How should I eat when working third shift?

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DLMitch22
DLMitch22 Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I work in a hospital and my shift starts at 7pm and ends at 7am.... Right now, I eat breakfast at 6thirty in the morning ...I workout as soon as I get off until 9am... Go home sleep from 10 am until 5pm... Then I have dinner at midnight.... Believe it or not I've lost weight on this schedule but I know it isn't the healthiest thing to do...does anyone have any ideas ???

Replies

  • ariana_eatsandlifts
    ariana_eatsandlifts Posts: 197 Member
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    How is it not healthy? You're basically doing what other people do... just at different times because of your work schedule. If it's working, I say don't mess with it as long as you're getting exercise and the proper nutrition.
  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
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    It's not unhealthy? Meal timing is all about the individual. As long as you're staying within your calories and eating moderately healthy, you're golden. Eat when it is best for you.
  • DLMitch22
    DLMitch22 Posts: 47 Member
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    Hey thanks for the reply and yeah I was just worried about it because I was skipping meals. I don't eat lunch nor do I have snacks. Thanks again
  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
    edited October 2015
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    No problem! I typically wake up at 6 am and don't eat until 11am or later, mostly because I'm not hungry until then. Definitely don't force yourself into meal times simply for the fact, if it's working for you, stick to it.

    I know there's that much touted myth about meal timing and metabolism but it really doesn't matter, as long as you're giving your body the energy to function properly, in whatever timing that may be :)
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    The only reason, for me, that skipping meals matters for weight loss is that I tend to overeat when I get access to food. As far as meal timing, it doesn't matter at all, as long as you maintain an overall reasonable deficit.
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    edited October 2015
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    DLMitch22 wrote: »
    I work in a hospital and my shift starts at 7pm and ends at 7am.... Right now, I eat breakfast at 6thirty in the morning ...I workout as soon as I get off until 9am... Go home sleep from 10 am until 5pm... Then I have dinner at midnight.... Believe it or not I've lost weight on this schedule but I know it isn't the healthiest thing to do...does anyone have any ideas ???

    Why is it not healthy?

    There's no set time that you need to stop eating. Don't buy into that whole you need to stop eating after 7-8, since your body is burning calories while you're working, sleeping, etc.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    You have a good eating schedule. :)
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    When you eat is less important than what you eat, as far as health goes.

    You eat the same on 3rd as you would on 1st or 2nd...unless you'd go to the cafeteria and that's shut down at night. But, still, bring your food from home and eat whatever your bring. :)
  • EspressoLvr
    EspressoLvr Posts: 100 Member
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    I also do shift work and I've just started this intuitive eating program, and it's working out great as far as scheduling meals. I don't feel as restricted to have breakfast foods when I wake up or a hot meal for dinner. My staple meal at work is a hard boiled egg, a 1.1oz stick of cheese, 20 almonds, and some kind of fruit. It's about 300 calories and doesn't take too much away from my actual meals (on a 1500 cal/day diet). I usually bring enough to eat on each day on my 4 day shift, that way, if I feel like I need to eat more, the safe choices are already there and I'm less likely to hit the vending machines.

    Also, you need to google it, but there is new research which found that the time of day we eat has very little to do with how efficiently we lose weight. It's great news for some of us!
  • kar328
    kar328 Posts: 4,156 Member
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    I work the same 7P-7A and this is what works for me. I use MFPs 24 hour midnight to midnight for logging but changed the diary headings to six hour time blocks. I eat a real dinner around 4:30-5P (crazy hospital unit, meal breaks are never a guarantee). I bring things I can eat quickly and at the nurses station. I like apple slices and PB, yogurt, hardboiled eggs, cottage cheese, pistachios and almonds and a serving size of Oreos (packing them in snack bags somehow makes me not eat the whole package, I don't know why, I just go with it). I try to make one of the proteins a 'meal' around 1:30-2A and work in the rest depending on my shift. I usually eat something light when I go home, sleep from 9A-4P and do it again. If I'm off that night, I'm up at 1P and eat like normal people do :smiley: I log the food for the day as early as I can. If I'm off that night, I don't want to have eaten half my calories before I get home, then be up all day with limited numbers. I tweak things as I go along, but this seems to work for me.

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