Successful Shift Work Strategies

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to another episode of a Healthy Shift podcast . Well , here we are 2024 . Can you believe it already ? So what I want to do in today's episode is let's talk about strategies to set yourself up for a great shift working year . This year it's been really tough the last 12 months , in fact , the last three years , has been tough . So let's reflect on 2023 and let's see how we can use that to launch into 2024 . Shift work can be brutal , but it doesn't have to be .

Speaker 1 0:42

Welcome to a Healthy Shift . My name is Roger Sutherland , certified Nutritionist , veteran Law Enforcement Officer and 24-7 Shift Worker for almost four decades . Through this podcast , I aim to educate shift workers , using evidence-based methods , to not only survive the rigors of shift work , but thrive . My goal is to empower shift workers to improve their health and well-being so they have more energy to do the things they love . Enjoy today's show and hello shift workers . I'm your host , roger Sutherland , your guide in evidence-based strategies for optimal shift work performance .

Speaker 1 1:24

Today , I am absolutely busting to get into this topic of reflecting on 2023 and how we can use that to launch into 2024 . Now one of the things that I think , personally , is really really important Before we start setting our goals and how we can die and how we can lose body fat in 2024 , what about if we reflected on 2023 and we work out what worked for us and what actually didn't work for us , so that we can actually use that as our springboard ? Because it's all well and good for us to sit there today and go right , this is what I'm going to do . I'm going to lose 10 kilos and I'm going to take this out . Take that out no ice cream , no sugar . I'm going to drop carbs , I'm going to do keto to find that that just doesn't work for us . And this is the very reason why a majority of people literally fail by the time they get to the end of January , because it's just unsustainable . So I think what we can do is we can actually learn an awful lot from ourselves , but we have to take the time to sit down and see what it was that actually worked for us and what it was that didn't . So , on that note , let's just go back , and I'm just going to go back over myself here for a second .

Speaker 1 2:42

2023 was actually an awesome year of growth for me , from where I learned from some absolutely massive highs to some really really extremely difficult moments throughout the year , particularly in the latter part of the year . It's been quite difficult . Now , 2023 taught me this that you can be literally flying high and on top of the world and then simple and completely unnecessary things can really crush you . I can't talk about any of that yet , but in time I actually will and it will just release the burden so that I am able to talk about it .

Speaker 1 3:23

One thing that I did learn I learned that employees encourage people to talk about mental health and to get help , but when you do , they then use it as a weapon against you , and that's just not okay as we go into 2024 . And , in fact , it does severe damage and leaders need to look at this and they really , really need to be a lot better at what they're doing and they need to understand it better . I know they're not mental health advocates , or even people that are mental health experts , but we need to value our people a lot more and what we need to do is we need to make sure that we are actually supporting our people and treating things as an injury , rehabilitating it and getting them back to the workplace . Anyway , I learned that in 2022 that it is actually imperative that you manage your own health , including your mental health probably mental health more in particular , because they literally have no idea how to and do untold damage literally just by their own actions . So in 2023 , I learned more from 2022 from that and I grew so much by managing my own mental health , my own health , and I'm a hell of a lot better for it . And just so that you know , I know you're listening because you just can't help yourself , just know that I'm not done and I'm a very , very patient man and it's coming because I'm gaining momentum Now in a personal , on a personal level .

Speaker 1 5:03

In December of 2022 , melissa and I bought a home together and in February of 2023 , we actually moved into it . We've just had the most fantastic year and we really love our new environment and we've just personally grown in it together as a couple as well . Our relationship has grown with a bond that I could never possibly have imagined and it makes such a big difference . Having your own environment and a change of scenery was something that I really really took forward from 2022 into 2023 , and we have learnt so much about each other and just being in our own home has brought us really , really close together and it's a home that we absolutely love .

Speaker 1 5:49

Now I've also seen both of my children , who were not children really . I mean , they are children technically , but they're both young adults at 31 and 28 , almost 29 . I've seen them both advance in their own careers in extremely positive ways this year , and I'm fiercely proud of both of them doing what they are . I've also watched my partner , melissa , qualifies a yoga teacher , and she's also been out there and actually , as stressful as it's been for her , she's actually gone off and she's been taking her own yoga classes as well , and that's just such a passion that she's got as well , and it just fills my heart . Melissa has been very , very supportive of me on my own journey , and so I've just had great pleasure in watching her grow in this area as well .

Speaker 1 6:38

Over the past year 2023 , I've reassessed my job , I've reassessed my friendships and I've also reassessed my relationships with others , and I think one of the things that we have to really look at and I'm just gonna actually put this in place for you as a simple expression when you're looking at any area of your life , and one of them is going to be , does this value add or is this detrimental to me ? And I think we really , really do need to be looking at this when it comes to anything in our life . If you've got that friend that is a Debbie Downer , that is literally draining the life out of you , they are not value adding in any way whatsoever . In fact , they're causing you problems . If they ring and you look at your phone and you sigh and you think , oh my God , I can't do this today , but you take the call , that's your fault because you had the opportunity to not take the call , you didn't need to . And what we do is we literally untie the boats . You don't have to tell someone I don't want something to do with them . You just literally untie the boat and you just let it drift away . And you can do that with family , you can do that with friends , you can do that with colleagues . You can do that with anybody in your life . I think it's really , really important that we actually have a look at that as in remember these words Is this person or is this value adding to me , or is this actually detrimental ? And I think you can rule up the balance sheet in relation to that and you'll be able to work out which way that actually goes . All right .

Speaker 1 8:10

So , in relation to my business now , through this year , this year whoops , I've already made the mistake , haven't I ? So through 2023, . I coached numerous clients , and the more clients that I actually coach , the more I learn , and this is important , and this is why it's important that I continue one to one coaching with people I do . I learn an awful lot from them , because everybody in life is so different , and this is what I absolutely love about my coaching side of things , because I'm learning all the time from them and they are challenging me as well from people coming from different careers , different occupations , different places , different cultures . Everything's so different , and I absolutely love that , because the more people I coach , the more experience that I actually gain , and that means the more I can help other people , because I've identified and seen these problems as well .

Speaker 1 9:05

Now , majority of my clients have been nurses , it's been police or they've been paramedics , and mainly in fact , I think nearly all of them in the last 12 months , without really digging in , have been female . And why would that be ? Well , I think the main reason for that is because of the expectations that are actually put on females , and I think it's a harsh society that we live in . Females , since they were eight years of age , right the way up until whatever current age you're at , have had to look at a certain way , you've had to behave a certain way , you've had to talk a certain way and you've had to be a certain way , dress a certain way , et cetera , et cetera , and I personally I think this is totally wrong in society today . And nurses , police and paramedics if you think about it , they're all people that are also in a uniform , and the uniform is unforgiving in many , many ways , and also it's also a yardstick , because you're continually wearing the same uniform and as it gets tighter on you through shift work , so you suffer more and more from it , and this is something that I can help people to address with as well , and I think that is one of the main reasons , because you get a reminder every single time you put the uniform on of literally where you're at , and I think that is one of the biggest problems

Stress of Modern Mothers and Remote Workers

Speaker 1 10:26

.

Speaker 1 10:26

I also think it's because females as well , highly stressed now , males are highly stressed , make no bones about it as well , but I think women , particularly females who are mothers and have children as well , take on an awful lot of responsibility around their children and also in their shift working environment . In many , many years gone by , it was the husband it went to work and it was the female that stayed at home and looked after the children , and that was their role , as in that's what they saw their role as . But now females want to get out into workforces and we have an expectation on society these days that we need more money , we need to be able to provide for our children with all the best shoes and clothing , and we've got to have the Xbox and the PlayStation 5 and the big screen TV , et cetera , et cetera . And so , therefore , mothers are going out to work , but they are still assuming the role of the parent as well and the organizer of the household , playing wife , playing mum , playing housekeeper , doing the whole lot as well as playing the worker , and I think that's where the high stress comes from as well . And also , everybody is shift workers . Now , nurses , police and paramedics in particular , are actually very , very much burning out due to the short staff . Now that has been brought about probably more so since COVID that people are leaving a lot of these occupations and they're just leaving people short staff , so they're burning out .

Speaker 1 12:52

I'd also like to talk about two remote clients that I've had . One in particular that works literally in the middle of nowhere and I thoroughly enjoy coaching her and I love talking to her each week because I'm learning so much . If you are a person that lives in a CBD and you are actually struggling to find nutrition and ways to exercise and things to do , you could learn an awful lot from some of these remote clients . When I talk remote , I mean remote . They are in the middle of nowhere to the stage where , in the wet season , they're literally cut off from actually being able to get half-decent food through the supermarket , the supermarket in the area . So I think if you want to make excuses around you haven't got time to cook or you haven't got food or whatever you might want to rethink that , because when I look at this client , in particular the one that I've got at the moment , I just cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of her , of the way she actually makes it work and makes it work really really well , and I think we don't really think about these people that are working out , really quite struggling Financially . Yeah , fantastic , you can earn really good money doing all of that sort of thing and you can set yourself up for life . But let's have a really good , hard think about whether it's really tough for us , because these people are literally doing it really quite tough and it's not easy to actually even coach someone around this side when you can't visualise .

Speaker 1 14:24

Blessed this year , when I went to Queensland to actually go to Palm Island and have a look at Palm Island and just see just how difficult it is for Queensland Police members that work on the island to actually get the foods , process the foods , cook the foods , do whatever they've got to do with it and there's just nothing else to do . I think majority of us we need to just shut up and we need to get on with it and stop making the excuses , because these people really are the epitome of we're doing it tough . So I think have a think about that . But I've learned an awful lot from this remote client that I've been able to bring forward as well . So to her , for that I thank her because it's been amazing experience for me as well .

Speaker 1 15:06

Another thing that I got to do this year which I was truly humbled by was to travel to Queensland to run seminars for Queensland Police . Now I've made some really interesting discoveries around my own mental health while there and this brought me to my own realizations and that was interesting and that's something that I just can't talk about at the moment , but it was something that has dawned on me while I was there and I just felt so comfortable in the environment around Queensland Police and I'll rule a line under that . I met some amazing people in QPS and people who I have just so much respect for , and I can openly say that I've adopted QPS as my second family . I just love the people that I dealt with and the attention that I got from people and how they made me feel while I was there . It was just phenomenal and kudos to Queensland Police for that .

Speaker 1 15:58

I'm also currently updating the seminar , which is based on the feedback from those seminars that I ran in Queensland

Shift Work and Sleep Prioritization

Speaker 1 16:05

, and I'm making it even better giving emerging evidence , given the emerging evidence which is happening all the time in this area . Now I want people to understand that when you put together an evidence-based seminar and you put it out there , it's great , but the problem that we have is this science is continually evolving and there's more and exciting processes and we're learning more and more all the time , so therefore , it's continually got to be updated all the time and that's what I do , so I stay on top . I read a lot and I'm staying on top of the current evidence so that I can actually help you with the latest research around that . And I'm currently updating my seminar at the moment and I'm rebuilding it and hopefully , as we move forward with more seminars , where you can actually go to my website and have a look at the seminar webpage there and that's how you can learn all about the seminars and you can make a booking to have me come to your workplace and run an evidence-based health and well-being and nutrition seminar to help you to improve productivity , improve morale and reduce what is killing us at the moment and that is the unplanned leave . Now I've also contracted a copywriter to support my work . I've had my website updated . I've updated and rebranded my free ebook I've called it the circadian fast , which I think is important which is available on my website and this teaches you what to eat and when around shift work . So if you actually go to the website , you can have a look at the website and you will go scroll down to the bottom and you'll see that there's a place where you can download that and it's absolutely free and it will teach you how to structure a biological fast , a circadian fast , which will support your health for sure .

Speaker 1 18:00

Now , the other thing that took me completely by surprise towards the end of the year and it actually was so late in the year and that was in December was when I received a phone call out of the blue by a radio host on 3aw . Now this was really something else for me . I was so truly humble . But they asked if I was in a position to come into the night shift show and actually talk about shift work and whether I was prepared to actually call them . You know , to call in and speak to them about that . And I said to them what don't I just come in ? And they asked like , would you do that ? And I said , well , absolutely , I'll do that . If I want to talk to my people , I want to be able to be there to do that .

Speaker 1 18:42

The good thing about 3aw at the moment is 3aw in Australia is actually probably the biggest talk back radio station in Australia . It'd be arguably that anyway In Victoria and South Australia . Overnight it goes and through 2024 , through this year it will go into New South Wales and also into Queensland . In fact , I think the plan is to take it Australia wide . Now this is insane because this gives me an opportunity to go in on a night shift at around about 1am yes , welcome back to Night Shift , rog , but I wouldn't have it any other way and to go in there and take calls from people when they're hurting the most at shift work . It's no good me going in and doing a segment on the drive program or the morning program or over lunch or on the weekend . I need to be there for the shift workers when they're actually hurting and talking to those shift workers , so that's why I'm actually there for them to do that . So that's incredibly exciting , and watch this space for more of what's going to happen with that . This year .

Speaker 1 19:45

Now , my goal has also been to help you , the shift worker . I can't do all of that alone because it's literally only one of me , so it's my intention to bring products to you that will actually help you . I'll make it easy , give you easy access to , and you'll be able to go through a lot of things self-paced and learn more and more about the latest evidence around shift work , and the reason why I'm doing this is because you've never been educated properly around it . I'll guarantee that majority of people are not . Now I have so many exciting things in mind and I've employed a marketing team to actually help me to stitch it all together . Now big things are coming this year to give you more access to help as a shift worker , and that is ridiculously important to me .

Speaker 1 20:31

Now what I want to do is we're looking at the reflections of last year and we're looking at what we can do to take that into this year . So I'm going to give you some tips around that , and that's what the purpose of this podcast is , even though I've spoken for about 19 minutes around what I'm reflecting on and where I'm going in the year . But I think it's important that you get to see that sorry , hear that so that you can see how I'm thinking on last year and how I'm thinking on this year . So I've got some tips for you . So , before you set any goals for 2024 , you do the same as what I've done Reflect on 2023 .

Speaker 1 21:07

Look at what's actually worked , what didn't work and what you could do a lot more of , and what you need to leave behind . The very definition of insanity is literally doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result . Now , we all do this , and , but what happens is we spiral and we actually get worse . Now you can't just hope that things are going to improve , because hope is not a strategy and it never will be . You need to put something in place , not all or nothing , right , you just need to put little steps in place , and these tips that I'm giving you , are about to give you , are the tips that you can literally do . All of them are free , every single one . I'm not selling anything here , but all these tips are free , and I highly suggest that you look into not all of them , but start looking at what you can do in relation to one , pick one and try and work towards that , and that will start to make a big difference to you .

Speaker 1 22:10

All right , it is vital that you do some of this , and the reason why it's vital to do something and do something now is because shift work is slowly killing you literally . Make no secret of this . If you continue with poor practice , biological practice , around shift work , it will literally kill you . All right , the evidence is very strong around this , so you need to understand the best possible way to go about this and how to help yourself with it . So what's my first tip ? This is gonna be absolutely no surprise to you that follow me for any time , but you've got to prioritize your sleep . You can't be coming home and then trying to get things organized and taking the car for a service and going to appointments and waking yourself up to do that or staying awake for them . You've got to prioritize your sleep .

Speaker 1 23:02

We don't you may not understand just literally how important sleep is for your body biologically , what it does . This is where the body detoxes . This is where the body actually repairs itself . Poor sleep means poor choices , poor decisions , and it impacts on you biologically in a huge way . So what are some of the ways that we can actually prioritize our sleep and make sure that we're getting quality sleep as well ? And that's to have a good sleep hygiene in place .

Speaker 1 23:34

And a sleep hygiene is literally the routine that you put in place as you're going to bed every single time . That isn't driving the car up the driveway , slamming the door , walking in the front door , throwing the keys on the kitchen bench , getting undressed , climbing into bed , scrolling on your phone and going trying to go to sleep . It won't work . It just won't work what you need , or you'll go to sleep , but then you'll wake up because your body is still in a parasympathetic state and it's going to cause you big problems . So what you need to do is you need to have a wind down routine From the time that you leave work . You need to start putting your boundary in place between work and that home life and that sleep . And also , I highly suggest that you go through the same routine for every single shift that you're on , for every single sleep , whether it's on night shift , whether it's on afternoon shift , whether you're on day shift , whatever you're on . Have the same routine for every time you're going to bed and watch what happens . You will condition your body . Oh , it's sleep time .

Speaker 1 24:34

I also highly recommend that you have sleep products , good products , quality blackout blinds . Get yourself a quality eye mask Really really important . Make sure your room is quiet . Make sure that your room is quiet and dark and get a white noise machine . Now , instead of trying to put earplugs in and blocking out sound , which is one way of going about it and this works for some people the other thing that you can actually do is to get a white noise machine , or if you've got a Google Home or you've got an Alexa in your house or anything like that . What you can actually do is you can ask it to play white noise . Now , if you ask it to play white noise , what happens is your subconscious mind is actually focusing on that white noise and it stops all of that other up-and-down noise that continues to wake us up all the time . Give it a go . Try it . You'll be very , very pleasantly surprised at the difference that that actually makes to helping you to get to sleep .

Speaker 1 25:33

Now , the other thing that we need to do as well is we need to make sure that we're being very careful of our caffeine consumption . Right caffeine , I know we need it as a shift worker , but do we ? This is the other thing . We don't really need that much caffeine . Trust me , we can manipulate the use of caffeine to having it when we first wake up to give us that jolt to keep us awake , but we need to cut it out up to nine hours before we go to sleep . Now the latest evidence around here the researchers actually looked at the impact that caffeine has on subsequent sleep 107 milligrams of caffeine , which is less than your skinny latte that you'll actually have bought needs to be consumed up to nine hours prior to sleep or it impacts on that subsequent sleep .

Speaker 1 26:24

Now , this is important to note . And the other thing is that pre-workout that you're having that's in excess of 200 milligrams of caffeine and they looked at it and 217 milligrams of caffeine in a pre-workout needs to be consumed . Wait for it 13 hours before you are looking to sleep . Have a think about that . That's really , really important . Yep , I know you're gonna at me or you're gonna yell at me or you're gonna say to me ha ha , I can go to sleep , but how's that seven or eight hour sleep ? Looking for you , are you actually getting seven or eight hour sleep If you are , all power to you , but majority of people are not , and majority of clients that I have coming to me are people who were saying to me oh , I can't sleep , I can't sleep , I keep waking up and I can't sleep .

Speaker 1 27:13

That's caffeine . Most of the time it's caffeine or it's stress . It's one or the other , because your body is not relaxed and in a state ready for sleep . Poor sleep has clues , trust me . Now the next tip have a stress management practice . Stress creates all kinds of biological problems and it also severely inhibits fat loss through cortisol . So I highly recommend that people have some form of stress management practice . Now , whatever your stress management practice is , if you think it's too happy clapper or woohoo , that's fine . Just don't talk about it , just don't tell anybody . But I highly recommend that you actually do it because the research supports it and the number one the king is wait for it .

Speaker 1 28:00

Meditation Now don't think , oh , I can't meditate , I can't shut my mind up . If you're like that , that's why you need meditation . But , just like going to the gym , you need to be in a position where you can actually continue to do it , to get the growth from it so that your brain adapts to it . I employed meditation in the middle part of 2022 . The difference that's made to my life has been absolutely enormous . And that's all I've got to say on that .

Speaker 1 28:27

Breathwork Breathwork is extremely important . Controlling your breath helps you to control being in a sympathetic

Importance of Self-Care and Boundaries

Speaker 1 28:33

or a parasympathetic state . It's okay to be in a sympathetic state every now and again . It's important to us , it's why it's there . But it's more important for us to actually be in a parasympathetic state majority of the time , and this is what helps us to actually rest and digest . What do you know ? Parasympathetic state , the rest and digest state . This is what keeps us in a really good state . It looks after our digestion , looks after our body . Resting gives our body a chance to recover and look after itself .

Speaker 1 29:05

The other things that I suggest that people do is yoga and find some sort of movement that you enjoy . Maybe it's not yoga , maybe it's just going for a walk , maybe your jam is to go to the gym and lift heavy shit . If that's the case , do it . But whatever it is , find something that you really enjoy doing . It might be Pilates , it might be Jiu Jitsu , it could be anything . Whatever it is , and if you enjoy it , the chances are that you will maintain it , and I think that's something that's really , really important that you find some form of movement , and I can't encourage you enough that resistance training is incredibly important to maintain lean muscle mass and it will improve our insulin resistance . It really is insulin sensitivity , sorry . It really is extremely important .

Speaker 1 29:54

The other thing that I would look at as far as the stress management practice goes to , I would really highly suggest that everyone , as a shift worker , runs some form of scheduling . Now , this might be a whiteboard that you've got . It could be a pinboard , it could be a fridge magnet that you've got stuck on the fridge , but I do highly suggest that you schedule things out , because when you schedule things out and you can see it , when you're exhausted and fatigue , decision fatigue sets in , it's really nice to be able to just look at a schedule from when you were lucid , that you've actually made that , and I think that's something that's really , really important . Scheduling is a game changer for shift workers and if you're not doing it , I highly recommend that you take yourself a really good look at scheduling and scheduling out your coming week or fortnight in particular . Now , a really good place to start as well is to sit down and actually identify and write down your values . What do you really value ? Identifying your values will give you a structure to literally move forward with into 2024 .

Speaker 1 31:03

Okay , I value my health . So then you get to make the decision . I'm tired , I get home . Do I want take away or home cooked ? What's going to be more beneficial for my health ? Home cooked ? I value my health . What can I do to improve this ?

Speaker 1 31:17

Well , simple steps is like aim for one meal and crush it when you are scheduling . Like I said in my last tip , when you're scheduling out , identify what is going to be the most difficult meal of the day and that meal , nail it . That's it . List it down and nail it . It could be breakfast at home , it could be breakfast at work and might be dinner at home or dinner at work or lunch . It could be anything . But just start with one meal and nail it . That's all you got to do . You know you're getting one good , delicious and nutritious meal and crush that . So there you go . That's one . I value my health .

Speaker 1 31:54

The next one lie in or exercise . What aligns with your value of health ? Just lying in ? Oh yeah , I'm going to catch up on sleep ? Let me tell you you can't catch up on sleep . Let's be clear on that . It doesn't work . All you do is throw your circadian rhythm further out . So what about what aligns with your value of health ? What does exercise look like to you ? We need to exercise . Is it gym or is it a walk ? It doesn't have to be gym , squatting 120 kilos , it can literally just be getting up , getting some movement and going for a walk around the block . These things will actually perpetuate , trust me . Write down your values and keep them available , and that's a simple , evidence-based practice that really really works well .

Speaker 1 32:41

Another tip what I recommend in particular today for frontline health and also for first responders I would highly recommend that you have a gratitude practice . Again , if you think you're too big and bro and chest beating to do this , just don't tell anyone about it , but do it anyway . But if you just wrote down three things every single day that you are grateful for and it doesn't have to be major events it can literally be I'm grateful I've got a job and I get paid . I'm grateful that I have a front door that I can actually shut and feel safe in my own environment . I'm grateful that I actually have a comfortable bed to lie in . I'm grateful that I've actually got a partner . I'm grateful that I can just turn the tap on and water comes out . It doesn't need to be major events in the day .

Speaker 1 33:32

The little things we don't see until we start to look for them . And when we start to look for them , we see more and more and more of them . And the more of them that we actually see then , the more of them our body starts looking for and the better the world starts to look to us we start to look at the world through rose-colored glasses . A reticular activating system in our brain is the filter that filters all of those thoughts that go into the brain . It literally can't allow everything that we've seen here go into the brain . If you program your reticular activating system to see and feel and get drowned in negativity , it thinks that's what you want to see , so it starts filtering that through . However , if you are looking for positivity , what it does is it starts to filter that positivity through . Give you an idea you go out and you buy a car and it's a red car and you haven't noticed any red cars on the road until you actually start to drive a red car . And once you start to drive a red car , all of a sudden everyone on the road has got a red car . That's your reticular activating system at its finest and this is what actually happens with negativity and positivity in your life . And this is neuroscience and this literally is how your brain gets programmed to get bogged down in the negativity . So if you're feeling stressed and burned out , a gratitude practice is the most important thing that you can do . It won't happen immediately , but over time you will reprogram your brain .

Speaker 1 35:07

Journalling is something also that's really important you don't have to write out pages of Dear John , you know , blah , blah , blah . Just a few things . Just a couple of little points along the way can make a massive difference to your life by just journalling things out , your thoughts , getting them out on paper . This is a great stress reliever as well , because you start to get those things out on paper instead of having the mulling around in your head the whole time . And one of the most important things as well is to practice body positivity .

Speaker 1 35:41

Negative body image creates massive problems for people . Now , when I say practice body positivity , I need to be very clear with you as well . Body positivity is not looking at your body , going oh my God , you're awesome . Oh my God , you look fantastic . Have a look at that body . Yeah , yeah , baby . That is not body positivity , all right . Negative body image is when you stand in front of the mirror and you pick on yourself . Oh my God , pinch your fat , I've got this . Oh my God , what happened here ? Oh , I look awful . That's negative body image .

Speaker 1 36:11

Body positivity is thanking your body for what it's actually carrying you through the day doing . It's thanking your body for the eyes that you see , with the ears that you're actually listening to this podcast with it's thanking your body for actually recovering you from illness , or hugging , or kissing , or being in a position to walk , to hold , to cook , to do . We practice body positivity by thanking our body for doing the things like that . It is not the same we pick on our body . We wouldn't speak to a friend like that . So stop picking on it , because it's actually doing a really good job . Every time you get sick , it recovers you from it as well , so practicing body positivity works really well .

Speaker 1 36:56

Another tip is to put a boundary in place between work and home . It's absolutely okay to say no . Look at who you are communicating with . Look at the people that you're . What conversations you're actually having with the people from work , outside of work ? Is this drowning you ? This goes back to what I was talking about before we value add and non value add . It's okay to say no . It's okay to say no to overtime . It's a them problem , it's not a you problem . It's absolutely okay for you to say no . You need to protect yourself . Really , really important .

Speaker 1 37:32

And guys , I ask you , please look at the chat groups that you're involved with as well , the Facebook groups and the negativity around that and and the type of groups that you're a part of . Are they really fulfilling your life or are they actually dragging you down ? I had a message from a follower one day that said to me that they've been off on maternity leave and they were absolutely dreading returning to work because of all the negativity that was going on in the chat group , and then when they got back to work , it was nothing like what Was portrayed . There's a lesson there in that I think it's really , really important going for your own opinions and don't get sucked in and dragged into all the rubbish . And the last tip that I'm going to actually give you is the most important , and that it's in what we're going to do in 2024 .

Speaker 1 38:23

What I want you to do is I want you to have a look at what you can add into your life instead of removing it . I think this

Adding for Benefits in Life

Speaker 1 38:30

is really really important , because when we see here on on years or coming into Christmas or coming out of Christmas and new year , one of the first things we think of when we set our goals is we think of diet and fat loss and what we can take out of our life to actually support it . She does . She does keto . It's awesome , but the action of adding can actually have enormous benefits . Let me give you some actual ideas around this .

Speaker 1 39:05

Adding a protein to every meal so you can add protein the more protein that you have , the more fuller you will actually feel and the less you will snack and eat . Adding vegetables , so you can be adding vegetables to like , having salads or adding vegetables to your meals nothing wrong with vegetables . What they will do is provide you with nutrients . They will provide you with bulk . They are actually excellent for you . Try adding two pieces of fruit per day as well .

Speaker 1 39:36

Adding two pieces of fruit to your day makes such a difference to your life , because I've always found that late in the day , when you want that treat , that sweet treat , have an apple . Now , you might think I don't want an apple , but an apple is good . It provides you with fiber , it actually provides you with crunch , it gives you that sweetness and it's also keeps you feeling full for quite some time because of the fiber in it . It's such a good thing . Don't demonize fruit . Never demonize fruit , alright , because it literally is the worst possible thing that you can do . Fruits and vegetables are good for you . You never , ever ever , looked at someone overweight walking down the street and commented with I think that person's eating far too many fruits and vegetables . I rest my case on that at a movement in that you enjoy , instead of looking at what you can take out at a movement .

Speaker 1 40:29

Start walking when you start to see results . Some of the best weight loss results have been by people who started a regular walking practice . Why is this ? Because it perpetuates . They start walking around the block , then they start walking further and further , and what you're doing is you're increasing your exercise , changing your energy balance , and this is where fat loss occurs . It's not hormones , it's not anything else , it's literally energy balance , and no one will ever , ever convince me or change my mind differently . Add a positive minded and happy friend into your life instead of actually just being with the Debbie Downers and getting stuck in the negativity , which absolutely gets you nowhere . Have a look at your friendship group and have a positive minded and happy friend . Change your circles , change them slowly , and you'll find it will make a massive difference to you .

Speaker 1 41:26

Add in breath work . Adding breath work can make a massive difference to your stress management and it can also make a huge difference to keeping you in a calm and a relaxed state . I spoke before about adding a gratitude practice . I spoke before about adding a meditation practice . I'm sure you get the idea around this , but stop looking at the areas that you need to remove and rethink that and have a think about what there is that you can actually add , because by adding those things , it takes that restriction away . By adding them in these other things that you are finding that are less than nutritious or less than optimal for your health , they will fall away . Naturally . They will start to fall away because you will start to feel better , better about yourself , better about everything all the way around . So when you add these things , all the detrimental things will fall away .

Speaker 1 42:21

Now , that's it wrapping it up . You'll note that there is not one tip in this around nutrition , and why is this ? Because nutrition can be very , very emotionally driven , in fact , majority of the time , and the research supports that , the way we are supported by our environment . So if you don't get the things mentioned above right , if you don't get all of the things that I've mentioned right , don't even try and focus on nutrition , and I want you to think about that . Have a think about it .

Speaker 1 42:52

Body image , stress , poor sleep , not having a gratitude practice , negative mind thoughts all of those things impact greatly in nutrition . Who waits because they're lonely , who waits because they're sad , who has a fight with someone and go and , go and go and Rips the pantry door open . This is what actually happens and this is why I haven't addressed nutrition in this at all , because there's no point in addressing nutrition until you get those things right . And you've got to get all of those things right in your life before you can actually look at the nutrition and you will actually tend to find that if you get the things that I've mentioned in this podcast right , what you will find is that the rest of it will fall away and your world will become a wonderful place . Trust me , this is where the root of all evil comes from , in all of those things that I've mentioned today , which is the very , very reason why I've I've implemented this and done this podcast to explain that to you , because until those things are addressed , you're literally wasting your time in nutrition , and that's what I've learned as a coach and , speaking of coaching , having a coach to assist and support you is just enormously beneficial around this because you can follow .

Speaker 1 44:11

You can do no podcast . You can read what's on Instagram , you can read websites , you can do anything anywhere . That's right but you can't get bespoke support and assistance . And what I do with my coaching with clients is I attack all of those areas that I've literally just spoken about , because when you get those right , that's where your weight loss journey comes from . It you start to feel better , you start to move more and that's where the weight loss comes , because you're changing the energy balance . Please keep that in mind . I have coaching positions open at the moment and if you're looking for one to one coaching , then there's a link in the show notes for you to go to complete the inquiry form where I will have a obligation free discovery call with you to see if you're a good fit for coaching , because majority of you just don't know where to start and I totally understand that because I didn't either .

Speaker 1 45:08

But over my journey of coaching , I have learned that those things that I literally just spoke about are where the problems lie . For 99.9% of my clients , it's not . It is that they eat too much , and it's not enough today to say to people you've got to eat less and move more , because what you've got to do is you've got to address all of those little areas , and by addressing all of those little areas is where it makes such a big difference to people when they are wanting to lose weight and actually start to feel better about themselves in their shift working life . You can thrive , trust me . You don't have to just survive crawling from one shift to a next . All right , head into the show notes and click the link there and send me an inquiry form . The inquiry form is literally no obligation . It is just to give me a bit of background that I can speak to you about when we actually have a discovery meeting , which will be a zoom meeting , which we can just have a chat for half an hour to see and I can show you how I can help you .

Speaker 1 46:15

Now that's a wrap for today's episode , and I want you to remember , fellow shift workers , your health , and in particular your mental health , is an absolute , non-negotiable , non-negotiable . It's the foundation that allows you to excel in your career and enjoy life beyond the workplace . Remember , this is about having more energy to do the things that you love outside of shift work . By taking these evidence based steps , you won't just be surviving , but you will literally be thriving . Keep pushing forward and remember I'm here to support you every step of the way . Stay committed to nourishing your body and prioritizing your well-being and , as always , please remember to be patient and kind to yourself as you navigate the challenges of shift work and prioritize your mental health and well-being .

Speaker 1 47:12

Thank you for listening . If you enjoyed this episode , be sure to subscribe so you get notified whenever a new episode is

Subscribe and Review for More Episodes

Speaker 1 47:18

released . It would also be ever so helpful if you could leave a rating and review on the app you're currently listening on . If you want to know more about me or work with me , you can go to ahealthyshiftcom . I'll catch you on the next one .