(source)Īccording to The National Academies of Science Engineering Medicine, women should enjoy 2.7 litres, or around 11 cups of water and 3.7 litres, around 15 cups, for men. It is critical that we flush out these toxins and prevent headaches by drinking lots of water. Secondly, when your body is in a fasting state as we explain in the Keto Guide for Shift Workers post, our bodies look for alternate energy sources and this results in a higher volume of damaged components and toxins in the body.

So if you’re not eating even these healthy, low-calorie foods which are very water dense, you need to make up this lost water by simply drinking more.

Let’s explore these points in more detail: Staying Hydrated and Drinking More Water Than You Normally WouldĪ big chunk of the water we receive every day comes from the fruits and vegetables we eat.įor example, Oranges are packed with 88% water content whereas Strawberries are a whopping 91% water.

You actually listen to your body and not the clock to understand what ‘real hunger’ feels like.

You don’t try and do too much at once: cutting calories, physical exercise and fasting.

But instead stick to eating as many whole, nutrient-rich foods as possible during your ‘eating window.’

You don’t use intermittent fasting as a way to eat rubbish.

You stay hydrated and drink more water than you normally would.

Why haven’t I tried this as a night shift worker? Let’s read on.

Live longer: Animal studies show rats that have been fasting lived 36–83% longer than those which didn’t ( 1, 2).

Supports cognitive health and even may help slow or delay the onset of Alzheimers Disease.

Promotes your heart health by lowering your ‘bad cholesterol.’ (source).

Support a healthy inflammation response by allowing your gut to ‘have a break’ from constant digestion of foods.

Help regulate your body’s sugar levels by stopping so many dips and spikes – even in those with diabetes.

It seems we actually don’t need to eat all the time, but the message has become somewhat lost among the neon, flashing lights and food advertising everywhere we look. The 16/8 method is one of the most common, and safest methods because it doesn’t result in a reduction of muscle mass and the easiest to implement for those starting out. Basically, having lunch and dinner only, whilst skipping your snack after dinner and also breakfast the following day as well. The strategy here is to fast for 16 hours (this includes sleep time) and then eat for 8 hours.

The 16/8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol.

Yep, 500… that’s one McDonalds Big Mac for the whole day.

The 5:2 diet: With this method, you restrict the calories you consume to only 500–600 on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.

This is also further explained in this popular book Eat Stop Eat Book available via Amazon.

Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.

If we explore the structure of fasting for a second, here are a few popular ways people set up intermittent fasting: It’s hard to give one definitive definition because there are so many ways and structures people all around the world are using intermittent fast.įor example, Muslims participate in Ramadan where they fast for a month from dawn until sunset.ĭoes this tradition continue safely because it has a structure or do Muslims have some kind of superpower that allows them to last that long without food? Intermittent fasting, also known as cyclic fasting is basically not eating for a set period of time. Intermittent fasting using the 16:8 method could be an effective way to simplify eating on night shift by eating over an 8 hour window and fasting for 16 hours.Īs an ER nurse, intermittent fasting is a concept I am totally intrigued about.ĭoes doing a ‘mini’ fast really work for those working the graveyard shift? Is it safe? How do I structure it to still ensure productivity during nights, lose weight and feel great? Let’s dive into answering all of these questions. Eat only high protein, low-calorie snacks if you get hungry. Should I eat on night shift? It’s best to avoid eating between midnight and 5 am to appease your finely tuned body clock.

Night shift for mac reddit