Night shift calorie counting/powerlifting

[NurseCassie88]

So I currently work 3-4 days a week 7p-7am. I am struggling to find the best way to count my calories so that I eat the most on my lift days and least on my rest days. I used to do the old midnight-midnight trick but the Problem I was finding was that I didn't feel like if I ate something as 2345 and then again at 0015 my body was magically resetting. Also on nights when I didn't work the night before but slept all day I didn't think it was fair to say I had to binge all my calories before midnight. The same applies to when I would work one night and have off the next, I found I wAs using a big portion of my calories by morning that the whole next day i would be starving. So now I have been going by the rule that my day is a 24 hour period and runs from when I wake up til when I go to sleep. Some days this means from 2 pm-8am. I also try to eat very 3-4 hours or so, and tend to stick to tuna, chicken, soup, beans, veggies, fruit, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. Any suggestions on the best way to go about this. I have been trying to lose weight for almost a year now and nothing is working. I've tried paleo, ketosis, eating more veggies, allowing myself carbs but sticking to veggies, black beans and broken rice. You name it. Any insight? I feel like I'm stuck in a tough place. I'm 5'4"-5'5" and 120 lbs and I just can't seem to budge. I should also point out I hold all of my weight right in my stomach with scrawny arms and legs. I always look bloated with a layer of subq abdominal tissue. Thanks for the help.

[Bertha Butt]

Hellooo nurse! 

For starters, I'm not on night shifts, but my dad was frequently. His days went from waking up to waking up. Most times a 24h period, sometimes more or less when he switched from day shift to night shifts or vice versa. But he did not care for counting calories...

For me a very strict low carb paleo worked to lose more abdominal fat. For that I had to cut not only grains, but also legumes and other starchy or sugary veggies and most of the fruit. And I had to cut back on dairy product. But again, that's what worked for me. After a few months I slowly increased the carb intake with only vegetables and fruit and dairy.

I found that lifting weights is easier for me after a day with larger meals. There is just more energy to use. After a day of fasting or eating very little, my energy is very low and lifting is hell (and cardio impossible). I train in the mornings, so that could explain some.

[phreak]

Get your cortisol checked, preferably multiple instances. From personal experience I have seen people thrive on night shifts, and I have seen people be absolutely destroyed after only a few years of it. Almost no middle ground. My guess would be that some people are much more susceptible to increased cortisol from sleep cycle disruption.

So one question would be: how is your sleep? Not just the duration, but also the quality.

And as Bertha says: I also need to eat prior, but not too close to, a workout. 2-300 kcal an hour before is fine, more than that I need to eat at least 4-6 hours out. Can't train well on a full stomach.


On a side note: if you are trying to lose weight, and you feel like you are starving, then what is wrong? It means it's working.

Didn't see anything on powerlifting, so can't address that. Except to say that you need to squat and dead more. I don't care how much you are doing it now, it's not enough.