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Working the night shift (or other odd hours)
Hi all,
I've been lurking for a little while and have appreciated the good common-sense tips and shared stories. Here's a question that I haven't seen, though: how does one eat healthfully while needing to work the night shift? In my case, it's 12 hours, from 7 pm to 7:30 am. Changing shifts isn't an option. I'm an RN and know a fair bit amount nutrition. I'm following a fairly faithful low-glycemic eating plan. I'm not diabetic but it does run in my family. So the food that I eat is healthy, I've been losing weight, but as far as when to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, I'm confused. g It's not so hard on the nights I work but on my nights off, well, that's where it gets tricky. Obviously I don't want to continue to sleep all day and stay up all night. So there's a good amount of irregular hours and sleep in bursts rather than all the way through to 6 or 7 hours. Do I just eat something every 4 hours or so while I'm awake? I plan to remain a member of this ng for the duration. I really like the motivation and friendliness I've seen. Thanks, Kay |
#2
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Working the night shift (or other odd hours)
Hello
I've been on the night shift for five years and I haven't found a good plan yet!! Working nights is tricky. Especially when you have a few nights on, a couple nights off, etc. tell me if you find something that works "Kay H." righthere@mypc wrote in message . .. Hi all, I've been lurking for a little while and have appreciated the good common-sense tips and shared stories. Here's a question that I haven't seen, though: how does one eat healthfully while needing to work the night shift? In my case, it's 12 hours, from 7 pm to 7:30 am. Changing shifts isn't an option. I'm an RN and know a fair bit amount nutrition. I'm following a fairly faithful low-glycemic eating plan. I'm not diabetic but it does run in my family. So the food that I eat is healthy, I've been losing weight, but as far as when to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, I'm confused. g It's not so hard on the nights I work but on my nights off, well, that's where it gets tricky. Obviously I don't want to continue to sleep all day and stay up all night. So there's a good amount of irregular hours and sleep in bursts rather than all the way through to 6 or 7 hours. Do I just eat something every 4 hours or so while I'm awake? I plan to remain a member of this ng for the duration. I really like the motivation and friendliness I've seen. Thanks, Kay |
#3
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Working the night shift (or other odd hours)
Hi Kay:
You don't say whether you have other obligations, such as young children, elderly parents, continuing education classes, etc., that make demands on your time during the day. My shift (on paper) is 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. weeknights with a one-hour dinner break. In reality, I arrive at work around 4:30 p.m., seldom leave before 2 a.m., and never get a one-hour break for dinner or anything else. I try to avoid working on my days off, but that's not always possible. I don't have any other obligations, and I've worked this shift (with a few hours variation) for nearly 15 years, so I've adjusted my life to it. Striving to keep things semi-consistent is the key for me, but YMMV. That means even on weekends, I don't try to live on a different schedule. I go to bed around 5 a.m. and get up around noon everyday. I eat a small meal (Slimfast or oatmeal) between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. I will exercise, shower, get dressed, then stop at the grocery for dinner and Starbucks' for my decaf. Then on to work. I eat another small meal (fish, casserole, sandwich) when between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and another small meal (veggies or rice) between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. I hope this helps. Kasey 365/293/??? |
#4
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Working the night shift (or other odd hours)
Hi K, I hope to 'see' you here often! This group is a GREAT help to me.
One thing I've learned to do is eat WHATEVER foods I want for just any meal at all! Some times I start the day with veggies and chicken! Did you ever read Dr Phil's book? The smaller paper back is helpful to keep close as it has great 'food' helps! Best to you !! glo |
#5
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Working the night shift (or other odd hours)
"Kasey" wrote in message om... Hi Kay: You don't say whether you have other obligations, such as young children, elderly parents, continuing education classes, etc., that make demands on your time during the day. My shift (on paper) is 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. weeknights with a one-hour dinner break. In reality, I arrive at work around 4:30 p.m., seldom leave before 2 a.m., and never get a one-hour break for dinner or anything else. I try to avoid working on my days off, but that's not always possible. I don't have any other obligations, and I've worked this shift (with a few hours variation) for nearly 15 years, so I've adjusted my life to it. Striving to keep things semi-consistent is the key for me, but YMMV. That means even on weekends, I don't try to live on a different schedule. I go to bed around 5 a.m. and get up around noon everyday. I eat a small meal (Slimfast or oatmeal) between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. I will exercise, shower, get dressed, then stop at the grocery for dinner and Starbucks' for my decaf. Then on to work. I eat another small meal (fish, casserole, sandwich) when between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and another small meal (veggies or rice) between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. I hope this helps. Kasey 365/293/??? Hi Kasey, You have made some very good adjustments to working those hours! That's almost as long as my own shift, which, with the commute (*always* in rush hour traffic because of the times) comes out to being 14 hours out of each day. I was joking with a coworker last night about wanting to write my own book once I come up with a plan for healthy eating. (just joking....I think! lol) I said, "Hmm, I'll call it Eating in Shifts on 15 Minutes a Day." But seriously, when you work these hours back to back, there's precious little time for anything but sleep and grabbing whatever's near at hand to eat. As far as preparing a meal from scratch, forget it. I just started this eating plan (the G.I. Diet, plus a few modifications, and no, I don't think of it as a diet, it's a great and healthy way to provide myself with good nutrition) a week ago Saturday. Kinda slid into it and still managed to lose 4 pounds in the week, plus two more since Saturday. My only other obligation is my husband, and he works 12-hour shifts as well. Not the same hours as mine, so we sometimes see each other in passing for just a few hours on the days we both work. Keeps things interesting when it's a case of absence makes the heart, etc. I'm vowing to use my days/nights off to prepare some meals and snacks ahead of time. That will save me having to chose unwisely when I'm hungry. Does this work for you, too? Thanks for your comments! Kay (female, 6', 303/297/175...ah, I'll get there!) |
#6
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Working the night shift (or other odd hours)
"ty" wrote in message news:I5n0c.649509$ts4.516160@pd7tw3no... Hello I've been on the night shift for five years and I haven't found a good plan yet!! Working nights is tricky. Especially when you have a few nights on, a couple nights off, etc. tell me if you find something that works Kewl, another night worker! Are you on 8's or 12's? Here's what I've noticed so far: I wake up around 5pm. (aka 1700) I shower, etc, then head for the kitchen to get something to eat. If I've been off the night before, it's already prepared; if not, it's pot luck and I try to keep some healthy frozen dinners in the freezer. I avoid trans-fats with a passion whenever possible, and am coming to feel the same way about high fructose corn syrup. It is NO accident that American obesity rates have soared since the mid-60s (introduction of HFCS). Ever looked at the ingredients for most meal-replacement bars? Sometimes those two are right at or near the top. I consider that nutritional sabotage and I want to keep far away from it. Ok, I get to work and want to eat a healthy snack around 2030 (8:30 p.m.), workload permitting. It's usually just one of those above mentioned snack or meal bars, but the organic type. Or else a small pita bread with hummus, or some cottage cheese and fruit, etc. I eat my "lunch" at around 0030 or a little before. Then another snack around 0400, and maybe a few little tidbits in between if I'm hungry, but that is not happening as much as I'm getting used to this eating plan. I don't have another meal until I get home. That's generally something very easy to fix, like old-fashioned oatmeal microwaved with slivered almonds and fruit added. (skim milk used for the microwave cooking) My energy level has absolutely soared this week. In the past I'd have had at least two, if not three, cups of coffee just to stay awake and functioning on this hard shift, but for the past 6 days or so, I've made it on 1/2 cup of coffee with my first snack and *none* after that. And - can you believe this? s - I'm not yawning, fighting sleep, restless or "slap-happy" - it's this level of maintained alertness more than anything that's caught the attention of my coworkers and we've had some great discussion about nutrition and healthy eating. I've also been asked to order books on the glycemic index, good carbs, etc., particularly The G.I. Diet (by Rick Gallop). As I said, my own plan is modified and I happily include so-called yellow-light or even occasional red-light items that I know to be nutritious. I'm not as concerned about calories as I am about balance and the food being healthy. At this point I don't really feel like I have quite the right caloric balance or variety of foods in a given day, but it's getting easier, and it does seem to work for me. I gained this weight due to a very serious illness and prolonged activity-intolerance over the course of two years, was able to return to work, and now feel well enough to lose it. It's 1018, I've worked for the past three nights, am off now for two, I'm still awake, and feel rarin' to go. Wow. I know I've got to sleep and will do so, and generally well. I like feeling good! s I work weird on/off combinations too. Would love to hear about your experiences. Hope my own can provide some ideas. Kay |
#7
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Working the night shift (or other odd hours)
"Gloria" wrote in message ... Hi K, I hope to 'see' you here often! This group is a GREAT help to me. One thing I've learned to do is eat WHATEVER foods I want for just any meal at all! Some times I start the day with veggies and chicken! Did you ever read Dr Phil's book? The smaller paper back is helpful to keep close as it has great 'food' helps! Best to you !! glo Hi Gloria, the encouragement is appreciated! No, I haven't read that book, but I like the common-sense approach Dr. Phil brings and I will probably buy it soon. I don't have *too* many diet books but I like finding factors for motivation and maintaining my resolve. Kay |
#8
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Working the night shift (or other odd hours)
"Jayjay" wrote in message ... Jayjay, I like your reply to my original question. Those are great meal and snack ideas, and I've save the post and will incorporate many of the ideas into my own eating plan. Thanks! Kay |
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