How to keep my calorie goal when I am up for 24 hours?

I would think that since you are up for the 24 hour period that you need more calories during that time just to function. A "typical" day has about 7-8 hours of sleep. Since you are not sleeping during those hours, you are burning more calories than you would sleeping. If you have a more physically demanding job, then you are doing even more so. Do you have a heart rate monitor? If so, then you know exactly the amount of calories you are burning during those long shifts and can adjust your intake. If not, you can try and log in your extra work hours (beyond your regular shift when not on alert) as physical exercise and eat back those calories.

Hopefully someone else in the military lifestyle has some input for you.

Wow, that is a complex situation! Clearly, you are buring more calories awake than you would asleep. However, I also hear how important good sleep is to weight loss and overall health. Therefore, I would imagine that your metabolism would be all jacked up no matter what. When I lift weights, I find sleep even more necessary. It seems like oversimplification to say your body recovers and rebuilds while you sleep, but that is really what it feels like.

I agree you need more calories when you are awake for 24 hours straight. I'm not sure you should restrict much on the other days. On the other days, don't you sleep more to "catch up?" If you are sleeping, you spend less time eating.

I'm flumoxed!

Have you tried hitting a weekly calorie goal instead of daily? If I were on a wacky schedule due to shifts like this, that's what I would do....

Retired military here, and former shift worker, so brother I feel your pain! My answer would depend on what it is you are doing. Are you in the field? Are you doing a fire picket? Are you on watch, patrol, OP or LP duty? There are, as you know, a number of different reasons to be up for 24, 36, and even 72 hrs straight in the military. I surely do not miss those days!

Coffee, if available, will suppress your appetite. Black, strong, and in large quantities.Another thing that always knocked my appetite back was just simply being that tired for the last 6 to 8 hrs. Your body seems to know that things are messed up, and so it sort of shuts some things down. Frankly, my body was usually messed up for a couple of days afterward.

Nibbling is good. Energy bars, granola, dark chocolate. Just log the total quantities when you can, and split your 24 hr day at midnight. Calories on Day 1 till midnight. Calories on Day 2 after midnight. Besides when you hit the sack after the 24, odds are you'll sleep for 8 to 12 and that will pretty much wipe out the eating for most of Day 2. Just like the 8 to 12 hours you don't eat on a regular day.

Thanks for your service brother.

Oh how I hated it when my turn came up on the duty roster for that!

lol at above "scientifically spoken" above

So I am in the military, and today for work I have to stay up for 24 hours. I have been doing good with my diet and being under my calories by eating three meals a day. But as you can imagine, being awake for 24 hours really means you are eating 4-5 small meals.
As things stand right now I am usually pretty hungry 1-2 hours before meal times which is fine, but I can't go 12 hours awake and not eat.
How can I do this and stay within my calorie goal?
Could I increase my calorie goal a little since I will be burning more calories being awake rather than sleeping?
Should I just do the best I can and eat reasonable meals?
I can get up and walk around, but going to the gym is very difficult during this time.

Any thoughts? Anyone have this problem before?
Thanks for reading, Chris

I work regular night shift.
Going into days off I can be awake for 24hours.
Midnight is the magic hour for me.
2400hrs - new day.
Works for me.
I can go a bit hungry mental towards the end of a long period like that and sometimes the best thing is sleep rather than ravenous eating.

I do a night shift in a rest home, yet I am still busy on my feet most of it doing jobs, I eat my calories for the day, I then go to work, I do not drink coffee, so I give myself one cup of coke for that Duty, I then go home and have breakfast, I find cause I have eaten during the day and I know I am going home I do not eat during the night I have taught my self that I would usually be sleeping so I don't need more food, as i have had enough, I do night shift once a week sometimes two nights. But I do drink water to help me keep hydrated cause of the air conditioning, Yet the other ones that I work with will bring crackers or nuts etc to munch on....