Night shift calorie problems...

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babsbrack
babsbrack Posts: 20
in Food and Nutrition
Hi, i work a variety of shifts in a week like for example i worked 12md yesterday to 10 pm last night..so that was ok i packed all my food and stayed under my goal. today i work a night shift starting at at 9pm tonight untill 7am tomorrow morning .. . im up and its 11am :(. Can anyone explain how calorie counting is going to work when i am now going to be awake for 24 hours... so basically im awake and its 11am... i go into work at 9pm till 7am... is that counted as 2 days calories.. do i have to save from today when i am going to eat my 3 regular meals anyway?

Im so confused.. this is the first night shift i have had to work since starting MfP

Replies

  • char128
    char128 Posts: 8 Member
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    I just eat and log from 12-12 and it's been working out just fine for me. I used to just start my day from the time i woke up until i went to bed. But I just got a fitbit and it resets at 12am every night so it has been easier since I switched to tracking/eating 12-12.

    Hope this helps !
  • caberselli
    caberselli Posts: 34 Member
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    When I worked crazy shifts (including 7PM - 7AM) I handled this problem by deciding for my day to always run from 12:01 through Midnight the next night. I don't know how flexible your break times are, but I was able to schedule mine very loosely. I would pack several 200 calorie snacks/meals and I would eat every 3 hours whenever I was awake. I actually lost about 20 pounds doing this. I did it every day, whether or not I was working.

    Congratulations on quitting smoking. I quit in January of 2007 and have fought my weight since then. Good luck on your weight loss journey.
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    I switched my log to go 00-04, 04-08, 08-12, 12-16, 16-20, 20-00... I live 24 hour days... so I chart 24 hour days :)
  • herownkindofwonderfull
    herownkindofwonderfull Posts: 307 Member
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    Hey - I work some crazy days like that too. The best advice I can give you is to eat every 3 hours. Our bodies aren't on daily timers... it doesn't go by "oh 16 hours is over, you're not allowed to eat anymore"

    You will be over on your calorie counting, most likely... but that's ok. Your metabolism will stay up. Just choose healthy foods, and don't eat a ton when you're not hungry... don't starve yourself either!

    Some of my days start at 10/11am, and I work until 6am the next day. Typically I will get a good workout in on those days, to allow myself more calorie expenditure. It's still one day, though.
  • LittleNicci
    LittleNicci Posts: 284 Member
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    I work 11p-730a (at work right now shhhhh) so I decided to start tracking from midnight to 1159pm. my #'s are how many times a day I usually eat (6, sometimes only 5) #3 is ALWAYS lunch at work, #4 when I get home, #6 is ALWAYS dinner before work, #1,2,5 are all snacks :-D hope this helps
  • chanson104
    chanson104 Posts: 859
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    I work night shift and count calories from midnight to midnight. By the way -- GET SOME SLEEP!! Counting calories isn't going to do you much good if you don't allow your body to rest!
  • babsbrack
    babsbrack Posts: 20
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    Ty guys, i was trying to figure how i would stretch 1600+ exercise cals over 24 hrs LOL, i get a 45 min break and a 15 min so i could try the, reset at 12mn and see how i fair tomorrow on caloies i wont be awake till about 1-2pm anyway so it will be easier to plan.

    In their wisdom my job has started a new roster and the shift times are horrendous... they say better work/life balance.. but all they did was get more out of us for the same money lol meanwhile messing up my MfP journey LOL (rant over:) )

    I would never have thought of 200 cal snacks, thats a great idea too, ill have to be more organised though i have no clue what i have that would come under that time to search.

    when i used to work 8 hour nights i used to eat once at about 1.30am so that was easy to plan, thank you all so much for the ideas :)
  • babsbrack
    babsbrack Posts: 20
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    When I worked crazy shifts (including 7PM - 7AM) I handled this problem by deciding for my day to always run from 12:01 through Midnight the next night. I don't know how flexible your break times are, but I was able to schedule mine very loosely. I would pack several 200 calorie snacks/meals and I would eat every 3 hours whenever I was awake. I actually lost about 20 pounds doing this. I did it every day, whether or not I was working.

    Congratulations on quitting smoking. I quit in January of 2007 and have fought my weight since then. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

    Ty, wow i knew weight gain was possible after quitting but wow it wasnt stopping so i had to do something lol Congrats to you too, its unfair how we do something to benefit our health and it botes us on the *kitten* with weight gain LOL
  • babsbrack
    babsbrack Posts: 20
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    I work night shift and count calories from midnight to midnight. By the way -- GET SOME SLEEP!! Counting calories isn't going to do you much good if you don't allow your body to rest!
    yeah this change over from days to nights is a pain i was in bed by 2am last night so up at 10am.. and start at 9pm so its impossible to avoid the long period without sleep..
  • joybedford
    joybedford Posts: 1,680 Member
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    I work a lot of night sand i too count from 12 till 12. I often dont sleep on the day i start nights so i eat normally on that day and then when it gets to midnight i start on the next days calories. i have to be careful as I eat more frequently the following days but it helps nme. My food diary is open if you want to look at it you can tell the days I am on nights as I have crazy things for breakfast like pasta, salad or soup.
  • kiminor
    kiminor Posts: 38 Member
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    I do from midnight to midnight too. On my nights off I switch back to a normal persons sleep pattern so mine is pretty messed up. For example like this week I work Fri, Sat and Sun. I will go to sleep later on Thursday night. Friday morning I try to get up in time to see my SO off to work at 6:15. Then I take my sleep herbs and go back to bed. I usually wake up about 1:00 or 2:00 That gives me time to do my Zumba and shower before he gets home from work. We have dinner and I head to work. My calories for the first night back are always low but I don't worry because I've slept most of it. I'll be off again Monday night so when I get home on Monday I'll only sleep 4 hours so that I can switch sleep patterns again. Most of the time I go over my calories a bit but again I don't worry.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Just count a day as midnight to midnight and let the food fall where it may. If you haven't done so already, customize the meals in MFP to something that makes sense for you. Label the meals 1 thru 5 instead of breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  • kaybeau
    kaybeau Posts: 198 Member
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    like alot of posters I go from midnight to midnight, handy when I have over eaten the evening before.
  • rudegyal_b
    rudegyal_b Posts: 593 Member
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    i log my food when i eat it, so i label my meals 12am-4am, 4am - 8 am, etc...way easier
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    as for eating on a 30 hour day (or whatever.,.... sometimes on my last day of work I get up at 1630 and don't get to bed until 2200 the next day... ) I have an activity called "work" and count for 400 calories so that when I work I can eat more... being at work I am always HUNGRY!!! and I am a nurse in the intensive care so I RUN from when I get there til when I go home (90% of the time) ...

    I also mostly do my "limit" by the week... I limit to about 12,000 calories per week... so on my off days and my slower less intense days... it is easier to not eat as much... and I "sort of" eat back calories... (I have a very complicated way to figure out if I can eat back the calories or not...)
  • Melaniemarie86
    Melaniemarie86 Posts: 57 Member
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    I just eat and log from 12-12 and it's been working out just fine for me. I used to just start my day from the time i woke up until i went to bed. But I just got a fitbit and it resets at 12am every night so it has been easier since I switched to tracking/eating 12-12

    This.

    This is exactly what I do and it works like a charm.
  • bp716
    bp716 Posts: 68 Member
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    Also a 12 hr night shift ICU RN who flips back to "normal" sleep patterns on my days off- with irregular and often no breaks, eating at work is a challenge. I pack high protein snacks and small meals and aim to eat 4-5 times daily. Some days extra sleep means no time to eat, but often the day before I had an extra meal or two, so over a period of 2-4 days it all evens out. Quality of food has become very important to me. Hope that helps!
  • uzit_13
    uzit_13 Posts: 41 Member
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    bump
  • Mom2JonandAlex
    Mom2JonandAlex Posts: 15 Member
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    It is so refreshing to see others with the same crazy sleep schedule as me! I have been driving myself nuts trying to figure out how to count my calories when I work nights (7p-7a) 3days a week, then live like a normal person the other 4 days. I will try the 12-12 idea!!

    My WORSTday to count is always the day/night of my first worknight. I seem to have more trouble that night because I'm up for nearly 24 hours! Hoping it will kind of even out one the other days :)

    Thank you thank you for all the great info!! :)

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