Anyone else in here a shift worker and struggling to log accurate cals?

Fivefarthings
Fivefarthings Posts: 33 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 29, trying to lose a stone, and am a shift worker who works a combination of days and nights. I'm struggling to get an accurate log for my cals as MFP is only for a 'normal' person who works 9-5 and eats their three squares a day. I struggled most this weekend being on nights. Example- Friday morning I got up, ate breakfast, worked out, ate lunch, napped in the afternoon, ate dinner, then went to work at nine at night til seven in the morning. During that time I ate snacks and then had a meal break at three where I suppose I ate what you would call breakfast. Then I went home and straight to bed, then got up in the afternoon and ate dinner and went back to work.

I'm just wondering if anyone else on here works shifts and how they log their cals that consume during the night? On Friday I was active for 24 hours and ate accordingly but it totally throws off the calorie tracker, so I've been trying to spread out the cals by logging my meal break at three am as 'breakfast' for that day and my snacks as 'lunch' otherwise I go way over!

Any other suggestions from anyone as to how they manage it?

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    You can add "meals" as you need. When on nights I had "night shift food" as an entry along with three meals and snacks
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Just decide what your 24 hour period is going to be--midnight to 11:59 p.m. or 10 p.m. to 9:59 p.m. or 3 a.m. to 2:59 a.m. or whatever--and log each of those periods as a day. I don't understand how MFP makes that difficult.

    If it is easier, look at your calories over a week rather than a day. If you really wanted to you could multiply your daily calorie goal by 7, make that your custom calorie goal, and then log everything you eat for the week all on one day.
  • Fivefarthings
    Fivefarthings Posts: 33 Member
    The problem with MFP is that is allows calories for a period of being awake based on an average day I.e. Seven til ten, but sometimes I am awake for 24 hours and eat accordingly so obviously MFP says I am going over my daily calorie allowance as it assumes people only consume cals during their waking hours. I want to log what I'm eating but wondered how people recorded it and made adjustments for it on here if they are eating for 24 hours
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Fivefarthings wrote: »
    The problem with MFP is that is allows calories for a period of being awake based on an average day I.e. Seven til ten, but sometimes I am awake for 24 hours and eat accordingly so obviously MFP says I am going over my daily calorie allowance as it assumes people only consume cals during their waking hours. I want to log what I'm eating but wondered how people recorded it and made adjustments for it on here if they are eating for 24 hours

    On the website, go into Food and then Settings. Scroll down to Meal Names. You can delete or add or change the names there. If you just want to log everything in one 24 hour period, you could just make one meal and log everything under it for the day. You still might go over for one 24 hour period but then you'd be under on the next or previous period.
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    Fivefarthings wrote: »
    The problem with MFP is that is allows calories for a period of being awake based on an average day I.e. Seven til ten, but sometimes I am awake for 24 hours and eat accordingly so obviously MFP says I am going over my daily calorie allowance as it assumes people only consume cals during their waking hours. I want to log what I'm eating but wondered how people recorded it and made adjustments for it on here if they are eating for 24 hours

    On the website, go into Food and then Settings. Scroll down to Meal Names. You can delete or add or change the names there. If you just want to log everything in one 24 hour period, you could just make one meal and log everything under it for the day. You still might go over for one 24 hour period but then you'd be under on the next or previous period.

    I work shifts but work mostly nights, so like you my working day may span two calendar days. Two things I do:

    1. Yes, as suggested above edit the default meal name entries to something more natural for you.
    2. Ignore calendar days and assign all food for your working day to your waking day. I.e. if your shift spans the evening of the 1st into the morning of the 2nd, log everything to the 1st anyway. That way you won't be getting undereating and overeating warnings on a daily basis. This might still lead to an occasional blank/over day corresponding to swing shifts or days off, but the overall logging will be more accurate.
  • Fivefarthings
    Fivefarthings Posts: 33 Member
    Okay thanks for the replies guys, that has helped!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories