Shift Work

[theburtjnr]

Hello, This is a question for those of you who work shifts and are trying to lose weight....... How do you do it?! Especially on night shifts. I was told leave no more than 5 hours between meals. Any help would be appreciated.

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi Theburtjnr,

I haven't done shift work for quite a few years now, so I can't really help you with your query, but I do want to welcome you to the NHS weight loss forum, and say that I hope you'll find it a supportive and friendly place. Maybe read our Welcome Newbie post, as there are some great tips and suggestions in there - many people follow the NHS 12 week plan, and that should fit in with shift work too - as it's very adaptable!

But I am sure all those shift workers in the forum will hopefully see your post and give you some suggestions. You could also try the 'search window' in the meantime, and put in 'shift work and losing weight' or similar search words, and you'd see the previous threads that have been about that very subject! Worth a look until you get more replies to your own thread.

Please join in with anything you like the look of in the forum, and have a great week.

Lowcal

[Diana]

Hello, well unlike some I still work shifts, and have at times worked nights, here is how it worked!

So you say start work at 9 pm, by such you've had dinner, 6 to 7, so at 11 to midnight you'd have a snack or meal, pron a meal then a snack at say at 3 am, then breakfast at 6 or 7, ready to go back to bed! Drink plenty of fluids too.

Use the times of the day to relate to what would be an average day, 3 meals and 2 snacks, good luck!

[MrNiceGuy]

Having worked shifts for the past twelve years up until recently, I found the best way to continually manage weight was to treat waking in the afternoon exactly the same as waking in the morning, by ensuring that breakfast was eaten.

Additionally, when I worked night shift, I’d ensure that my schedule was as vacant as it could be from commitments, so I could concentrate upon heading to bed as soon as I arrived home, leaving sufficient time in the late afternoon/early evening to exercise before heading into work.

Granted, I didn’t work out every night of the week, usually taking Tuesday and Thursday evenings off, but ensured that exercise was undertaken on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for example.

I used to particularly enjoy Fridays (or Mondays) after finishing night shift, as I’d go swimming early in the afternoon before the pool became over-run with after school swimming clubs.

Returning to food, after eating a decent breakfast upon waking, I’d usually have a protein shake, handful of nuts and a yoghurt after exercising (treating it as my mid-morning snack).

As I never felt like eating anything particularly heavy as the shift went on, I’d usually take something substantial (home-made chilli/ragu) for my lunch (eaten around 2am), while my mid-afternoon/5am snack usually consisted of a protein bar or a peanut butter sandwich on wholegrain bread, which kept me going until returning home, where I’d have another yogurt before heading to bed.

I would say that if you’re new to night-shift work, it’s important to adopt a routine that works for you. For example, the night before my first shift, I’d usually stay up until around 5am in the morning, waking around 1pm in the afternoon.

Not only did it allow me the opportunity to eat breakfast, exercise and enjoy a decent evening meal before my first night shift, by the time it came to heading into work for 10pm, having stayed up late the previous evening, my body was into the rhythm of remaining awake through the night.

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to MrNiceGuy]

Sounds like good advice 😊

[WCR42]

during my working life i had several bouts of shift work in various jobs. what worked for me was not to change my eating habits; ie; not eating much during the night. straight to bed soon as poss. not eating before bed. slept generally from 7am-2pm.

most of my work mates were younger than me. they ate all night, slept all day, and were nackered most of the time. i dont think reversing your body clock is the answer. just swap your working/sleeping time. on different occasions i worked just 2 nights a week on a continental shift, to whole weeks and i found the above worked ok for me. hope this helps.