• Keep up to date with Ausbb via Twitter and Facebook. Please add us!
  • Join the Ausbb - Australian BodyBuilding forum

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.

    The Ausbb - Australian BodyBuilding forum is dedicated to no nonsense muscle and strength building. If you need advice that works, you have come to the right place. This forum focuses on building strength and muscle using the basics. You will also find that the Ausbb- Australian Bodybuilding Forum stresses encouragement and respect. Trolls and name calling are not allowed here. No matter what your personal goals are, you will be given effective advice that produces results.

    Please consider registering. It takes 30 seconds, and will allow you to get the most out of the forum.

Help with shift work

C

Chookie

Guest
Looking for some ideas for shift workers or how other people who work night shifts manage their meals.

I do two 12 hour days which is a normal meal routine.

Then I do two 12 hour night shifts (6pm to 6am). This is where I struggle to know the best way to eat.

My last meal when on night shift is normally by 9:30pm (even though I am at work, I am normally pretty inactive during the hours of 1am and 4am...)

I will have bowl of oats (or 2 pieces of toast if I've forgotton the oats) at about 5am, home by about 6:30am, asleep by about 7am, awake at about 2pm normally with a half decent headache...Probably because I try not to drink too much water in the morning otherwise I am awake by 9 needing to go to the toilet. It is then hard to have a decent sleep.

I am getting a bit light headed when I wake from my night shift and try to do any decent exercise so I am thinking maybe I could fine tune my meals a bit.

I know there are many other factors but if someone could give some ideas, I would really appreciate it.
 
I'd often do 24 hr rolling rosters.
Mainly I'd follow your meal plan as per normal. But be prepared for a busy shift.
That's when you would work up extra hunger.

I'd have things that could be readily prepared or grabbed to eat on the run.

I'd have the brekkie too. Usually poached eggs were my favourite. Sleep till 2 or 3. Eat. Then prep for dinner to have just prior or as soon as work started.

Back to back nights always is dependant on that sleep in between. Without a good one you were stuffed.
 
My husband is a shift worker, he lives on Lean Cuisines to avoid the run to the take away shop. He maintains his weight now and is starting to drop. He just doesn't buy crap at the supermarket :)
 
What I'm eating isn't too much of a problem... Can't talk from years of experience as I have only just started training/watching my diet again over the last two weeks, am still trying to get into some routine with the shift work but. Last time I trained properly (2+years ago) I was doing a '9-5' job and it was easy for routine to fall into place/get plenty of sleep/work out/eat at consistent times etc.
This time, getting back into a routine when my working week rotates over a 10 day cycle and throw in some 12 hour night/day shifts, it's been hard to find out what works for me. So chasing others opinions or ideas.

For example, since I started 12 hour nights all the guys at work say not to eat through the night or outside of 'normal' meal times or you just get fat... But I am starting to think maybe I should be trying to shovel in a bit more food through the night so I don't get so light headed the next arvo... Maybe... I am no expert, so not too sure if it all works this way???

I am just going to start experimenting anyway but thought someone may already be in a similar situation..
 
My hubby works 1030pm to 730am, he only "snacks" here and there through the night.
Comes home, makes brekky, sleeps for however long and wakes up roughly 2-5pm, has a meal. Then has dinner late before he goes to work.
He exercises after his 5pm meal.
Much harder when the shifts change every week, his stay the same.
 
Thanks Deep and MM, In the next week or two I will start a training log so I can maybe get some feedback on how I am going about my nutrition and training. If I see it all laid out and monitor my results, it might make it a bit easier to pull apart and try different things.
 
Ditto. I never ate take away.

We would often get so busy you'd never get a break. That's when you work up an appetite.

But think of your whole intake for 24 hr period.

Sleep is also important in the long run.
 
I am pretty lucky that once I am at work I can't leave the gate till the end of my shift!!!! So no takeaway, no shops at work, no junk food really unless I take it through the gate with me!!!!!
I think there is a chip/soft drink vending machine somewhere but I've never used it.
Lots of bread, milk, coffee and tea but....
 
I do 12 hour shifts, I keep 2 bags of instant oats and 1KG of choc protein powder at work for 1 big meal, I have been eating oats and whey for a year straight.

Meal 2 is either a chicken meal or tuna sangas or beans and tuna.

Big meal before work. and some coffee during.

It sucks ballbags working 12 hour shifts.

anyone wanna give me another job hahaha
 
i did night shift from 6pm till 6am for 14 days straight then fly home and try be normal , this is how i ate , wake up at 530 in arvo have whatever the boys where having for dinner for breakfast , midnight make a sanger , few snacks during the night , 6 am i would eat a chop or some weetbix or oats , i did this for 12 months and it fucked me up , i fucking hate night shift it is soooooooo bad for you , i was fucked it took me days to recover , it might not be too bad doing it for short peroids but for 14 days straight it screws your body right up ,
so do what you can to stay normal , god i hate night shift
 
Chookie said:
Looking for some ideas for shift workers or how other people who work night shifts manage their meals.

I do two 12 hour days which is a normal meal routine.

Then I do two 12 hour night shifts (6pm to 6am). This is where I struggle to know the best way to eat.

My last meal when on night shift is normally by 9:30pm (even though I am at work, I am normally pretty inactive during the hours of 1am and 4am...)

I will have bowl of oats (or 2 pieces of toast if I've forgotton the oats) at about 5am, home by about 6:30am, asleep by about 7am, awake at about 2pm normally with a half decent headache...Probably because I try not to drink too much water in the morning otherwise I am awake by 9 needing to go to the toilet. It is then hard to have a decent sleep.

I am getting a bit light headed when I wake from my night shift and try to do any decent exercise so I am thinking maybe I could fine tune my meals a bit.

I know there are many other factors but if someone could give some ideas, I would really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Thats sounds very similar to what I used to do years back at Qantas.

Add in some protein shakes. Or mix in protein powder with the oats.

Taking any supplements ?
 
Chookie, are you a police officer? I do very similar shifts.

One thing you need to understand is, even though it may feel unnatural to eat at odd hours in the morning, the reality is you are awake so you should be eating.

My diet consists of 7 meals, and I base these around my work shifts and on my days off, i base it on activities on my days off.

So if you are doing 6am-6pm your meals will be at normal times.

6pm-6am, reverse it. Honestly - it's so easy.

Wake up ready for work, 4:30 PM. Few meals in between while at work Dinner at 4:30 AM.
Pre-bed meal at 6:30 AM when you get home. Then sleep.

Use your days off to adapt back to a 9-5 lifestyle, it only takes one day of either staying up, or getting extra sleep to get back into a normal.

Sleep - Get more of it especially if you are training, I aim for 9 hours on working nights, 10 hours on days off (with no plans)

Water - Drink more. The benefit of drinking more water far outweighs the possibility getting up in the night to go to the bathroom. After a few weeks your body gets used to it and it will only be once, if at all.

Hope that little insight is a bit of help.

PENMAN
 
People may laugh at you having Chicken breast, rice, vegies at 3 am.

Laugh at them as they snack on chips, chocolates etc. all night, or starve.
 
PENMAN said:
People may laugh at you having Chicken breast, rice, vegies at 3 am.

Laugh at them as they snack on chips, chocolates etc. all night, or starve.
Click to expand...

and turn into fat blobs or start having heart attacks - happened to two guys I worked with(heart attacks at late 40's early 50's)
 
Chookie said:
Looking for some ideas for shift workers or how other people who work night shifts manage their meals.

I do two 12 hour days which is a normal meal routine.

Then I do two 12 hour night shifts (6pm to 6am). This is where I struggle to know the best way to eat.

My last meal when on night shift is normally by 9:30pm (even though I am at work, I am normally pretty inactive during the hours of 1am and 4am...)

I will have bowl of oats (or 2 pieces of toast if I've forgotton the oats) at about 5am, home by about 6:30am, asleep by about 7am, awake at about 2pm normally with a half decent headache...Probably because I try not to drink too much water in the morning otherwise I am awake by 9 needing to go to the toilet. It is then hard to have a decent sleep.

I am getting a bit light headed when I wake from my night shift and try to do any decent exercise so I am thinking maybe I could fine tune my meals a bit.

I know there are many other factors but if someone could give some ideas, I would really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I work the same roster as you.

Why do go to bed straight away in the morning? Do you go straight to bed when you get home at 06:30 pm? I bet you don't. I have done this roster for 12 years and shift work since 1986.

The best advice I can give you is to treat your nightshift exactly the same as your dayshifts. When you get up have breakfast . .Have your dinner at 4:30 in the morning. . take time to relax before going to bed. .Join a 24hour gym and train at 2 am. .usually no one in the squat rack then . . you get the drift.

Drink plenty of water and try and stay away form to many stims if you can. Have plenty of naps on your days off.

I always have plenty chicken breast to nuke, tins of tuna, frozen veg.

Try and find plenty to keep you busy as I find being bored leads to grazing.

cheers

Bruce
 
Thank you so much for all your replies. I work at an oil refinery that operates 24/7 hence the 12 hour rotating shifts. Wish I was a police officer... Ex defence for 10 years but....

I haven't yet tried eating normal meals through the night (only on rare occasions that it's been super busy and therefore increasing my appetite).

Next work round I am going to try eating through the night and see how it affects my exercise and general feeling on waking.

I normally have a coffee at the start of my shift and that's it for caffeine for the night or I get overdose symptons and get the shakes!!!!

My only supplements atm are protein shakes, multi and fish oil. I never really considered protein shakes on water too early in the am cause I'll be up peeing when I should be sleeping.... Hope that's not too much info...:)

Night shifts really do suck balls but it's what I have to do for now....:(
 
brucep26b said:
I work the same roster as you.

Why do go to bed straight away in the morning? Do you go straight to bed when you get home at 06:30 pm? I bet you don't.
Click to expand...

I feel so tired that I just want to crawl into bed as soon as I finish work. I have considered going straight to the gym after night shift but I just don't feel like I can function properly at all.

But I might just try coming home and chilling out for a bit before bed cause you have a good point about getting straight into bed after finishing work. I never come home after a day shift and go straight to bed!!!!! I can only try!! Thank you:)
 
Chookie said:
I feel so tired that I just want to crawl into bed as soon as I finish work. I have considered going straight to the gym after night shift but I just don't feel like I can function properly at all.

But I might just try coming home and chilling out for a bit before bed cause you have a good point about getting straight into bed after finishing work. I never come home after a day shift and go straight to bed!!!!! I can only try!! Thank you:)
Click to expand...

Yeah give it a go and see how it pans out. Took me a while to learn that lesson.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top