Welcome to my blog. This is a blog about healthy shift work and ways you can have more energy, more stamina, and live a happier, healthier life while doing shift work. As we know shift work can be detrimental to our health if we don’t take the necessary steps to keep us healthy. One of those steps is diet. So let’s dive in and look at some ways to eat healthy while on shift as well as what to stay away from.
Why are eating habits important while doing shift work?
One of the main reasons is because of the research. It has been shown that shift workers have a higher percentage of sleep loss, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. So eating while on shift is very important and making the right choices in your diet is also very important. So my recommendation is avoid sugar, high fats, salt, and processed foods.
My top nutrition strategies for eating healthy
One of the best things to do is plan an eating schedule. While I’m at work at the hospital, I plan on eating around the same time every night. I begin by explaining to my coworkers that I like to eat around (time) and if that is ok with them? I usually try to stick to this time and it seems to work so far.
Ensure most of your meals contain a few carbs (very few) and a lot of protein. Shoot for some vegetables and a little bit of fruit as well to help with variety and taste. You might even be able to have the fruit with yogurt as a snack while working, if you are able to. One word of caution with meals while doing shift work is avoiding very heavy meals. Don’t consume large meals and then try to go back to work. It might not end well. I try to use the containers with the dividers in them already and that should be plenty while on shift.
If you normally fast at night while not on shift, try doing that while on shift. Studies have shown that if you fast at night while on shift and just eat a small breakfast when you get home and before you lay down, it will have positive effects on your sugar level, your mood, energy, and weight in the long run.
For healthy snacks during your shift you might want to ad in a little vegetable sticks or whole meal pita with hummus, rye crisp breads or apple slices topped with nut butter. Some other examples might be a high fibre cereal bar or a handful of unsalted nuts with a piece of fruit. Incorporating healthy fats and foods high in protein or fibre to your meals, will also help you feel fuller for longer and keep your cravings low. These could include lean meats, fish, cottage cheese, eggs, nuts and seeds, avocado, yogurt, chickpeas, lentils, whole meal bread, brown rice or pasta.
My recommendation is to just keep in mind my “Five-Alive” rule of thumb and you will be on your way to staying healthy long into the future even after your shift work is over.
The “Five-Alive” Rules
- Plan Ahead with shift meals
- Consume healthy fats, protein, vegetables
- Stay hydrated
- Avoid sugar, sugary drinks, energy drinks
- Get rest/exercise
I help shift workers wanting to get healthy or stay healthy while doing shift work. Sign up for my email list so I can send you recipes, tips, free articles, information, and a lot of other very good useful information to get through your shift. Please let me know if I can help in anyway. You will be seeing some changes with the website as time goes on but our commitment is always the same; to help you live a happier, healthier life.
Until next time,
Take care,
Darren
Harmony Shift 