How I lost 20 kilos despite shift work.

I'm not writing this to brag. I'm writing it because it took years, because I made a lot of mistakes, and because this story might be the most honest answer there is to "what actually works."

What didn't work

Diets built for office workers. Low carb — after three night shifts I was so starved for carbs that within a week I was eating everything I'd been avoiding before. Intermittent fasting — the eating window never fit with my shift schedule. Counting calories — with a brain that doesn't want to do math after a 12-hour shift.

All reasonable. All failed. Not because the methods are bad — but because they were built for someone whose body knows when it's supposed to sleep.

What made the difference

Not one big change. Several small ones that worked together.

First: sleep. Not more sleep — better sleep. Darkness, rituals, hitting the sleep window after a night shift. When my sleep got better, my hunger became easier to control. That wasn't theory — I felt it within weeks.

Then: meal timing relative to my shift. Not by the clock — by shift phase. First meal after waking up. Last meal at least 2 hours before sleep. That stabilized insulin.

Then: more protein. Not protein shakes, not supplements. Just a solid portion of protein in every meal. Chicken, quark, eggs, legumes. That reduced hunger after a shift — because protein keeps you full longer than carbohydrates.

What surprised me most

That it wasn't a willpower problem. I'd always thought I needed more discipline. More motivation. More willpower. In reality, I needed a system that was compatible with my actual life.

Fewer decisions. More preparation. Less perfectionism. More consistency.