I work three 12 hour shifts a week at night (7pm -7am), and sometimes I have trouble knowing when I'm supposed to eat. A lot of times I'm just not hungry and sometimes I'm hungry right before bedtime (in the morning when I get home from work). On my days off I revert back to sleeping at night. Some days I feel like I'm eating too much and other days I feel like I'm not eating very much. Any night shifters go through this problem?

Candyless

I used to work nights so I know where you are coming from. When you get up for work...that is breakfast even though it is almost bedtime for most other folks. Your lunchbreak at work is lunch and when you get off work and get home it is dinner time.

I used to have my meals that way when I worked nights and it was easiest for me to handle the strange hours in the shift.

I work midnight to 8 a.m. And no matter what, when you're at work, lunchtime is lunchtime. But, I have other people in my house and I try to eat my other meals with them. So, when I get off work in the mornings I eat breakfast foods and then I eat dinner in the evenings with my boyfriend. At least that's the way it's working out for me now. I've never worked 12 hour shifts though.

I used to eat a meal when I woke up, one before going to work and then at my lunch break. I don't like to eat more than a small snack before sleeping.

Blessedbei,

I've heard that a person's metabolism slows down after 2 am, even if you stay up all night. Sometimes I worry about eating after 2am but if I'm hungry I have to eat.

Candyless

hey Neener,

Sometimes I'm starving when I get home in the morning so I try to just go straight to bed so I won't be tempted to snack.
I've started trying to eat something about 4am so I won't be so hungry when I get home.

Candyless

It's tough working nights anyway because you want to eat to stay awake. Social times center around goodies too-especially on Nocs. Ketosis makes me sleep less, but feel more rested-and sends my energy through the roof. Good luck.

I used to work 11pm to 7am, and it was miserable. I gained weight (this was pre-atkins) just from being up all night.

Try eating several small meals.

I bring tons of food with me when I work the night shift, because I never know what I'll be in the mood for. I figure better to have leftovers than end up at the vending machine. Tonight I'm bringing tuna salad, pork rinds, an atkins shake, and hamburger patties. I just grab something whenever I'm hungry. I try to follow my body's hunger signals, as opposed to eating at a particular time.

I work nights, too (right now 1130-730am) and I usually bring one big meal to work (like a dinner) and then a few snacks. Example: big salad with romaine and spinach, some cheese and leftover chicken or beef with oil and vinegar dressing and then I'll have something like a cheesestick, pepperoni slices or sf treat (like Diet Rite). I usually eat the big meal around 1am, then have the cheese stick or whatever at around 4am, then sip the diet rite for the rest of my shift if I have it at all. I like to have more than I need rather then less or else I'll cheat with the vending machine (only thing in there remotely LC is peanuts).

I don't eat when I get home or else I'll just have a cheesestick, then sleep all day and have a mocha when I get up (coffee, cream, davinci syrup) before I go to work. I find it pretty easy to drink my water, too, when I'm working.

Good luck to you!

Nicole

When i worked 7p - 7a, I found that if I ate a regular dinner before going to work(around 5p), then I really wasn't hungry until around midnight and I usualy took a big salad, and also maybe some sort of leftover meat for around 4a - that way I wasn't hungry when I got off work and could go right to bed! On my off nights or days whatever you call them, I ate normal meals at normal times! Working nights is the ultimate nightmare in being creative when it comes to meal planning and eating! And I worked with all guys that never cooked and ate fast food every night - some nights it was pure torture with all the fast food smells!! Good Luck!