Losing weight, night shift, irregular sleep

[IntoTheFloodAgain]

Hello, hoping to get some advice and possibly experience from others in a similar position.
Apologies for the length of this post but I want to get as much info as I can in.

I’ve been doing slimming world for just over a month. I lost weight 4kg in the first week, 1kg in the second and since my weight has stayed the same.

I work permanent night shifts, and since watching what I eat, I’ve noticed differences in my appetite when I’m working and on days off, despite eating the same type of food (if relevant, my days off aren’t the same each week so so I can work anything from 2 days to 6 days in a row)

My sleep is very irregular, I’ve been on nights for 2 years and tried different things to sort it out but its just part of my routine now.

For example, today (please don’t judge!) I had some fruit and yogurt for breakfast. I was hungry just over an hour later so had some more fruit which didn’t make a difference. So thought I’d try a ‘main’ meal to keep me going. Had a jacket with a bit of cheese and beans and salad. 2 hours later hunger kicks in. I’ve been drinking plenty of water in between and trying to keep busy but I just feel like I haven’t eaten. I’ve just had some toast which seems to have filled my appetite now, but If I’d had toast first thing it wouldn’t have lasted too long either. I don’t feel starving but just a ‘normal’ amount of hungry.

I know I sound greedy but honestly I only feel like this when I’m onto my 2nd or 3rd shift in a row.
The first week doing SW I was on annual leave, and I did really well, always full, lost weight. The second week my days off were at the start of the week, so the beginning of the week went really well. After that my appetite has just been shit.

I’ve been having overnight oats for breakfast too, again to begin with they kept me going for hours and hours, but now I’m back at work they keep me going for maybe 2 hours max. I’ve also tried swapping breakfast and dinner times, but this makes little difference on my bad days.

I’m generally cooking ‘proper’ meals, so I’m not just having mugshots or cereal bars everyday and I’m eating plenty of veg. On my good days, I’m also stopping eating when I feel full, so I’m not just giving in or disregarding SW completely.

There are days where I’ll eat lots of fruit/veg but it kind of feels like I’m eating air.

I’m still doing sw for now, but I’m starting to think its not for me. From what I’ve noticed, its all low fat/fat free generally and I wonder whether I do need to be eating high (good) fats instead, which may keep me going more with my crap sleep?

I want to find a healthy diet that fits in with irregular meal times/sleep and is going to fit in long term with working night shift. I don’t want to feel shit and hungry until I reach my target weight, then go back to normal and put the weight back on. At the minute I’m losing weight on my days off, and then its creeping back up by the end of the week.

Really hope someone can relate and let me know what works for them.
Thanks for reading if you’ve got this far.

Hi, I'm long haul cabin crew, so I work different shifts all the time, sometimes with big time changes and jet lag, sometimes day flights, sometimes overnight, so while I don't quite do shift work I do understand how a different lifestyle makes weight loss a bit harder.

I used to do weight watchers a lot, with initial success then a lot of faffing around and staying the same. I did SW once but didn't like it as much. For the last year Ive just quit sugar. I try to eat home cooked food if possible, I changed to full fat dairy (MUCH more filling). I have grapes in Greek yoghurt for snacks or pistachio nuts (shells make them slower to eat!). I do eat plenty of fruit too. I haven't had the dramatic weight losses that you get at the start of Ww or sw but I've lost a steady lb a week and people have really noticed after two or three months. I find it much easier than sticking to a set plan or points and it works better with the long days and changes in appetite you get when staying up all night...

The night shifts make it really hard, OP. I'm sympathetic. IME, working overnight is unnatural - it creates the need for comfort and leads to overeating. I have drifted up and down by the same number of pounds from slim to solid and back again for 20 years.

One thing about working nights: it's really easy to confuse being tired, thirsty, or cold with being hungry. I find it important to stay really well hydrated (I drink very dilute squash and a lot of Redbush tea -- I know I won't drink enough plain water so I've given up both the struggle and the guilt on that one!).

It's also easy to confuse being too hot or too cold with needing a snack. It sounds really idiotic, but I have a small blanket and when I get chilly in the small hours, I always find I want a snack. A blanket and a cup of tea sometimes eliminates that need.

Sorry if those don't help, but I do think there are some specific problems with night working!

Otherwise, I'm with honeyroar on full fat dairy. Generally, I've found that it's helpful not to be afraid of moderate amounts of foods that create a feeling of fullness, and fat and protein foods seem most helpful. I use eggs, fish, bacon, and avocado as staples if I'm trying to reduce.

I'm also with honeyroar on a steady 1lb a week.

I try to cut out carbohydrate: it's nothing to do with science, it's purely practical. I don't really tend to binge on cheese, or on meats, or on eggs, so once I've eaten my fill, I lose interest and stop eating. If I eat carbs, then I always want more. I don't know why. I just do. So it encourages over-eating for me.

You mention lots of fruit and veg. I certainly wouldn't oppose advice to eat f&v!, but for me it's tempting to use f&v as a prop that just enables you to keep chewing on something, which is a bad mental habit I found it better to break. So I will eat F&V, of course, but as part of my supper (or whatever): I find it dangerous to think "I'll have a bag of carrot sticks because they are really low calorie". That's just perpetuating the idea that you're not comfortable unless you're chewing. Better to break the habit of overfrequent eating.

Mentally, fruit seems to feel more substantial if I cut it up and put it on a plate. Particularly if I have more than one type (but obviously only an appropriate amount, so if it's an apple and a banana and a tangerine, half the apple, tangerine, and banana slices go in the fridge, or I share with a colleague to prevent overeating.)

I think it's also helpful to identify a mealtime, put your food on a tray, and make a mental commitment to stick to what's on the tray. Grazing is fatal.

Sounds a bit weird, but visualise whether or not what's on the tray is sufficient. The smaller plate trick is good - put your food on a smaller plate if you are apt to have eyes bigger than your stomach. Try to get a real feel for what's enough.

I think that's pretty much it. I feel I should apologise for wittering on for so long!!! Hope it helps, and if it doesn't hope you find other solutions that work for you! :-)

Thank you I was worried my lengthy post will have scared people off!

I’ve had two nights off just and again have eaten like a ‘normal’ person. Breakfast has kept me going till late afternoon, I’ve had very little carbs with lunch and dinner, and I’ve not felt the need to snack at all. I just know for the rest of the week (6 nights coming ) I’ll be feeling hungry all the time again.

Thinking about it more, its the type of hunger where I just dont feel satisfied (until I’ve had something stodgy like bread), so maybe I will try the blankets or even a hot drink that will give me a different type of satisfaction.

The one good thing SW has given me so far is that I’ve bought a lot of fresh ingredients, so I can only really have home cooked and healthy, and haven’t bought any cakes or chocolate, so I haven’t had anything sweet.

I think I’ll still use SW as a ‘crutch’ for main meals but change to full fat dairy (yogurts) for breakfast and snacks if I need them.
I’ve cut out the main source of sugar so maybe its just going to be a slow journey.

I’ve just panicked a little this week as I’ve not lost weight for a couple of weeks and and I’m worrying I’m wasting my time on the wrong type of eating plan!

The trouble with weight loss is it doesn't always happen when it should! Sometimes you've been angelic and lose nothing, other times you wing it but still lose... But whatever plan/diet you're doing, if you're eating healthy, good food you will lose sooner or later, whereas I think if you use your syns/points on rubbish- even if it's allowed, the weight loss slows a bit.

You sound like you've got a good plan so keep going and good luck.