Graveyard shift?

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  • babyann79
    babyann79 Posts: 49 Member
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    yes I have that same problem: eating on my days off!! What about exercise? Do you exercise around the time you get up?

    I EXERCISE WHEN I GET HOME IN THE MORNING
    I WORK SUN - THURS 10PM TO 6AM
    THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW DAYS LATELY THAT I DID NOT GET MY WORKOUT IN BEFORE I WENT TO BED, SO I DO IT WHEN I GET UP. I ALSO TAKE WATER AEROBICS ON TUES AND THURS AT 3:45 PM SO ON THOSE DAYS I GO STRAIGHT TO BED AND SET MY ALARM TO MAKE THOSE CLASSES. SOME NIGHTS I WALK FOR 20 TO 30 MINS AROUND THE OFFICE. :heart:
    I find that working out when I get off at 730 is better than working out later. gym is less crowded :)
  • LReneeWalker
    LReneeWalker Posts: 213 Member
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    I work 7 pm to 7 am. I call a day midnight to midnight. So I simply plan my meals that way. Works for me whether I am at work or off. Also I dont believe the myth that eating before bed makes you fat so I dont worry about that. If I am hungry I eat, and I track it!
  • babyann79
    babyann79 Posts: 49 Member
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    I also work 11:00 pm to 7:30 am and have worked the night shift for 20 years now and to be honest you never get used to it...i havent anyway. I schedule my meals every two hours. So i eat at 10:30 pm, 1:00 am, 3:30am, 6:00 am, then workout right after work at 7:30 am, have my post workout drink at about 8:30, and squeeze one last meal in at around 9:30. Then i try to get up around 5:00 pm have some oatmeal and whey, do cardio and i usually try to get an hour or two nap before i get up and start all over again. On weekends I just reverse all the times.
    Yes you never get use to it! I like how you schedule meals every two hours..I started to do that but then slacked off. I 'm going to start it again. It keeps me from binging when I get home when I do the every 2 hour meal (of course with the right foods/snacks)
  • flatbellybella
    flatbellybella Posts: 303 Member
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    I'm a nurse so I work 12s. 7-7 I love night shift because it allows me the opportunity to workout when i do 3 in a row and I'd rather wake up @ 5pm than 5am.
    I do get strange cravings at night but I bring a lot of clean foods... veggies and dip (a healthy dip), fruits, yogurt... and honestly I feel and look my best after doing nights...
    when I do days I look like a walking corpse.

    as far as the diary goes or counting... I stopped logging all my foods in- I don't need that feature of MFP anymore lol
  • hbm616
    hbm616 Posts: 377 Member
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    I used to work night shifts as a nurse's aid last year and luckily would have them grouped together for the most part. For the four days that I worked I really just tried to completely reverse myself and eat as normally as possible. I would sleep from 8:30am when I got home to about 4:00p then get up and eat "breakfast" and then have a snack right before I left. I would make something for "dinner" to bring with me and eat around 2am.
    I also tried to bring healthy snacks so I wouldn't swipe the little ice cream cups and gingerales all night long haha. I sometimes needed a piece of toast and peanut butter before heading back to bed the next morning but overall I tried to just eat how I would if I were working a day shift. I know that some of the nurses had a lot of trouble with this and wouldn't eat...which I don't even understand how they could just not eat but apparently they would go home and overeat before going to sleep and then have all sorts of issues.

    Edit: If I only was working an 8 hr shift I would try and wake up closer to two and go to the gym and then nap again to go back to work at 11p...not sure if this is helpful?

    I guess my only real advice is avoid snacking on junk which the night time seems to make me want to do and just prepare by bringing meals and healthy snacks. Overall it doesn't matter when you eat, just that you make smart choices and stay within your deficit if you are trying to lose. That whole no eating after 8pm or whatever obviously can't apply to night workers!
  • babyann79
    babyann79 Posts: 49 Member
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    I used to work night shifts as a nurse's aid last year and luckily would have them grouped together for the most part. For the four days that I worked I really just tried to completely reverse myself and eat as normally as possible. I would sleep from 8:30am when I got home to about 4:00p then get up and eat "breakfast" and then have a snack right before I left. I would make something for "dinner" to bring with me and eat around 2am.
    I also tried to bring healthy snacks so I wouldn't swipe the little ice cream cups and gingerales all night long haha. I sometimes needed a piece of toast and peanut butter before heading back to bed the next morning but overall I tried to just eat how I would if I were working a day shift. I know that some of the nurses had a lot of trouble with this and wouldn't eat...which I don't even understand how they could just not eat but apparently they would go home and overeat before going to sleep and then have all sorts of issues.

    Edit: If I only was working an 8 hr shift I would try and wake up closer to two and go to the gym and then nap again to go back to work at 11p...not sure if this is helpful?

    I guess my only real advice is avoid snacking on junk which the night time seems to make me want to do and just prepare by bringing meals and healthy snacks. Overall it doesn't matter when you eat, just that you make smart choices and stay within your deficit if you are trying to lose. That whole no eating after 8pm or whatever obviously can't apply to night workers!
    Yes the problem is snacking at night lol but I have started bringing healthier snacks! Thanks for the advice!
  • peprmintpt
    peprmintpt Posts: 10 Member
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    I work 11p-7a off Tuesday and Wed. With no breaks. So I start my eating day at around 8am with breakfast consisting of approx 400 calories and 300 mg of sodium, I skip lunch except on my days off, love sleep even more then food. Lol..then eat supper around 8-9pm before going to work and take snacks (nuts, fruit, vegis and a yogurt) to eat while at work, usually finish snacking by 3-4am. Work til 7am and then start the day all over again. It's def. Hard on the body but a lot easier on the stress and mind not having to deal with management. Now if they could only learn to leave us alone. lol...
  • lisa28115
    lisa28115 Posts: 17,271 Member
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    I work 11p-7a off Tuesday and Wed. With no breaks. So I start my eating day at around 8am with breakfast consisting of approx 400 calories and 300 mg of sodium, I skip lunch except on my days off, love sleep even more then food. Lol..then eat supper around 8-9pm before going to work and take snacks (nuts, fruit, vegis and a yogurt) to eat while at work, usually finish snacking by 3-4am. Work til 7am and then start the day all over again. It's def. Hard on the body but a lot easier on the stress and mind not having to deal with management. Now if they could only learn to leave us alone. lol...

    CHECKOUT THIS THREAD

    THE OFFICIAL NIGHTSHIFT THREAD
    THAT IS WHERE THE SHIFT WORKERS ARE :bigsmile:
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
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    I'm so glad I don't have to do the graveyard shift anymore. It's evil! I do wish I had access to MFP though years ago when I did do it, it wouldn't have been such a drag getting through it (I worked in a call centre so it wasn't always busy & it's a struggle to sit on your butt for 8.5hrs).
    I use to sleep straight away & get up about 2-3pm - eat & then not eat until I was at work but I always ate the bad things. I never use to exercise really, maybe a walk here & there but nothing too major.
  • Kidsrn23
    Kidsrn23 Posts: 45 Member
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    I just found this thread and am glad there are others out there that are having trouble. I usually use my job as an excuse but not anymore. I eat my meals from midnight to midnight. Some days I only have 2 meals before midnight and am under my calories where as other days I have 4 meals and am over my calories. In the end it is how many calories within the week, remember that you need a weekly deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. With that said, up until now I have been having great difficulty with my eating habits, but it is just that...habit!. I have vowed to change my lifestyle and over the past 3 months have been working hard to do so. I have lost 19 pounds so far (though my husband has lost 40 (normal job with normal hours)). So here goes my new life. I hope other nightshift people will get some help out of this and other posts on MFP. Good luck to you all.

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