I work Nights and need Help!

[Glyn]

Hi ,
I'm new to this site and need advice about starting The Atkins diet.
I work 3 nights a week and I want to know what times of the day I can eat for these 3 nights.My shift is from 8pm to 8am,I sleep from 11am to 5-6 pm on these days and the rest of the week I struggle to change back to a normal sleep pattern. I have lived like this for the last 4 years.
I would love any advice from anyone who has had this problem of working shifts and sucessfully lost weight.Or anyone with any advice at all.
Many thanks
Glyn. :confused:

[TeriDoodle]

My advice is: eat when you are hungry!!!

Are you saying your appetite is all messed up because of your weird hours? I remember when I worked the graveyard shift at a hospital that I was nauseous 1/2 the time because my body clock was so screwed up... The best thing you can do for yourself and your metabolism is eat 5-6 small meals per day.....it doesn't matter what time of day....just EAT!!

[Glyn]

Thanks for your reply TeriDoodle .

My eating routine is as follows.
On the 3 days I work nights ,I will wake up between 4-6pm,I'll have 2-3 cups of coffee with 2 sugars in each.I will eat a large meal before going to work .Which leaves me feeling bloated with indigestion to follow.Once at work I'll have at least 5 more coffees.Sometimes I'll have a chinese takeaway,on the other days i'll have what ever has been brought in by myself or work mates to eat.It usually takes all night for the food to shift from my stomach .Which to me means I feel uncomfortable all night feeling bloated ( I really swell up like a ballon as soon as I've had anything to eat.)and passing wind.When I get home I'll have another 2 coffees before going to bed at 11am.
On my days off,I will wake up between 10am and 12pm .I'll have 4-5 coffees before having a large meal at 5pm. 2 coffees later I'm picking at anything I can get my hands on, ie nuts ,chocolate,crisps,sweets,cakes,sandwiches,fruit until I feel full and bloated.Then it's back to that uncomfortable feeling again.I'll have another 3-4 coffees before going to bed between 1-3am :bash:

[TeriDoodle]

First of all, is all this coffee you're drinking caffeinated??? If so, there's no wonder you're having trouble with your sleep patterns! And caffeine induces an insulin response in most people .... if you're drinking it with sugar every time, you are definitely setting yourself up for feeling cranky and lethargic. I would highly suggest you wean yourself off of coffee as much as possible and substitute it with big glasses of water which will also help with your digestion problems. Most people find that when they switch to a low-carb diet that the problems with bloating and gas disappear rather rapidly.

Obviously you'll need to do a better job of planning your meals ahead of time and keeping healthy, low-carb snacks nearby. It sounds to me that your health and well-being would greatly improve with more attention to what you're putting inside your body!!

I'd like to suggest you read Protein Power by Eades or any other low-carb plan book and give it a serious effort for a month or two, cut out all that caffeine, and see if you don't feel worlds better. If you do that, you'll never go back to your old ways again.... you'll feel too good to give it up!

[Glyn]

Thanks Teri,I've been living like this all my adult live.I,m now 41 a smoker with severe Hypertension,I'm on 3 different meds to control it,I have stomach pains and produce far too much acid.I'm 5'7" ,14 stone,about 3 stone over weight.I have maintained my weight at 12 stone for years,it has only been the last 2 months that my weight has shot up.It was only after the last medication addition that my health really suffered from the side effects, unable to go for walks ,feeling like I was going to expload,lots of body pains and severe headaches.Then the doc wanted to put me on Statin for high cholesterol ,I said no way I'm on too much meds as it is,I'll reduce it by diet.So I brought Dr Atkin's Age Defying Revolution which I'm halfway through.Found this Message Board and some others,theres been so much positive responses that 2 days ago I brought Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution and the accompanning Cook Book.When I'm through reading them I'll Start the Induction.
Thanks again for your good advice.
Glyn :daze:

[jaykay]

Hi Glyn, my DH works shifts, with a rotating pattern, so he never gets to adjust to a certain way of sleeping.
He has cut the caffeine, just as Teri-D advises, cos it messes up him sleeping. He eats when he gets up whether he feels like it or not, cos if he doesn't he goes ages without eating and then, as you describe, gets ravenous (and grouchy :rolleyes: ) later.
So, he eats as soon as he gets up and every 3 hours or so for the time he's awake, including at work.
It does mean we need easily eatable things in the fridge or freezer all the time, but its just become habit now and he always takes a bait box to work.
Incidentally, now I come to think of it, he has shifted some weight since he cut the caffeine and made himself eat when he gets up - i hadn't connected it with that before! He wasn't heavy, but the spare half-stone shifted a while back and thinking about it, that's when he sorted those things out - maybe related?

All the best with Atkins anyway, shift work is hard enough without feeling rough.
Take care, Jay :wave:

[Glyn]

Hi JayKay,Thanks for your reply.I've cut my coffees down to 5-6 per day for the last 3 days.And I've started to snack on bags of Pork Crunch,like pork rinds but they have been cooked so they pop like pop corn,theres only 0.1g of carbs per bag.I find these are very filling even though theres not much of them.The good news is I don't bloat up on them or feel uncomfortable afterwards.BRILL!.I'll try the method you describe tomorrow night when I go to work.
Thanks again to everyone who has posted a reply,I really appreciate all the help.
Glyn :wave:

[TeriDoodle]

Glyn, we all really want you to feel better and we think we know how you can do it.... keep reading, try your hardest to make some changes and keep visiting this forum. There's so many caring people here and we'll help all we can.... but it's mostly up to you, of course. You're doing great by cutting your caffeine so much.... keep going! You don't have to do it all at once, just wean yourself off, but try to get down to no more than 2-3 cups a day at the most. And Jaykay .... you're absolutely right that there's a connection between the caffeine and eating every 3 hours. Eating regularly keeps your metabolism rev'd up and energy levels stable. Caffeine causes insulin responses and is very taxing to your liver which is responsible for something like 300 different functions.... one of which is the proper metabolism of fats. So if you have a healthy liver, your metabolism is healthier too. By the way, the herbal supplement milk thistle is great for supporting liver function and for helping to restore its health after being abused by alcohol and/or environmental toxins.

Glyn, please keep us posted.... call on me by PM or in my journal anytime. OK? Best of luck to you.... I just know your on an exciting road to better health.

[jaykay]

Well done Glyn, you sound like you're sorting it. I forgot to say, if its useful, standard snacks in our house are brazil nuts and hard boiled eggs - I do quite a few eggs at a time, they keep well and the nuts are easy to carry around in a coat pocket. For me, the salt on the pork crunch makes me retain water, but it doesn't do this to everyone, so if it doesn't to you - lucky you, cos they're really tasty and filling.
Glad you're beginning to feel better, Take care Jay :wave:

[LittleAnne]

Hi Glynn

There's a lot been happening in this thread and thought I just drop by and add my two pennies worth.

Teri has given you lots of sound advice. The first thing that I thought of was all that caffiene. Whilst I was never a great coffee drinker I now just drink 2 mugs a day and drink lots of water, some flavoured with no added sugar squash - I know this has artifical sweetners, but in moderation it is OK for me. I keep a bottle of water with me. I take it to work everyday.

Glad you have got Atkins. It makes a lot of sense and goes so against what we have been taught to believe over the last 10 years or so. I have also read Protein Power and Schwarzbein which I thought was very good.

Eat when you get up, eggs and bacon, omlette, pork chop, steak - any source of protein and fat. Just eat enough to satisfy you, not a big meal. Could you pack a salad to take to work? I usually take a chicken or tuna mayonnaise salad with me. I also take my breakfast, and eat it cold. This can be ham slices, hard boiled eggs, chicken wings, cold beefburgers, cold sausages - check the carb content, peperami, cheese. I have used brazil nuts for snacks, but often take more protein. Pork scratchings or pork crackles are OK, but don't subsitute them for a meal.

There is no reason why you still can not have a chinese takeaway, but no rice or noodles and not sweet and sour. Many items do not contain significant sugar and are fine. Eat with vegetables instead.

You said you put on weight with your latest medication. I did that with some B blockers I was given about 15 years ago. About 2 stone went on, almost overnight. I now know this was the drugs effect on my insulin level. Sounds as if you have the same thing going on. If you go low carb you keep your insulin levels low and hopefully the weight will fall back off again.

Every success with the low carb way of life. I love it and have been living it for nearly a year now. Drop into peoples journals and see what they eat. This could be a good indicator for you.

[Glyn]

Thanks everyone for all your good advice,you have given me plenty to think about.I've got one more night to work,I'll then finish reading Dr Atkin's books and start the introduction.I've already cut out a load of carbs and coffee.I feel better already and I'm lossing a little weight.Right I'm off to bed .I'll post again soon.
Thanks Glyn. :wave:

[Paulie-M]

Hi Glyn :wave:

I've just been reading your original thread and the replies. How are things going? I also work 12 hour shifts, either days or nights. I find that if I get up around 4.30pm I don't usually feel that hungry. I usually have my main meal at around 6pm and leave for work at 7pm. At work I have a cup of decaff coffee and the rest of the night just drink water. My light meal as I call it is usually a salad with either grated cheese or hard boiled egg or sometimes chicken or tuna. When I get in from work, I'll have have some bacon or maybe a boiled egg, depending on how I'm feeling.

[Glyn]

Hi Paulie :( ,
I was doing ok lost 14lbs in the first couple of weeks before I went down with a bad stomach bug that was going about.Strangely enough the only thing I could keep down was sugary drinks ie fizzy pop.So my new way of eating went out the window and I put all the weight back on.Now that has cleared up I will have another go and hopefully this time I will stick to it. :wave:

[Paulie-M]

Hi Glyn,

Sorry to hear that you haven't been well :( . I hope that you're back on track soon and the pounds start rolling off. I'm sure it's more difficult for shift workers :D