Working Midnights and Tracking Food

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8/20/12 10:07 A

hey there... i also work night shift... i work in a semi busy convenient store..... i have always started my day for any tracking at midnight.. what i consume at work i just track it in the breakfast slot... its my first meal of the day... for now i track everthing when i get home each morning.. just try different ways... see what works best for you and your schedule...

good luck..... betsy

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8/20/12 8:27 A

midnight to midnight is the default setting because that's when days are. fortunately for you, you can pick any time you like and use that as the start of your day. any 24 hour period counts as a day. there are some people who like to track monday's night's dinner, tuesaday's breakfast and lunch as their day. some people consider breakfast the first meal when they get up, others consider it something that is eaten between 5 and 10 am.
if tracking on paper works better for you than digitally, do it.
again with lunch, if you are someone who considers the first meal you eat breakfast, the second lunch, and the third dinner, then you would count your lunch as your lunch, even if you do eat it at midnight. if you are someone who considers meals named based on the time you eat them, then entering in new categories like fourth meal, midnight snack and such will let you enter them in as whatever you like to call them. and again, as long as you are looking at food on a daily, 24 hour basis it doesn't matter when you count it. if you want to enter in everything that you eat from sunday at four pm until monday at 4pm in sunday, that's fine. you could also enter it in as monday's food. it doesn't matter so long as what you're doing works for you and your days are 24 hours, no matter which 24 hours they happen to be covering.

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8/20/12 8:00 A

Thank you for the suggestions, I will consider adding a new category and logging my food in there! Sounds like a great idea. I don't typically get up in the early afternoon, but I am going to try to get a pattern down where i can sleep so many hours get up for a meal and exercise then stay up a few more hours and get back to sleep in time to sleep a few more hours for work.


Thanks again,


Malus2785

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8/20/12 7:57 A

Deb,

I work primarily midnights at the local hospital. I have no set schedule for anything in my life rigtht now which is my downfall. My boss is talking about getting a set schedule after our two trainee's get off training. I am hoping because I do fine when I get days that I work mornings or afternoons, but nights throws me off altogether. This week I am working 40+ hrs which also makes it difficult.

I am going to ust have to commit myself to logging in my food items when I get home instead of going off to bed right away.

Thank you for the advice,

Malus2785

current weight: 196.0

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8/20/12 6:36 A

You've gotten some great suggestions already. Here's an article you might also find helpful:

www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_arti
cles.asp?id=217

Coach Jen

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8/20/12 6:24 A

I'm a third shifter and it took me awhile, but here is what I do.

I create a new meal in my tracker (you can add as many meals as you need to). I call it "third shift meal." I always start my day at midnight, regardless. I also plan, plan, plan. My third shift meal consists of lots of fruit, maybe a yogurt or cottage cheese, a side salad, or some 100 calorie soup..usually around 3am. I also drink a ton of ice water throughout the night and that keeps me full. I don't eat anything heavy.

This way, when I go home...whether I start my day right away, or sleep a little, I have plenty of calories left. Normally I can go right to bed and when I get up at noon or 1pm, I eat a "brunch", then a snack later, then dinner, and sometimes I have calories left for a small dessert.

It's all about planning. I don't know where you work, but most cafeterias for employees that time of night doesn't have very healthy choices. (I like to call our cafeteria the 'beige cafe' because all they have is fried chicken strips and onion rings). You have to be willing to pack every shift.

Also, a lot of people do better by eating 6-7 small meals a day than 3 big ones. Maybe if you change you eating habits that way, even on your off days, it will work out better.

Keep track of what you eat at work and fill in your tracker online when you get home. Im lucky enough that I can do it from work.

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8/20/12 6:18 A

It's up to you as long as you're consistent.

Do you work midnight shift all the time now? What about days off, do you keep to that same schedule? If it's now and then, or rotating shifts, you might be better off to pick a time (doesn't *have* to be midnight) and log all food after that time on the following day. As long as you're consistent day to day it doesn't matter when that is.

If you are regular with the late shift lifestyle, just log food "sleep to sleep". :)

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8/20/12 2:53 A

Is anybody else working midnights and having trouble tracking their food intake? First of all, I am struggling with what do to track my food on. For example, I have been on midnight shifts since Wednesday, August 15th. If I get to work at 10:30pm and don't leave till 7:00am where do i track my work lunch at? Do i consider it the following days lunch meal since I will be sleeping through that meal or do i log it in a breakfast since it is already 2:00am.

I have several days the week of 08/12-18 where I have not logged food in because of this issue compounded by being too busy at work to log in my food then forgetting to log in in at home or being too tired to log in my food when i get home.

Does anybody think I should keep an external food journal for when I am at work? I do eat dinner at my house before I leave for work. So i can log that in for the day but the eating after midnight is what is getting me so messed up. Any suggestions?


Thank You,

Malus2785

current weight: 196.0

201 190.5 180 169.5

159