21 Day Fix - Night Shift Style!

As an avid 21 Day Fix Meal Plan Believer and Follower, and as a night shift nurse - I get asked ALL the time --- how do you do the 21 Day Fix on night shift? Great question!! This took a lot of trial and error for me to be honest - I tracked what worked, what made me feel full but still drop weight, what didn't make me bloated and tired, what I could do to stay on track even when my schedule was a hot mess.... This is my version, there is no "Autumn's Formula for how to Eat when you are up for 9 million hours" ((because lets face it night shifters, NO ONE wants to volunteer for that job!))



Black out mask and white noise are my best friends!

Okay first of all, let me commend you -- working nights, especially if you are in a health care setting, where you typically see a ton of food; yeah, that is tough -- your brain doesn't work right on nights, you crave food, you find excuses, and honestly, I have eaten to stay awake ***especially on my one hour commute home*** Night shift is cruel, your body needs sleep to survive, thrive and lose weight - so we are already at a slight disadvantage... So these are my tips and tricks for the 21 Day Fix on Night Shift ((reminder, I am at the lowest calorie range - so you might need to add to what I am doing))

In my mind there are two different types of night shift - the night shift were you get to sleep after your shift and the night shift were you are up all day after night shift.... And I tackle them differently... so lets get started...

When you get to sleep after nightshift (up for 24-28 hours)

When I get to sleep after nightshift, I am thrilled - for two reasons - I don't eat extra calories, and we need sleep to feel good, to be healthy... So if you can sleep after work, please take advantage of it!

To me, this is what it looks like:

• Up at 7am Tuesday
• Up all day with my kids
• Go to work at 6pm Tuesday
• Home at 8-9am Wednesday
• In Bed by 10am Wednesday - sleep 4ish hours

So on a day like this, I will 'borrow' containers from Wednesday to have a meal around 1130/midnight Tuesday night. I then go home, eat - and sleep through a meal/snack Wednesday - therefore, I did not use any extra containers. On occasion, I will add a green and a red around 3/4am Wednesday morning if I am hungry. I do not borrow these from Wednesday during the day - I figure I burn these calories by being awake and active when I would otherwise be sleeping.

When you get little to no sleep after nightshift (up for 36+ hours)

Sadly, this happens to me more than I would like - it isn't healthy and should be avoided - but it is what it is and dealing with it is my only option...

To me, this is what it looks like:

• Up at 7am Thursday
• Up all day with my kids
• Go to work at 6pm Thursday
• Home at 9-9am Friday
• Hopefully a nap between 230pm-4pm
• In bed by 10pm Friday

So on a day like this, I do not borrow any containers - I add containers... because you burn more calories when you are awake then when you are asleep... I figure I am awake about 8 more hours than I normally would be.. which is 1/3 of a 24 hour day - so my thought process is, I should get 33% more containers! I am in the 1200-1400 calorie bracket so I consume 3 greens, 2 purples, 1 blue, 1 orange, 4 reds, 2 yellows and 2 blacks -- So during the course of the night I allow myself:

• 1 green
• 1/2 purple
• 1.5 reds
• 1 yellow
• 1 black

This usually gets me a meal with a nice size snack. So the day before and the day after my night shift are the same, I just simple add in those containers at night.

I hope you found this helpful - and again, I hope you get some sleep! It isn't easy, but it is important to stay on track even when your schedule gets off track! For more tips and tricks, or for a spot in my next challenge - please apply here - and I can't wait to work with you!

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