All in a day's work: JJ Fong the actress

JJ is a 27-year-old actor and performer. She freelances, so some days she has work while other days are free and this affects what she eats. “Normally I’m shooting Stepdave, having meetings for Flat3 webseries or rehearsing for theatre plays. The set of Stepdave has catering so I eat what they serve us, but I try and stay away from too many carbs. If I go out for lunch I like to have coffee with a salad, or sometimes a sweet treat.

During rehearsals I usually take salad for lunch and they always have chocolate for when I need a sugar rush!” Would she describe her diet as typical of others in her profession? “Yes I think a lot of actors eat very healthily and have lower-carb diets. However I do have toast in the mornings and I’ll eat cake and biscuits so I’m not too strict with myself — I’ve still got to live my life too!”

8am

2 pieces of fruit toast with real peanut butter, 1 banana and a beetroot, carrot and apple juice

11am

Apple

1pm

Salad with chicken and chickpeas

4pm

Cup of tea with crackers, cheese and tomato

7.30pm

Steak and salad

8.30pm

Peppermint tea

Nadia Lim’s nutrition quick fix

I think you have a well-rounded diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and just the right amount of treats. You are in fact eating carbohydrates throughout the day, but they are the “good’’ unrefined carbs coming from fruit and chickpeas. A couple of pieces of toast per day is fine, but I would encourage you to alternate with other carbohydrates at breakfast, like oats, or even potato — these carbohydrates are much less refined than bread and contain more nutrients. The juice in the morning will give you a good hit of vitamins, however you could also consider having a smoothie so that you don’t lose all the fibre in the juicing process.

JJ Fong starred in the NZ premiere of Girl in Tan Boots earlier this month. StepDave airs on Tuesdays at 8.30pm on TV2.