Any night shift people out there?
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28barb205
Posts: 12 Member
I work 12 hour night shifts on the weekends. I do great all week while im at home but then the weekend rolls around and all I want is quick energy in the form of sugary carbs. Im tired, my body is achy from long nights. Ive gained 60 lbs being on nights. Ive thought about changing shifts but it would be a tremendous pay loss.
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I work 12 hour night shifts on the weekends. I do great all week while im at home but then the weekend rolls around and all I want is quick energy in the form of sugary carbs. Im tired, my body is achy from long nights. Ive gained 60 lbs being on nights. Ive thought about changing shifts but it would be a tremendous pay loss.
it's not night shifts that cause the weight gain...it's eating too much food that did that.
My husband works night shifts too...he doesn't gain.
Log your food accurately and consistently and eat in reasonable portions.
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I agree with the above. Night shifters tend to gain weight because of too much snacking at night, not the shift itself. I've been working nights for 5 years now and I gained at least 50 lbs from overeating. My main issue now is I don't get a lot of sleep during the day due to my kids, and so I am awake most of the day and night (I average 3-5 hours of sleep only). Trying to stretch my calories seems to work. I choose higher protein foods that will help keep me full. I eat a high protein breakfast whenever I wake up from my sleep mid day. Then I will eat a dinner with a lean protein and vegetables, etc. I ALWAYS save calories for snacks during work. Last night my snacks were two hard boiled medium eggs and 5 oz. of BBQ chicken. I make sure to eat it at least before midnight so that I can have some cutoff for each day (I count my day of logging from midnight to midnight). This seems to work well. I just don't bring any bad snacks and then I'm not tempted to eat them.2
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Im not saying that saying some mysterious nightshift monster comes out and sticks the donut in my mouth. Ive done the food diaries. I know my patterns and my body. Im saying night shift leads to being tired and is a trigger. I seek the quick energies and the convienence foods. Thats not an issue through the week when im on a normal day schedule. And good for your husband on handling the shift so well but that is just not the case for everyone. I started this thread for support from fellow night shifters who have the same issues. Not to be told the obvious logging and portion control.5
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Thank you bearbo27. Thats a good idea.0
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Im not saying that saying some mysterious nightshift monster comes out and sticks the donut in my mouth. Ive done the food diaries. I know my patterns and my body. Im saying night shift leads to being tired and is a trigger. I seek the quick energies and the convienence foods. Thats not an issue through the week when im on a normal day schedule. And good for your husband on handling the shift so well but that is just not the case for everyone. I started this thread for support from fellow night shifters who have the same issues. Not to be told the obvious logging and portion control.
As soon as you mentioned about seeking quick energies I was like "oh my gosh that is so me". I had a very bad habit of stopping for soda's or Starbucks frappachino's on days where I had got only 3 hours of sleep. Getting more sleep some days isn't an option because have to watch my toddler and shuttle my oldest to and from school while husband is at work. I'm sure if someone is getting a full 8-10 hours of sleep it might be easier to keep food intake down to a minimum. I am awake usually 20-24hours at a time some days and have to stretch my calories so I am not starving and seeking out more food.
I've been soda free for weeks now and it feels great. The only coffee I allow myself is the one cup in the morning when I wake up (I like sugar and cream in it). Last night I brought only 64 oz of water with lemon to work and sipped on that all night.
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I like to snack on night shift so I plan my food diary around that. I log midnight to midnight.
First night eat normally during the day and have a light snack (150cal) before midnight.
After midnight I have a few more snacks (500 cal approx) then yoghurt with fruit and cereal before bed. (250 cal)
Wake up and have a protein or meal replacement shake (200-250cal) then a normal dinner (500-600 cal)
I do the same the second night shift and then go back to my normal eating pattern
Some snack suggestions are nuts, veggies and dip, cheese and water crackers, fruit, pop corn, mini chocolate, muesli bar, 2 cookies.
It's so easy to reach for sugar loaded calorie dense foods when you're exhausted, I find having a lunchbox full of pre planned snacks that fits in with my calorie goal helps.
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Another thought is could you eat a little less 5 days a week and save some of those calories for your 2 night shifts? I eat 1650 Mon-Fri and then 2000 Sat/Sun, it equals the 1750 cal day goal over the week but fits better with my life0
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Not eating any protein or fat is probably not helping you stay full for longer and providing longer lasting energy. I work nights and it's easy to manage because the cafeteria closes (though I maybe go every 3 months) so I just have what I bring. Don't order food in or bring sugary junk food and it's pretty easy to stay on track. I work ICU so I'm also usually extremely busy and don't have a lot of time to sit around and eat which helps.1
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I work nights. I start my days food log at midnight so it is really like my morning. If I go higher on calories, I just adjust calories elsewhere.0
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Bearbo27, that is the exact boat im in. With 4 kids, I sleep an average of 4-5 hours per day. I work friday, saturday, and sunday and then by monday i feel as though ive been hit by a truck. I think your right about the water with lemon. You always hear 8 glasses a day, but i didnt realize just how important that was until i started tracking. There is a tremendous difference when i dont drink enough. We have a very strict supervisor so i cant keep drinks at the nurses station but ill try to keep a bottle in the breakroom next weekend for a quick sip rather than a quick cookie. I dont usually bring junk food in, but im not the only weekend warrior with a carb addiction, and the girls love to share.
Any tips on how to let go of the soda?
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I work shifts 12 hr days and 12 hr nights and struggle so much to lose weight.
I'm really good in work and only bring healthy clean food.
I try to stagger my times, I have a few nuts around 7pm, dinner, usually salad and chicken around 9:30/10pm, fruit after midnight around 2am ish but drink lots of green tea and water.
The weight is coming off but very slow.
I think food prep and planning is the key when working shifts xx0 -
Night shifts, hit me like a Mack truck. Had to switch to companies so I could become strictly a day walker again. Although I will work a few now and then, they are shifts that have sleeping quarters. even as a day walker I hit the H2o like it's going out of style. I challenge myself to get as much fluid intake as possible. I have definitely noticed a difference. It can be hard in the medical field to keep any sort of schedule, let alone a ratting schedule. We as medics and ER nurses may run all night long, or have hours of down time, but when duty calls! Lol. Keep your heads up, and do the best you can, we got this!0
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I have been on nights for 14.5 years. IT SUCKS! I have gained approximately 50 lbs since starting nights back in 2002. I have since lost about half of that. Trying to lose the other and more right now. It's not easy since your day is backwards and sleep is not good. I know many people who love nights and do well on them, but I for one, am not one of those people. I know that I would be a lot healthier if I were on days. I am horrible when it comes to eating. For the past few years I have been just eating like 1 big meal a day and then an occasional snack at night. Not good at all. Right now I am in Day 2 of trying to eat more smaller meals through out the day and healthy snacks. I am also what you would call a very picky eater. I have read some articles online about how some adults don't really get there adult taste buds. Not sure about that, but I do know that I pretty much eat like a 8 year old. I hate veggies, except for corn, raw carrots and raw celery. I will eat some green beans. Only fruits I like are watermelon and apples. So trying to eat healthy as a picky eater is hard as well. I also have to get myself to walk at work more. I have 8 hours to fill and 1 building to check so it makes it kind of hard to get motivated to get out there and check it. I used to have 5 buildings to check back in the day and that kept me moving. So making sure that I go on an extra foot tour or two is a must. Hang in there Night Peeps!0
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Me!!!! I've worked night shift a year and managed to not gain any weight. Actually I had lost weight and I began picking up my coworkers habits of snacking. Once I hit a certain number on my scale I always get my ish together lol. I really enjoyed eating those junk foods during the night and my coworkers bring in cake and Filipino food frequently. I've learned to say no and continue to snack but strictly healthy foods about one to two snacks nightly. I bring a whole wheat reduced sugar uncrustables pb and j almost every day. If not I'll have one ounce of unsalted nuts. My other snack is a cheese stick and maybe a banana. If I'm still hungry I'll chug water and once I get home I will have a hearty breakfast like spinach eggs in a whole wheat tortilla or maybe even cereal with cashew milk if I'm very tired. Working 12 hour shifts is difficult but sometimes I'll work 16 hour shift and I just plan accordingly. During everyone's waking hours I'll eat a meal and snacks and during sleeping hours I only eat the snacks I named above. Just plan it and with the sleep issue, sleep is very important. Night shifters life spans are often reduced because of lack of sleep. See if there's anyway you can sleep while your children are in school and if they are too small then look into daycare. My daughter is on summer break so she will spend some days with family visiting for some times and days she's at home she takes care of herself. I just make sure she has breakfast and lunch prepared and my bedroom door is cracked so she can get to me if she really needs something. You got to make yourself a priority also.0
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Im not saying that saying some mysterious nightshift monster comes out and sticks the donut in my mouth. Ive done the food diaries. I know my patterns and my body. Im saying night shift leads to being tired and is a trigger. I seek the quick energies and the convienence foods. Thats not an issue through the week when im on a normal day schedule. And good for your husband on handling the shift so well but that is just not the case for everyone. I started this thread for support from fellow night shifters who have the same issues. Not to be told the obvious logging and portion control.
being tired for most is a trigger...
but the logging and portion control is what helps...and if it's so obvious then why aren't you following it????
If you are triggered by being tired (so am I) log what you grab and eat it in reasonable portions...there is nothing different about it...but thanks for the snark regardless.
best give the same snark to those others on here who didn't gain weight on night shift.
smh1 -
I work nights and I'll never give up the differential. My kids are older so I usually get 6ish hours of sleep per night. As for tracking, I prelog and only eat between 10 pm and 7 am. That works if I go to bed at a reasonable time, but if I'm up really late running errands I'm almost guaranteed to go over calories.0
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Im not saying that saying some mysterious nightshift monster comes out and sticks the donut in my mouth. Ive done the food diaries. I know my patterns and my body. Im saying night shift leads to being tired and is a trigger. I seek the quick energies and the convienence foods. Thats not an issue through the week when im on a normal day schedule. And good for your husband on handling the shift so well but that is just not the case for everyone. I started this thread for support from fellow night shifters who have the same issues. Not to be told the obvious logging and portion control.
being tired for most is a trigger...
but the logging and portion control is what helps...and if it's so obvious then why aren't you following it????
If you are triggered by being tired (so am I) log what you grab and eat it in reasonable portions...there is nothing different about it...but thanks for the snark regardless.
best give the same snark to those others on here who didn't gain weight on night shift.
smh
Well I can't speak for the original poster but I will say that, even though It seems obvious to some to just log calories and eat reasonable portions, it is difficult while on 3rd shift IMO. I gained more weight on 3rd shift than I ever had in my life or on any other shift. Like I had to explain to my husband, trying to stretch 1500 calories over a 20-24 hour period while not dealing with hunger constantly sucks. Doable? Yes...Not to mention, exhaustion made me search out caffeine some nights.
I don't know how much sleep your husband gets her day but the more sleep you get, the easier it is.
Everyone has a different situation and I am in no way making excuses. I can and have in the past succeeded with weight loss on 3rd shift. I just think it helps to compare struggles so we can find what works best.
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Im not saying that saying some mysterious nightshift monster comes out and sticks the donut in my mouth. Ive done the food diaries. I know my patterns and my body. Im saying night shift leads to being tired and is a trigger. I seek the quick energies and the convienence foods. Thats not an issue through the week when im on a normal day schedule. And good for your husband on handling the shift so well but that is just not the case for everyone. I started this thread for support from fellow night shifters who have the same issues. Not to be told the obvious logging and portion control.
being tired for most is a trigger...
but the logging and portion control is what helps...and if it's so obvious then why aren't you following it????
If you are triggered by being tired (so am I) log what you grab and eat it in reasonable portions...there is nothing different about it...but thanks for the snark regardless.
best give the same snark to those others on here who didn't gain weight on night shift.
smh
Well I can't speak for the original poster but I will say that, even though It seems obvious to some to just log calories and eat reasonable portions, it is difficult while on 3rd shift IMO. I gained more weight on 3rd shift than I ever had in my life or on any other shift. Like I had to explain to my husband, trying to stretch 1500 calories over a 20-24 hour period while not dealing with hunger constantly sucks. Doable? Yes...Not to mention, exhaustion made me search out caffeine some nights.
I don't know how much sleep your husband gets her day but the more sleep you get, the easier it is.
Everyone has a different situation and I am in no way making excuses. I can and have in the past succeeded with weight loss on 3rd shift. I just think it helps to compare struggles so we can find what works best.
being tired is not relegated to just shift workers...or it being a trigger.
1500 calories is what I eat in an 18 hour period now..does two extra hours make a difference perhaps but planning, preparation and logging is the only way to keep the weight off and/or lose and making sure you move, drink water and if necessary upping calories a bit can help too.
my husband doesn't get a tonne of sleep on any of his shifts...he is a mindful eater and makes sure he moves and chooses nutrient dense foods along with lots of protein and healthy snacks. He takes his meals with him unless they are cooking that night and since he is the one who does the cooking he gets to make that choice too.
It is all about taking responsibility for what you put in your mouth instead of looking for excuses as to why it's "too hard".
ETA: as for the OP they have a "normal" week so the two days on night shifts is not causing 60lbs in extra weight to happen...that would mean they ate 210,000 extra calories after night shifts....think about that...it's more than a donut or two after night shift...0 -
I would tentatively suggest you find an activity you enjoy after work. For me, I used to run a 3-5 mile housing loop on base after getting off of 2nd shift (around midnight or one a.m.).
Maybe set your alarm for an earlier wake-up and get in some activity to compensate for the snacking? It sucks, but after a few weeks (roughly 14-21 days to make something a habit) you get used to it and it becomes the norm.
Or... and this may sound odd: approach it like an Anonymous peep. ANYTHING can seem insurmountable in the context of an entire 20-24hrs. That is quite a chunk of time; but, maybe it is more obtainable if you break it up a bit? A couple of minutes: "I won't eat [insert whatever]," and then "I can wait half-hour or one more hour for my scheduled [snack/meal/whatever]"...etc.
Distraction, redirection, or delaying tactics may help you as well.
Also, internally figure out what is driving your lifestyle change. Then compare that against your willingness to change. If they are disproportionate, in terms of commitment, you may find yourself repeatedly self-sabotaged.
Finally, It's okay to not be ready yet. Change, personal responsibility, and long-term success is hard. It takes work. It is and can be frustrating. If you're not ready, then be okay with that...make whatever improvements/changes you are okay with now (goal: not gaining) and readdress when you finally are in that space to fully commit.0 -
I am no longer a night shift worker but I really think the lack of sleep helps keep the calories on. Yes it seems longer then working a day shift because it is slower at night so you fill that time with snacks (or I did) I did gain a lot. Only when I would get off work and work out for 1-2 hours did I see any change. Once I stopped that I gained again because of snacking. Oddly when I went back to days and slept like a normal person I lost about 15lbs without changing anything.
Luck0
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