Does working swing shift cause weight gain?

Another challenge I'm facing is now I have a job that I work swing shift. I work a week of afternoons, then a week of days, and then a week of midnight shifts. The nice thing is after the week of the night shifts I get the next week off and then I work the following weekend. The bad thing is it screws up my sleeping and eating schedules because it changes weekly. I think the worst is the week I work overnights because I'm always looking for energy I'm always hungry the whole shift when normally I would be sleeping at that time and not eating at all. One of the guys I work with said most people gain 15 pounds in the first year that they start working there. I may have gained a pound or two but I definitely feel more worn down not as motivated to exercise or watch what I eat. Does anyone have any tips on how to keep the weight off when you work swing shift?

Delaying my urges to eat

I'm already hungry it's only a few hours into the day and I'm starving. I already had a fruit smoothie, a few chips and some cottage cheese. I learned I shouldn't go on Pinterest anymore because all those delicious brownies and macaroni and cheese recipes look so delicious. Instead I'm sitting here with a cup of green tea and a splash of mint in it to hopefully try to delay eating. I figure I can trick my brain for about a half hour with some hot liquid in my belly. And then if I chew a piece of sugar-free mint gum afterwards but I'm not going to be hungry for as much food. I'm not counting calories but so far I'm guessing I've only had about 300 or so far. I have set aside some items for every time I think I'm hungry to hopefully prevent me from eating too much. I'm not starving myself, but at least I'm trying to delaying every time I want to eat so that hopefully by the end of the day I've had one less meal or snack. So whenever I'm hungry I'll have a cup of tea, chew some gum or chew on a whole clove. Another item I've been using the fiber pills since they are only like 5 calories a piece.

Up to 195 and feel exhausted

Wow, it's been over 2 years since I've posted. I have been right around 195 for the past 6 months or so. I've noticed especially in the past few weeks now that it's getting hot and humid outside, that I start to sweat within a minute of doing anything that requires even minor exertion. I need to drop some weight and get in better shape.

I know what works best for me is counting calories, but I hate doing that. There are some weeks I work lots of hours so I don't really want to go through the hassle, but I don't know if I can lose weight without counting. For now I'm just going to try to be a little more mindful of what I eat, not eat as much and not eat as often.

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet. I'm going to read my old posts now so see if anything inspires me.

I'll be back soon.

Long overdue update

Wow, I guess it's been a while since I last posted here. I never really got motivated enough to count calories before my sister's wedding. I made some a half-hearted effort to lose some weight before the wedding by exercising and increasing my fiber intake and I lost about 5 pounds. I was about 185 pounds on the day of the wedding. The weird thing is, now almost four months after the wedding I'm in the mid-170's. So I've lost about an additional 10 pounds since then and I really didn't have a reason to. I admit I was going through some emotional issues the past few months and honestly some days I found I didn't have an appetite. That seems weird to me since usually when I'm dealing with negative emotions I will eat more, but in this case I actually had less of an appetite. I'm not completely out dealing with this issue, but I have noticed my appetite has come back over the past few weeks. That 10 pounds was probably the "easiest" 10 pounds I've ever lost because I wasn't trying to eat healthy or exercise - it just happened. But now that I did lose that weight, I don't want to gain it back. A few months ago I had given in and bought some size 16 jeans, now I can fit into my size 14's again! Hopefully I can at least maintain this weight, if not drop some more!

Only 2 more months to go...

Sadly I don't have much to report other than I haven't gained any weight in the past month. Now it's only 2 months until the wedding and I'm still 190 pounds. Ugh I am so mad at myself. Why is this so difficult? I'm going to cut back on food and excercise more - hopefully I'll have some good news to report soon!

Big Fat Fail

So, it's been about three months since I last posted.  You would think by now I would have lost of bunch of weight and would be well on my way to looking awesome in my bridesmaid dress this October.  Well, I failed. I don't know what I weighed last time I mentioned it on here, but I have been in the 190's recently.  So sad.  It's hard to believe that 2 years ago around this time of the year I was in the 140's.

This Friday is the 6th, which means I have 3 months until the wedding.  I tried on my dress back in April and it fit - barely. I think I weigh even more now.  So at the very least I need to lose enough just to fit in the dress... It take like 5 months to order and we will only get them about 1 month before the wedding.  I wouldn't have time to order a size bigger. 

I need to do this! 
I need to do this! 
I need to do this! 

Started tracking calories again

I really need to lose weight by this October - when my sister is getting married. I am the matron of honor, and because my sister loves photography, I'll be in a lot of photos she is going to share. I want to lose about 25 pounds and the wedding is in roughly 25 weeks! I need to have a 500 calorie deficit every day! I started counting calories again today. I forgot how little I can eat to lose weight:( But it's good to make me think twice when I eat. For example, normally I would have 2 chicken patties which would be...

2 chicken patties: 400 calories
2 buns: 220 calories
Mayo: 100 calories (assuming I split 1 tablespoon over the two)
Total: 720 calories

What I did tonight:
1 chicken patty: 200 calories
1 bun: 110 calories
Light sour cream with seasoned salt: 40 calories
Total: 350 calories

Saved 370 calories

So, already I am making better decisions. I just have to be motivated to track.