How To Eat The Right Food As A Security Guard

It’s a demanding job, so security guards need excellent nutrition and eating habits to perform at their best.  

Here’s a guide specifically focused on nutrition tips for security guards, which follows the excellent Canada Food Guide. 

We’ll explain how your physical and mental performance can be improved, in the challenging environment a security guard faces day to day, just by paying attention to some basic nutrition tips for security guards.

We’ll also go into the specifics of an optimal diet for this type of work. 

Finally, we’ll look at some of the realities in this profession, such as eating on the go, stress management, and how nutrition and diet connect with mental health.

Proper Nutrition – Why It’s so Important for Security Guards

In this line of work – and every security guard knows it – proper nutrition, especially while on the job, is more than important – it’s crucial. 

When you’re on the job, one of your primary functions is to maintain situational awareness – to be on top of everything that’s going on around you. 

Proper nutrition – or lack of it – will greatly determine how strong or weak your situational awareness remains through a shift. 

Your ability to evaluate a situation, and how to react to it, is greatly impacted by your energy level, which is derived from what you eat and drink.

Proper nutrition will also play a positive role in your overall mood, alongside your cognitive functions. 

The right amount and combination of food intake will enhance your mood, and decrease negatives such as anxiety, sadness, and depression, allowing you to perform your tasks better, for longer periods.

The type and quantity of your nutritional intake will also determine how good your stamina remains throughout a shift. 

Consider the long hours, the amount of time spent on your feet, and the continuous need for alertness – what you eat and drink play a huge role.

What to Eat – Specific Nutrition Tips for Security Guards

One of the keys to maintaining focus, energy, and alertness while on the job for a security guard is what they eat before and during the shift. 

Here, then, are some specific nutrition tips for security guards, which as you know, can be a mixture of active, on-your-feet duty and sedentary activity such as sitting at a desk:

Foods should include a mix of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and high fibre.  

These would include:

• Chicken or tuna
• Fresh fruits and vegetables such as carrots or celery sticks
• Nuts of many different kinds

Not only will these healthy choices give you the energy and stamina needed for a long shift; but they will also provide you with the micronutrients – commonly known as vitamins and minerals – that your body requires for you to stay fit and at peak performance. 

Micronutrients must be taken in through diet – your body does not produce them itself. They are crucial for disease prevention, alongside your overall well-being and health.

Foods you should probably avoid include fast foods, and high-sugar snacks and drinks. 

It might be tough to adhere to, but that can of pop or chocolate bar – while providing a quick energy buzz when consumed – does your body no good over the long haul. 

Speaking of beverages, the best choice remains water – good old H20. Combined with the good food choices listed above, it will round out what your body needs during your work as a security guard. 

Fast foods and sugar-laden snacks can also cause dehydration. 

Throughout your shift, remember to hydrate with water; don’t allow yourself to go thirsty; this will have a detrimental effect on your job performance. 

Bottom line: stay hydrated, and eat healthy while on the job.

Eating on the go is a fact of life for a security guard 

We’ve talked about the necessity of proper nutrition tips for security guards to help them perform their duties at an optimal level. But we also know that much of the time, your duties mean you’re on the move. 

There are likely going to be times when a sit-down break for food and drink is not possible. Here’s where your store of water and snacks will come in very handy. 

Keep room in your pockets and/or belt for easily transportable items such as your water bottle and healthy snacks such as those mentioned previously. 

The availability of nutritional items will greatly contribute to your performance and mitigate the negative impacts of hunger and dehydration, which include stress and fatigue.

Let’s face it when you’re on the job – either on your feet and making your rounds or sitting for prolonged periods at your desk and screens – it can be both tiring and stressful. 

Stress management is essential in these settings; proper nutrition will go a long way toward lessening stress and increasing mental well-being. 

Prepare in advance to address those inevitable hunger pangs that are bound to come along and, address your thirst during your shift. 

Your body and mind will both thank you for it.

Summary: Nutrition Tips for Security Professionals

Your ability as a security guard to perform your duties at peak level depends on the strength of your body and mind. 

We’ve mentioned key elements of the job, such as alertness and situational awareness. 

The amount and type of nutrition you provide your body during a shift will make the difference between a great, energetic shift, and a stressed-out, fatigued nightmare.  

That’s why the proper mix of foods and snacks, coupled with ample hydration, is so important. 

The lean protein, high-fibre food choices you make, coupled with their micronutrient content, contribute greatly to the proper functioning of your entire body. 

They will allow you to stay on your game, stay focused, and minimize the chances of an energy crash from fatigue.

It’s easy to gain a quick jolt from the more questionable nutrition sources we mentioned – fast food and sugar-laden snacks are all around us, all the time. 

The best advice is to avoid them wherever possible, and plan a healthy food and beverage choice whenever you can. 

It bears repeating: Your body and mind will both thank you for it, both when you’re performing your duties as a security professional, as well as when you’re off shift.

Last Updated on Jul 5, 2024