Shift workers

[ididit34 91]

How do you schedule you heaviest meal. Just looking for suggestions. I work 5 days a week from 3:30pm to 12 am. I usually get home about 1:20 am. I use the elliptical for at least 30 minutes 3 to 4 times a week during my lunch hour. Sometimes, when I can wake up early enough, I go the the gym before work.

I mostly go to bed around 6am until 12:30pm or 1pm after I get my teenager off to school. I'm looking for suggestions for meeting my Protein intake. I take all my Vitamins, I get at least 8 glasses of Water every day but I'm not eating enough calories and I know it's affecting my weight loss. I average about 450 t0 600 calories with exercise every day. Thanks for your kind advice in a advance. i want to start the couch to 5k soon but I feel I'm not currently taking enough calories in for this thus far.

[Dub 9,922]

Long term shifter here, too.

My normal shift runs from 6:45-7:15 and rotates between days & nights. 3 & 4 shifts consecutive with days off in between. In a 28 day cycle I work 14 days. I actually work the regular shift plus another 60-90 mins daily and work on some of the scheduled days off, too.

I let my shift schedule be part of my weight problem for a long, long time. Fast food on the way to & from work and fried garbage from our cafeteria in between. It's a miracle that I didn't die from that lifestyle.

Now.....my shift schedule is actually a strong part of my weight loss......an asset, even.

I get up at 4:00am and enjoy an hour of coffee and sports center & news. Shower and hit the road and drink 30 oz of Water on the way.

Breakfast is at my desk around 7:45. tuna, chicken breast, steak or similar. First dose of Vitamins, too.

lunch is usually around 1:00 when I'm back at my desk and preparing for a mid-shift meeting.

dinner is where I've made changes.....used to wait until I got home.....now I eat at work.

Each of the meals finds me taking in 20-30 grams of Protein, low carbs and possibly some fat.

I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to walk around quite a bit. This is much needed. Staying in motion helps my worn out knees and keeps my back loose.

As I'm walking around my job site, I carry along a water bottle and refill it as needed. I take in a minimum of 120 oz Water every day.

My current problem is that I don't rest enough on work days.......or days off for that matter. This needs to change as I can feel my back acting up recently. I don't want to regress with it.

I typically go to an awesome gym 2 miles from my house on days off. Work days find me in the gym at work (right beside the cafeteria that I no longer visit) getting in a quick high rep count session.