I am new to trying IF and also work 3rd shift/night shift. I work 4 8hr shifts a week 11p-7a (32 hours). Just wondering how other night shift people plan their fasting during their nights on versus their nights off. Also what ratio works best for them- 16:8 or 18:6 (or customized).
I work 7:00pm - 7:00am three nights a week. I keep it consistent and do the 18:6 everyday, with my eating window from like 12:30pm - 6:30pm. Before I started IF, I was worried about not eating overnight, but when I realized I thought I needed food to keep me awake or out of boredom, (since I rarely get truly hungry at work) I needed to adjust my mindset - get more sleep before work and don’t snack mindlessly.
I only drink water while at work (not a fan of black coffee and plain tea) and when I get off I go straight to bed. When I wake up I eat lunch and then I’ll have dinner before I go to work. Of course if I work the next night I’ll take a nap so that’s even less awake time eating during my window. I like what I’m doing because I don’t have to go back and forth when I’m off from work. So far so good - I started IF a week ago and down 7 pounds (I know that’s water weight). I’ve never struggled or felt hungry so I know I can stick with it and am excited to be on this journey!
I work overnights (11:30p-8a) and do the 20:4 - I have tea when I wake up at 8:30p (I would have coffee but I need it with creamer so not really an option at that time), then when I get into work that’s when I start my 4 hour eating period (normally 11:30-3:30a) and then throughout the rest of my shift I drink Tea or flavored water (0 calories, 0 carbs) and then I get home at 9 and get ready for bed and go to bed… I’m not really hungry when I get home and it helps if I brush my teeth when I get home also because then I’m not tempted to eat b/c I don’t want to brush them again.