Weight-Loss i hope im in the right section! - eating patterns

[dirty_magic]

hello all, over the last 3 months ive lost a total of 10kg. its amazing what a change of diet and regular exercise can do.

anyway heres my problem, next month i start Night shift at work, my whole eating pattern and life style will turn upside down.

as this is the first time ive ever dieted im worried i might not get the same results im getting at the moment

current i think i eat pretty good. yogurt and muesli for breakfast, tuna and a mandarin/apple for a snack, salad or a roll of some sort for lunch, another apple and sometimes a muesli bar if i have football training and then usually a piece of meat and vegetables or once or twice a week subway. not perfect but alot better than i was previously.

as for exercise i usually do 4 nights a week on an exercise bike (about 25km/burn 700-900cals) and then i have football training which is a bit more intense twice a week.

that all works for me and i was happy continuing on that pattern but come April this is my plan

wake up, have my main meal before work and maybe some exericse/football training, then work and have the same pattern i mentioned before and then maybe something light after work before bed. or would be it more beneficial to continue the eating pattern im currently doing but just transfer it to nightshift hours? only concern i have there is that i dont want to be up too much after work (2 hours maybe) and having a decent meal then would probably keep me up longer and wouldnt burn off the food i eat before i goto sleep.

so thats my problem, any recommendations or past experiences with eating patterns for nightshift would be helpful

thanks alot, shaun

 

[Omega]

All that I can say with any change in eating patterns is that you should ensure that you are not increasing the total calories consumed...

A lot of people think that there are major benefits in eating a lot of small meals a day - but this has been proven to be a dieting myth.

Similarly a lot of people think you shouldn't eat at night - but the only benefit of that is to try to restrict people from the additional calories that mindless snacking can bring.

Maybe someone with experience in working shift patterns can help - based on their experience.

I know that I eat in an unusual pattern of eating - since my lifestyle is such that I often eat my main meal after 10pm - and virtually always eat something around midnight too... As long as the calories are right - there is no problem in losing weight... The only issue is that any early morning weighing often includes an element of food weight... I think that the main issue is to know your body well enough to know whether the pattern of eating is likely to satisfy you so that you are not tempted to snack and eat beyond your target calories. A few days of very careful counting should confirm your thoughts on that...