MFP that they want to lose 2 lbs per week and that's the lowest MFP will go for calories. But it's not a reasonable amount of food for most people. Try setting your loss for 1 lb or even .5 lb per week.
    3. From what you mentioned, you eat a lot of carbs. I have nothing against carbz, but protein tends to be more effective for saiety, so you might want to think about replacing some of those foods with protein, like Greek yogurt, beef jerky, string cheese, or protein shakes.

  • Vermilliana
    Vermilliana Posts: 42 Member
    I would like to thank you all for your comments. There is a lot of good advice in there! I have tried various combinations of protein/carbs and found little impact on my hunger issue. I don't have the financial means to buy a lot of extra meat protein, as I do have to feed my family as well and decent quality meat is expensive. Thats why I buy the gourmet steamers..they have meat and veggies and aren't that expensive. I eat apples because pectin is satiating, and almonds are as well. The protein in the bars is cheaper than meat and I actually do find them filling...When I eat them during the day. There may be something to the comment about not enough fat, so I'll look into that further (thank you Lounmoun!) I have no problem keeping my hunger in check during the day, as that is when I get to sleep. So what I record eating during the day isn't an issue as it actually encourages me to eat more than I would really think to. I have no doubt that its my circadian rhythm being messed up by overnight work that is making my hunger so bloody bad at night. I would love it if More sleep was an option, but during the week, it isn't. I work overnights (9pm to 6am) and I have a 10 year old son and a husband who's work schedule also requires him to sleep part of the day. I average 4-6 hours on weekdays, and as much as I can on the weekends. Jennifer_417, those 1200 calories Are in addition to what I eat during the day (right up until 9pm when I leave for work..I eat my true dinner at 6pm or so and snack before work) All in all, I am actually consuming almost 3000 calories over the course of 24 hours, 5 days a week. For someone who is 5 feet tall, that is almost unheard of. My current true weight is 155, though I don't look any different from my current profile picture. Am I worried about gaining more weight..of course I am, what girl isn't? is it a rational fear if my body seems to be demading over 3000 calories every day? I'm pretty sure it is. I cannot sacrifice my workouts either, as I am afflicted with an emotional disorder and exercise is my means of coping with it without turning to prescription drugs. I have been taking a couple of garcinia cambogia chews after my 3am meal for the past couple of nights and they seem to take the edge off enough to get me to 6am when I can eat again. It may not be a permanent solution...I think a lifestyle change is the only one of those...but for the moment, it seems to help.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    A can of tuna is over 20 grams of protein and less than a dollar a can. 3 boiled eggs gets you around 18 grams of protein, and eggs are also cheap. You can always ditch a yolk or two, and they are very low calorie. I wouldn't ditch all the yolks, because the fats in the yolk are healthy and will help you feel full longer.
  • kaylalewis2323
    kaylalewis2323 Posts: 6 Member
    I work nights 7:00p.m. to 7:00a.m. I work in a hospital so my nights are also very physical. I usually drink my protein shake with a banana about 6:00p.m. and im not hungry till about 10:00p.m. and then ill eat a yogurt, some turkey peperoni, or something small and filling to hold me over till lunch. I eat lunch at about 1:00 p.m. and ill have chicken and a bunch of veggies! Then I DO get hungry at bout 3:00-4:00 in the morning and ill eat another snack such as cottage cheese and fruit or a cheese stick...something that will hold me over till 7:00a.m. My secret is just to bring a couple snack and make them pretty healthy. My job allows be to be able to take two 15 minute breaks (1 before lunch, 1 after lunch) so its perfect to hold me over all night!

    I count my calories from the time I wake up and then stop when I go to sleep. Im always on a night schedule so that works for me:) Working nights is always hard when it comes to eating right, I just found out a way that works for me and have been following that routine for a couple months now!
  • Lancerchick86
    Lancerchick86 Posts: 13 Member
    I am a full time night worker in a hospital. I struggle with trying to keep myself from feeling starving during my shift which has been very hard. I haven't found anything so far to help curb the hunger and like you, I don't have extra spending money to buy much more products or anything else. I have tried to fill up on water before but I find for me, it only makes me want to go to the bathroom that much quicker. I you do find something that helps, I am also open for suggestions.
  • littlehome1
    littlehome1 Posts: 9 Member
    Hi i also worked graveyard shift for 11 yrs i found if i ate high protein meals around 1 ~ 2 am i wasn't so hungry , i eat musclious food. Protien pudding and there peanut butter balls they are a full balance of protein,carbs,vitamins that you need. It is all lactose,fat,gluten and sugar free it is the best pudding i have ever hsd it is so filling and its a healthy diet and good for our crazy lives.
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