Chris,

I am a nurse. We nurses are always on diets. I love Ten Years Thinner because of the sensible nature of the program. However, I have one problem that all shift workers will have to address. How should we eat when when are awake close to 24 hours the first night on, and the last day we might be awake only 8 hours before going to bed at night?

I've had this problem with every diet I've been on, and its never addressed. A large portion of the world works nights, and we tend to be heavier, I believe. Switching from night to day and vice-versa reeks havoc on your body anyway. Please help me and many others with this problem. Thanks,

Jane

Hi Jane!

OK-- here's the bad news... Ongoing research clearly indicates that shift workers are more likely to experience irregular eating patterns, weight fluctuations, and sleep disturbances than day workers. Over time, shift workers are at an increased risk for developing hypertension, obesity, metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes), and cardiovascular disease.

Unfortunately, nobody knows for sure why shift workers tend to be less healthy and weigh more than day workers. Some studies suggest that disturbances in natural circadian rhythms, abrupt changes in sleep patterns, and as-yet unexplained differences in nocturnal glucose tolerance may be responsible. Other work points to behavioral culprits. For example, shift workers often have diminished access to healthy food choices and are less likely to take walks during their breaks. Recent investigations also show that shift workers tend to eat more carbohydrates and sweets while on-duty, drink more alcohol while off-duty, and exercise less on a day-to-day basis.

To facilitate your weight loss efforts, I recommend bringing healthy, high protein meals and snacks with you to work to decrease the temptation for junk food snacking. In addition, consider going to bed a half hour earlier than normal to prevent the sleep deficit that shift workers tend to accumulate during the work week. And finally, supplementing with chromium picolineate (200 mcg twice/day) may improve your glucose tolerance and help stabilize nocturnal blood sugar levels.

In terms of meal and snack frequency, I would follow the general rule of thumb that you should never go more than 2.5 - 3 hours between meals and/or snacks. During the last nine or so hours of a 24-hour shift, I would decrease this time interval even further so that you are having a little something-- a mini-meal or snack-- every 90 minutes to two hours. Remember-- the more frequently you eat, the more you stoke your metabolism, and the less you are likely to eat at each meal/snack. Don't force yourself to clean your plate or eat a big snack-- make your meals and snacks as frequent and brief as possible. This should help short-circuit the high glycemic index carb cravings that accompany the drops in seritonin from lack of sleep.

As for meals: Once per week, I recommend making a family-sized batch of two or three of the healthy entrees listed in the recipe section of Ten Years Thinner. Freeze everything in single-portion servings. Right before you go to sleep, take out three servings of food and stick them in the fridge to thaw so that you can bring to work with you the next day.

As for snacks: Nuts, trail mix, and fresh fruit are completely portable and require absolutely NO preparation-- these are great things to bring to work with you. A big bag of raw celery, carrots, broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower, etc(!) plus a container of dip made from plain yogurt (SEE RECIPE EXCHANGE FORUM inside www.tenyearsthinner.com) could be a great way to help you graze through the night without succumbing to the temptation of more energy-dense foods.

I hope this helps!

Best Wishes,

Chris

Related: Be Ten Years Thinner!