Ashley, the building inspector
Ashley is a 61-year-old building inspector for Auckland Council. He visits building sites all day, most days, to check building compliance and most of his eating is done on the road, between visits. As his job is highly sedentary he tries not to overeat. Would he describe his diet as typical of others in his profession?
“We’re such a diverse group I think we all eat very differently — I know the women pack themselves salads and stuff, but the blokes tend more towards going to fast-food outlets. I have lots of meat and veges most nights of the week. Friday night is a bit of a breakout.”
6.30am Make the wife and myself a cup of tea.
8.35am Coffee and a muffin from the petrol station.
11am 2 cold lamb sandwiches with mayo, lettuce and gherkins. Oh, and there are a couple of bags of lollies in the car, so quite a few get eaten in between appointments.
2pm 2 pieces of fish and chips. I was in West Auckland and I passed a great looking fish and chip shop, so I got some … hey, it's Friday!
8pm Grilled cheese on toast x 4 once I got back from the club, where I had 4 beers and 2 red wines.
Nadia Lim’s nutrition quick fix
All I can say is, I hope the other days of the week aren’t like this! In absence of fruit and vegetables, your diet is severely lacking in vitamins, minerals and fibre, and high in calories and saturated fat. Bought muffins and bread are highly processed carbohydrates and should be limited, not eaten daily in large quantities (9 pieces of bread is a lot). There is a lot of hidden salt in your diet — the sodium content of the bread and cheese alone is more than you need in a whole day, and that’s before getting to the fish and chips! Your number 1 priority is getting more fresh food into your diet. Pack 3-4 pieces of fruit to take with you to snack on, and make sure dinner includes at least half a plate of vegetables.
