My Shift Work Hell!

Mollymorbeg

Hi Everybody ,
I am a 5ft 6in girl , 24 yr old and i have a BMI of 29 :eek: , and been around 13 stone. I have a pear shape body and most of my weight is held in my legs and rear and boobs. I have a tiny waist but I have always been heavy set and always been active. since i started my job the effects of shift work have taken its toll and my weight keeps creeping up . because of the constant changes in shift work and the amount of energy (both physical and mental) that go into my job by the time i come home i'm exhausted, I eat well ( with the exception of my cheese sandwiches) I need some advice and help before i find myself at a size 18 plus and loosing a battle.
I need help and advice
Thanks
MM!

Dixie Chick

Hello

How often ahead of time do you know your work roster? You need to plan plan plan.
If you are carrying a lot of extra weight then there must be a suspect somewhere in your food and what people think is eating well can indeed be far from it. Can you post a typical days food?

Mollymorbeg

Dixie Chick wrote: »

Hello

How often ahead of time do you know your work roster? You need to plan plan plan.
If you are carrying a lot of extra weight then there must be a suspect somewhere in your food and what people think is eating well can indeed be far from it. Can you post a typical days food?

my roster wont change for years its the same every month! I have one week of nights with 2 days off starting 6am monday finished 2pm wed. in the roster i have a few quick changeovers which are a killer when you finish at 10pm and back in for 6 am.


Typical day would be a small breakfast usally porridge or special k.
lunch depending on how work constraints are is lean chicken wrap with spinach Dinner has some meat and spuds. I dont eat take away
I dont drink milk or eat yogurts and I eat alot of fish and vegetables. I snack on brazil nuts. I was a swimmer when i was younger so i learned to cook well for myself. I may not necessarily get to eat at the same time every day and my body clock is in ribbons from shift work.

I go for a run every second day when i have the time. I do not have the time for a gym membership . I get alot of excercise at work too. my whole family wouldnt be too slim either if that helps?

Semele

I managed to put on a good bit of weight after starting shift work too. I found that because my sleep pattern was all over the place I felt quite odd a lot of the time and would find it very difficult to know if I was actually hungry or not. Added to that the fact that my hunger levels increase when I'm tired and I was awful!

I really am organised now though- I bring in a bag for long days stuffed with food, usually good quality bread with cheese or peanut butter for breakfast, a few natural yoghurts for throughout the day, a box of fruit&nut mix to snack, some leftover dinner to reheat on my main break and maybe a wrap with some hummus and veg for evening. If I dont do this then I'll be ravenous all day and end up getting fast food (unfortunately all there is in available in the area) for my break, which I'll then eat too much of anyway, and then end up stuffing myself again when I get home and don't actually need anything as I'm just going to go to bed.

I'm a bit of a joke in work as I'm constantly grazing but the only way for me to manage is to bring in everything I'm going to eat that day with me and have a yoghurt or apple every couple of hours so that I never let myself get very hungry in the first place, since that tends to be where it all goes wrong for me!

It's a bit of a nightmare trying to plan ahead though when you know you won't get to the supermarket for a few days, especially when theres a limit to what I can carry home without a car and since I live with a few friends freezer and cupboard space is limited.

omen80

Mollymorbeg wrote: »

my roster wont change for years its the same every month! I have one week of nights with 2 days off starting 6am monday finished 2pm wed. in the roster i have a few quick changeovers which are a killer when you finish at 10pm and back in for 6 am.


Typical day would be a small breakfast usally porridge or special k.
lunch depending on how work constraints are is lean chicken wrap with spinach Dinner has some meat and spuds. I dont eat take away
I dont drink milk or eat yogurts and I eat alot of fish and vegetables. I snack on brazil nuts. I was a swimmer when i was younger so i learned to cook well for myself. I may not necessarily get to eat at the same time every day and my body clock is in ribbons from shift work.

I go for a run every second day when i have the time. I do not have the time for a gym membership . I get alot of excercise at work too. my whole family wouldnt be too slim either if that helps?

You say you don't eat yogurt, but live natural yogurt is one of the best foods you can eat for bloatedness and digestive health. I'm not talking about strawberry flavour activia here, I'm talking about the real stuff. Try mixing it with a sliced apple to sweeten it.

Sounds like your diet isn't bad though. Maybe try not to eat after 7.30pm if you do?

Acoshla

Special K is no good anyway OP, stick the to porridge if you can.