Healthcare workers who work different shifts understand that they need the energy to withstand their profession’s long hours and high-stress nature. Proper nutrition is imperative to help fuel healthcare professionals’ physical and mental processes so that they can consistently provide exceptional patient care. However, building healthy eating habits can be challenging or overwhelming for many, especially those working 12-hour graveyard shifts.
In this article, we give easy, sustainable, and realistic tips that healthcare professionals with hectic schedules can follow to build and keep healthy eating habits.
Identify healthy habits and expand on them
To ensure that you’re setting yourself up for success, you should start small and tie in new good habits with existing ones. For example, if you have a cup of black coffee every day, try to drink a glass of water before drinking coffee to ensure that your metabolism is functioning properly. If you regularly eat bread for lunch, go for a wholewheat or high-protein option. If you do your grocery shopping every week on a Sunday, make sure that you buy a lot of fruits and vegetables.
Plan your meals
Meal prepping isn’t a novel idea, but it’s incredibly helpful and effective when it comes to healthy eating. Depending on what works best for you and your schedule, you can create individual portions of food (such as breakfast burritos that you can freeze and reheat every morning) or chop vegetables and meat portions in advance so you can easily create a homecooked meal when you come home from work.
Whichever meal-prepping setup you go for, make sure that you prioritize making protein-, fiber-, and nutrient-filled dishes that can help you stay full for longer, which is vital when trying to maintain a healthy weight.
Not sure where to begin? There are now many highly recommended meal-prepping apps that can help you lose weight, gain muscle, or meet your nutritional goals, whatever they may be.
Drink plenty of water
Instead of reaching for a cup of coffee every chance you get, reach for your water bottle instead. Many studies show the positive impact of staying properly hydrated, including improving energy levels as well as cognitive and physical functions, losing weight, and relieving constipation.
If you find yourself craving sugary drinks and soda, choose healthier alternatives, including fruit-infused sparkling water, herbal and fruit teas, kombucha, or coconut water.
Snack on fruits, vegetables, and nuts
Make sure that you regularly incorporate fruits, vegetables, and nuts into your daily diet. These healthy food choices make for great snacks. Whether you prefer fruit-and-veggie smoothies or cut-up fruits and vegetables with a healthy dip such as hummus, take the time to prep and bring your preferred healthy snack to work.
Avoid processed foods
A diet rich in processed foods can be detrimental to one’s health as it can promote chronic illnesses including hypertension, heart disease, and certain cancers.
Instead of cooking up and munching on processed meats, such as sausages, hotdogs, bacon, and canned meats, opt for fresh meat options that are high in protein: chicken breast, lean beef, turkey, salmon, and tuna. You can also go for non-meat options, such as hard-boiled eggs, lentils, tofu, and beans.
Listen to your body and eat intuitively
Intuitive eating, which essentially promotes eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full, is a way of eating that’s intentional and mindful. Because it attempts to remove the negative stigma around food, it’s been shown to help improve emotional well-being, reduce disordered eating, and maintain a healthy weight.
It’s important to note, however, that if you have certain conditions, including diabetes and hypertension, talk to your doctor about going about making dietary changes.
