You sacrifice. You care for us. Right now, as a healthcare worker, you are on the front lines of an unprecedented pandemic and are putting your community ahead of your own health.
With a hectic schedule, thinking of yourself can easily be put on the backburner. But you don’t have to take on a stringent diet or restrictive plan to improve your wellness. You can start with intermittent fasting as a natural way to improve your metabolism, immune health and reduce joint pain. It’s a step you can take that produces incredible results. And you can easily fit it into your schedule whether you have a consistent schedule or take shifts.
To help those in our community, we created the FASTer Way to Fat Loss for Healthcare Workers program which makes it easy to get started at a fraction of the regular price. It’s our way of spreading generosity to those who have already given so much.
If you want to learn more, we also created this handy guide.
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING
Good place to start, no?
If you’re a healthcare worker, you already have an understanding of the body, but we do have a whole breakdown here.
IF is basically creating two windows: one where you can eat and one where you eat nothing at all. Typical windows of fasting are in 12-, 14- or 16-hour increments, depending on your comfortability.
The reason to fast is this: When we eat, the food is broken down by our digestive systems for use in our bodies. Carbs and sugars are burned right away for energy, and any of it we don’t use gets stored as fat. Insulin is what puts sugar into fat cells. When we don’t eat for a period of time, our insulin levels go down and the excess sugar is released and burned off, so we lose weight.
Fasting also improves the immune system because it’s not busy scanning all the food we put into our gut, so it can spend more time attacking threats and repairing.
It does more for your body than just burning fat. Science-backed research also shows IF improves metabolism, lowers blood sugar and inflammation, repairs damaged cells and removes toxins from the body. Some people have shown to have an improved metabolism even before they lose a single pound.
It is a mind shift but it’s so worth it!
Like with anything, timing is key. Research is showing that the timing of the fast is important (1) so if you can fit it around your daily routine, you’re more likely to stick with it.
THE BENEFITS FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS
It might seem like it’s impossible to have a healthy lifestyle when you’re just trying to keep it together. With a hectic work schedule, it’s easy to eat at irregular times and grab anything you can snack on but IF makes things a lot more straightforward. You won’t be looking for windows to eat high-carb or high-sugar snacks to fuel you and your body won’t be going through chemical swings. You need to focus on your work without being pulled by food during a crash.
There ARE approved things you can consume during your fast window like coffee, tea and water. These beverages can curb any lingering hunger without busting your routine. You will be hungry at first, no doubt. It isn’t a super easy thing to master right away, which is why we recommend starting slow with a 12/12 fast early on and slowly work up to 16/8. But after a few days, you’ll notice you have less hunger alerts and a decreased appetite because your body is back in sync.
Another huge benefit is improved sleep! Your body all along has evolved to go with the natural ebbs and flows of day to night. We muck it up by eating late before bed or right away when we wake up. You’ve probably mixed and matched every weird late-night snack out there, but no matter the nutritional value, your body isn’t at rest if you’re digesting.
When you finally get your body back to a natural flow, you’ll be surprised how much more energy you have during the day.
HOW YOU CAN FAST AS A HEALTHCARE WORKER
We are big believers in skipping breakfast and this is also a great recommendation for healthcare workers on the front line. The morning is typically the busiest time and you may feel you need the energy at first, but after a few days, your appetite will change, and you’ll be so busy you won’t even notice. Try to make it through the morning with just coffee and tea and then take your first meal at around noon (whenever you have a break). Then follow up with another snack around 3pm before consuming your biggest meal whenever you have another break, or your shift is over.
WHAT DOES INTERMITTENT FASTING LOOK LIKE FOR YOUR SCHEDULE?
Depending on where you work, your schedule could vary. If you are in an office, it’s probably more predictable. If you are in a hospital, on the front lines or are doing shift work, it’s probably different by person. But this is a general guide of what IF would look like if you do a 12-hour work shift several days per week.
Skipping breakfast is the biggest adjustment, but if you are involved in procedures early in the morning, you are probably too busy to eat and will adjust pretty quickly. We recommend drinking something if you get pangs and your hunger will usually go away. Over time, those pangs will subside completely.
The schedule below is based on a 16/8 protocol, but if it seems like too much, you can always scale it back to 12/12 to begin.
7am: Tea or water
9am: 16 oz water, black coffee
11pm (or breaktime): Lunch or snack
3pm (or breaktime): Snack
7pm: Dinner
WHY INTERMITTENT FASTING WORKS FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS
As a healthcare worker, you are exposed to so many different patients during the day with unpredictable schedules and workloads. IF gives you something predictable and controllable to keep your body from pulling itself towards quick-burning snacks and draining your immune system. Whether you’re in an office setting or right in the thick of it, we know how physically and emotionally draining it can be!
Intermittent fasting is NOT a diet, but you will see improved results when you combine nutrition strategies. In the FASTer Way to Fat Loss, we use IF with whole-food nutrition, carb cycling, balanced macros and workouts. We keep it simple for all our members with weekly meal plans, community help and workouts.
We have a passion for showing gratitude and as a healthcare worker, you are sacrificing your health and wellness for our community. You give everything to us and we want to give back to you. We want you to have the energy to keep doing the job you love and live a healthy lifestyle even when that seems impossible. It IS possible. That’s why we’re offering the FASTer Way to Fat Loss for Healthcare Workers. program includes video training, nutrition recommendations, workouts and community support. We’re here for you! It’s time to think of your wellness and for your families! If you know a healthcare worker looking for a way who would benefit from our program, pass this article along and help us reach them with words of encouragement and hope!
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