Thomasina the general manager
As the general manager of the New Zealand branch of an Australian company, Thomasina travels to Sydney once or sometimes twice most weeks. She also travels to other overseas destinations four or five times a year so she spends a lot of time in the Koru lounge and in hotel rooms. She says her diet would be similar to most regular business travellers. "It’s hard to avoid eating when food is constantly put in front of you. I start off trying to be good in the mornings, but the offerings at the Koru lounge in the evenings are too comforting."
7.30am Breakfast at the Koru lounge. First up, a good cup of coffee. I know I amgoing to be eating on the plane however the breakfast offering drags me in — 2 pieces of toast and a breakfast sausage followed by fruit.
9.15am Second breakfast on the plane. It's certainly not needed but I justify the omelette as a healthy option with the notion I may not be eating again until much later that day. No lunch today. Travelling to Sydney and back in a day is all about maximising your time. The office I work out of is in an isolated area and taking an hour or so out is not really on the cards. Surviving on coffee until I get back to the airport is quite common.
4.30pm (Sydney time) I'm back in the lounge and I'm starving. The food is good too — I force myself away from the American hot dog stand but instead opt for the soy chicken nibbles (too many), a bowl of nachos and some green salad to make me feel like I have done the right thing. This is all washed down with a couple of glasses of wine.
6.30pm (Sydney time) Back on the plane and though I'm certainly not hungry the airline meal is put in front of me and I accept. The lamb curry with rice and a dinner roll is washed down with yet another glass of wine or two. Perhaps it's the fact that eating on a plane helps pass the time, or after a busy day any thoughts regarding diet don't even register.
12am Back in Auckland and wide awake. Eating when you arrive home is not an option, however it's not unusual to sit quietly with another glass of wine and contemplate the day's events.
Nadia Lim’s nutrition quick fix
Frequent travellers often encounter problems with irregular eating time and routines, toomuch caffeine and alcohol, and inadequate hydration. All these things coupled with being inactive (while sitting on a plane) often results in disruption to a person’s normal bowel routine (travellers’ constipation). I suggest carrying around some high-fibre muesli so that wherever you are you have a high fibre breakfast on hand (that you can also snack on or have for lunch if there aren’t any other options). Carry a water bottle and drink frequently to avoid dehydration. Both caffeine and alcohol are diuretics and stimulants that will dehydrate you and disrupt sleeping patterns — avoid both within five hours of bedtime. It’s important you make an effort to have regular meals whichever time zone you are in, to avoid binge eating later on — snack on fruit and muesli to curb hunger before you get around to having your next proper meal.
