How I stay healthy as a chef.
When you look at most health advice out there, its target audience is usually those who work a 9 to 5 sedentary job from home or at an office, or for students who spend most of their time seated and who are fairly in control of how they want to allocate their time and resources. Few if any seem to offer advice for people who work in a job that requires them to be on their legs all day, be physically active, and work fairly irregular hours.
So when I started cheffing full-time and looked for tips on how to look after my general health and wellbeing, there did not seem to be any advice that was tailored to my situation. Perhaps we think that someone working in a comparatively physically active job is already getting enough movement to maintain their physical health. And it is easy to assume that a restaurant worker, and a chef on top of that, can surely control exactly what they want to eat to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. Additionally, as this job has historically been associated with people who live a fairly unhealthy lifestyle (i.e. involving substance abuse, smoking, eating disorders, sleep deprivation, etc.), perhaps the concept of a healthy chef may simply feel like an oxymoron.
And so because I did not find any advice out there, I created some personal realistic guidelines which have allowed me to feel more in control of my overall health and fitness.
I want to emphasise that I am neither a qualified dietitian nor a trained fitness instructor. All of these suggestions are merely ideas and suggestions that have helped me personally, but of course everyone has different preferences, abilities, environments, and responsibilities. Nonetheless, perhaps some of these may in some way or other prove helpful for other chefs, hospitality workers, or anyone working in a similar environment, so here we go.
Exercise.
When I first started cheffing, I admittedly let my exercise habit go off the rails completely. When I got home after a shift, and even the morning after, my body felt sore and wanted nothing more but to lie in bed for a good while. I certainly had no intention to exercise. However, when considering how muscle soreness is caused, it suggests that during my shifts, I put my body under a certain level of strain which it now needs to recover from. Therefore, doing controlled exercises in my free time is a great way of conditioning my body for my workdays which in turn helps to reduce the soreness. So here is a general guide I tried to follow each week.
Exercise on workdays (which involve 12+ hour shifts)
Try to exercise at home for at least fifteen minutes in the morning.
This could be stretching, yoga, or strength training using bodyweight or the minimal equipment I have at home (bands, dumbbells).
On the days when I don’t really feel like it or decide to get a little extra sleep instead, I just do some simple stretches.
On days when I have more time, I try to fit in a session of 30 to 45 minutes.
When I can, I try to walk to and from work to get in some controlled low-intensity cardio in my day.
Go to the gym on ONE of your working days before a shift.
These workouts are usually a little more intense than my home workouts, and I try to involve some more cardio to get my heart rate up and make use of some of the heavier weights or equipment at the gym.
I also find some gym classes super helpful as they allow me to go in for thirty to forty-five minutes, not have to think about what I want to do for my workout that day, and push me to do some different exercises than what I am used to.
Condition your body for your work.
I make a point to do a variety of exercises that target the body parts that usually get engaged the most during shifts which for me generally means my lower body and my back, as well as regularly involving abs and shoulders. Making sure to strengthen and stretch these muscles generally reduces my soreness overall.
This may include controlled simple movements like squats, lunges, good mornings or deadlifts, or doing a few superman exercises or planks to condition and strengthen these areas. Stretches targeting the back and the hips have become a must, especially the day after a long shift. They may include similarly simple movements like downward/upward facing dog, pigeon pose, any type of twisting stretches or a yoga squat to open up the hips.
Rest
I usually give myself one day during my working week when I don’t do any exercise. Instead, I make sure I get some extra sleep that day and have a nice and relaxing morning before going to work.
Exercise on days off
On one of my days off work, I aim to complete one bigger workout. That usually means putting in a session at the gym where I push myself a little more than I did in the shorter workouts during the week, maybe do more explosive movements, do a longer run, or add more weight to an exercise I had been working on. So I think of this workout as not just conditioning but actively strengthening and taking a step forward. I’m aware that only doing this once a week will not be enough to make very much actual progress, but mentally, it still made me feel like I’m improving and actively working on myself.
I generally have at least one day of the week where I don’t really do any exercise at all. I may be walking a little, but there are days where I barely move, and that’s good. I appreciate letting my body rest after all it’s achieved that week.
Diet
Once again this will likely vary strongly for everyone depending on their approach to food, when they are most hungry, and also how the staff food situation is organised at their restaurant. My experience is that you generally get one meal a day, and you may not always be fully in control of what that meal will be. So based on that, the following suggestions are just what worked for me in my situation and my preferences when it comes to maintaining a balanced diet.
Workday diet
Breakfast
This is usually the biggest meal I have on a workday. Having a balanced, healthy and nutritious meal in the morning means that I don’t have to worry about what I will have for my staff lunch, as I will have already consumed a good amount of fruits and vegetables, protein, healthy carbs, and other good nutrients.
One option I might go for could be a loaded oat bowl where I would try to include as many fruits and vegetables as I could, and ideally make sure to include a good amount of protein. This may involve stirring through some frozen blueberries, dried fruit, and some cooked and mashed sweet potato or squash, add spices, seeds and a little protein powder, and top it off with banana, nut butter, or anything else that you have available.
I also got more into making savoury breakfasts, usually rice with a few different vegetables, some protein, and adding some toasted seeds or nuts in the end. I might make a big batch of rice at the start of the week and cut and prep some ingredients that I can simply throw into a pan and cook within five minutes while I’m heating the rice.
Food at work
Again, this is something you may not have too much control over, and I think that’s ok. I know there may be some people who bring in their own food, but personally, I can’t be bothered to do that. On the days that I’m working, the last thing I want to worry about is packing lunch for the day. If I ever do bring food to work, then it’s usually a sweet treat or a snack which I can also share with my co-workers.
After work
When I come home from a long shift, I don’t usually feel very hungry at all. I don’t know the exact psychological process, but there is something about being surrounded by food all day, even if you don’t really eat much or any of it, that perhaps tricks my body and brain into thinking that I must have eaten plenty. As such, when I do get home, I don’t tend to eat much other than maybe a hot drink or a small bite of something. I certainly don’t prepare another meal for myself. Because I will have likely had two big meals that day, with at least one of them containing a good amount of necessary nutrients, I don’t tend to worry about any nutrient deficiency. However, if on some days I do feel like I need more nutrients but don’t want a full meal, I may get a protein shake or a fruit smoothie which usually sorts me out perfectly.
On days off
On my days off, I worry less about having perfectly healthy and nutritious meals. After all, these are the days when I may want to try out a restaurant or make a comforting meal at home. But I still make a point to get a good amount of fruit and vegetables, protein, healthy fats and carbs, and I aim to have at least one homemade meal a day.
I also make sure to eat enough, averaging three reasonably big meals with the occasional snack in between. After all, on my workdays, I get in a lot of movement and usually only eat two big meals which likely means that I will be in a slight calorie deficit at the end of the day. To avoid continuously losing weight, I aim for a slight surplus of calorie intake on my days off. I do this without actively tracking calories, but when you know roughly what caloric value various foods have, it is good to keep this in mind when planning or adapting my meals so I can generally maintain my normal body weight.
End note
Again, all of this is only a rough guide of suggestions that have worked for me. I don’t always follow it, on some days I will just be tired and cannot be asked to prepare a healthy breakfast. But it has helped me feel a little more grounded and in control of my general health and fitness in a job that can sometimes feel a little hectic and irregular. There may be some who find this absolutely not helpful or you may already be an expert in staying fit and healthy as a chef. But if anyone works in a similar environment, or even someone who needs a little inspiration for what a realistic week of healthyish choices may look like, I hope that some of this can be of help.