Weight Loss and Working Midnights

[dptylaw]

I was just wondering if anyone out there works midnights and had trouble losing weight? I work midnights 4 days a week and I want to lose weight but I'm worried that working midnights might work against me in doing so. I've tried losing weight in the past and have not been able to do so but I'm keeping fingers crossed that 2009 might be different for me.

[Barb135]

We can certainly give you the support you need and hopefull a lot of motivation!!  Check out the 2009 challenge.  

Don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat, so as you begin an exercise program and start building muscle, you may not see a weight loss to begin with.  Try keeping up with  your measurements and see how that works.  I found that even though I wasn't losing any pounds, I did lose some inches just by toning and strengthening my muscles.

Also I don't know what med you are on for insulin resistance, but maybe you need a different dosage or some other kind of adjustment.  

I also don't know about your eating habits.  It's best to eat several small meals each day rather than just a couple large ones.  Feel free to browse through some of the other posts for ideas.  Protein and fiber fill you up faster and keep you feeling full longer so it's good to try to have both with each meal.  Also, watch out for things like diet sodas and other thing sweetened with artificial sweeteners as they can actually sabotage your diet and make you crave more sweets.  Also be careful of salt, as it causes you to retain fluid.  

It would probably be good to keep a food journal just to keep up with what you are eating and make sure your intake is less than your expenditure.  You can also make good use of the weight and exercise trackers here on MedHelp.  They are excellent tools.  You could use the journal to track your food intake.  

Hope to see you here often.  

[dptylaw]

Thank you for responding. I do keep in contact with my doctor, I have insulin resistance which has caused me some weight gain. I am on medicine for it but in the past when working regular daylights I still found it hard to lose any weight. I'm hoping that he support on this site will keep me encouraged to keep going with my new workout plans for 2009, in the past I gave up to easily when I wasnt seeing any weight loss or loss in inches, I've even seen weight gain and muscle mass from working out which I've been told isnt common in females. This also discourages me. I'm starting my new workout plans when I get off from my midnight shift tonight. I'm the type of person that if I see any type of change no matter how little it is its enough to keep me going so hopefully through the support of this site and my doctor I can achieve some of my goals.

[Barb135]

Welcome to the community.  

For some people working a night shift messes up the body and it's hard to keep things going right.  My husband worked nights for about 3 yrs and didn't feel right the whole time.  

I guess I would have to ask if you have seen your doctor to rule out medical issues that might prevent weight loss, such as thyroid, pre-diabetes, adrenal function, etc.  If there is no medical issues then losing weight while working on a night shift should work like losing weight while working on the day shift.  You have to make sure you eat the right things, proper portions and get plenty of exercise.  

It might help to keep a food journal in which you write down everything you eat - that will let you know how many calories you are consuming.  There's an exercise tracker here on MedHelp that's wonderful for letting you keep track of the exercise you get.  By tracking your intake and expenditure, you will be able to find out if they are balanced out.  In order to lose weight, you have to expend less than you intake.

Good luck and stay with us - there's a lot of help and support here.