Second shift, how do you track your calories?

dark_sparkles37019
dark_sparkles37019 Posts: 114 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I wake up at 2 and eat, go to work at 3:30 then I have a 10min break at 5:30, lunch at 7:30, and another 10 min break at 10. I leave work at 12. Do you count calories after 12 on the next day?

Replies

  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I don't work funny hours but my sleep patterns can get a little wonky. I just log when I eat and look at weekly averages. It all works itself out in the end, the important bit is to log.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    If your schedule is nuts, it's easier just to log it when you eat it, and average your calories out over the week.
  • Ladiebug710
    Ladiebug710 Posts: 133 Member
    I log the day I eat it. Some people will count a day from the time they wake up until they go to bed. It's just easier for me to follow the calendar.
  • Karen_can_do_this
    Karen_can_do_this Posts: 1,150 Member
    My shifts range from 6-2, 2-10, 10-6. This was a trick I picked up on the forums. It made it way easier.
    Set your diary up into meal blocks like this:
    Midnight to 6am
    6am - 12 noon
    12 noon until 6 pm
    6 pm - midnight.

    This way you can record what you ate and when. Regardless of when you're working.
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
    It depends on what works best for you. I work 3rd shift (9p-5a) and still log midnight to midnight. I stop eating at midnight and try not to eat anything until I get home before I go to sleep. I couldn't hat meal as my breakfast because it is my first meal after midnight. Sometimes, like today, I don't eat anything before I sleep so my first meal was at 1pm today when I woke up. I still count this as breakfast.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    I try to preplan when i know ill be working long/ weird hours. My day starts whenever i wake and ends whenever i sleep, My planners a bit off day to day because of that but it all works out.

    Like if im eating at 3 am but i havent slept, It counts as my yesterday :P Unless you woke up super early and are up super late it could be beneficial to start on tomorows calories i guess. Im not much help its all up to whatever makes you feel best :p
  • SarahMacphail1
    SarahMacphail1 Posts: 36 Member
    I did shifts, 7am-7pm for 2-5 days, a few days off then 7pm-7am for 2-5 nights. My "day" always started from the time I got up to the time I went to bed. Looked a bit dodgy in my food diary at times when it came to switching shifts but it evened out.
  • namelesshere
    namelesshere Posts: 334 Member
    It really doesn't matter as long as you are consistent. I use midnight as the cutoff. When I was working shift work I would prelog everything that went into the lunch box. That way I knew how many calories I would have left for supper.
  • sarahmorris32
    sarahmorris32 Posts: 7 Member
    edited January 2017
    I work overnights so I switched my time zone to make it easier. I live in the Eastern Time Zone, but I set it up for Bangkok time. This basically just means I start my day at noon instead of midnight. So at noon today my MFP will go to Thursday (even though technically it will still be Wednesday for another 12 hours). This is probably excessive for most people, but I have my fitbit set up that way too.
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