Swing shift workers diet plan?

[maninthemaze]

Does anyone have a meal plan for someone who works swing shift? Yes, it matters because my sleep schedule is all over the place, so is my eating schedule. I work a 12 hour rotating shift from either 8am-8pm or 8pm-8am. Here's a picture of my June schedule for clarification.

I guess I need help with a decent meal that I can fix on one of my days off and then freeze and take to work. Currently, if I cook something, I tend to eat it for the next few days until I'm sick of it. Then I end up eating a ton of fast food.

I currently weigh 210 and I'd like to be 180 sometime in the future. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

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[Wrench]

I'm sure there's other slopers here...but I'll do my best.

When I was rolling days to nights I found myself eating out of habit vs hunger. The best thing I can suggest is eating whole foods that were alive not long ago and don't get too wild on the stuff you can't pronounce.

I personally dumped 120# using keto and have spent the last 60 days trying to go more paleo style. I haven't lost much since....but I've also not gained.

Meat, eggs, vegetables and lots of water, count the cals and try to go to bed hungry vs eating right before bed (a b!tch when working 12hr nights and breakfast is waiting for me.)

In the end a diet can be successful in many ways, but it's hard to beat counting cals. One mini snickers or a head of broccoli.

 

[Salmon River Solutions]

After hunting season im usually about 175 lbs. (im 6'1") with exercise and weight lifting I will usually be about 190 at the beginning of hunting season. I work a late swing shift and usually switch my sleep schedule a lot.

I don't really eat when I'm hungry, because I'm never hungry. I eat at a minimum 6 times a day, and snack in between.

My go to is grilled chicken breast and brown rice. If you really wanna go crazy ypu can take an entire day and grill like 50 chicken breasts and vacuum seal how ever many you will eat in one day.

Vacuum seal them with sauce, brown rice, quinoa broccoli etc. and then freeze them. The taste doesnt change and either does the texture.

 

[mountainman406]

Can’t go wrong with chicken, rice and some type of green/colorful veggie. Lots of different spices/variations. If you get sick of the rice and veggies you can always throw some of that chicken onto a salad and it will be a good change to keep you from eating fast food. I’m in the same situation as you, 210 looking to get to 180.


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[Coach Chris]

Since fat loss is calories in/calories out it might be more to your benefit to use a macros app like My Fitness Pal or Fit Genie to account for your calories?
It doesn't matter where your calories come from if you don't eat in a caloric deficit.

 

[Mosby]

Eat more carbs in the morning and more protein at night( you might adjust for your shift). Carbs are energy and you don't need carbs to sleep. Unused carbs turn to fat. No soda or high sugar drinks. Things like Crystal Light are not bad if you need something for flavor. Lots of water. Like up to a gallon a day. Helps with hunger. No alcohol. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Vegetables are better because they don't have as much sugar. Salads are great. The dressing is the killer. Low fat dressing and minimal amounts for flavor. Chicken and turkey is your friend(no skin or fried). Bread is out. Limit carbs. It is all about portion control and discipline. Eat more smaller meals. Limit calories to under 1500 per day. The first week is the worst. A lot of it is mental. Work out frequently, even if it is just walking. It is all about burning calories and eating in moderation. The harder you work the more you can eat. Diet alone takes a lot longer, which is why people have a hard time with it. Particularly as you get older and your metabolism slows. A famous wrestling coach once said loosing weight is easy. Work more and eat less. My dad was a wrestling coach. I never found it to be easy.

 

[TravisIN]

I work swing shifts also. A DuPont schedule is what it’s called if you want more specifics. I’ve lost around 35 in the last year and a half. I did an inbody scan not long ago and was 15.8 percent body fat at 6’1 191. My bmr was 1983. The biggest things I did that helped diet wise was watch my macros, and do intermittent fasting. I try and do 40 percent carbs, and 30 percent protein and fat. I eat around 2200 calories a day. When I’m on days (530am to 530pm) I work out before work, and don’t eat until 1030 am and finish up eating around 630pm,a little after I get home. When I’m on nights, 530p to 530a, I work out after work. I go home and sleep till around 130-2. I don’t eat until right before I go in, 445-5. And finish eating around 1am. This system is far from perfect and I’m sure people would think it’s dumb but it’s worked really well for me.


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[cbiddle]

I feel your pain man. 6-6 here.


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[bascott1]

Im kind of in the same boat as you. I work for the railroad and on call 24/7 so my sleep schedule is all jacked up. Main thing ive learned is preparation, cook my meals prior to going to work and usually take 6 to 8 with me since i dont know how long i'll be on a train. Main thing after eating the same thing all the time is shut up and eat it, looking for results and thats the only way to get em. Eat clean and see the results, just gotta suck it up. lol. I have to tell myself that A LOT

 

[TravisIN]

Im kind of in the same boat as you. I work for the railroad and on call 24/7 so my sleep schedule is all jacked up. Main thing ive learned is preparation, cook my meals prior to going to work and usually take 6 to 8 with me since i dont know how long i'll be on a train. Main thing after eating the same thing all the time is shut up and eat it, looking for results and thats the only way to get em. Eat clean and see the results, just gotta suck it up. lol. I have to tell myself that A LOT

I look at it like this. “Food is fuel not fun”. Yea I’ve found foods I like that I like that work with my macros. I eat those foods A LOT. I don’t love vegetables, but there are a few I tolerate. For instance baby spinach is one thing I eat a lot. I used to try and make a salad out of it and liven it up a bit. Now I just eat it like potato chips as fast as I can. Also figuring out what to eat constantly kinda sucks so I eat the exact same foods about 5 days a week and a couple days it’s 75 percent the same and just make me a good dinner or something.


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[rileybassgirl]

I'm in the same boat; 10p-10a. I work late enough I try to eat a good meal before work, then try to not eat until 6 or 7. At that point I usually bring a protein shake, and something that is high protein to chew on like a banana, jerkey stick, pepperoni,or something similar to make me feel better. Don't feel like I've eaten until I chew

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[ncstewart]

I work a 0700-1900 swing shift. I personally have tried about everything over the years and have found for me I do better keeping my core meals the same time.
Breakfast @7ish, lunch @1300 or when I wake up, dinner @2000. I only rotate my snacks with my shift. I personally like boiled eggs, avocados, raw veggies with ranch, yogurt for my go to snacks.
Obviously eating healthy is the main thing but I don’t do well trying to eat lunch at midnight like some people do. If I do that I end up eating 4 main meals.
Shift work is tough and just experimenting I think is key to finding what is best for you.
Side note I always do my workouts BEFORE you go in on shift. As much as I say I’ll do it afterwards you never do working 12 hours days.


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[BCWAID]

Kind of different approach, but when I’m working nights I play around with intermittent fasting. Wake up in the afternoon, have breakfast before work and snack during the first half of shift before a final lunch. When I get home in the AM I’m not usually hungry, so it’s easy to just go to sleep right away. Pretty easy to go over 12 hrs faster that way. As always, drink lots of water. Easier for me, because I can workout on my work breaks.