First In Co-Founders Jonathan and Anne Montgomery first met on the job as Firefighters entering Paramedic orientation with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue back in 2009. What started as a shared enthusiasm for fitness, pretzel M&Ms, and a passion for helping people blossomed into sharing a life and career together and everything that comes with it.
The highs of helping people in their times of need. Waking up each day with the desire to make a difference. The camaraderie and community from the brotherhood and sisterhood that the fire service is built on. And a sense of satisfaction that comes from being a part of something truly bigger than oneself.
But with those highs came some lows that are faced by many in the field. The constantly elevated stress from dealing with tragedies during 24-hour shifts. Sleep disturbances from answering alarms after midnight. And the long-term ramifications of steadily increasing body weight and declining health markers across the board as the years went by.
Fortunately, the solution was found in something simple. Something that was already a big part of our lives and of the lives of our brothers and sisters at the department…
Food!
Learning to fuel our body properly gave us the ability to combat many of the negatives we experienced from the long stressful shifts and the lifestyle that came with it, as well as allowed us to create a balance in life both on and off the job.
It also lead to some dramatic physical and performance changes as well. Not only improving our health and appearance, but also our ability to perform our mission on the job and be an asset to our crews as opposed to a liability.
By taking the passion we had for helping others when called upon and applying that same passion to taking care of ourselves we found what was missing and the success we were after. It was as simple as that.
Being able to help ourselves enabled us to better help others and we wanted to share that feeling with those close to us.
Our mission soon shifted from one that served ourselves to one of serving others. To be able to help our own avoid the traps of instant gratification and the coping mechanisms that they traditionally turned to.
Food no longer needs to be something to fear or to use as a way to cope, but instead can be used as a way to get better. To be better.
To become Fit For Duty and Fueled for Life.
Life is about doing what needs to be done and taking care of yourself in a way that will allow you to accomplish that mission. Everyone deserves to be their best so that they can give their best to others, and we are here to help.
Having found methods that work for those in some of the most extreme conditions, First In is confident that everyone can benefit from this freedom and extends our mission to supporters, civilians, friends, and family as well as those whose jobs and lives depend on it.
First In Nutrition Website: Click Here