I work 3rd shift 4 nights a week; no weight loss guru has ever been able to help me
Sandoo4
Posts: 6 Member
I have a unique situation that no dietitian has ever been able to help me with. I work 3rd shift (11 hrs) 4 nights a week and my body clock does a complete 180 twice a week. Adding on to that, this job is completely sedentary and in front of a computer all night. It has made it impossible to plan regular 3 meals and 2 snacks and not get the days mixed up and what calories go for which set of 24 hrs. I know I’m not the only one in this situation but I’ve never seen this dilemma ever presented on any forum. I would love to hear how others deal with it and succeed. I’m looking for those who've been there, because quite frankly, if you haven’t, you can’t know, you can only imagine.
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You don't need to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks. As long as you eat to sustain your body and at a deficit, you'll lose.
Regardless of the shift you're on; it's still all about sustaining a caloric deficit based on your activity level,age, height and weight.0 -
Agreed. Meal timing makes no difference. The only thing you need to worry about is staying in a calorie deficit. How about looking at an average over the week instead of splitting it out by day? I think the apps allow for that but it may depend on which version you use... Or maybe you'll have to do some figuring on pen and paper but it would be worth it in the end.0
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I work 12 overnights, 3 nights a week and have been able to lose 50 lbs in the past 4 months. It's doable, just takes dedication. What I do is wear an activity tracker (for me it's fitbit) and count calories from midnight to midnight to match up with the tracker. Even thought the shift crosses days, I stick to 12am-12am to stay consistent.
Edit: 12 hour overnights lol.0 -
Track your calories daily, and check your deficit on a weekly basis.0
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I work 12 overnights, 3 nights a week and have been able to lose 50 lbs in the past 4 months. It's doable, just takes dedication. What I do is wear an activity tracker (for me it's fitbit) and count calories from midnight to midnight to match up with the tracker. Even thought the shift crosses days, I stick to 12am-12am to stay consistent.
^^
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I work nights. I have for 4 going on 5 years, 5x a week 11pm to 7am and have lost weight. I agree with the above posters about meal timing. You don't need to have 3 meals and snacks nor have set times to eat for weight loss. It's personal preference. I follow a Intermittent Fasting type of eating. It's where I eat all of my calories for the day in a set amount of time. I typically end up eating 2x in a 24 hr period. Once while at work between 4AM-6AM and then again around Noon-1pm. Reason I do this is because I have found if I eat before working out at the gym, I get sick. I have to wait at minimum 2hrs of not eating to be able to hit the gym without getting sick.
Same thing for sleep. I don't get sick if I eat then immediately go to bed, however, I've found if I do that, I end up needing to wake up and go to the bathroom a few hrs into my sleep, interrupting it and I sometimes have trouble falling asleep again. I make sure I have finished eating my calories for the day 2hrs before going to bed which for me is usually between 3-4pm.
When it comes to tracking my intake, I track midnight to midnight, whether I am working that night or I am off on my weekend. No need to over complicate things. I also work a sedentary job too. I work in IT and sit at a desk. I try to get up and move as often as I can and on weekends when it's slow, I will go outside and walk for 20 to 30 mins. When I get off in the mornings I'll go to the gym 3 to 4x a week and workout as well. Everyone's different, you just find out what works for you. Sure it's hard working the night shift but it's not impossible to lose weight.0 -
+2I work 12 overnights, 3 nights a week and have been able to lose 50 lbs in the past 4 months. It's doable, just takes dedication. What I do is wear an activity tracker (for me it's fitbit) and count calories from midnight to midnight to match up with the tracker. Even thought the shift crosses days, I stick to 12am-12am to stay consistent.
That's genius, and simple!
For activity, I echo the suggestion to track your steps. I also have a sedentary job. Knowing where you are starting from is the first step towards changes. Can you park farther away from the entrance to get more walking in?
http://www.deskcycle.com/
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I've been working 3 rotating shifts for over 30 years.. days/evenings/midnights all 10 hr shifts.. and it has challenges, just like everyone else has in their worlds.. are there days I want toast and pb at 3am instead of tuna?? absolutely LOL.. and moments at 2pm when I can't sleep during nights.. and wander the house in my jammies hunting for crap cause I can't sleep ? yup! and those crossover days as jay said.... sometimes my diary runs over 24hrs and looks like I've been pigging out continuously as a result
But it can be done.. it takes a lot of planning, and incorporating a lot of little changes a bit at a time until they become comfortable habits.. I get up at 4am for dayshift; and i'm in bed at 8 (if I had known when I was a kid I'd be going to bed at 8pm as an adult, I SO would have stayed up late!) Ha!
Anyway.. as you're looking for people who've been' there, done that and succeeded.. I started at over 200 lbs and it took me almost two years, but I hit my goal weight of 137 in January last year. Will I ever get 8 hrs sleep a night? Nope.. between menopause and shift work it just ain't gonna ever happen..
but the choices I make are on me... and by choosing to make small, gradual changes like making healthier choices, watching cals in vs cals expended, and moving my parts every day has worked for me! 
Edited to add: There's a group on MFP for shift workers you might want to check out too.. it's called third shift.. or shiftworkers... use the search feature on keywords and you'll probably find a couple - in case its of any help!0 -
If daily tracking is hard, switch to weekly tracking. Log everything. It doesn't matter what day you put it under and then switch your net calories report to weekly to see how you are doing for the week. If you want to lose a pound you need a 3500 calorie deficit for the week.
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thanks for the advice.... I will definitely press on. The words, breakfast, lunch and dinner have no meaning anymore as certain days are different depending where I am in the cycle. I've been doing this for 5 years and I've watched my coworkers spread with me. On the weekends its breakfast, lunch, and dinner... sometimes its breakfast lunch and breakfast, sometimes its lunch, lunch, lunch... ect, ect ect.
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I've seen some people break up and rename their food diary like this:
12am-4am, 4am-8am, 8am-12pm.... etc etc. And just record what they eat during those hours of that day.0 -
thanks for the advice.... I will definitely press on. The words, breakfast, lunch and dinner have no meaning anymore as certain days are different depending where I am in the cycle. I've been doing this for 5 years and I've watched my coworkers spread with me. On the weekends its breakfast, lunch, and dinner... sometimes its breakfast lunch and breakfast, sometimes its lunch, lunch, lunch... ect, ect ect.
If it would help you can change the meal names in your diary. Go to Settings>Diary Settings. Maybe Meal 1, Meal 2, etc would help?0 -
samdavis88, I have renamed my meals and sometime the 11pm meal is breakfast and sometimes its dinner... non the less, I find myself eating around the clock and if I can leave it at 6hr intervals then I won't overeat, but wow sometimes 6hrs is such a long time to go without something.0
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MinnieInMaine wrote: »Agreed. Meal timing makes no difference. The only thing you need to worry about is staying in a calorie deficit. How about looking at an average over the week instead of splitting it out by day? I think the apps allow for that but it may depend on which version you use... Or maybe you'll have to do some figuring on pen and paper but it would be worth it in the end.
Yes- this is what I do. I plan what I eat in 24 hour periods, but don't worry too much about it- I look at how I'm doing in the weekly view. Also, even with a job when you're stuck to your desk, you can move! I have stood up for phone calls, I have done squats right at my desk once an hour, I have done jumping jacks when I get a break.
It's easy to make excuses for why you CANT do it. It's harder to commit to ways to making it work. Everyone has things in their life that make it hard- you have to choose to fight past those things if you want to make a change. PS, I was once in a job where I worked for 36 hours straight once a week, and 12 hour shifts the rest of my week. You can do it, you just have to want it, more than you want to make excuses. Hole that doesn't sound too harsh- I'm cheering you on!
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Not taking it harsh at all.. thank you all... I need the input.. Sometimes the confusion is overwhelming. I do need to look at this on a daily basis as I've also had bariatric surgery in the last 2 mths with dietary needs that require the regulation... It's working, and the surgery is not the easy way out. It's very difficult, but very effective. That's how serious and permanent this life change is. Thanks so much for the input. I've just got to get this awkward schedule under control.0
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How about just keeping it one "Meal" instead of breaking it up and figuring out if it's breakfast time or dinner time each day?
And that's because our body cannot count calories as "breakfast calories" or "dinner calories". As someone mentioned above "Track your calories daily, and check your deficit on a weekly basis."
I haven't split my food diary it has one column "Timbaktu" and that's about it. No Kidding but that's what I have named my food diary column.0 -
i know plenty of people, myself included, that work night shifts or have a rotating schedule. it sucks, but it is certainly possible to lose weight and be active.
i've been on rotating shifts for the last 7 years. i do 12-hour shifts for three or four days from 530am to 530pm. then i'll have 2-3 days off. then i'll do 3-4 night shifts 530pm to 530am and have 3-4 days off. and thats not to mention the time i do OT.
it was the first 4 years of this that i put on weight. the schedule is not to blame, it's my own inactivity and over eating that caused it. it was my first job post-college, and i was 24 and just stopped working out.
but i've since turned my life a full 180* around, and am very active and eat healthy. it's hard, especially the night shifts, when i just want to eat junk and carbs.
good luck.0 -
runner, the only reason i use the breakfast, lunch, or dinner is to determine what im going to eat rather than when... eating lunches all day is pretty monotonous. I have labeled the meals with the time of day.. omelets and sandwiches get pretty boring after awhile
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I think this kind of shift should be illegal if it can be avoided, honestly, the harms are well known. Jmo. Anyway, the advice you've gotten sounds good. If I were you I'd also try to google up tactics used by commercial pilots & flight attendants, the military, and medical staff in hospitals. The military especially maybe, they r e invested in using best practices to keep people going on those schedules.0
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I had gastric bypass this past June. If you have had the surgery, you need to keep a stash of foods handy and when you aren't eating, a water bottle. For the first few months after surgery, I kept a water bottle by my bedside and drank when I went to bed and first thing when I got up. Yesterday my morning urine was too small and too dark so oops, started paying attention to water again.
My list of portable snacks.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/mid-day-snacks-722504
It's important not to let yourself get too hungry or too full.
It is tempting to become a "grazer" following surgery and I've seen articles that frown on that. But in your circumstance, I can't imagine you could do anything else. Graze.0 -
samdavis88, I have renamed my meals and sometime the 11pm meal is breakfast and sometimes its dinner... non the less, I find myself eating around the clock and if I can leave it at 6hr intervals then I won't overeat, but wow sometimes 6hrs is such a long time to go without something.
I changed mine to "Morning" "Afternoon" and "Nighttime".
My hungriest time of day is morning, so I eat my largest meal then and don't eat until lunch (only 4.5 hours away). From there, the meals get smaller and more frequent. Dinner is usually a salad at 6, popcorn at 7 and something sweet at 8. It's not grazing if you plan it!
I also like breakfast the best, so I have it twice a day <g>. Eggs and potatoes in the morning, then yogurt, granola and fruit in the afternoon.
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samdavis88 wrote: »I've seen some people break up and rename their food diary like this:
12am-4am, 4am-8am, 8am-12pm.... etc etc. And just record what they eat during those hours of that day.
That's actually a really good idea...0 -
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I work 1st, 2nd and 3rd shift each week. My sleep schedule is very strange and unpredictable. My day doesnt end at midnight so thats not how I log. My day starts when I wake up and ends when I go to bed. Some of my days are 24 hours long and Tuesdays are only 10 waking hours. I average my calories for the week so some days I eat 2200 calories and some days I eat 1200. It depends on how long i'm awake and how hungry I get. This is how it's worked for me. Hope this helps.
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It still comes down to CICO.0
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samdavis88 wrote: »I've seen some people break up and rename their food diary like this:
12am-4am, 4am-8am, 8am-12pm.... etc etc. And just record what they eat during those hours of that day.
This is what I did on nightshift. I'd base my calories and what I ate off a midnight to midnight day, even if that meant I started a new day halfway through the shift.
I also had a completely sedentary job- watching cardiac monitors at a hospital. I had to be able to clearly see all three screens at all times. I did a lot of stretching and position changes and wore compression socks. When (if) I got a lunch break, I'd run up and down the stairs like a mad man or do some yoga in the break room (coworkers loved that...) then actually eat at the monitors.
I like to graze instead of eating big meals, especially on night shift so I'd pack a huge lunch bag with fruit, veggies, crackers, etc. and keep it by the desk. That way the pizza ordered almost nightly was not as tempting.
Lost about 30 pounds while working nights. It's definitely doable.0 -
I have worked a 6p-6a schedule for the past18 years. I just pack enough calories for a 24 hour period, and eat them throughout the night as I get hungry. Works for me. So, tonight, I at about 100 grams of chicken at the house before work. I packed about 8 triscuits, about 3 cups of salad mix with bragg amino as a dressing (S A L T). large gala apple, the other half of that chicken breast, and a tangelo or 2. By the end of the night my food is almost always gone. that food leaves me room at the end of the day to still come in under calories, and if I need to eat when I get home, I can0
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Track your calories daily, and check your deficit on a weekly basis.
this
my dad works 3rd shift 5 nights a week and has for years. pretty much the ONLY meal he eats is dinner, cause he fixes dinner for him and his wife when she gets home from work. he takes some leftovers to eat at work if he gets hungry. i think he has a snack of sorts when he comes home in the mornings, but its a quick sandwich or cereal or something.0 -
I have a unique situation that no dietitian has ever been able to help me with. I work 3rd shift (11 hrs) 4 nights a week and my body clock does a complete 180 twice a week. Adding on to that, this job is completely sedentary and in front of a computer all night. It has made it impossible to plan regular 3 meals and 2 snacks and not get the days mixed up and what calories go for which set of 24 hrs. I know I’m not the only one in this situation but I’ve never seen this dilemma ever presented on any forum. I would love to hear how others deal with it and succeed. I’m looking for those who've been there, because quite frankly, if you haven’t, you can’t know, you can only imagine.
During the time you are awake you eat to your calorie defecit, accurately weighing and logging your food
If you can get up from your desk regularly - take a 30 minute walk during your lunch break
Move more outside of work
Incorporate a heavy lifting routine
and stop making excuses, however valid they are still excuses .. just commit and do it
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