Help with MFP and work schedule

zach121989
zach121989 Posts: 44 Member
edited November 27 in Health and Weight Loss
So, I work 12-13 hour shifts. 4 days one week, 3 days the next. I'm currently on night shift. So I sleep from 730 in the morning to around 3 in the evening. But MFP doesn't really take into consideration when my day actually begins and when I should be asleep and not eating. Now here's the tricky part. On my off days I live as a normal person so I can actually see my kids. Meaning I get off work on my last day and stay up until my wife goes to bed, and then my sleep pattern is normal until work again. So on my work days, how do I log my meals such as dinner when it's often after 12pm and MFP wants to consider it a new day.

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    When I was doing nights I added another meal - "night shift food" - to the diary and used that for the post midnight intake. Probably best to hit the weekly target rather than stressing about the 24h goal.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    You could use the back button and log it on the previous MFP day

    You could ignore daily and concentrate on weekly as yarwell said ...that's what I do and I have regular days
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    Ignore when MFP says a "new day" should start. I work nights as well and have lost over 60 pounds while doing it.

    My schedule is so erratic it's nuts. Basically when I work, my "breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks" are from when I wake up until the next morning. So yes, after midnight my food is counted for the previous day. If I go to work at 7 p.m. on 12/27, all my food from 5 p.m. (MY breakfast) until 7 a.m. on 12/28 counts for all of 12/27. On my off days, I eat in a normal pattern. The tricky days are the one day after a string of night shifts.

    You have to experiment with your eating pattern and find what works best. Typically, use whatever 24-hour or 12-hour period works best for your nights. I hope I made sense!
  • bigsicklittlesick
    bigsicklittlesick Posts: 55 Member
    I work 12-13 hour shifts also, sometimes days and sometimes nights. I set up my diary in a 24hr time format instead of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack format.
    For example:

    0001-1200 (12:01am-12:00pm)
    1201-1500 (12:01pm-3:00pm)
    1501-2000 (3:01pm-8:00pm)
    2001-2359 (8:01pm-11:59pm)
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    bigsicklittlesick wrote: »
    I work 12-13 hour shifts also, sometimes days and sometimes nights. I set up my diary in a 24hr time format instead of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack format.
    For example:

    0001-1200 (12:01am-12:00pm)
    1201-1500 (12:01pm-3:00pm)
    1501-2000 (3:01pm-8:00pm)
    2001-2359 (8:01pm-11:59pm)

    This is good. You certainly don't have to label things as "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner." I use "Meal 1, Meal 2, Meal 3, Other."
  • zach121989
    zach121989 Posts: 44 Member
    Thanks guys. I will Continue to fight on. It's been a struggle since getting blown up in Afghanistan by a road side bomb. Pain all the time. And being lazy. It's coming off though, and for once it is sustainable.
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