It is commonly known that physicians do not lead the healthiest lifestyle. But there is hope. Juliane is a young doctor from Berlin, who picked up on the problem and wanted to help. Already during med-school she started a small business giving healthy food advice, custom-made for demanding situations. By just trying out, the idea started growing. And she has a brilliant tip for everyone.

The circle of a doctor’s daily life starts early. You leave your bed exhausted already, too late, a cup of coffee must do. No time for breakfast. On arrival in your department you open your email first. “URGENT”, “VERY VERY URGENT” and “EXTREMELY URGENT” appear on the screen. The phone rings. Patients arrive. It’s 12 a.m. and you still did not eat. Fortunately it was some colleague’s birthday. There is cake in the nurses’ room. On your run to the E.R. you leave a trail of crumbs. This might come in handy. It will be dark when you get back. At 8 p.m. E.R. is ordering Pizza and burgers.

It gets to 10 p.m. until you can make it. The Pizza is cold, but not too bad. You try to get some sleep. The phone rings again. Waiting for lab results in the middle of the night sucks. You have another cold coffee. Luckily your work is bearing fruit and a happy patient left some chocolate chip cookies. You grab a hand-full chips and peanuts from the table on your way and go back to bed. It’s 5 a.m. You set the alarm to 7. Of course getting out of bed is hard. No time for breakfast until you get home at 12 a.m. next day. Tired from cutting sleep, you are too lazy to get out for yoga class.

You do not even recognize until, after months of duty, you finally have a day of. In front of the mirror, your regular pants don’t seem to fit. Within 2 months you gained 10 pounds and even though you are running behind the facts all the time, it might be mostly body fat. Where does the belly come from? You never noticed in your scrubs. Caught in a vicious cycle, lacking time and energy to change something about the situation. You see trees but not the forest.You might need a gentle push in the back.

Here is where Juliane’s project ‘Nahrungsbalance’ comes in. Being a student in med-school confronted her with the unhealthy lifestyle of most colleague doctors. “Many of my clients are doctors, who asked me for help. I usually start asking them out about the range of food you can get in the hospital. Usually there is at least something healthy you could buy.” Of course, the motivation has to be intrinsic at first, but a helping hand can clear sensory blockades.

Meeting Juliane for green smoothie, triggered my own awareness already. Of course I had asked her if she wanted to meet for a coffee. In my close-nit world this means meeting in general without actually having to literally drink coffee. But as I do drink it all the time, I honestly did not even notice I always use it as a metaphor. We had green smoothie and chai instead and at least it felt not worse than espresso and chocolate chip cookies.

Next to analyzing the offerings of healthy food available on the working grounds, she includes the schedule. “When you have to work nightshifts, it is important to keep a regular meal integrated in the work-flow. I always tell my clients to have breakfast at a certain point. If you get home at 7 a.m. you should have breakfast before going to bed. If you get home after rounds, it is better to have something to eat before.”

I asked her for a simple piece of advice, something everyone can do, no matter how much time there is left. “What about a simple snack? You should always keep an apple and two carrots in your bag! They have to be cleaned and who has time, cuts it to pieces in the evening.” It is like modern art. You might think, duh, I could come up with that. But have a look in your bag right now.

There are recipes for her clients regularly: smoothies, healthy foods, little time- and lifesavers. She now even leads a sports group in the park every week. Most of the members are her clients, too. There is no doubt: it’s motivating. Autumn kicked in heavily, yellow leaves were giving up under the weight of raindrops. But after few nice but resolute messages, conveying positive energy and a bit of peer pressure, I was convinced I had to join.

She radiates this positive energy not only while advocating for a physically healthy lifestyle. Everything seems easy and uncomplicated. She talks to her clients by phone, if there is no time to meet. Starting a business was naturally hassle-free, not even the German tax agency managed form an obstacle. Why? There does not seem to be a lot of unnecessary doubt and perfectionism. She gives the best example of ‘don’t doubt – just do’. Simplicity is the key.

Her future ideas do not evolve around a standard doctor’s career, even though she graduated and earned her doctoral degree in sports medicine. The unhealthy lifestyle of the hospital work force does not seem appealing despite having an own box of tricks. She wants to travel again first. And of course she will blog about healthy food for travelers. Want to know what to do, if there are no apples or carrots on the overnight bus in Indonesia?! I will update you with the link, once it’s ready. Because only peanuts every day won’t work.

For now you can read her first guest blog here..