Over-night shift

I work full-time night audit at a hotel, and was wondering if anyone can tell me the best way to keep losing weight.  Right now, I just consume my 1200 calories (or so), when I'm awake.  Sometimes I'm up from 5pm to 8am, or 10pm to noon.  I work 11pm to 7am.  Please help.

yikes - night shifts can be super difficult when attempting to lose weight.  i was just talking to my mom about this the other day, actually.  when my mom was younger, she worked night shifts at a hospital - and definitely gained weight due to all the sweets and goodies that the nurses/pharm. reps always had around.  and at night sometimes all you do is graze around to the various yum-tastic foods.  my mom said it would be frustrating at times, because she'd be waking up at say 4 or 5pm, and my dad would have this great dinner cooked, and she would feel obligated to eat it - even though to her it was b'fast time and the idea of the huge dinner kind of turned her stomach.

then on the flip side, my sister's husband is working nights right now, and he has actually begun to lose weight. i guess for him, the irregular pattern decreases his appetite? he also doesn't work in a hospital - he's a cop - so always roaving around in his car...

bottom line - i'm not real sure how you would go about tackling this issue   i guess you'd just need to switch all of your meals to your waking hours.  what is it exactly that is hindering you on the night shifts? how long do you think you'll be stuck working nights?

sorry i'm not more help!

I try not to snack too much.  But there are yummy things in the breakfast I have to set up at the hotel.  I have splenda with an apple and egg whites.  The problem is I just hope I'm consuming my 1200 calories in the right time increment.  I hope so.  I've tried so hard, and don't want to back peddle.  I like my job, and especially in these hard times, am lucky to have a full-time job.  I just don't want to become resentful of this shift because it is hurting the chances of my being healthy and happy.  Thanks so much for replying, and it does help to know that there are others out there struggling with the "want", not "need" to snack in the middle of the night.

Original Post by rfarrah:

 The problem is I just hope I'm consuming my 1200 calories in the right time increment.  I hope so. 

 Dont leave food up chance.  That is where most people get into trouble.  Hope is a poor diet partner.  Take your food - leave the hotel food alone.  It looks good but unless it is steamed veggies and raw fruit there is no way to know exactly what you are eating. 

Take your food in a cooler and weigh the portions out.  Dont measure.  Measuring cups are non-standard so you can not be sure you are really eating "a 1/2 cup".  The difference between weighing and measuring can mean hundreds of calories saved a day.  In many cases I find that when I measure food it actually weighs 2 x as much as one weighed serving. 

Thanks for your help.  The advice is really good.

I work nights at a hospital and it is definitely hard to keep up with everything so last week I cooked two healthy dinners and divided them up into individual containers and froze them, and every night so far I've just grabbed one on my way to work! It's so easy. And good. And to vary it up, tonight I picked up Subway. I work 7pm-7am, so Ive been getting up about 45 minutes earlier than I usually do and hit the track at the park and get some running in. So far, it's going good! Hope that helps.

I work overnight as well and my sleeping schedule is never the same no matter how hard I try.   Like the poster above, I notice it helps if I prepare meals in advance so that I can just grab and go before work. Just remember, calories in versus calories out so it doesn't really matter when you eat your food but do eat when you feel hungry or every few hours.

We overnighters can do it! Good luck!

Thankyou ladies!  Very helpful!  Calories-in vs. calories-out, I have to remember that.  It really doesn't matter?  I guess it's all about trial and error.  I have to remember too to try not to eat right before I go to sleep, whether it's in the morning or the afternoon.  Thanks again.

for me, working nights is more helpful than not (i have ocassional night shifts, not daily). i would say not eating just before bedtime, having the right amounf of cals, eating healthy things and varying the foods are the pillars of the lifestyle, no matter if you wake up at 6 am or 5 pm

Not eating right before you go to sleep doesn't actually effect your weight loss.  It might be detrimental to your sleep patterns, but your body doesn't do a whole lot differently.  Do make sure that 1200 is enough for you.  If you're more active or under 21 or taller than average you may need more.

I work night audit at a hotel too - only two nights a week now - but it really messes up my schedule of wanting to get up 6 am and doing cardio! I also can't really exercise at work, either.

I have had a huge problem in the past wanting to munch on bagels and OJ (my advice: stay away from the juice machine, it is just sugar! and stay away from the bagels, the portion/cals are way out of control), but now I bring my own food to work. I will also cook dinner in advance and bring it in tupperware. It is great this way because then I get the serving portion measurements out of the way early!

I also try to plan eating every 2-3 hours / 5x a day. Sometimes that doesn't work out so well when I'm up early and don't take a nap before work because I'm up for a looong time.

Anyway... enough rambling for me. Good luck!

Night shift does add an extra complication, doesn't it?  I work nights at a hospital 6pm-6:30am three or four nights a week.  So half of the time I'm up at night and half of the time I'm up during the day.  All of the other tips about cooking ahead of time definately help.  Personally, I was having the most trouble labeling meals because of the weird hours, and the days when I was switching over- forget it.  I've found that what works best for me is to track food in a 24hr period.  I usually get my lunch break usually a little after midnight.  For me, that goes down as breakfast for that day.  Lunch is when I get home around 7am, and dinner is before I leave for work.  I know its a little weird, but otherwise I have periods when I'm awake for 30+ hours at a time and I don't want to count anything I eat during that time as being for only one day. 

So, long story short- I add together foods eaten from 12:00am to 11:59pm.  That way I don't have to worry about my work schedule.

Now getting in excercise while working such long night shifts....that's a problem I'm still working on.

i believe it is not easy... could you maybe walk a bit to work?

Well, unfortunately my hospital (and so many others I've noticed) is not in a very good neighborhood, so walking at night is not really an option.  The good news is that the apartments I just moved into have a 24hr "gym".  I say gym with a slight grimace because it is one treadmill and one bike and a few weight machines.  I'm pretty sure the treadmill is older than me!  But hey- it works right.  So I've been heading over there after work (okay- most mornings after work!).

Thankyou for your reply.  Everyone has helped so much.  I don't feel alone anymore, that's for sure. 

The girls on my old night shift rotation banded together - we went swimming after knock off at 7am... It was not easy but once the water hits it gives a boost of energy enough to do a few relaxing laps.. which was a start to help burn off all our deep fried midnight snacks!