Starting my fitness journey (again :( ) but now with the added challenge of working nights! help?!

Plan your meals a week in advance, including snacks. When you get the chance, do a day of batch cooking (roasting a huge pile of vegetables, making quinoa, your own sauces, shredding chicken). I use websites like Skinnytaste and Gimme Some Oven for my meal plans, but there are tons of healthy food blogs out there for you to explore. I would check the Food & Nutrition section here for some quick ideas too.

How long does it take you to get to work? Would it be possible to walk/run/bike to or from work? If you can, maybe work out before you go to work.

oof, nights suck! I worked 7pm to 7am for three years and that's how I packed on my extra 50 lbs Anyways, near the end I realized some helpful things. Food wise- on your days off pack little ready to eat meals you can quickly scarf when you get home. You can get some of those divided Tupperware dishes and have everything all ready to go asap, also keep granola bars in you car so you can eat them as you drive by the evil fast food places. Exercise- does your work have stair? If so, take 10 minutes on your break and walk up and down them. That sounds SO much easier then it really is. Ordering out- we did that a lot at the hospital- so I would bring m food and leave my credit card at home. I hope this helps a little! Good luck you vampire

I have done this before, and while it wasn't during a time that I was trying hard to lose, I remember how disorienting it can be.
Here's my advice:
1. Results will come very slow. Expect that. 1-2 lbs per week feels like nothing sometimes. The reality is that eating healthy food feels hard and like it's not making a difference but if you go back to eating crap you probably won't break even, you'll likely gain. Even if it's slow. I thought I was breaking even for years and when I weighed myself had gained 30 lbs. 30 lbs is a lot when you think of how many weeks it takes to lose at 1-2 lbs per week. Doing it is hard, but remind yourself that not doing it is unthinkable. If it takes you a year to lose 50 lbs, guess what? The year was going to pass anyway, and do you really remember most of the meals you ate last year?
2. Keep the routine just as you would for a day job, even if you work at night. I like intermittent fasting because I get to eat higher calorie meals during a shorter timeframe because I only have 8 hours to eat as opposed to 12 or 18. What I do is wake up, get to the gym about 2.5 hours later, and then eat my first meal around noon. (I work out in a fasted state.) So if you wake up in the evening you can still do the same thing. Wake up, workout, then eat. Then eat when you're hungry throughout the day. Pick the hour where you stop eating and start your fast, (if you want to do IF). You can totally do it.
3. Have food waiting for you at your house that's VERY easy to prepare so you're not tempted to hit the drive through. If you do have to hit the drive through, have a list ahead of time of the lowest calorie and healthiest options. When I need to fast food I do taco bell because their shredded chicken soft taco, fresco style has like 120 calories I think (going from memory here). I grab two of those and an unsweet tea. It's a lot of sodium but not a lot of calories and has a good amount of protein.

Nights are awful for weig it loss. They suck all umph right out of you. I have been on them for years. I too am guilty of the on again off again ambition. I start off reasonable, I know me and I know I hate the gym. I love to bike, so I bike when I wake in the evening. Or use a bike trainer in the winter. Then I use my breaks at work to pack in an hour of fast walking. This sneaks in extra exercise and keeps me awake and away from the vending machine. Food wise I cook a meal in the evening then pack smaller snacks for work. The morning is a battle, I am always so tired. I will make some things ahead of time when I am on the ball. I make fruit and grain sticky bars, precooked home made oatmeal, or egg bake in a muffin tin for mini omelets. Things that can be heated quick. Is there a route you can drive home that doesn't take you past fast food. I find it helps if it isn't right there in my face. Good luck it is a battle, especially if you also have to make meals for others. Add me of you need a night sbif

giha111 wrote: »

Nights are awful for weig it loss. They suck all umph right out of you. I have been on them for years. I too am guilty of the on again off again ambition. I start off reasonable, I know me and I know I hate the gym. I love to bike, so I bike when I wake in the evening. Or use a bike trainer in the winter. Then I use my breaks at work to pack in an hour of fast walking. This sneaks in extra exercise and keeps me awake and away from the vending machine. Food wise I cook a meal in the evening then pack smaller snacks for work. The morning is a battle, I am always so tired. I will make some things ahead of time when I am on the ball. I make fruit and grain sticky bars, precooked home made oatmeal, or egg bake in a muffin tin for mini omelets. Things that can be heated quick. Is there a route you can drive home that doesn't take you past fast food. I find it helps if it isn't right there in my face. Good luck it is a battle, especially if you also have to make meals for others. Add me if you need a night shift budy.