All in a day's work: Jasmin the personal trainer

Jasmin the personal trainer

Jasmin is a 23-year-old personal trainer. She works long hours, starting at 6am and finishing at 7pm, training up to 10 clients per day. She makes all her meals and snacks, avoiding takeaways and packaged snacks. She aims to eat plenty of fresh produce, avoids starchy foods and processed foods. She also tries to make gluten-free choices. Would she describe her diet as typical of others in the same profession? "Yes—most trainers like to eat healthy fresh food, and also watch their calorie intake".

7:30am One piece of gluten-free toast with a tbsp of natural peanut butter, a hard boiled egg and large flat white.
10.00am 6 natural almonds and a carrot. Cup of tea with milk.
12.30pm 1 can of tomato and sundried tomato tuna and an apple and carrot
3.30pm Boiled egg and 2 pieces of 72 per cent cocoa chocolate for post-workout energy. Cup of tea with milk.
7.30pm 100g eye fillet steak with onion and mushroom, 1/2 cup of peas, green salad with tsp of balsamic vinaigrette.
8.30pm 2 pieces of 72 per cent cocoa chocolate

Nadia Lim’s nutrition quick fix

Your diet is very high in protein and low in fat. You do well on the vegetable front, however remember variety is as important as amount. Include more (healthy) unprocessed carbohydrates in your diet in the form of fruit, kumara, bulghur wheat, quinoa etc. These carbohydrates are high in fibre, have a low glycaemic index and are low in calories. It is a myth that starchy foods make you put on weight — too much of anything, whether protein, carbohydrate or fat, will result in excess calories and lead to weight gain. Half a medium kumara has about the same amount of calories as one egg. Overall though, keep up the good work — balance your diet out with some more carbohydrate and a serving of low-fat dairy, and it will be near perfect!