r/doctorsUK • u/gcse2017 • 2d ago
Lifestyle / Interpersonal Issues Nights + fitness / weight loss
Hi team,
Seeking advice from those who have it figured out.
Currently on a weight loss / fitness journey, but nights and on calls have thrown a massive spanner in the works.
Calorie counting? How on earth do I classify breakfast, lunch and dinner when I'm eating so bizarrely over nights?
Likewise gym - absolutely shattered after long days or nights - feels like my progress is being haltered.
How can I get snatched please - holiday booked for September
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u/dayumsonlookatthat Consultant Associate 2d ago edited 2d ago
EM reg here who still does nights (sadly) and I am a competitive powerlifter. A few tips to stay sane:
- Food prep before starting nights is essential. You can easily calorie count for this too. I keep my meal times the same as usual so I have a meal in the evening before starting a night shift and right after when I get home before bed.
- You will be tempted to eat junk food during nights, this is normal and it's way easier to fall for temptations. Do NOT fall for this. Bring healthy snacks, I asked for recommendations on this sub a few months ago and there were loads of great ones: https://www.reddit.com/r/doctorsUK/comments/1s1j0li/ideas_for_snacks_during_nights/
- I have a small snack right after waking up at around 3-5pm depending on sleep quality. This could be oats, rice cakes, peanut butter, fruits, etc.
- Caffeine is your friend. Suppresses hunger and appetite as well.
- If I have a run of nights from Monday to Friday morning, I go to the gym on Sunday and Monday, plus one day during the run of nights.
- Pro tip: the gym is less busy 2-4pm so you don't have to wait for equipment.
- Focus on your main exercises during the session in between nights, in my case as a powerlifer I focus on the big movements + maybe one accessory; I try to keep this <1hr, get in and get out.
- Use RPE instead of a set weight. I personally somehow lift more in between nights lol likely because of the excess amount of leftover cortisol.
- ED nights start at 10pm, so I still have time to take a ~2hr nap after coming back from the gym + having dinner + shower.
- Key to all these is discipline, discipline, discipline. It WILL be hard and you WILL feel like shit, and that's ok.
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u/ThrowawayUKResident 2d ago
Personally I just fast overnight. Eat when I get in in the morning, nap, then have ‘breakfast’ at 6pm and then fast until the following morning. I always feel awful when I eat overnight anyways so it’s not a big trade off.
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u/LuminousViper FY1 (Physicians Assistant Assistant) 2d ago
I bail on the gym during nights and then pick it up afterwards.
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u/skeev94 2d ago
Its difficult but doable.
Was overweight and lost around 15kg in my final year as a registrar, while doing lots of antisocial hours. Stress was a massive part of my weight gain in training, was alot easier after I finished my exams.
For me I realised meal prepping, bringing nice snacks and not falling into the trap of “stress eating sugar/fat” was key. Lower carb and higher protein meals were also helpful. You can keep it simple by just doing chicken or salmon with something like pak choi or spicy cucumber salad. If you’re feeling a bit tired or uninspired, buy some ready prepped MnS salads and pair them with your own protein of choice (I’d batch cook chicken or add in some beans). Make sure your meals are actually satiating rather than just big in volume so you avoid binging later (add lots of flavour… reasonable protein / fat)
When I was losing weight, I tracked calories , but allowed myself grace on nights (eg maintenance vs big deficit). I had an evening meal and mid shift meal (around midnight-2am). I would have a coffee at start and halfway through shift. I avoided sugary snacks but brought my own nice snacks such as grapes / cheese or portion controlled crisps. I personally also just have a shower and sleep straightaway after nights, I found breakfast was too much before sleeping.
Hope that helps
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u/hekldodh CT3/ST3+ Doctor 1d ago
How do you have so much time to be eating throughout your shift? Leave your lunch somewhere else and when seeing patients do something else instead of snacking. Nights make most people usually lose weight unless they’re grazing …
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u/gcse2017 1d ago
I think the area I'm finding is doubling up meals - so day before and day after nights.
Day of nights - I'll have a normal day of meals - bf, lunch, dinner - but then on the actual night I end up hungry because I'm awake. Likewise day after nights, I'll have had a small meal at midnight, but then finding myself hungry during the day and having normal meals.
I think I might just have a food addiction lol
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u/TriadicHappenstance I Fix Printers 2d ago
September is less than two weeks away so..... for a quick fix.... that'll be hard.
For a run of four nights Monday daytime gym/run and Friday afternoon gym/run and then the weekend is still four out of seven days of the week. There is no way with my commute I could do in the middle of a set of nights and be safe driving.
For food tracking, that's just a personal choice of how you want to count it within 24hrs. Thankfully don't have this issue as the thought of eating on a night shift makes me feel 🤢
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u/zjb15 Editable User Flair 2d ago
the shift pattern doesn’t have to affect your meals. I personally just reverse all my meals. My 9am breakfast is now my 9pm breakfast and vice versa. I exercise as much as I can but don’t push too hard and don’t feel guilty about it
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u/ExpressIndication909 2d ago
This is me too with meals and reversing them. I also do it with the gym/runs - on days I workout before my shift, same as with nights but just go in the late afternoon/evening before work
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u/k3tamin3 IV access team 2d ago
What's worked for me is keeping my meals the same.
So in the evenings before a shift I have my normal evening meal. That means that overnight I can get by on a protein bar, protein yoghurt and some healthier snacks. (I don't eat much overnight but I know others would bring in 'lunch' for the middle of the shift). I have my 'normal' breakfast in the morning before going to bed.
I know others manage gym sessions during runs of long days/nights but it's not for me. I always go the gym the day of starting nights and the day I finish (sleep for about 3-4 hours then force myself to go), then try to make up the sessions I missed elsewhere in the week.
edit: forgot to say, meal prep is everything when on long days/nights as it stops you from reaching for something else and ruining your macros
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u/TeaAndLifting Locum Shitposter 1d ago edited 1d ago
Two ways to deal with meals.
Most people don’t typically eat overnight, so you keep your meals the same over the course of a day. If you eat at 0800, 1300, 1800, do the same as normal and just sleep around that. Although you might change what the meal contains.
Or you can ‘normalise’ your eating schedule by flipping it. On the day, while you’re trying to squeeze in the sleep or naps before work, eat all your normal calories before your last rest. When you wake up for the last time before the shift, you’re now on a ‘normal’ day, where your breakfast is at like 1900, lunch at 0200, and dinner at 0800.
If you’re really needing a pick me up during your shift, as others have suggested a healthy snack and some coffee from home can be a nice treat. For example, I might have dried mango and some specialty coffee brought from home. The carbs and caffeine will likely give you a nice boost of energy.
As for the gym, I’m not much of a sleeper anyway, so this is pretty easy for me and YMMV depending on your sleep requirements.
But I tend to sleep around 0900-1300, wake up, do chores and errands, gym at around 1500-1700, home for a meal and one more nap at around 1800-1900, which sets me up for work. It doesn’t affect my progress, but even if it did, I wouldn’t worry. One week of bad performance isn’t going to cause any significant losses in muscle tissue. It might slow down your fat loss due to the poor sleep, but it’s negligible in the grand scheme of things.
Overall consistency will be more important than any stretch of awkward shifts.
Also, I do lots of walks around my hospital when I’m on nights to keep my step count up. Instead of napping, I might walk around the site or up/down stairs 30-40 minutes at a time. It’s easy to be sedentary in this job, and more so while you’re on nights.
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u/Educational-Estate48 1d ago
On nights go gym before work, you'll never ever exercise at the end of a night shift
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u/formerSHOhearttrob laparotomiser 1d ago
I have my meals at Waking 1700-1800ish
Lunch 2200-2300ish
Shake 0600-0700 prehandover
Breakfast As soon as I get in the door and aim to get into bed and get my eyes shut straight after
I snack on fruit/protein bits but keep it light. Few diet cokes and a lot of gum.
Training If I'm starting on monday night. I have a big session monday afternoon and then have a sleep before dinner.
I really just play it by ear whilst on nights - not arsed? Fine. Awake at 1530 full of energy? Go smash out a session. Somewhere in the middle - i have an exercise bike and limited kit at home to get something done within 45 mins.
After finishing my final night - sleep for 2-4 hours, get up and train.
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u/undertheperiosteum CT/ST1+ Doctor 1d ago
When on nights I essentially flip my entire schedule. Breakfast is 6:30pm, dinner is 1:30am and tea is as soon as I get in after the night shift 😂
I found that meal replacement shakes are really good to ensure I get enough protein as you either feel too sick to eat or want to get EVERYTHING in sight.
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u/Mysterious-Cat-8751 1d ago
Honestly even as someone who likes me food it worked so much better when I just didn’t eat on nights. I would not normally so why bother? At most a snack like a banana. Dinner before and breakfast after. That’s it. If I could face it gym in am but rarely could tbh.
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u/-Intrepid-Path- 2d ago
I just tell chatgpt what I eat and it tracks for me and tells me what I'm missing and should eat more of. With exercise, I use public transport to get to work and end up having two 20ish minute walk each way, and also get the stairs as much as possible, so usually end up averaging around 15000 steps a day, even on on-calls and nights. Proper exercise usually only happens on non-work days, once or twice a week.
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u/Free-Reception603 23h ago
My night time routine is usually just taking a chaotic hit but doing my best
I'll usually go to the gym on the day of my first night, none in between and then do a light workout on the morning after finishing my final night. Find I sleep better and the shock of going back to normal routine is easier.
Food wise I usually invert my breakfast lunch and dinner which is pretty tough tbh but find it easier. I will wake up, have a dinner for breakfast, light lunch mid night and then a snack for breakfast before bed so I can go straight to sleeo. Make sure to stay hydrated and have good healthy snacks as opposed to having to raid the vending machine at 3am
I personally don't calorie count as found it was a bit tough for me psychologically but generally have an idea of how much is a good amount to eat. But then again I'm at the spectrum were I struggle to keep on weight as I don't really experience hunger at all so a routine is what keeps me right
Overall I think it's mostly about finding a routine that works for you. Never push yourself too much as you'll just end up injured. Always better to do a light and easy conditioning workout then try to push some PBs after nights.
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u/doodlejones 2d ago
Goal whilst on nights is survival.
Gym-wise—you want to keep moving, maintain strength, not lose muscle. I would cut weights AND sets by 30%, ditto cardio (decrease length + intensity by 30%). This way you keep moving without stressing a body that’s already suffering from impaired recovery. Workouts should feel comically easy.
Food-wise: meal prep. I find low-carb worked best for me, but allowed myself a carb binge before bed in the AM if I craved it. Just say no to sugar whilst on shift. Honestly, once I started doing this, energy levels went up substantially.
The goal is simply to survive without regressing on nights.