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

SirRunningShorts
SirRunningShorts Posts: 77 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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

Replies

  • karmah2771
    karmah2771 Posts: 42 Member
    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.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    I'd cycle your calories a bit. Allow yourself to go over on the days you work 24 hours, and lower them on the rest/recovery days (or work out a lot on the rest/recovery days). You're obviously burning more calories working 24 hours straight.
  • janeite1990
    janeite1990 Posts: 671 Member
    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!
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member
    This is how I use to do it. Lets say I was gonna be awake 7a-7a. At midnite I start logging a new day.
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    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....
  • kalynn06
    kalynn06 Posts: 368 Member
    I second (third?) the weekly average idea. That's what I try to do now. I know that being up for 24 plus hours when I was on call, I ate a ton and needed the calories to just function. Judge by how you feel, and make healthy choices, but food is fuel. You can't effectively do anything if you are tired and hungry.
  • jcgrant43
    jcgrant43 Posts: 64
    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.
  • SirRunningShorts
    SirRunningShorts Posts: 77 Member
    Thank you all!
    I am honeslty sitting behind a desk. It is more like an Officer of the Day type thing. I make patrols, and check the barracks, but that is about it.
    I appreciate the suggestions. I only have this duty once a month so I am not in a position to go weekly, but it is a great idea.

    So I am going to figure that today I will eat more and tomorrow I will be sleeping more. I will try to stay in my goal for today and at midnight, the new day starts. I can begin my new calories then. This will be ok since I will be sleeping a good 7 hours or so tomorrow and will be missing those meals.

    Thank you all for your help!!

    Chris
  • jcgrant43
    jcgrant43 Posts: 64
    Oh how I hated it when my turn came up on the duty roster for that! :smile:
  • Josselyn0325
    Josselyn0325 Posts: 1
    Scientifically speaking. Your body goes into a sort of hibernation when you sleep and it uses far less calories than it would when it is awake. Your live decreases stored glycogen to compensate for not eating during that time. Your heart rate decreases dramatically; so much so that it is called a phenomena because all bodily functions at such a low rate would in awake time would usually cause serious organ damage or even death.

    In dieting terms, this is actually a beneficial time to burn some extra calories. The whole idea of losing weight is by eating less calories than you burn so that you use stored fat instead. This is why you WILL be hungry while dieting. However, there is a balance to everything. Even cutting calories must be in moderation so that the body does not hold fat hostage when going into starvation mode. I would suggest eating fruit to get you through the night. Nobody ever got fat from eating fruit and it is the right kind of nutrients to help your body cope with the stress on the body.
  • Tuteur
    Tuteur Posts: 4
    lol at above "scientifically spoken" above
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    I'm not sure. When my children were babies I did wonder about calories, because when you've been up several times in the night, then have to get up from say 5am and look after a baby and a toddler you get more hungry. I found I ate breakfast earlier, so I was hungry for a snack earlier etc. I always tried to keep within my calorie limit, but I'm sure you must burn more?

    I did used to drink a lot of coffee to fill me up and keep me awake!
  • Roaringgael
    Roaringgael Posts: 339 Member
    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.
  • Vex3521
    Vex3521 Posts: 385 Member
    bleh holiday duty used to be the worst!! I used to just log my day 1 and stop that at midnight and start day 2 then. Hope all is quiet!
  • kemit1976
    kemit1976 Posts: 46 Member
    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....

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