First Responder Nutrition with Megan Lautz

In this episode, Megan shares her experience as a registered dietician who specializes in first responders. We talk about the importance of approaching nutrition in a realistic way, the unique nutritional needs of first responders, recommendations for snacks to pack in your go-bag, and using caffeine as a tool to enhance performance. Megan also offers additional resources and tips for first responders seeking out a dietician. 

About the guest: Megan Lautz is a registered dietician using evidence-informed practices to optimize nutrition and performance for first responders. She worked 8 years as an embedded dietician - Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Police from 2017-2021, then 2021-2025 with Fairfax County (VA) Fire and Police. 

Recognizing that nutrition is often overlooked in the first responder space, Megan launched RescueRD LLC in October 2020. She has completed thousands of 1:1 nutrition coaching sessions, hundreds of station visits, and tons of academy classes. At the end of 2025, Megan transitioned into RescueRD LLC full-time to provide departments nationwide with customized nutrition programs based on her experience. 

Website: https://www.rescuerd.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rescue.rd/

Email: meganlautz@gmail.com

Thank you for listening. You can connect with me here:

Instagram: @dr_baumgart

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbaumgart/

Website: https://www.drbaumgart.com/

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Retirement-Finding-Purpose-Fulfillment/dp/B0CB99HMVS

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to We Carry This, a podcast about the realities of life in and around law enforcement. I'm your host, Dr. Medina Bonkart. I'm an agency-embedded police psychologist, wife to a retired cop, and just like you, a human being. Each episode you'll hear from voices within the law enforcement community. No script, no fluff. Whether you're wearing the badge, love someone who does, or support those who serve, we're here to connect and carry the weight together. Thanks for joining me. Let's get the conversation started. Hey, thanks for joining me. Today's conversation is with Megan Loutz. She is a registered dietitian who specializes in working with firefighters and cops. I had the pleasure of connecting with her through social media, I want to say it was a year or two ago, and kind of been following the work that she's been doing. I absolutely love her practical, no nonsense approach to working with first responders, not to mention her humor is on point. So, Megan, thank you so much for joining me today.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to uh get into it about nutrition for first responders.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Yeah, me too. Um, can you let our listeners know a little bit about your training and experience and how you got to working with first responders?

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Yeah, so for like that nutrition education checkbox, um, I have my bachelor's degree in dietetics. I did my internship through University of Maryland, um, and then my master's degree through Logan University on sports nutrition.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

And um I so, you know, like I think that's important to know, but I think the real important part is I spent almost nine years embedded as a full-time civilian dietitian in large fire police departments in uh the DMB area. Nice. So Montgomery County Fire and Rescue and Police, and then Fairfax County Fire and Police. So both departments are about 1,600 firefighters, um, 1,400 police officers, sworn officers. So very large departments with decent budgets that could afford an embedded full-time dietitian. Um, so and I mentioned that because I think that's really important. Um, because I I did not marry a firefighter. I am, I've never been a firefighter or a police officer. I've never experienced it directly. Um, but I have really tried to, you know, do 24-hour shifts, 12-hour shifts right alongs. Um I passed the CPAD or the physical ability test for firefighters and really just tried to um feel the job so I could speak to it appropriately and apply nutrition. So it is practical and simple for the job.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Yeah, fantastic. And um, I think the embedded work is so important too. So, like on my side of the house as a psychologist, I think being embedded, we get a unique opportunity to really build the relationships and earn trust, which is huge. Um, what was it like uh starting to work with the departments coming in as hi, I'm here as your dietitian. And how was that out the gate versus like overtime as you built the relationships?

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Yeah, to be candid, I was really young and dumb. I was like 24, you know, it was like my second job ever. I had just gotten laid off from a corporate wellness job with Northrop Grumman. Big transition from like nerd engineers who are like putting their macros in a spreadsheet, and I'm like, please don't do that, uh, to firefighters and police officers who are like, they don't even remember what they had for breakfast. Yeah. So um, you know, that was a big transition. But I I think the one thing that I did right was I I did at least know um that like it was really important to understand their job before I started spitting out nutrition information. Like I knew I wasn't an expert in the job. I knew there was some specific like there and there wasn't any nutrition information. Like if you went to Google and said firefighter or police officer nutrition, nothing came up specific to the job. I mean, very minimal things like Dr. Stefano's Kales had some, you know, the Mediterranean diet in firefighters, but it really just wasn't in the way that they talk.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

It, you know, it was either clinical research or nine to five nutrition information that was super fad diety. And it just like there was nothing in the middle. Um, so I kind of just started building that and trialing and erroring it. Not to say that I didn't boof it up like a hundred times because we all do. Yeah, and they all remember every single one of us. So um, you know, it but uh I think over time that's really what has built out to what my brand is now and how I teach now, of really practical in the language of first responders, understanding what the difference is between lineup and roll call and like um, you know, uh what has actually worked for the thousands of first responders I've coached one-on-one over the past several years.

unknown 4:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

And how do nutrition needs differ for the first responder versus that like office job nine to five?

SPEAKER_00 5:02

It really depends on the first responder because I'm sure as you know, it can vary from I'm at the busiest station as a firefighter, um, you know, to I'm on light duty because of an injury or I'm on day work because I've promoted or something like that. So um the biggest challenge with first responder nutrition is it's intermittent. So sometimes for fire or police, either you're going a million miles an hour, pushing your body to the limits, sweating your butt off, or potentially doing nothing. Yeah, or just running kind of EMS-related calls or just regular standing calls for police. Um, so it's about teaching that first responder how to adjust their nutrition based on intermittent activity, because sometimes they're going to have to eat like a pro sports player, and sometimes they're going to have to eat like a nine to fiber. That's really difficult for the black and white first responder mindset. Yes. Uh, where we're either on a plan, we're off a plan, we're either doing it, you know, either sugar and sodium are good or sugar and sodium are bad. And I don't want to hear about any in-between.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Yeah, it's a very all or nothing uh mindset and mentality. Um, are there so for the shift worker? Um, so let's say law enforcement officer who's working um day shift versus like PM shift or graveyard overnight shift. Are there different nutrition needs just based on the shift work aspect?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

I so here here's the thing with nutrition needs there's nutrition needs and there is practical, like actually, are they gonna do it? Right. Um, and and I think a lot of people miss that. And a lot of my pure fitness trainers who want to talk about nutrition miss this. We can talk about perfect nutrition, and it may be like um technically for a midnight shift, it could be fasting over the night time because it helps with circadian rhythms. But have you ever tried to fast over the nighttime when you're on shift? And for a lot of first responders, um, eating actually keeps them awake or it keeps them from drinking seven bang energy drinks, right? So that's that's part of it, is what's going to work for the client. So we have to listen to that client. I would say most of my first responders, regardless of day or night shift, um like three to four meals and then a snack or two, tend to do best for most people if they want to keep their energy levels high and they don't want to end up binging. Because what can happen regardless of time of day is you get that call, your lunch is delayed by three hours. No one is rolling up to the Chick-fil-A drive-thru and getting a salad, getting the biggest milkshake, the biggest French fry, and you know, moving on from there. So I would say, um I, and maybe this is wrong, but it seems like it has worked well for me. I've less focused on these really minute, like, yes, your metabolism slows by like, I would say, um, three to five percent overnight. Maybe it doesn't help with insulin uh resistance and insulin response. But if the person can't do it, it doesn't do jack daily squat for me. So I need to see the what the person can do first, what they feel best on, what their energy levels feel best on. Does that lead to them working out more? Does that lead to them making better food choices? I prioritize that over like you shouldn't eat it all because that's gonna be the best thing for your circadian rhythm by like a small percentage, and then it leads to other issues. Does this make sense? I hope that was clear.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Yeah, no, definitely. And I think too, it highlights um that very practical approach, right? Of like, hey, here's, and I kind of parallel it with the work that I do too. It's like, hey, I can get a textbook or a training that's gonna walk me through this is exactly what it should look like. And then there's the reality of like, what are cops gonna do? You know, and how can I like integrate some of the good stuff into what they do to enhance whatever mood, performance, energy, focus, all of that stuff?

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Totally. And I would say, like, you know, and I'm gonna try and make a parallel to that. Like, it's like if you said, like it said, for trauma um exposure, meditation for 30 minutes a day, twice a day, is the best way to reduce it by 1%, 2%, or something like that. Is that going to be realistic for someone who's got two toddlers at home, works midnight, and does a security uh gig, you know, for overtime the next morning? It's probably not. And I that probably I butchered that, you know, but uh, you know, it's just like a hypothetical carryover to to therapy world.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Yeah. And I think it's so important too, because it's also not a one size fits all. It's like what you're saying. It's uh everybody's needs and and people are just built different. I mean, there's obviously uh like physical health byproducts of this job. So, you know, they got to be mindful of what they're consuming. Um, you know, but at the same time, too, like you said, it's not this perfect spreadsheet of if you do all of these things and check all of these boxes every single day, it's gonna work out for you.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

What um so I get this question a lot from uh spouses who help their first responder uh prep, either meal prep or even like snacks. So, what are the go-to snacks uh for first responders that you would recommend a spouse significant other, like load up on?

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Yeah, I think that's a great question. So, I mean, everybody knows, okay, fresh fruit or like Greek yogurt and hummus and veggies and all of those things. Those are fantastic, and I'm not saying they're bad, but anybody who like I have a toddler and I'm I'm fighting for my life, you know. And sometimes, you know, when you have a toddler and extra gigs and you know, you're working a lot, you're traveling a lot, um, or you're at least away from home, maybe you're not truly traveling, um, those foods go bad in your fridge, and then you get frustrated that they didn't get eaten and you wasted all that money. So, and just ended spending it on, you know, crap food. So, what I like to tell first responders is not to be afraid of frozen or non-perishable food options, which when you compare that to like, I don't know how many people pay attention to the dietary guidelines, probably not that many, but you know, there's stuff right RFAK, RFJK Jr. is like all over the freaking universe right now. So, in any case, like his stuff is very, you should never eat anything out of a package. Well, is that realistic for somebody who has that style of life? Um, probably not. So there are healthier non-perishable options, and that's what I really want first responders to understand is just because it's not perfect doesn't mean it can't be better. Or strength coach and Fairfax used to say a better bad decision. So, and I wouldn't even say some of these options are a bad decision necessarily. Um, it just depends on who I'm talking to, right? Um, but for non-perishable snack options, I highly recommend packing a go bag for your first responder. Now, if you're the spouse at home, you need a go bag for yourself too. Because how many times do you go drop your kid at daycare? You go to the gym, run two or three errands, didn't pack any food, and next thing you know, you've you also are blacked out in the Chick-fil-A dry through. So the go bag also works really well for that spouse at home. Um, it's worked for my realtor, you know, people who will work with people who who do are real estate agents and stuff like that, where they're just not at home a lot.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Okay. So what do we pack in the go bag? Um, we pack we need something for rehydration, so electrolytes, rapid rehydration in case of hot months, which we're uh going into. We need carbs in case of a high intensity call. And then we need protein to help keep us full andor recover if we did have that higher intensity call and/or, you know, just get us to the next meal. Yeah. So um let's start with the carbs. So um, carb options. Usually I love a dried fruit. So have you ever tried that zip bars?

SPEAKER_01 12:56

I have.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Okay, those are really good. I also found a new one. My friend Michelle, who's a dietitian, had me try these. They're called solely S O L E L Y. They're at Target, they're a little expensive, but their mango guava fruit bar is like I'm the type of person who could eat sugar if if I really wanted to. I have a big sweet tooth. And that actually would really help. Um, and I found really help cuts sweet tooth. And it's just mango and guava dried up into a little strip.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

So that is great. Um, your applesauce pouches, your smoothie pouches. Guess what's the most realistic option if you're screaming down the highway and your brain's starting to go and you know you're gonna be stuck on this call. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

An applesauce pouch.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah, you can just, you know, easily drink that right down and you don't have to worry about it.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Um, so that what else? Um, so cereal in a bag, like literally just like Cheerios or mini weeds. Um, you know, yeah, it's nice to have milk, but that's not the most realistic on control. Umcrustables work fine for if you are doing in a workout or an active training or drill. You're doing an active shooter drill today, you're doing canine training, you're doing SWAT-related stuff. But I would not suggest eating six uncrustables for lunch. Okay. Um, you want to use carbs typically as a tool prior to high intensity trainings or workouts. We can get into that a little later. Uh, and then uh fruit cups. So, like just like um mandared oranges in juice are a great option. And then for our protein options, we could do um obviously protein bars. So, my favorite protein bars from a taste perspective are either Quest, bear bells, though barebells do melt, so you have to keep that in mind. Um, and then Aloha bars, which are typically the best tasting ones. And personally, I will spend a little bit more money, like a dollar or something or so, if it doesn't taste horrific. Yes. Um protein shakes or even protein powder in little um single packs, uh, tuna packets, chicken packets, uh, beef jerky. What else am I thinking of? Oh, they have these little protein balls that you can get that are just like oatmeal, protein powder, and honey. You can mix this up at home very easily. Okay. So uh the carb your protein. And then your final one is going to be electrolytes. So for fire, this is going to be super essential for firefighters because typically they're going, they are there is the potential of them running a fire-related call. Even if it's just a food on the stove call, they may be sweating quite a bit and they're in gear that prevents that. Swap, that may also happen. Canine, that may also happen. For patrol, not so much, though. There is always that one community event that you have no shade and it's a bazillion degrees out in the sun. Basically, I want you to keep these electrolyte products, specifically an oral rehydration solution with sugar on hand, so that if you get dehydrated, and dehydrated means you've now got brain fog, you haven't pee, you can't remember when you peed last. And you know, if you go pee right now, it's not coming out. Uh, you've got a headache and you're just feeling kind of like garbage and like dry, yeah, then you want to drink one of these oral rehydration solutions like drip drop, liquid IV, or fluid tactical ORS, because these are specifically formulated to correct dehydration equal to IV fluids in the case of mild to moderate dehydration.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

So equal to IV fluids is massive. Um, because you probably don't want the firefighters to start a line on you. No one wants that. That's paperwork when it'll make fun of you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So these products, you need to go for the one with sugar, which all the people I know right now are going for sugar-free because they think it's healthier. But what's healthy in your day-to-day may not be performance enhancing when you're already depleted from a hydration standpoint, and or you still have to go do some more work. Got it. So um, these products were developed for the cholera epidemic. They are specifically formulated to rehydrate for IV equal to IV fluids, and it's because they have half the sugar of Gatorade and double the sodium. And sodium helps pull water into the cell through passive diffusion. Any nerd who's gone through chemistry knows that. And then um the uh sugar will actually give you access to an additional entry point on the cell.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

So you get access to the sodium glucose co-transporter where glucose can bind, sodium can then bind, and water can follow. If glucose, that key isn't available, it's not going to be as fast. Doesn't mean things that are sugar-free, like element, fire salt, those kinds of things are not as fast. But when I have a firefighter or a police officer who still has another half of their shift to work and they already feel off, speed matters to me.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

So again, if you have that preference for element or you know, the sugar-free additions of any of the things I've talked about, totally fine. And they can be used as a tool periodically, but I would just typically go for if someone's asking me what is the one product I buy, that's what I would go for. Drip drop, liquid IV, fluid tactical ORS.

SPEAKER_01 18:08

Okay, okay, awesome. And um, I want to talk energy drinks here. Um, I feel like you and I will get on the same soapbox on this one. I will die on this hill. Uh, those that know me uh and and work with me hide their energy drinks when I walk into a station. Yes, hey. They're right behind your yeah, yeah. So I um let's talk about them, uh, why they're not ideal uh for our first responders.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Yeah, so here's the thing. Again, I'm a realist. Let's roll it back to just caffeine in general, then we'll walk into the energy drinks conversation. So, caffeine in general, for most healthy individuals with no cardiac issues or even anxiety, we'll count anxiety there too. Um the FDA recommendation is 400 milligrams per day. Now, if you're six foot super tall, big, beefy dude, some of my SWAT guys, like so I I consult with the Baltimore Orioles, like our MLB team, they can get away with maybe up to 600, but again, it's targeted around training. Um, so my big, big, big people can maybe get away with a little bit more. My smaller female, smaller dudes, let's let's keep it to 400. Okay. Um, and the reason we go with 400 is um to minimize any of the side effects like anxiety, insomnia, and um heart cardiac issues, palpitations, that kind of fun stuff. And um, this is the equivalent of 30 to 40 ounces of coffee total in a day. I think that's reasonable. Guys and girls work in midnights or running four to five calls after midnight tell me those are rookie numbers. So, where most people go wrong is not with the coffee, it's more with the energy drinks, as I'm sure you know. And I also have kind of gotten away, and maybe this is more because I'm working with people one-on-one, understanding and also working in a very busy area. Like Fairfax, we're talking 15 calls a day for some of our medics. Like they are getting their butts handed to them. And the reality is, is if they have to stay awake for work, they may need to go for the energy drink. So, and they're going to ignore me entirely. So, I don't want them to ignore me entirely because when they ignore me entirely, then they do like seven bangs a day, and then I've got to work them down from that. Yeah. So now I have gotten to the sad point in my career where I'm recommending monsters and breath bulls because they're half the caffeine of bang, Celsius heat, and rain. So if I have a busy medic doing three rates a day, when I get them down to three white monsters a day, cut their caffeine from 900 grams to 450 milligrams. So it helps pull them in the right direction. If we can get them not drinking it too close to bedtime, their sleep improves, energy improves on less caffeine with the behavior of drinking the energy drink. Yeah. And they think I did witchcraft. Yes. Right. So I don't know if that like went in the direction you thought it was going to go in, but I always start with like, no, we don't recommend energy drinks. No health professional recommends energy drinks. We are concerned with some of the additives like gluc uhctone, gluconolactone, and taurine. Um we are concerned with if you do too many or if you're not used to caffeine, so you're a younger recruit and have not done a whole lot of energy drinks in your previous positions. Um, it can lead to significant anxiety. It can make acid reflux way worse. And if you don't know you have acid resux reflux, your tummy is gonna feel burning and it's gonna hurt. Yes. Um, and then it can also worsen sleep. So um, you know, and no firefighter, no police officer is ever going to admit that their energy drink and their caffeine is related to those three issues. It's gotta be anything else. Yes, anything else, anything else but their beloved energy drink. So, you know, if I have someone, they're working at the busiest station in the county, and you know, they barely Sleep and they're doing one energy drinking some coffees a day. Like, I'm not going to press them. If you are working a day work position, you don't have kids, and you have every opportunity to get your sleep in, to get your workout that I have a lot less. Yes.

unknown 22:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

We try to get them more to natural products like tea and coffee.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

Yeah. And I always like use the thing I always tell folks like, look around at everybody who has an energy drink. Like all of you look like crap.

unknown 22:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

So yes. Oh, you look like you've been hit by a truck. Yes. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Right. So I get the caffeine, the uh stimulant effect, but all of the other stuff that's in those things just make you feel even like foggy. Yeah, yakky.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Sure, for sure. And and there are some that are better for you. So like you're you're like Jocko's not terrible, optimum nutrition. Um, Starbucks has this like mini double shot light. It's a small baby can and it's a hundred calories and a hundred milligrams of caffeine. So if you are looking for those portable canned options, they certainly exist and smaller amounts of caffeine. Um, and by smaller, I mean like I like it to be around 100, like not enough to take out a horse, but like enough to perk you up a little bit. Yeah. Um, so and again, like let's pull it back to performance because the job is performance-based, right? And we can't like listen, like working in baseball, like these guys do C4 and they have pre-workout. So there is, um, especially for a bigger person, sometimes we will go with the recommendation of three to six milligrams per kilogram, which can um increase like over the 400 milligram recommendation, like I said, for my larger six-foot-something, 250-pound dudes. Um, they could potentially do four to 500 in a sitting, whereas I recommend for most people no more than 200. Yeah. But here's the thing: are my firefighters and police officers using caffeine as a tactical tool to maximize performance? No, they are not. They're using it as a lifeline that is dragging them through life because they keep picking up too much overtime and inflating their lifestyle expenses, not paying attention to sleep, not paying attention to food choices, not paying attention to getting some movement or workouts in their day. That's that's that's a different story than the you know, the professional athlete who really is trying to tailor in more than just the um caffeine. They're doing more lifestyle stuff. So there's a big difference between lifeline and performance.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Yeah. And I I love how you said that too, is like the like caffeine can be a tool, all of these things, right? It's like whatever you consume is a tool if you know how to use it to help you do what you need to do, and then also help you on the recovery side too. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

You know, it's like added sugar, you know, added sugar we want to reduce in your day-to-day when you, especially if you're a nine-to-fiber. I should not be doing a ton of added sugar. However, if you are someone who is pretty active, you are doing a training or drill that day, added sugar is a tool to be able to push more in the next 20 minutes. So it takes less time to digest and it doesn't bother your stomach. Fat, fiber, and protein, which you need during your day today, is a good tool to reduce hunger. But if you do a bowl of quinoa before you run into a building, everybody goes yuck because it's slowing digestion, which means fuel takes longer to get to the muscles, and fuel also um sorry, my kid just screamed and now I got distracted. See what I mean? Um, yeah, so it takes longer for fuel to get to the muscles and it is um harder to digest, which means your stomach will hurt. You'll feel gassy, you'll feel bloated, and that's not fun before trainings or workouts. So added sugar is like a pike pole. It's great for pulling down ceilings, but it doesn't do a great job for forcible entry. Use the right tool based on the activity level at hand.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

Yeah, yeah, that totally makes sense. Um what uh what would you say are uh like so? Let's say you have somebody that's you know running on like six or seven bangs a day, and they kind of want to start tapering off that and and gradually shift into healthier uh alternatives without going like cold turkey.

SPEAKER_00 26:17

Yeah, we so we don't recommend cold turkey because research suggests that it can lead to significant fatigue and even mood shifts, which I think is important for you, you know, as a therapist. You know, those mood shifts um can be that significantly detrimental. And I'm very concerned in firefighters who or first responders in general who have higher risk for trauma and just their exposures are just so significant. Yeah. And sometimes what I have seen, and you know, these are anomalies and they do happen. We had a guy, I think 2,600 milligrams of caffeine per day or something, some crazy, crazy number. But what happens is, you know, you maybe home life isn't working out so good. And you start going to work more because you're more comfortable with work, you add on the extra overtime, you add on the extra side jobs, you're avoiding going home. Um, what do you do in order to get through those jobs? More caffeine. So it's an upper as well. So it pulls your mood up. We start pulling back on that caffeine or cut it out entirely. I'm a little nervous for somebody who's already got a lot going on and may not be telling me about everything that's going on, um, that that could lead to some more significant mental health concerns or events. So um that is why I typically recommend a, if you're going to cut your caffeine significantly, we want to do a collaborative approach with a mental health professional and the dietitian, keep an eye on um any swings in mood, because even if we drop your caffeine in half for someone who's really, really high, they could have some significant side effects. Um for the low mood and and stuff and low energy and all of that. So um, yes. So typically, if again, and I have a lot more of the three bangs a day than I do like the seven or eight, but if we go from three bangs, go to you know, three white monsters or three Celsius, something that's uh a little bit lower in caffeine. And then we try to leave a four to five hour buffer from bedtime and your last caffeinated beverage, at least off shift. Does this every uh does this always happen on shift? No, use your discretion, right? Um, if you guys sleep uh most of the night, fine. Yeah, let's cut it. If you know you're gonna do two or more calls after midnight, it's hard for me to say as a professional to be realistic. Um but by switching to the lower caffeinated product, or if it's coffee, you could go to half calf, decaf, um, decaf after 2 p.m. or something like that. Usually your sleep improves, you cut your caffeine a little bit overall as well, and then your energy levels improve uh in addition. Now keep in mind this may take a couple weeks to see a noticeable improvement, and that's why I don't drastically cut caffeine out entirely, is because then there's up to two to nine days of uh just worsened fatigue, exhaustion, that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

Yeah. And um, I want to go back to uh applesauce because I've seen some of your posts about this um as a source of energy and dare I say a substitute for pre-workout.

SPEAKER_00 29:27

So can you explain that a little bit and break that down? This gets people really worked up on the internet when I say that firefighters and police officers are trading pre-workout for applesauce pouches. Um, but it certainly has happened um at least four or five times. I have screenshot proof. Um, so uh caffeine helps, you know, caffeine does not provide your better body energy, it reduces the feeling of fatigue. So, but the problem is most first responders think caffeine equals energy, and they don't eat. So they feel like a little more alert, or maybe even sometimes a little anxious, a little jittery. Um and but like they they're trying to put their foot on the gas, and the gas is just not hitting, it's not working. Uh, and that is where carbs come in. So we need to do some quick cards prior to your workout or a meal before, like an hour or two before. So um, now most of my first responders are making the mistake of going into workouts, trainings, and drills fasted. And it's either because somebody on the internet told them that fasted workouts mean they burn more fat. And um, so they they started fasting, or because they come in at 3 a.m. before their shift to try to do a workout, and they're just like, if I eat something, it's I'm gonna throw up or everything they've tried in the past, they didn't feel very good on. Yeah, so you actually burn just as much fat in a fasted workout in a fed workout because you're able to push harder.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

So what do we need? We need something that is easy to eat, non-perishable, that you can throw in a gym bag and not worry about it. And uh, that doesn't bother the stomach. And applesauce pouches kind of hit all of those things. Okay. So, what my first responders find is they've been overdoing the pre-workout for a while. Typically, this is usually like a fiber in their 30s or 40s. They've really started to rely on it because their energy levels just keep getting worse as life starts to punch them in the face, you know, the kids in the side jobs. Um, and so they add those that pre-workout or the applesauce pouch prior to the workout, and now they can put their foot on the gas. The weights don't feel heavier halfway through the workout anymore. They're able to sprint instead of feel like they're running through sludge. And once that improves, they're they start to realize I actually don't need the pre-workout anymore. I actually feel fine just doing the applesauce pouches. Now, of course, do some of my firefighters do or like first responders do both? Yeah, absolutely. Do the pre-workout with your applesauce pouch, see how you feel and go from there.

SPEAKER_02 32:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Um, and the other side I have to say about this too is yes, you could absolutely do an apple, you could do a banana, you could do a fresh piece of fruit. But one, some people feel better on liquid. So if you have a sensitive stomach, like liquid just digests a little bit better, there's less fiber, it's it's just more broken up. Yeah. And um, also, how many of you have taken an apple on a field trip to work many days in a row? And then it just rolls around the bottom of your bag, it's bruised and gross, and then you don't actually end up eating it. The pouches are a little bit more portable, yeah. Um, and and quicker and you know, a little more convenient. You can keep it in a locker for six months, it's not gonna last six months, but you could if you really wanted to.

SPEAKER_02 32:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

Uh, and most people, if they have toddlers, you probably have applesauce pouches in your pantry right now.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Yes, guaranteed accessible. I love it. Thank you. Um, so last question. Let's say uh a first responder is interested in meeting a dietitian or seeking out a dietitian. What questions? Because I'm a huge proponent, um, even with therapy, right? It's like you are the consumer. Uh, this is to help you. So you need to ask questions uh and kind of you know manage expectations. Um so let's say, you know, not all dietitians are created the same. Same thing with therapists, right? We're all human, we have different sets of training and experience. So, first responder seeking out a dietitian. Uh, what questions or uh things should they be paying attention to?

SPEAKER_00 33:36

Well, number one, let's let's start with managing expectations. Um, so what ends up happening a lot for me is a firefighter police officer comes to me two weeks before their cruise and says, I've got a cruise in two weeks, help me lose 20 pounds. And I tell them, no, we're not doing that because you know that's can like that's starvation. I'm I'm not starving someone. I'm sorry. I have ethics. Um so, first of all, if your goal is fat loss and maximizing muscle, because most short bonders coming to me don't want to lose all the muscle that they've built over the years, they just want to lose a little bit of the fat on top, right? It is going to take you on shift work five to six months to lose 20 pounds. Okay. Five to six months. And that allows me some room for error. If you get your butt kicked for a week and we can't log or we can't like put the pedal to the metal, you end up having to go into maintenance calories accidentally. Then, like, we have room for that error. So, realistically, if your goal is fat loss, we are looking for two to four pounds a month, which is like 0.5 to one pound a week. When you compare that to weight loss commercials like Weight Watchers or Ozempics or GLP ones, people are like, Well, well, my friend can say they can lose 10 pounds, they lost 10 pounds in a week. That is going to be a lot of water and potentially your muscle. Yeah, you can't have both. You can't keep your muscle and lose 10 pounds in a week. Yeah, it's not going to happen. Yeah. So um, I'm I'm a very evidence-based, but also practical dietitian in that sense. So just managing those expectations that a lot of times your goals may take a lot longer. And the reason we're trying to make it longer is not because we're monsters and they're trying to torture you, maybe a little bit of that. Um, but because we want you to be able to be consistent when you get off it. Yeah. I mean, how many people have you seen go on these like protein bar protein shake diets, lose 20 pounds, get off it, only gain 30 back? Yeah, more back usually. So I'm trying to keep you on this plan that works for several years, if not the just you know, most of your career, so that you can maximize that pension and double it, you know, um, and not have to, you know, tap out after five years, right? So, yes, working with a dietitian is really helpful. I do take clients one-on-one, but I am actually more of a public speaker now. Like I do more conferences, events, or like workshops for departments. I don't do a ton of one-on-one anymore, and it's currently self-pay, as you know, as a therapist. Uh take insurance is like they're like, here's three pennies for four hours of your work. You know, and I tried to do it for a while and I just couldn't swing it anymore, especially now that I'm in my business full-time.

SPEAKER_02 36:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:24

Um, and it's it's it's a lot. Um, so I do take self-pay clients, um, but it's like twelve hundred dollars for six sessions. And again, a lot of first responders don't feel comfortable with that. Um, so you could try a company like NOR Nourish, N-O-U-R-I-S-H, or Faye, F-A-Y-E, Nutrition, and they will match you with a dietitian who is licensed in your state and um is uh is on your insurance plan. Okay. So I think that's important because that removes the cost barrier. And now the biggest barrier is going to be your time. So the challenge then is is the reason you're paying me a ton of money is because I know your job. I know what works. We don't have to play this. Oh, you get on shift for 24 hours and then off 24 hours and on 24 hours and off and on the four day. I know how that shift schedule works. Whereas another dietitian will be like, I'm sorry, you do what? Um, so uh plus I also am keeping in mind exposure to trauma, high stress jobs, sleep deprivation. That changes your food choices, that changes how you eat. Yeah. So now, are you going to find that dietitian on these websites? Probably not. I mean, there's maybe I would say five to ten of us in the country that really know first responders well. Uh it's still not a very popular specialty in nutrition. Um, but your next best bet is a sports dietitian. Okay. So a dietitian who says I do sports nutrition, or if you're seeing a dietitian because you've got horrible IBS and it's almost pulling you out of the job, that's how bad it is. You need the IBS dietitian. Okay, you got diagnosed with cancer, you need the cancer dietitian. Okay. You probably don't want to come to me because you're having issues with your chemotherapy, because I don't know what the heck that chemotherapy is doing to you because I don't specialize in cancer. So that was a really long tangent. I hope that made sense. Yeah. No, totally made sense. I don't want to I don't want to discourage people and say, like, you're there's just not a lot of culturally competent dietitians, but that doesn't mean that you can't find one that you end up vibing with. And it may take one or two, maybe three different dietitians before you find the one that really works best with your personality and your job.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

Yeah. And I think too, like you said, having an idea before you go into it of what uh what you would like to gain from that interaction, um, managing those expectations, right? Being realistic. Um, and then also to knowing, like you said, if somebody specializes in something uh versus doesn't, and then doing that trial and error, uh I think is so, so, so important um uh for folks to just benefit. You know, it's like this is a thing for them. Uh they're putting their time and and money into it. Like they need to get what they're hoping to get within reason, of course.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

And where can folks connect with you uh and find you if they want to learn more about the stuff you provide or maybe a conference that you're speaking at?

SPEAKER_00 39:28

Sure. So I am uh rescue at rescue rd.com. You can find a uh recipe book, free recipe book, five to six dollars ahead, shifts of six, ten, fourteen, half a pound of protein per person. So it is a little more tailored to fire, but police they really like it for meal prep. Okay. Or there are a handful, especially midnight shifts. They end up actually cooking at the station and people pay in. So if you guys do that, it worked really nicely for that. Okay. And that is a free resource on my website. And then I post regularly on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook at rescue.rd.

SPEAKER_01 39:59

Okay, awesome. Megan, thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us today. Appreciate it. Absolutely. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of We Carry This. If you found this conversation helpful, share it with someone in your circle because chances are they're carrying something too. Please rate and follow this podcast for more conversations and resources that support this amazing law enforcement community. Until next time, take care and stay safe.