If you work the graveyard shift you might be wondering how you're ever supposed to lose weight and get fit and healthy, since most gyms run exercises classes in the daytime when you're sleeping.
The good news is that it can be done, it just takes a little planning. Here are some weight loss tips for night shift workers to get you started.
1. Get enough sleep
Research has shown that shift work can be bad for your health as it upsets your circadian rhythms. To combat this you need to make sure you get enough sleep. On shift days try and sleep when you get home from work, while the rest of the house might be waking up to start their day you still need to treat it as your night. If you're not working a shift then take a nap to try and catch up on sleep. Sleeping kick starts your metabolism, which helps you lose weight.
2. Meal planning
When you're short on time it's all too easy to get through the day on junk food and unhealthy snacks. To make sure you eat right you need to take some time at the start of every week to decide what you are going to eat each day. Write down what you plan to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as healthy snacks on the days you will work as well as the ones you won't.
Go to the store and buy all of the ingredients you need to make your meals so that you have everything you need in the house.
You might even want to spend a day making your meals and putting them in the fridge or freezer ready to reheat during the week.
3. Pack a lunch
Now you know what you are planning to eat all week it's easy to pack a lunch to take with you to work. This will help you avoid visiting 24/7 fast food joints. You should also consider taking breakfast with you so you can eat it towards the end of your shift. That way when you get home you can just go straight to bed.
4. Avoid the midnight donut run
It doesn't matter whether you work a day shift or a night shift there are always friendly souls who bring in cakes, and candies and all manner of unhealthy snacks to help everyone get through the shift. But high-sugar snacks will only give you a temporary boost so prepare your own healthy snacks to take with you.
5. Workout on the way to work
Many people think they need to hit the gym at the end of their shift, because that's what lots of day shift workers do. But if you're a night shift worker and you're trying to lose weight you need to workout on the way to work, not on the way home. A good cardio session before your shift will give you the energy boost you need to make it through the night. Workout on the way home and you'll just find it hard to sleep when you go to bed.
