3rd Shift Help

[ElizabethK2014]

Hi! I just was curious if there were others in my situation that have successfully lost weight before! I am a full time 3rd shift coworker at a local convienence store and then I am home with my one year old son all day long. My husband and I can't afford daycare so we work opposite shifts to avoid that added expence. So being as one year olds are on the go constantly, I only get to sleep maybe 4 hours a day, and that is on a good day. I am sadly at my highest weight of 238 pounds (ugh!). My hope is to by next May (a little less than a year from now) to be down to about 165 pounds (closer to the "healthy" BMI for my height) so roughly a 70-75 pound loss. I know that this is not unheard of to do, but will be hard, and even harder not getting the correct amount of sleep in a day. I just wanted to know if there is anyone that has had a similar "living" situation that would be able to give me tip and tricks to help avoid the "3rd shift weight gain". Thanks so much to anyone who helps 😄 Have a great day!

[EdsonFitbit]

Hey @ElizabethK2014. It's great to see you visiting the Community. Good luck with your goal. Keep us tuned. 

[NOC-Sheryl]

I am a night shifter too but work 2 nights a week  I started on nights years ago for the same reasons you did  Good for you for wanting to be healthier.  try packing a lunch for yourself for work--focus on proteins, watch the unhealthy carbs, use veggies as much as you can. .Another helpful hint is to write down what you eat...this helps you see when you are eating.  Have a water bottle handy and drink LOTS...if you aren't used to lots of water start small...promise yourself yourself to start with one glass of water a day....then increase oveer time, flavor with lemon or flavor drops if that helps. Set yourself small goals...drinking water, going for a walk each day....don't focus on the final goal for weightloss..small goals add up!  Keep up the good work!

[Prev]

I am a security guard who works a variety of shifts, though almost always swings and graves, for instance I am on a grave right now from 0000-0800.

Luckily I don't have a kiddo to contend with, but I found that it's possible to add a lot of exercise to what can be a pretty sedentary job. It looks weird, but I pace A LOT I get in the 5-7 mile range done just pacing at work every night. Depending on how busy you are those numbers may be out of reach, but you can add a bunch.

Also I have worked at convenience stores on graves before (7-Eleven) and the big problem there for me was eating food from the store, basically all of the food there is terrible for you and if you're not paying attention it is super easy to snack your way through 2000 calories in an eight hour shift.

So I propose a two prong approach, first, walk as much as possible even on your breaks. Second rigorously log everything you eat so that you can control it and make good choices.

I hope that helps, good luck!

[montauk1108]

I'm in the same position as you. I work from 2000-0400 sleep when I get home and up by 0900 with three kids ages 5,4 and 1. The Fitbit will track normal 24 hour days. Log your food as normal during your day as we both don't sleep much. Small meals six times a day with high protein and low carbs, healthy snacks and protein shakes as a snack or meal replacement. I sometimes don't eat first thing in the am when my kids get me up, I'll start logging around 1500 but if I have a snack around 0200 I log that for the same day not the next. Just log all meals for the day your awake and then start over after bed. Sometime you will have to go back to previous day to log. When working night and little sleep, I don't eat past 0200. Exercise is good too, but most of weight-loss is based off calorie deficit. Google. Google calorie deficit and then it gives you what not to go over, have a cheat day once a week so your body can continue to lose weight and your body doesn't go in storage mood. Hope this helps.

[montauk1108]

Also, drinks lots of water, I weight 148 and it suggest I drink 110ml of water a day

[taekwondogirl]

I can completely relate to you. I have been working nights for about 18 months and turned 21 during this time and realized that I love the taste of beer. And sadly I have gained about 25-30 pounds since Feb 2014. Since I work in a hospital and wear scrubs the weight gain went unnoticed at first. I have been working 1800-0630 three days a week for the last 8 months, so now I do find more time to actually make it to the gym and I have noticed my clothes are not as tight and even tho I have not seen the numbers decrease on the scale I believe I'm starting to put on more muscle and starting to lose fat.

My biggest suggestion to you is that you make sure that you aren't mindless snacking during the night. I have set times that I eat at, even during the day, and to make sure that you are intaking enough water to supply your body with. Our bodies are 70% water and if you divide your body weight in half, that is how many ounces the average person should drink a day.

But as for the food charting I chart it under anytime on that day, because I have recently started counting my calories and regardless of working nights my food schedule is still based around midnight to midnight just to make things easier for myself.

Best of luck to you.

[DanielJF]

I work in a casino so a lot of my work leaves me coming home somewhere between 3-8AM depending on the day, plus I have a 3 month old daughter and I started my weight loss journey at 227.8 lbs and am looking to get to 150lbs so I'm in a very similar boat. In fact I'm trying to lose the roughly 80ish lbs in one year. My weight loss has been going well but its not easy. Basically what it comes down to is accepting the fact that you are disadvantaged and making a decision if that disadvantage is going to beat you or not. I decided no matter what happened I was going to lose weight. 100% it is tough, I am in a super similar boat but its doable. I go for walks almost every night for at least an hour after work...so that means I'm walking around my town alone at like 4 AM. I live in a very safe town and I'm a guy so I may not recommend walking around at night if you have safety concerns. I say that to say that I've found ways around my disadvantage. There is no gym in my town so its not like I can go to some  24/hr goodlife or something. I do have the advantage that my wife works opposite shifts and I don't always have to take the baby with me, but on my days off I'll take the baby with me on my walks. Some things for sure to be aware of and some tricks that helped me though.

1. I track all my food...doing this alone has helped me to shed pounds...count everything and be really aware of what you are eating. Especially at night its super easy to lose track of what you are eating because you don't have a lot of the daylight ques you have during the day, or even conventions like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I track what I eat and when I eat it. I don't guilt myself for eating it if its something bad, but I always track it and have to answer for it later. This alone helps a lot.

2. Have a plan. At night pretty much all your options are bad. There is a restaurant in the casino so if I fail to pack a lunch I often am at the mercy of restaurant food...which is typically really high in calories and over proportioned. Best option is to have your food all ready the day before so you don't get tempted.

3. Accept where you are at. I've been losing weight eating pizza, ice cream, slushes, wings etc. All I'm doing is watching my portions rather then "eating clean." You have to accept when you are as big as (we) are there are a LOT of bad habits, not just one. Too often we go from eating a large pizza with ranch and wings...to eating salads every meal and wonder why we fall off our diets. Accept the fact that right now you have bad habits but are working on changing them. You aren't going to transition from eating a whole pizza to eating rabbit food overnight..you may be that .01% of people who can just make that change but my bet is you aren't. Realize that the bad habits you've formed happened slowly and that you will have to undo them slowly. This for me meant accepting the fact I had a lot of meals that were close to 2,000 calories and bringing them down to like 700-900 calories, and those numbers will still sound really high for some people but its where (we) are at. Learn to have 2 slices of pizza and 4 wings instead of the whole box. Eating clean comes. As my stomach is shrinking I'm getting more used to the idea of chicken and rice or a ham sandwich for a meal. I really want to hammer this point because I think it’s the most important...look at making constant progress and the change will take care of itself. 

4. Workout when you have the energy, and when you don't. Let’s be honest you are tired because you have kids and short sleeps...you are also tired because you are overweight. Learn to push through the tired and workout anyways...even if it’s a half hour walk (350cal for someone our size.) 10 days of just walking 30 mins will help you lose a pound. I know you have it in you to push through 30 min no matter how tired you are. You can give into the voice that says "poor me, I have it so rough because of XYZ" or you can say F**K THAT I can overcome my tired, I can overcome my habits, and I can overcome my situation. Trust me, if you keep at it and start losing weight your energy levels will catch up and you'll actually start feeling less tired. The start is going to be HARD, accept it, embrace it. The reason this AMAZING journey you are on is going to be worth it is because you EARNED it. No one can take your weight loss from you. You had to push harder, longer, and against more odds then most but that’s what makes it worth it. Just think about 165lb you, how good you'll feel in a year, how awesome it will be to wear the clothing you want. How great sex with the hubby will be. Envision it and then decide today are you going to let tired win, or are you going to overcome? 

I'm sorry if the post is a little harsh sounding, but I'm talking to myself here too. I just don't want to lie to you or coddle you. You've decided to begin this journey and I'm telling you what it will take, but the rewards are so worth it, and 100% you can do it. Carry your kid on your back if you have to, walk on your lunch break, just find a way and don't give up. Cheers. 

[Farica]

Can't help, except by bad example. I did work shifts for years, they changed every week. Somedays I ate a lot, some days not at all, but most days every meal and snack consisted of chocolate bars and coffee. I kept going on sugar and caffeine, I guess. Oddly enough, now I don't care for sweets. If I had to do it again I'd try to direct myself towards (healthy, or so I'd hope) fats rather than sugar, on the theory that they'd keep me going better; there being no way I was going to eat a salad at 3AM. My living situation was easy though, and I didn't have a child so yours is difficult, for sure.   

After it all I'd say that the most important thing is to get enough sleep, however you can, and try to walk whenever possible. 

[iMike]

You mentioned you work in a convenience store; I did this part time for several years and if you work overnights the time can really drag.  I had a colleague who was losing weight and her biggest problem was snacking out of boredom.  We would get all of our prep work done and then there would be a lot of time to just stand around.  When she really decided to put an effort into her diet, one of her tricks was to keep a baggie of baby carrots (no ranch) and grapes behind the register that she could munch on.  She also replaced her big gulp soda with water. 

Hopefully those are some tips you can put to good use.  Best advice I can give you though ... don't focus on the whole picture all at once.  You're not going to erase all your bad habits at once.  Make small goals or focus on one goal at a time before moving on to the next one.  Yes, we all want to lose our excess pounds, but we want to do it in a way that ensures the pounds don't come back.

[Koppenhaverke25]

Make sure your getting adequate sleep! Not sleeping won't allow your body to restart and be energized for the next day. I understand this may be hard but 4 hours is way too little sleep for anyone! As a sleep lab technician, I would know this. Also, if your weight gain has been significant, look into sleep apnea. Sleep apnea and very little sleep will cause you to gain weight. Good luck on your journey! 🙂

[TKSteve]

I actually tend to do better when dieting while working overnights (even though I hate my shift) because I'm physically up less and unable to "graze." I have lost upward of 20 pounds -- and if I didn't switch back to a more regular schedule during the weekends, it would be easier to keep it off.

Feel free to PM me with any questions, and good luck!

🙂