I work 3rd shift as a machinist for a major orthopedic medical device manufacturer in Northeast Indiana. I’m wondering if there are any other 3rd shifters here on the ketogenic forum that want to share their experiences.
I’m only about 6 months keto and working 3rd shift definitely makes it a little more challenging than it would be otherwise.
Hello! Third shifter for life I guess. I prefer it and have been doing it for 6 years. Things I’ve noticed since keto is having trouble sleeping in the day and staying up at night. Also, not being hungry until right before bedtime. I have successfully fasted through that and ate when I woke up but, fasting is strange too because we adhere to a different idea of 24 hours. Carb cravings can be intense on long or boring nights even when I don’t normally have them. And, I don’t seem to experience that energy people talk about as often. Of course, this could all just be me and anyone else would be fine. Who knows. Night shift is a different beast.
So, I went lo carb nearly 7 years ago, so I haven’t had any real sugar cravings in a long time. I did 3rd shift for about 10 years, got to day shift for about 3 years and went back to 3rd shift last summer.
I’m with you on the increased energy thing, I’ve only experienced that a couple times and it hasn’t lasted long. Short sleep will sap that up quick.
I think 3rd shift has its benefits for doing keto, at least for me. I’m not hungry when I wake up (usually around 3:00 PM) when my kids get home from school. By about 6:00 I start getting hungry when it’s time for my family to eat dinner, which makes for a great breakfast. My shift starts at 10:00 and my lunch break is at 2:00 AM, so I usually have 8 hours between meals with no snacking.
I started fasting last fall and I’m still messing around with schedules for fitting it in my lifestyle. The longest fast I’ve tried was a 14 day fast that only lasted 6 days. Since I have a family, I flip my sleep schedule back to a normal person’s sleep routine for the weekend. To flip it, I usually only sleep 3-4 hours on Friday mornings so I’ll be tired enough to sleep Friday night. That lack of sleep that day, really made me fell ill after fasting all week, so I had to break my fast. I don’t see myself doing fasts any longer than 5 days any time soon.
I actually now prefer 2 separate 2 day fasts each week. So, I eat Saturday night, then end up sleeping all day on Sundays to flip back to 3rd shift so it makes Sundays an easy fast day. Then I eat Monday night and Tuesday, then fast from after dinner Tuesday evening until Thursday night. Right now I’m really liking the 2 day fasts. I had been doing 3 day fasts, but I find the 2 day fasts easier.
Sleep is really tough on 3rds. The only time I had really bad trouble sleeping is when I had some high stress last month coupled with some extended fasts. I have a hard time sleeping when I’m really cold, and that seems to happen with me when I fast for 3 days and not so much when only fasting 2 days.
I’d love to get off caffeine, and have tried it a few times but it’s really hard to do on 3rds. I sleep way better when I don’t have caffeine. So, I limit my caffeine window to only before work or possibly on my first break at work if I’m especially tired, but never any later than that or I won’t sleep right that day.
I want to try to not flip my sleep for a weekend soon to see if that helps with my sleep patterns, but that will really cut into weekend family time. If my job starts working weekend overtime soon, I’m definitely trying.
I try to sleep when my kids are at school and my wife is at work. She’s done 3rd shift before too, so she’s very understanding about it and lets me get some naps in the evenings if I really need it.
I manage a nightclub so this thread speaks to my soul. It really interferes with sleep, but is beneficial to keto life in other ways too. Unusual Eating schedules and habits are way less questioned or thought of as bizarre by lay people which is a major relief 
That’s true, especially when fasting. It’s easy to say, “I’m not hungry, I work 3rd shift” and people just accept it.
I work 12 hour shifts overnight. I am off three days then work four, then off four and work three. The schedule seems to work well with Keto for me. It keeps me from snacking because there is no hunger pains. I sleep like a dog, just whenever I feel like it. (All my kids are grown and I am divorced.) At the moment I have been fasting for nine days, and I seem to be losing about a pound a day. I drink a lot of water, tea and coffee. I take vitamins and I take an off brand Emergen-c for electrolytes. I have fasted before and read/watched videos that said chicken bouillon can help fight dizziness, so I take a teaspoon of chicken bouillon mixed in water every morning. I was 435 lbs in February and I now weigh 388 lbs. I ate Keto for the first 30 or so days. And lost about 22 lbs. keep going guys! Good luck!!!
I posted an n=1 sleep test that I wanted to link here to see if you guys may be interested in.
Wow, that’s impressive. I do believe you are defying all the expectations of people with completely screwed up circadian rhythms.
Keep it up. I can’t wait to hear your progress
I work third shift, haven’t started long fasts yet but if I eat right before work I can go all night and then sleep and then wake and eat if I need to. Probably about 18 hours between eating. I do also have things I take just in case, bacon, cheese, things of that nature. I bought a backpack cooler for like $20 and then bought some ice packs so I can keep everything I need cold and fresh. I just pack things I might need. I also pack some waters and tea I pre make and then put into containers. I don’t drink anything but coffee, tea or water and it works well for me!
Also I should add I’m interested in when I can afford it, some mct oil. I heard it can help a lot with hunger and energy so might incorporate that over working hours at some point once I get some and build up for my body to handle it.