5 Essential Nutrition Tips for High Performing Firefighters

Eat For Performance

It’s no secret we burn a lot of calories training for and running emergency calls. It would not be unheard of to burn upwards of 6000 calories on a single structure fire. A lot of us are highly motivated on the training ground and in the gym, but our nutrition is far from dialed in.

On top of these responsibilities(yes, it’s YOUR responsibility to be fit for duty) we have second jobs and obligations in our personal lives. Depleting ourselves without replenishing is like driving your car every day; without changing the oil or filling up with fuel. Eventually shit is going to break down and the problems could become worse. It may not happen today, it may not happen tomorrow – but compounded over time the damage could become hard to bounce back from. Let’s talk about the food, supplements, and tips we can use to ensure peak performance.

1. Controlling Your Environment

Let’s be honest, the firehouse is a terrible place to be when you’re trying to eat right. We always have people who mean well dropping off doughnuts and trays of cookies. Doughnuts are my weakness by the way, I turn feral when there are donuts around me. But we don’t keep that stuff in our home for a reason. It’s way easier to pass up on some sweet treats when you would need to get dressed, get in your car and drive somewhere to pick up junk food. If it’s sitting on your countertop staring at you, you’re gonna eat it. Willpower only lasts so long, don’t rely on it to resist the temptation.

• If you shouldn’t be eating trash food, don’t keep it around
• Cooking meals at the firehouse gives you a lot of control over what you are eating. You can control the portion sizes, the ingredients, and the way things are prepared.
• The cool thing about the fact that we live at our firehouse is that we get to make ourselves at home. We have the tools we need to cook proper meals and a place to store prepared food that we bring with us. Make the firehouse a place that is friendly to your goals, if you need a mini fridge to keep meal prep in, bring one and set it up. If cooking on a Blackstone griddle makes life easy, chip in some money or create a slush fund to buy these things for your firehouse.

2. Meal Planning/Meal Prep

• It helps to have a plan, especially when you know it’s gonna be a busy day. If you know the schedule is packed with training, activities, and some calls then you can be better prepared. Throw something in the crock pot early so that when dinner time comes around – you’re covered. If you try to throw something together last minute, that’s when speed and ease take priority, which leads to poor decisions when choosing what to eat.
• Sharing meals as a crew allows us to keep costs down, we share 2 meals every shift as a crew. This is a great time to bond and shoot the shit. I recommend that if this isn’t part of the culture at your firehouse, start prioritizing it today.
• If you want to keep meals even cheaper, you can approach it meal prep style. Make a large batch of something and eat it for lunch and dinner. Having to buy ingredients for two different meals makes things more expensive, but this is something to discuss amongst your crew, some people don’t want to eat the same thing twice a day.

3. Supplements

• Guys, quit wasting your money on BS supplements! I know the companies are amazing at marketing but don’t fall for it.
• Some of the best tried and true supplements are Creatine, Protein, Caffeine, Electrolytes, and Multivitamins. A lot of the other stuff is just fluff. Stick to the essentials.
• Most of us(myself included at times) just start throwing random supplements into our bodies without really knowing what’s needed in the first place. We think that the next tub of BCAA’s is going to be the thing that get’s us jacked. Without consistent blood testing, we likely have no idea what we should be taking. Vitamin D is a great thing to take, but how much should you take daily? If you haven’t had a recent blood test, then how do you know? You don’t!
• One other thing I do typically use is Gatorade powder mixed in water, I use it for intra-workout carbohydrates. It’s cheap and gets the job done.
• To comment on the caffeine part, I love coffee. Coffee has been my pre-workout since forever. If you like the stuff that makes your teeth itch, that’s fine – but that’s expensive itchy teeth that I can do without. Just remember it takes a little while 20-30 min for caffeine to act, so time it right to get the most out of your caffeine.

4. Macro Nutrients

• Macro’s are our Carbs, Fats and Proteins
• By using a tracking app, you can get an idea of what your macro goals should look like for your body weight and goals. Otherwise it would be pretty tough to guess what numbers you should aim for. There’s people that are way smarter than me that have written about this, so defer to them when selecting your Macro nutrient goals. Check out Dr. Mike Israetel or Jeff Nippard, they’re reliable sources of science-based training and nutrition strategies.
• Leave fad diets alone, eat a variety of foods that your body tolerates well. People like to complicate this way more than it needs to be.
• Over the long term, you will know if you feel good with a diet that’s more rich in fats or more rich in carbs or whatever direction the scales balance in. But that’s something you can only find out through trial and error, since everyone is different.

5. Tracking

• I know tracking your food isn’t for everyone long-term, it’s tedious and time-consuming. That’s just the facts. There are plenty of apps that aim to make it as easy as possible and its still annoying. But hear me out. I have had some seriously eye-opening experiences while tracking for just a couple months at a time.
• I realized my sodium intake was off the charts. Compared to the average person I thought I was eating pretty clean. Seasoning mixes, salad dressings, and condiments were driving my numbers way up, and I didn’t realize it. If I did;t make any changes this could lead to hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. We’ve all heard it a million times, but cardiac issues cause a lot of firefighter deaths. So tracking my food helped me make changes that could affect my long-term health.
• You can get a better idea of how many calories there are in a portion of various foods, which is helpful in estimating what you’re eating
• You may find that you’re over-eating or under-eating in excess of what you would have guessed
• It’s worth trying out an app, even if just for a short time. The three main apps I’m aware of are MacroFactor, RP Diet App and My Fitness Pal. I’ve tried MacroFactor and MFP, they’re both great. If you’re going to track your food, I would recommend using a food scale, so you can get accurate information.

Train, Eat, Rest

Proper nutrition isn’t just about performance—it’s about safety, longevity, and ensuring you can continue serving your community at the highest level. By implementing these five key nutrition strategies, you’re making an investment in both your immediate performance and long-term career sustainability. Start by focusing on one area that seems most practical for your current situation and build from there. Your body—and your crew—will thank you for making nutrition a priority. Stay safe, stay strong, and fuel appropriately for the job. Train Hard, Eat Well and Recover Harder!

Justin