• Home
  • About FFTB
    • The Mission
    • Start Here
    • Disclaimer
  • The Team
    • Contributors
    • Photo Contributors
    • Guest Contributors
    • The Original Crew
  • Contact
facebook
twitter
youtube
google_plus
email
  • Start Here
  • PODCAST
    • About The Podcast
    • Podcast Episode Pages
    • Podcast on iTunes
    • Podcast Official Sponsors
    • Podcast Sponsorship
  • 5 Min Clinics
    • 5 Minute Engine Co Clinic
    • 5 Minute Truck Co Clinic
    • 5 Minute Officer Clinic
    • 5 Minute Clinic Series
  • Product Reviews
  • Articles
    • Eng Co
    • Truck Co
    • Co Officer
    • Safety & FF Rescue
    • General
      • Social Media/ Public Relations
      • FF Communications
      • Art & Science of Firefighting
      • Life Skills
      • Hazardous Materials
      • Rescue Operations
      • Special Operations
        • Marine Operations
        • Airport Fire & Rescue Operations
  • Health & Fitness
  • FF Mindset
BREAKING NEWS
3 Rule Outs of the Medical Patient
“TOP 10” Fire Station Functional Fitness Training Equipment – Part 2
“TOP 10” Fire Station Functional Fitness Training Equipment – Part 1
Keys to Conducting Comprehensive Feedback to Firefighters
3 Keys to Truck Check Success
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 3
PWR Training Sandbag – Product Review
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 2
3 Ways Firefighters can Reduce the Chance of a Back Injury
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 1
Practice How You Play
How to Execute the Proper Kettlebell Swing
What Every Firefighter Needs to Know About NFPA 1583
5 Exercises to Improve Grip Strength for Firefighters
6 Ways Firefighters can Use Exercise Progressions and Regressions
3 Workout Tips for the Volunteer Firefighter
074 – Introduction to Firefighter Functional Fitness
Firefighter Functional Fitness – 7 Tips for Planning Weekly Workouts
The 3 Cornerstones of Firefighter Fitness Success
8 Must-Do Exercises for Serious Firefighter Functional Fitness

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Firefighters Make Related to their Health – Mistake #4: Eating Because It’s There [Part 5 of 6]

Posted On 18 Sep 2013
By : Dr Karlie Moore
Comment: 1
Tag: diet and exercise, firefighter health and fitness

I’m not a firefighter myself but I spend a lot of time at firehouses. I see the cookies, cakes, and muffins that community members deliver to the firefighters. Sometimes I just want to put up a sign that says “don’t feed the firefighters.”

Now I certainly don’t want to take away from the fact that people bring you all treats because they are trying to show their appreciation. But do they stand there and watch to make sure you eat their token of appreciation? Of course not! Furthermore, we all know that your fans are not the only ones bringing treats to the firehouse. Please, I know you have a steady stream of ice cream coming in all because of the oh-so important “tradition” for someone to pay up when they’ve been in the news.

You don’t have to eat it just because it’s there. If it’s a veggie plate, go ahead, eat it because it’s there. But, honestly, you don’t want to take the decision to eat a treat lightly. These are high calorie, high sugar, high fat, little morsels. You could have just run on the treadmill for an hour, and then eat the same number of calories that you burned in one bowl of ice cream. But listen, I’m not telling you to never eat treats; I eat treats too! Rather, consciously choose when you really want something, and if you could take it or leave it…leave it!

The eating-because-it’s-there phenomenon applies to shift meals too. Just because there’s a lot of food doesn’t mean it all needs to be eaten! I’ll be honest, I’ve always been a member of the clean-your-plate-club. One thing that has helped me, especially when eating out, is to stop and ask myself: “if there was no food left on my plate would I be full?” If the answer is yes, then I know I’m only still eating because it’s in front of me. So now I get a to-go box and enjoy it again the next day.

A few years ago I observed this phenomenon at one of my local stations where I do nutrition and exercise consulting. I dropped by in the evening and walked into the kitchen to discover three guys who had just finished a packaged ice cream treat (and it was one of the worst kinds). The thing was, they had each eaten TWO of these treats, so there were SIX wrappers all spread out among them. The guilty look on these grown men’s faces is still something we all laugh about.

See, if they had only consumed one treat each (and there were none left), would they have been satisfied? Of course they would have. So why did they each have another one? Because there were still some left in the B-shift freezer!

The main point here is not to always try and restrict yourself but just be conscious of what you’re taking in. You’re not hurting anyone by avoiding treats, but you are hurting yourself if you’re only eating them because they’re there.

About the Author
Dr Moore has been helping firefighters improve their health since 2007. Her work includes conducting fitness assessments, research, consulting and developing protocols for fire departments. Her research and expertise is in firefighter exercise/nutrition and improving the methods of assessing back injury and cardiac risk among firefighters. She has developed the only protocol of its kind to predict aerobic capacity in firefighters. Get more free health tips for firefighters at FitForDutyConsulting.com
Previous Story

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Firefighters Make Related to their Health – Mistake #3: Being Inconsistent with Exercise [Part 4 of 6]

Next Story

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Firefighters Make Related to their Health – Mistake #5

Related Posts

Motivation: First Step to Firefighter Fitness
0

3 Keys To Staying Fit and Motivated For Firefighters

Posted On 28 Jul 2015
, By Buffy Schilling
3

Two Words Firefighters Don’t Want To Hear

Posted On 12 Mar 2014
, By Buffy Schilling
0

Top 5 Firefighter Fitness / Health And Wellness Articles For 2013

Posted On 29 Dec 2013
, By Rich Gardiner

One Comment

  1. aaron April 9, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    I agree whole heartedly but this article should also touch on why shift workers tend to snack and each randomly or have sugar cravings. Without going into a whole article people should understand why they have cravings,,, for instance shift workers are woken up in the middle of the night, their bodies are tuned to wae up hungry (if you burned off what you ate for dinner) so they crave something sweet (simple sugar) to get their energy back up. Its one of the reasons cereal is so popular… tons of sugar, milk fills you up and instant energy… but also a glycemic spike (sugar rush) is always followed by a sugar crash.

Search Site

Archives

DOWNLOAD FREE REPORT

Popular Posts

FirefighterToolbox Podcast

FireFighterToolbox Podcast (Internet Radio Interview Show)

48 Comments

Top 6 Reasons To Use A 2-1/2" Handline

29 Comments

The Role Of The Second Due Engine - Part 2

18 Comments
Copyright 2013-2017 FirefighterToolbox.com All Rights Reserved.