Hi guys,
Just wondering how shiftworkers navigate IF.
I work a variety of shifts (over which I have no say because.. NHS) which range from: 9-5, 4pm-11pm, 9-6(weekends), 1pm-10pm (weekends) and the wonderful 12 hour shifts long day/night shift too. My commute is then 1hr each way. The shifts come randomly, but the twilight’s are generally a block of 5 days, and the nights are either 3 or 4 nights in a row. (Then I get the next day off, followed by 9-5 for the remainder of the working week).
Do you change your eating window? Do you eat your proper dinners at work and keep the same window? How do you switch from the night shift window to normal days again?
I’m sorry if these sound like really stupid questions, but I just can’t figure it out. I think the nights and the evening shifts really throw me off, esp with the idea of eating meals overnight. I can’t convince myself to eat a decent meal for a 6pm “breakfast”, nor just before I go to bed at 10am.
Any tips would be really appreciated!
Thanks!
I also work for the NHS and have this issue with rotating shifts. I really struggle to get into a routine, I was on long days last week doing roughly 16/8-18/6 then had a night shift last night so had my last meal at 6pm and will eat again when I wake up later today. I just try to get at least 16hrs fasting in each day and not worry too much about exact timings. It’s pretty chaotic fasting patterns but does work for me amd stops me snacking at work if I kind of mentally switch the fasting switch on in my head.
Good luck with it, IF does work even if you don’t stick to strict windows
I work shifts too and have this problem. I started 16:8 with my first meal at about 7am and my last meal around 2pm which helped, and fast into the evening and night.
My shift breaks on the weekend are not fixed but usually start at 7am and finish at 3 or 4pm, so I have a slightly wider eating window the night before. I can fiddle with the eating window a bit and eat a few hours later if needed and start a few hours later if needed.
I sleep through most of my fasting window because of this. I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now and it’s the best schedule that works for me
Hope this helps!