Night shift nurses and tracking food

ltorigia
ltorigia Posts: 3 Member
edited November 22 in Getting Started
Hi everyone! My name is Lauren and I work 36 hours a week, 12 hour night shifts from 7pm-730am. I workout at home and do beach body DVDs and I absolutely love them! My diet hasn't been so hot lately though so I had a question for night shift workers....how do you track your food when you sleep during the day? Do you still track midnight to midnight? Thanks!

Replies

  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    I would image still tracking midnight to midnight would work. Or, what I do is just count from sleep to sleep as one day, regardless of the time. I tend to stay up several hours past midnight and wake up late in the morning, so I just count first meal as Breakfast and make sure anything I add after midnight goes on the previous day.
  • mystgrl1604
    mystgrl1604 Posts: 117 Member
    I go midnight to midnight. As long as everything is logged somewhere, I don't really care if it's logged as breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks. Lol. Plus it doesn't add confusion to when you're on your days off.
  • chelseacknutson
    chelseacknutson Posts: 3 Member
    ER RN here, 7p-7a. I tried the midnight to midnight thing, didn't work for me. It was too complicated. I started tracking from waking up to going to sleep, 3 meals. It has been MUCH easier. Also, I don't feel conflicted when I eat a meal at midnight at work on which day it counts towards. I just wake up, eat my 3 meals. Go to sleep. Start over. Everyone is different, but that's what is working for me.
  • chelseacknutson
    chelseacknutson Posts: 3 Member
    Note: if I wake up at 4pm and it's the 3rd, I track all my meals from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep on the 3rd...even if it has technically become the 4th.
  • ltorigia
    ltorigia Posts: 3 Member
    edited August 2015
    Thanks! What if you do midnight to midnight and then on your day off after working night shift...you go over your goal because you eat at work after midnight then sleep and wake up and eat Dinner then go to bed at a normal time? Sorry if that's confusing.
  • mlanky
    mlanky Posts: 6 Member
    I'm a nurse too.. Happy to help if u need some tips
  • stephanieluvspb
    stephanieluvspb Posts: 997 Member
    Psych RN, I also work 7p-7 a. I track midnight to midnight and go to the gym on my days off.
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
    ltorigia wrote: »
    Hi everyone! My name is Lauren and I work 36 hours a week, 12 hour night shifts from 7pm-730am. I workout at home and do beach body DVDs and I absolutely love them! My diet hasn't been so hot lately though so I had a question for night shift workers....how do you track your food when you sleep during the day? Do you still track midnight to midnight? Thanks!
    I'd pre-plan my meals and log in advance, making corrections as needed.
    Whatever it takes to get and stay on track.
    GOOD LUCK!
  • wendy75_512
    wendy75_512 Posts: 21 Member
    I work 3rd shift and track my food midnight to midnight. It's easier for me to stay consistent this way.
  • jj2805
    jj2805 Posts: 4 Member
    I was told by my sisters personal trainer to go breakfast to bed. This means my first shift is a struggle as I have to make my allowance last literally 24hrs. After that its fine. I always allow myself at least 150 extra on nights. I do 3 in a row maybe 4. Still losing weight. Hardest part is not eating the crap everyone brings in to share!
  • Tintin13
    Tintin13 Posts: 86 Member
    I do midnight to midnight. My hardest struggle is busy nights when u don't get to eat and someone brings donuts in at the end of the shift
  • kwalser924
    kwalser924 Posts: 6 Member
    I struggle with this too. I try to do midnight to midnight and just keep in mind that it won't always be perfect. If it's my first night, I'll be up during the day AND night so I'll have a surplus of calories. If I'm working my last night then sleeping all morning, I'll have less than expected. I don't eat as much in the end of my shift and obviously not when I'm asleep in the morning! Glad to see there's other night shifters that do midnight to midnight too!
  • kwalser924
    kwalser924 Posts: 6 Member
    Tintin13 wrote: »
    I do midnight to midnight. My hardest struggle is busy nights when u don't get to eat and someone brings donuts in at the end of the shift
    ME TOO!!!
  • jj2805
    jj2805 Posts: 4 Member
    I might have to try this midnight to midnight!!
  • justmeplusthree
    justmeplusthree Posts: 1 Member
    labor and delivery nurse here, night shifts also. I do midnight to midnight, because my sleeping days are not consistent with kids, etc. I do agree, it's hardest from like 4am on, and there are those donuts.
  • bpatriquin24
    bpatriquin24 Posts: 41 Member
    Also a L&D nurse, rotating D&N shifts. those pesky donuts! I know I don't enjoy them, but at 3am they look mighty delicious
  • kwalser924
    kwalser924 Posts: 6 Member
    Donuts must be a labor and delivery thing....I'm a scrub tech nights in L&D, we have one anesthesiologist that always brings donuts!! After a beating of a shift, the donuts always call my name!
  • titinil
    titinil Posts: 142 Member
    I'm not a nurse, but I also work nights (6:45pm - 7:15am) in a hospital. I go midnight to midnight, but I've added/changed the names of the meals here on MFP. I have my meals set up as 4 hour increments. So my meals are listed as: Midnight - 4am, 4am - 8am, 8am - noon, noon - 4pm, 4pm - 8pm, and 8pm - midnight. This way it doesn't matter what I call my meals, and I'm better able to compare one day to another.
  • ctalimenti
    ctalimenti Posts: 865 Member
    midnight to midnight
  • mystgrl1604
    mystgrl1604 Posts: 117 Member
    titinil wrote: »
    I'm not a nurse, but I also work nights (6:45pm - 7:15am) in a hospital. I go midnight to midnight, but I've added/changed the names of the meals here on MFP. I have my meals set up as 4 hour increments. So my meals are listed as: Midnight - 4am, 4am - 8am, 8am - noon, noon - 4pm, 4pm - 8pm, and 8pm - midnight. This way it doesn't matter what I call my meals, and I'm better able to compare one day to another.

    Oooooh there's an idea! I go midnight to midnight as I do both day and night shifts so this might actually work better than just randomly logging in whichever meal. Thanks!
  • ltorigia
    ltorigia Posts: 3 Member
    I've been tracking for a week...I end up having 800 calories left over on my first night shift on and either come close to goal or go over calories on back to back shifts....Should I count that as evening things out? Or just keep trying to stay close to goal?
  • wigsajumper
    wigsajumper Posts: 1 Member
    Rad/CT Tech here work 6p-6a. I track midnight to midnight and keep the traditional naming set up. My midnight "lunch" I usually track under snack or supper. Work schedule allows me long periods of off time (I stack my 12s) so keeping to the traditional naming patterns helps when I switch to the family's sleep cycle.
  • naomimascoll
    naomimascoll Posts: 11 Member
    I work 11-7 and for years I ate at night. What I found works for me now is; 7am breakfast, sleep. Wake up1pm lunch, sleep at 6pm wake up10 pm dinner.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories