Anna Geary's Dietary tips

1. Do you have breakfast? If so, what do you have?

I always have a good breakfast- a big bowl of porridge, with blueberries or banana, chopped almonds, seasame seeds and honey.
I try to drink one litre of water with breakfast. At the weekends, I may have some homemade brown bread, toasted, with turkey rashers (or regular rashers) and tea.
If you have a good breakfast once you get up it kick starts your metabolism.

2. Do you eat lunch at your desk or do you make an effort to get out? If so, where do you go i.e. local deli, pub, sushi etc?

There are times when I have to eat my lunch at my desk if I am busy or working through lunch to get out on time for training. But I will always leave my desk for 10-15 minutes even if it’s just to get a cup of tea and have a chat with a colleague, stretch my legs or get some fresh air.
Some days I will bring in my own lunch so I may have it at my desk if I exercise or run errands at lunch. Other days I have to go to the shop for a salad or wrap. Every now and then we go out for lunch, just for a change of scenery.

3. What are your snacks throughout the day?
As my colleagues will tell you, I have a ready supply of snacks stashed in my work drawer. I have fruit (mostly pears and apples), rivita, tinned salmon, nuts and some dark chocolate (for the days I want to have something sweet in the afternoons). I also have a bottle of cordial in my drawer for the time I need to add something to my water to keep up my water intake. It is a big drawer!

4. Any advice for keeping a balanced diet when out and about for a day with work?
Prepare food for a few days in advance when you have the time. It will make you stick to the same balance diet and also it will save you time. If you cannot prepare food in advance eat regularly, preferably before you get hungry, so that you do not crave sugary foods to boost your energy levels. When you get to the point of being hungry then we reach for something fast and not necessarily healthy.

5. If you could change one thing about your eating habits what would it be…
I would like to eat more fresh fish and I would like to increase my vegetable intake. In relation to my fruit and vegetable intake, I eat plenty of fruit, but fruit can be high in natural sugars so I would prefer to fulfill my ‘5-a-day’ with more vegetables, ideally green vegetables. It’s a work in progress.