Why Shift Workers Struggle With Food

Shift work can be brutal, but it doesn't have to be. 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 welcome to another episode of a healthy shift podcast. You are so welcome and thank you. I really appreciate everyone, each and every person that listens to this podcast for the joy that it actually gives me for putting it together. Out of the whole business, one of the things that I enjoy most of all is doing this podcast to help you, the shift worker, to navigate what is an extremely difficult thing that you do. There's so many aspects to shift work that is incredibly difficult. Sleep, nutrition, stress management, chronic fatigue. It really is such a difficult, difficult role. It is. But one of the main things that is really difficult to navigate and get your head around is actually meal prepping. And today I just want to go into it. Now, this is hard as a podcast, but I'm going to give you some ideas. And what I'd really appreciate, and I know you're going to be listening to this while you're driving or while you're walking or running or doing whatever, but it might be worth coming back and actually making some notes to this one here because it's really, really important. The first thing that I want to say to you is meal prepping should not feel like a second job. And for most shift workers, it literally does, doesn't it? We try meal plans, we've tried tracking calories, we've tried diets. It all falls apart the moment that your roster changes, or you're just too tired. Or as I remember in law enforcement, that what actually happens is you catch a punter and then you're stuck processing and you don't get a chance to get back to that meal. You're at another station, you're in a different place, you're doing whatever you're doing. And I think this causes us all kinds of problems. So we need to know how to go about it and what there is that we can actually do. So I want to summarize it into this podcast today. Now, here's the truth, and this is number one. It's not that you're lazy, and I want you to put that in your mind, and I'm not calling you lazy. It's just that the system that you're using or that you're seeing out there on social media doesn't fit a shift working role. And in this episode, I'm going to show you a method that actually does. It's tried and true. My clients use it. It's working really, really well for them. And I'm going to share it with you on the podcast today. First of all, let's just cover where things go wrong. And I'm just going to flag some of those and I'm going to go over why they fall apart and why they don't work. Because this is literally what creates the overwhelm. Number one, I'm going to be clear with you. The first thing I'm going to be clear with everybody before I start this podcast today, and that is, I want to say this. Whatever you're doing now, if it's working for you, this is not for you. All right. Bottom line, you might find some tweaks in here that will work for you, and you think, oh, God, that's a good idea. I didn't think about that. But if you are someone who counts calories and macros and you're comfortable doing that, you do you because it's working for you. And I'm very, very comfortable with that. I'm not against it. If it works for you. Because I know people, I know shift workers that are calorie counters, they count their macros, they work, they're working towards goals, and it works 100% for them. I could argue the other side, but I will say that if that's working for you, good. But for everybody else that starts to put on weight and they start to feel like that uniform's getting a little bit tight. Going on a diet to count calories and macros, I'm going to tell you categorically, is not going to work for you because it's too rigid. Shift work is unpredictable and your appetite actually changes depending on your fatigue level, the shifts that you're on, your sleep changes. And trying to hit exact numbers every day, yeah, that's just a rapid way to give up. And you know that as well as I do. You've tried it and it doesn't work. Number two, meal plans. Meal plans look fantastic on paper. And I've had a lot of clients come to me or a lot of people come to me and say, Oh, do you do meal plans? First of all, let me be very clear with you. PTs and nutritionists are actually not allowed to write meal plans. All right. Only a dietitian can do that. So if you've got a nutritionist or you've actually got a um PT that's written you a meal plan, they're way out of their lane. Even though I can write a meal plan, yeah, no problems at all. I can do it. I'm actually not really allowed to do it. So it's something that you've got to keep in mind if your PT's writing you meal plans and you can't stick to it. There's a reason. They don't know what they're doing. So anyway, meal plants look great on paper, but they don't survive real life again. If I write you a meal plan today and you've got chicken and um uh peas and mashed potatoes on, and you've got lunch and you're on an afternoon shift, what are you gonna do with that? Think about it. Does it work? Then you miss one meal, one shift runs overtime, one bad sleep, and your whole plan has collapsed. You know it, I know it. Let's just put that to bed. Meal plants don't work. Diets. When you're on a diet, diets are too restrictive. You can't stick to them long term. That's why you listen to this, that's why you follow me on social media. They just don't work. Oh, sorry, you said it worked for you. Yep, I understand. It may very well have worked for you, but let's see where you're at in five years. All right, because diets work at the time. Sure, you can count your calories and macros and reduce your weight down by five kilos, but let's see where you're at in time because your body comes back. A lot of people can't stick to them long term, and you can't stick to it long term with rotating shifts, night work, day, afternoon, being stuck away from the office, hospital guard shifts, paramedics don't ramped, it doesn't work, and fatigue. They don't adapt. And shift workers need flexibility. Now, the next thing that shift workers get so horribly wrong is trying to prep for everything in one hit. Now, how many of you don't put your hand up, especially if you're driving, because you're gonna not only hurt your wrist, but you're gonna look like an idiot. And don't do it while you're running, because you'll look like a fool too or walking. All right, just think. Who gets to a rest day and thinks, oh, finally got a rest day, I'm gonna have a sleep in, have a sleep in, which you know what my thoughts are. WWRS on that. What would Roger say? And then you get to the afternoon and you think, oh my God, I've got day shift tomorrow. What am I gonna take for food? Then you've got to think. Then you go into a panic, then you can't think, and then you've got to decide what you want, then you've got to get in the car and you've got to drive down to the shops and you've got to get it. Then you've got to come home and then you've got to prep it. And it becomes all overwhelming. And you think, I'll just grab something when I'm at work. How many times? You're waiting for that perfect day off. You want the day off, but you've had that sleep in which has caused your grief and wasted your day. You can't catch up on sleep. You've now ruined your meal prep because you got it got so overwhelming because you got to that day, and that doesn't work for you either. You spent the whole day planning for it, shopping, cooking, prepping it, and that creates resistance. So the next time you think, no, it's just too much, it's too hard. I'm not even gonna start. Yes. Are you nodding? Yes, I know you are, because that's what happens in majority of cases. Overcomplicating food is the next one. Too many recipes, too many ingredients. You've completely overthought it. And what happens there? You get decision fatigue. And shift workers are already running low on mental energy just purely by their roles and what they're doing. Enough of the negative Nancy, Rog. Let's talk about what actually works. Let's flip it around now. First rule: number one, stop overthinking it. That's what I want you to do. Stop overthinking it. Not just one more diet, not just I'll prep for this week and have a bench full of um plastic containers and I'm gonna absolutely crush this. That doesn't work because you're not gonna be doing it in two weeks' time or three weeks' time. So this is where we make it simple. We need food that we can put on repeat that works even on our worst day, not just on your best day and perfect day. Because if it works on your perfect day, that looks great and you look good. But what happens when you don't have the best day? And I hear this from clients all the time. Oh, I got overtime or I was stuck ramped, or um, I had to do a double shift, or uh, yeah, yeah, it didn't work. Of course, it didn't work. It's never gonna work. So here is my method, and it's called the three times six plus six, and it starts this way. This is what I use with shift working clients, and it works. Now, I want you to open the notes app on your phone and I want you to write down six breakfasts, six lunches, six dinners, and six snacks. That's it. Now, what's good about this is it's in notes in your phone. So you can actually link the recipes, hyperlink the recipes to it. Or if you've seen a reel on Instagram or something on TikTok and you thought, oh, I'm gonna make that for dinner next time. Instantly save the link and link it into that six breakfasts or six lunches or six dinners or six snacks. That's it. You've always got your phone on you, don't deny it. So you always have your plan with you. You can just choose. What do I feel like for breakfast? Open your phone, six breakfasts listed there. Oh my god, I haven't had that one for ages. What's the recipe? Click it, there you go. This is what I need. Write it down. And when you get bored, what do you do? It's in notes in your phone. Adios, amigo. See you later. That one's gone. Let's put a new one in. Or what happens next time you're scrolling, Jesse's PT glass bowl method, and you see one, you think, oh, I've got to have that. You can hyperlink it straight into your whatever it fits into, dinners, lunches, or breakfasts. And it's there always. No stress, no reset, no starting again. Just swap one out, swap a new one in, jobs done. How easy. So, why does this work? Think about it. You know this is gonna work, it removes decision fatigue. You're not standing in the supermarket going, what do I feel like? You're not gonna call home and call your family and go, what do you feel like for dinner? And they say, I don't know. And you spend the next hour walking up and down in the supermarket looking for I don't know, and you can't find it. What you're doing is you're just walking into the supermarket or a quick glance while you're in the car and you've got a short list. You've got six meals there, you can choose from one of them. Easy, and the list is there. Simple, beats perfect every single time, and it definitely beats takeaway, and it'll be cheaper. So, what tools are there that you can use to make it easier? And this is where I want you to write these down. And what I'll do is I'll actually link to these in the show notes for you, or you can go and listen to the other podcasts. The glass bowl method by Jesse's PT. Jesse Stahakis. Absolutely unbelievable. This is as simple as it gets. Pick a protein, pick carbs, add veggies, put it in a bowl, stir it, put it in the oven, done. No complicated recipes, no overthinking. All we do is we just mix and match them up. You find six, or you look on his Instagram, you find six that you like, link them into your notes in your phone, bang, done. Simple. I've had Jesse on the podcast before. Fantastic. And if you look at the link in the show notes for that, I suggest you go and have a listen to that episode. His story is fantastic. And the good thing about the glass bowl method is you don't have to overthink it and track your calories and macros. Because majority of people, if you picked a bowl for breakfast, a bowl for lunch, and a bowl for dinner, and you made that up and you had that, you would be in a calorie deficit. And probably, for a lot of people, a fairly significant calorie deficit. But you'd be full, eating delicious food, and you'd be feeling so much better. So much better. I've got a client at the moment that is I've put onto Jesse's glass bowl methods, and he's absolutely frothing them, loving them. Hi to you, Azar. Well done. Started doing it, now's eating them basically three meals a day, all different ones, communicating with Jesse, refining recipes, absolutely smashing it. Oh, I think this is just a massive win for him. Doesn't have to track, doesn't macro. He came to me wanting my fitness pal, wanting how do I use this? How do I do that? I need a diet, I want to lose weight. He's now just doing the glass bowl method and he's wasting away. Simple. Very simple. The other ones that I would be highly recommending as well are simple recipe sources. On Instagram is Lucy Lord. I think she's on there as Lord Lucy or at Lord Lucy. Go and have a look at her. Get her books, get her, get on her Supper Club email list, and get her meal prep guide. It is unbelievable. And every time she updates it, she just pumps it out for free to whoever's bought it in the first place. It is fantastic. What I love about Lucy's recipes, I've started cooking them myself. I started cooking them a couple of months ago, and I've been sharing some of the photos of them on my social media. The meals are unbelievable. They are so simple, so simple and easy to put together. And you literally just use what you've got, or you it's easy to get um the ingredients for. And what I love about Lucy's recipes as well is she doesn't make you hunt high and low to try and find something that you're never going to use again, like you do in a lot of recipes. Majority of what's in her recipes are things that literally you have, and once you buy them, you're continually reusing them. The other one, and this is where I learnt to cook and got my passion for cooking, is from Recipe 10 Eats. And those of you that are, well, probably worldwide will know of Nagi and Recipe 10 Eats. Her website is absolutely phenomenal. And I would highly recommend that you go and have a look at Recipe 10 Eats and start picking things out. You can bulk cook through that and just live and learn to cook and just develop such a passion for how to cook. So Lucy Lord's books and her email list, her Supper Club email list and her meal prep book that she's released, which is an e-book which she updates and emails out. Absolutely phenomenal. They work because they're simple. It's normal food. Nagi from Recipe 10 Eats is in Australia and talks about Woolworths and Kohl's and where you can get what you can get. And she even makes recommendations for people who are overseas, what you can substitute with. Absolutely phenomenal. These are my go-tos at the moment. Unfortunately for Nagi, I've shouldered her a little bit and I'm in the Lucy Lords at the moment and I'm having an absolute ball with her recipes. Really good. Normal food, easy to cook, easy to repeat, and that is what matters. Now, that's where you get your resources from. That's how you put them into your phone notes. So let's talk about my three-day meal prep system. Because this is where most people get it completely wrong. They try and do everything in one day. Don't spread it out over three. Rog, what do you mean? So let's break this down very simply. This is where you get your pen and paper out. On day one, you make a decision. So this can be three days back from your rest day. All right. Let's say day three, this is a three-day meal prep. Let's say day three is your last day before you have to go back to work. Or if you've got a single rest day, day three is going to be that single rest day. So on day one, you decide, you look at your notes in your phone, you pick your meals, you write out a shopping list, and that's it. And you put it away. Now you can even use the notes in your phone to put your shopping list. Simple. Screenshot the recipe. You've got the ingredients. Work out what you've got at home. Make a tick box in your um list in your phone. There's so many apps for this, right? You decide and you put it away. That's it. How long is that going to take you? Do you think? 10 minutes? 15? Maximum. The next day is when we shop. You're a shift worker. You can go anytime. Get in, get it, get out. It should literally take you 15 to 20 minutes maximum. You don't have time to wander supermarkets. You're a shift worker. Get in, get what you want, get out. This is how we lose weight as well. Because we're not picking up things because we're wandering hungry and picking up things that we don't need. We just get in and we get out and stick to your list. That's day two. Done. Take it home, put it away in the pantry, in the cupboard, put a note on it, touch this, I break your arm, and you leave it. And on day three, which is your rest day, or your last day before you go back to work, is when you prep it. You use that rest day. You cook things up in bulk. It should take you a few hours and you are done. Why does this work? Well, you're not burning a whole day. What you've done is you've broken it down into three small tasks over three days. So there's less resistance. So even if you only have one day off, you've already decided what you're going to cook, you've already shopped for it and have it. All you've got to do now is execute it and put it together. And that's simple. Now the last thing, part four, snacks, is snacks just matter a lot more than you think. And this is where most shift workers completely fall apart. Not the meals, but not having ready to grab snacks. So if your locker or your kit bag is empty, you'll grab whatever screams from that vending machine. So let's plan it out. So from your list of six snacks, pick up simple protein-based options. Very simple carbs, things that don't spoil. Keep them ready. This alone can actually change everything. And here's another hint for you. If you go to any of my social media posts, any single post that you want, and type the word snacks, I'll send you a link where for free I will send you my snacks guide for shift workers, my non-perishable snacks guide that you can go through, you can download it, you can have a look at it, and it will give you what you need to have in your locker or in your kit bag that you can just keep with you and you can snack on. Very simple. For free. I'll just send it to you. All you gotta do is go to any of my social media posts and just comment the word snacks, and it will be sent. There you go. Simple. So let's wrap all this up. We have written in our notes and we've got our six breakfasts, lunches, and dinners and six snacks, and we've got hyperlinked recipes, and it's easy. And then we're going to do a three day meal prep, and we're going to make one day the day that we think about what we want, write a shopping list. Day two is when we shop for it and put it away. And day Three is when we actually prep it, and that's the day before we have to go back into our next rotation. Could it be any easier? Honestly. Meal prep is not about being perfect. I talk about this all the time. It's about making the hard days a lot easier for yourself and having readily available home prepared food. And as a shift worker, you've got plenty of hard days. So let's keep it really simple. Use the three times six plus six method, spread that workload over three days and stop overthinking food and thinking you can't do it. Because you can. And if you're really struggling with this, or you're struggling with food prep, or you are struggling with shift work full stop, this is exactly what I do to help my shift working clients. Simple systems that will actually fit your life. So if you would like help setting this up and setting it up for you that works for you, I meet you where you're at in your work life, social life, and home life. So all you're gonna do is check the link in the show notes. I'll make it really easy for you. Thanks for listening. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe so you get notified whenever a new episode is 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 ahealthyshift.com. I'll catch you on the next one.