diet and graveyards???
 

I work graves and I think it may be sabotaging my diet. My daily calorie intake is usually 1500 calories or less, and I workout 4 times a week. The problem though, is since I've been on this shift (shift work in law enforcement) i've been steadily putting the weight on. I dropped my calorie intake when I first noticed and it kept it at bay for awhile, but no longer. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

Are you eating five small meals per day? (errr... night)

No matter what time of day or night, you're not supposed to go longer than 2-3 hours without eating something.

Also, try logging your food intake vs. your calories burned to see if your net calorie deficit is around 500 calories per day. (errr... 24/hour period) ;)

Hope this helps!

I worked nights for a while and really could not adjust well to the sleep deprivation. I read in "Fight-Fat After-Forty" that eating later at night makes some people gain more weight.

The mantra was "After 8(PM) gain Weight", this was true in my case. I started eating before my shift and not during it. I also realized that I was not getting enough sleep and eatting more for energy.

Just some things to consider.

I worked nights shifts for quite a number of years, and didn't have any weight gain, but I did have to watch my diet and exercise levels more vigilantly. Does your night shift involve less daily activity than when you were working days? Are you drinking more drinks (coffee with cream/milk/sugar, sodas)?

Have there been any other lifestyle changes? Are you still working out? Has your sleep changed? Obviously you aren't sleeping during "normal" times, but are you still getting the same amount of sleep?

Do you space our your meals the same way you would when you worked days? What I mean is, if you used to eat dinner at 6PM and go to bed at 10PM, that's a 4 hour window between your last food of the day and sleep. Now that you are on a different schedule, do you still have the same window between dinner and sleep? Or you do you eat right before bed now, instead?

I'm a nurse and worked nights for quite awhile. I know as well that you don't get to sit down and eat properly a lot of times because of the situation you might be in at the time. I found that while I was working nights, I ate a bit lighter and by the time I had gotten home at 7am, I had 5 meals. They were mostly protein and veggies. I also found that while in the weight loss phase I ate predictable foods. I packed my lunch and if I alloted myself for an example 1400 calories, in my lunch box would be 1400 calories. This included my meals and snacks. I knew I could eat everything in my lunch bag and be within my caloric safe zone. When I ate my carbs for the nite it was in the middle of the shift and I ate them with protein. I also tried not to eat for a couple of hours before bed. Do you work out before you go to sleep or, before you go to work? Maybe try squeezing a HIIT workout in before work, it only takes about 20 min and will leave you feeling energized and kick start your metabolism for your shift. I find that when i'm aware of things it keeps me in check. So your on the right track. Hope this helps.