Normal People Problems: Shift Work Nutrition with Raina

Show Notes:

Today I am joined by Raina Beugelink, a registered dietitian who is luckily (and happily) married to a first responder. She’s worked in private practice for almost ten years in weight management and chronic disease management.  She feels incredibly passionate about supporting shift workers and first responders increase their energy and improve their health, as she’s seen firsthand the toll it can take on them and their families.  She’s worked with police officers, dispatchers, fire fighters, paramedics, heavy equipment operators, physicians, nurses, and other front-line workers use nutrition strategies to fuel their body properly for shift work.  

Raina is joining me as we dive into a new series called “Normal People Problems” where we identify common problems plaguing most people (things like nutrition, finances, parenting and home management) and try to tackle them from the angle of understanding and recognizing the additional hurdles faced by those working in First Response and Front Line Work. 

During this episode we talk about common challenges in supporting better nutritional choices – like shift work/circadian rhythm; time for prep/planning; stress and the inclination toward junk; workplace cultural norms and more. Raina breaks down some tips and tricks to support better choices with minimal added stress, and offers further solutions through her services and her online program – both of which you can check out here.

Episode Challenge:

·        Where are the stumbling blocks for you in supporting better nutritional health? What are some small side steps that could help you make some changes?

·        Register for Beating the Breaking Point, my online resilience training program.

Additional Resources:

Check out Raina’s services and program – here’s what she had to share about it: 

I felt frustrated by the lack of good, clear, practical strategies for shift work.  Everything I saw on shift work nutrition resources included recommendations like:  eat healthy at night, exercise, get enough sleep.  WE KNOW THAT, but it’s easier said than done.  After doing a lot of research, I set out to create a program that would give shift workers a step-by-step approach to fuel their body well for shift work.  The Shift Fix is a hybrid of recorded and live teaching and Q&A sessions spanning 12 weeks that covers topics like supporting circadian rhythm, individual chronotype, what to eat, when to eat, caffeine, sleep, and stress management strategies.  To learn more, visit www.shiftworknutrition.com or follow on Instagram/Facebook @shift.work.dietitian. 

Register for Beating the Breaking Point, our top-rated self-paced resilience training program tailor made for First Responders and Front Line Workers to protect against (and recover from) Burnout and related concerns (eg. Organizational Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma).

Check out some of our related episodes…

-        S2E9-15 Back to Basics Brain Health Series (includes episodes with sleep expert and other amazing professionals)

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