A while back, Bobbi Milsaps wrote a great blog post over at Robb Wolf’s blog for eating right while on military orders. It’s a great starter piece, but I think there are some great tips I can add after being on active duty for the last month. It’s tough, but there are ways to eat right and perform beyond military standards.
Ditchin’ Sugar
Monsters won't help turn you into a monster.
Quitting sugar and ditching those crazy stimulants is step #1. Being in an engineer course, I see Soldiers go through sometimes 2 Monster energy drinks per day. I’ve even seen a buddy down a 64 oz. can immediately after lunch because he was tired. As I’ve previously blogged, coffee is a sparkplug to get you goin’, not the gas on which to run. The rest of the day, drink water. You’ve heard it throughout your training, now put it into practice. 10-12 glasses a day should keep you feeling good.
Candy is another constant in class, out in the field, and at work. From Twix to Twinkies, “fatty cakes” are everywhere. Time to put that crap to bed. If you’re eating big meals of meat, fat, and veggies, you shouldn’t be dying for a fix every three hours. If you’re in real need of a snack, nuts, hard boiled eggs, and jerky always do the trick, though I wouldn’t want to be the guy crackin’ open up some fragrant yolks in a classroom.
So, you’ve kicked sugar and Amp, Red Bull, and Monster. Now it’s off to the DFAC (chow hall).
Surviving the DFAC
Just like in the civilian world, you’ve got choices (unless you’re on lockdown, like Basic Training). For every military post, there should be a few places from which to choose your best of the worst chow hall. I’ve found that the best ones have civilian employees (not your average E-4 soldier) and better selections for meat and vegetables.
For breakfast, you can pretty much cut out any expectation of vegetables, but don’t let that stand in your way of getting a decent morning meal. Military chow halls always have bacon, sausage, and eggs. Fill your plate up with that stuff. This is where your sweet-talking skills come into play. The line, “feel free to load me up with some extra bacon; I’m a growin’ boy” works really well for me. I’ve even walked out of line with a half-a-plate of bacon and two eggs. Finally, I always make my way to the salad bar for some fresh fruit. Coffee? You bet. Hold the cream and sugar.
Lunch is a little more challenging, but hey, the military gets work done. Load up on as much meat as they’ll allow. Avoid the deep-fried stuff and go for the most unprocessed, ungravied, and unsauced meat as possible. Most of the time it’s possible, but sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet. Next, make your way to the salad bar and pile up the veggies in salad form. Unfortunately, that’s the freshest you’re going to get. Most of the veggies on the mainline are canned and preserved with the nastiest nonsense. Feel free to throw some ham, eggs, and (real) bacon bits to make for a filling side-dish. When everyone else is having (“oh, it’s just one serving) of pie or ice cream, skip it. After a hearty meal like that, you should be feeling pretty full.
An example of a decent lunch at the chow hall.
Dinner, fortunately, is about the same as lunch, just with different food. So, follow the rules above and you’ll be running on better-quality gas than your military peers.
The Little Luxuries
Quality meat, eggs, and lard from Greenwood Farms, LLC
For those with the luxury of a kitchenette and off-post liberties, you’ve got some room to improve your food choices than the regular troop. First, find your nearest CSA and stock up on some grass-fed meat and quality bacon, eggs, and lard. Days when you don’t want to hit up the DFAC, you’ll be good to go in your room. Of course, you’ve always got the commissary, but their selection is only slightly better than the chow hall’s.
Next, since you’ve got a ready supply of “acquired” fruits, drop 50 or 60 bucks on a food dehydrator. Green apple chips make for a great mid-morning snack and butternut squash or zucchini chips make for good “chips” accompanying salsa.
The Paleo Snack-Machine!
Since parties, birthday celebrations, and morale-boosting events always bring with it some sort of cake or soda, make a judgement call. If you’re in it to win it, skip it. But if you’re under some real pressure, no one’s going to fault you for falling face first into a slice of pie.
As you most likely know, alcohol fits nicely into a Paleo lifestyle as an occasional treat. But with peers always downing MGD 64’s (because of the low calories, of course), it’s hard to be that guy who is always sober. So be smart about drinking. Keep the boozin’ to about once a week or two, reaching for the tequila, vodka, or red wine instead of grain beer. This will also keep you out of trouble with those pesky MPs. 
Fish Oil, Vitamin D3, & Sleep
You can pretty much guarantee the meat at the DFAC is the lowest quality available due to the government shopping for the lowest price to feed the greatest quantity of troops. That means it’s going to be high in Omega-6 fatty acid. To make things even more unhealthy, soybean and corn oil are the staples of cooking oil there. Either way, a high dose of EPA/DHA fish oil daily will keep that N-3:N-6 ratio closer to caveman levels. *WARNING: If you’re deployed and have a job which requires you to be shot at or blown up on a daily or weekly basis, stay clear of the fish oil. You may need that blood to clot one day.
Rich catchin' some free rays on a day off.
Unless you’re in a staff position, you’re probably out in the field only occasionally getting some sun. Unfortunately, you’re covered from head to toe in a few pounds of gear. On days off, try and get yourself some sun and throughout the rest of the week, throw 2-4,000 IU of Vitamin D3 down the hatch.
Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Sailors have busy lives. Early PT, long duty days, extra responsibilities, etc. We’ve got to perform to our best on the little bit of rest issued to us by Uncle Sam. Get as much sleep as you can. Quit playin’ Spades ’til midnight and turn off the Wii. Aim for 8+ hours, but it’s understandable if you’re only getting 5-6 in a high-tempo cycle. Remember, getting sleep is just as important as good nutrition.
As a member of the best fighting force in the world, you’ve got to fuel yourself with the right gas to run like a champ in defense of the nation. It is easy to shrug off eating right because you’re busy or still looking studly at PT, but you are a fish swimming against the current without proper nutrition. You wouldn’t toss unneeded extra weight into your ruck before a march, right? Dial in the right fuel and you’ll have a much easier time surviving the demands of military life.