BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb Low Carbing and Strange Work Schedules

I am starting my low carb diet today and I need some help here. I work a very strange work schedule (9 PM - 7 AM), four days a week. So, in essence, when I leave work at 7 AM, that is not my morning, that is my evening. Does anyone know how the body works with this? For example, when I go home in the morning, do I cook dinner then? Or would I have my breakfast? Does it matter? If anyone else has a strange schedule and would like to share how they go about it, that would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Amanda <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hi, Amanda! And good luck to you! You sound like the perfect candidate for a low-carb lifestyle. I don't have odd work hours, but have been low-carbing for almost 5 years and your question triggered this:

I have found that I do have "cravings" for different types of low-carb foods. Sometimes you don't know what you're hungry for until you get closer to mealtime. Sometimes you're just not hungry at all (that's what's really great about low-carbing!) I always make up stuff ahead of time, so I have a choice.

For instance, I fry up individual eggs (a whole carton) and freeze them. Instant breakfast! I often nuke them and wrap them in cheese and low-fat ham slices for lunch. I make up tuna salad ahead of time and put it on pork rinds for quick snacks.

You may find yourself craving an omelet for dinner. Or a hamburger patty for breakfast. You'll find your own pace. It's a lot of fun to go in search of low-carb food items!

Amanda - one of the most important things you can learn in life is that made-up rules about "what you can eat and when" are meaningless. It's as meaningless as worrying about wearing white shoes before / after a given date <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> It really doesn't matter.

If you're in the mood for scrambled eggs, eat them regardless of whether it's 9am or 9pm. The point of low carbing is to eat small, regular meals - so you should never be on a small meal - huge meal cycle of olden times. Those cycles were devised for people who worked in fields all day long and could only get back to the house a few times a day. In modern times we don't have those sorts of issues.

Eat 3-4 smaller meals. Carry around snacks for in between times. Drink a ton of water. But don't let anyone tell you what those meals or snacks should be. As long as they are healthy, and you get a balanced amount of protein, veggies and fiber into you, that is the important part.