How to Lose Weight With Shift Work
Losing fat when you work the night shift can be extremely difficult. Your body is not following its natural rhythm, so you are often tired. Preparing healthy foods and getting in a good workout fall to the wayside. Things get even more complicated if you do shift work where you alternate shifts every week. Your body never has a chance to adjust. Still, with a bit of commitment, you can lose weight with shift work.
Instructions
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Rethink how you look at meals. Many people have the idea that you should have eggs and bacon for breakfast, a sandwich and chips for lunch, and meat and potatoes for dinner. This gets confusing when you're waking up at 6 p.m. instead of 6 a.m. Throw away your ideas of which foods you are supposed to eat for which meals. Eat whatever you feel like as long as it fits within your calorie budget.
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Determine how many calories you should eat. Your body requires a certain number of calories per day just to exist. If you want to lose weight, you should eat less than this amount by about 500 calories. The average person needs about 1,800-2,000 calories to maintain her weight. To lose weight, you should eat between 1,300-1,500. However, if you are very heavy, very active or breastfeeding, you may require more.
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Plan your meals in advance. By planning meals, you can more actively control how many calories you eat in a day. You'll also be able to shop for all the ingredients and pack meals to take with you to work. When planning meals, make sure they are low calorie and filling so you do not get hungry later on. Using your daily calorie goal, plan your meals to be a fraction of those calories.
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Bring healthy snacks to work with you. It's natural to get hungry in between meals. When dieting on shift work, your snack options may be limited to what's in the vending machine if you don't bring your own. Try bringing cheese and crackers, yogurt, or fresh fruit.
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Fit exercise into your routine. It's difficult to come up with a steady exercise routine when doing shift work, yet this is one of the most important aspects to weight loss. Make a commitment to squeeze exercise in whenever you can. This may mean waking up a little early or going for a walk when you finish work.
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Tips & Warnings
Try once a month cooking. On your day off, plan to cook throughout the day. You can double and triple the recipes and freeze them for easy, healthy eating later in the month.
