Hello! My name is Grae Gerster and I am The Hungry Medic. I have worked in EMS for a little over 17 years. I have worked in California’s Central Valley operating in Fresno, Kings, and Tulare counties. During this time I have been a Fire Fighter, EMT, and for the last 13 years I have been a Paramedic. Like many of you out there, the lifestyle and stress of what we do has taken its toll on my weight and health. So a while back I decided to do something about it.

I started my journey in 2012. I was way to big and was feeling bad about myself. Coincidentally, my company had decided to sponsor Weight Watchers and I signed up! I looked through the program and how it was set. The tools, tips, articles, and so forth. I quickly came to realize that this program had nothing set up in a way to support an industry like EMS. I looked around and googled up a storm, only to find that there really wasn’t anything health-related out there for us. So I decided to start The Hungry Medic.

I wasn’t, and am still not, trained in dietary needs or science. I am only able to offer what I learn. But I knew I could modify things in a way to match us. I could provide a platform for EMS to meet and share their ideas, successes, and failures. I could create a platform to share some healthy sharing. My goal was simple:

Learn To Be Better, Not Perfect.

So to accomplish this I started a FaceBook page and put myself out there. I had some really good progress. I made it to 5.5k followers and actually had a few people attribute a portion of their success to The Hungry Medic and its support. I myself have hit stumbles. I have started and stopped, losing 60lbs and 40lbs, then falling and putting it back on. At the time of this writing I am 294.6lbs and starting again.

In addition to this, in 2020 I had a change in employment. Part of this allowed me to become an instructor for AHA and NAEMT. With this I am able to teach BLS, ACLS, PALS, and PHTLS. I love teaching and have really enjoyed this opportunity. I look at it as a way to educate my peers, as well as the community. A way to promote health and education to my community.

With this new start, (again), I hope to provide healthy information and training to those who want it. Welcome to my journey. I hope you find value here.

Founded in 2012, The Hungry Medic started as a way to share my journey towards health and weight loss. The idea formed when I began a Weightloss regimen and realized that there was nothing really geared towards EMS or that could really work for us. So I started my page and started work to help others. In 2020 to further my efforts to educate people and to push myself forward I became an AHA Instructor and now teach BLS, ACLS, and PALS, as well as PHTLS through NAEMT.

I have hit a few bumps in my journey, fallen off the wagon, and gotten back on, but I am now pushing forward stronger than ever. I look forward to helping and teaching all of you out there that would like to join me.