Wednesday 9 February 2011

Too much food isn't good for you....

A few pics of me and my old school pals from our weekend a couple of weeks ago. We have known each other for 30 years now since we all shared a dorm in that first week!! God, how old does that make us sound....



Thankfully though, it wasn’t me who inspired this realisation!! It was poor little Minty the Thief. I spotted a small patch of doggie sick when I came home on Friday afternoon but was confused to see that it contained mixer biscuits. Neither of them had had biscuits in their food for a few days as they eat mostly raw chicken wings. On deeper investigation we could see Minty looking uncharacteristically hangdog and lying sprawled on her back with her tummy, looking fuller than its usual svelte self, in the air. If she could groan she would have done and if you patted her tummy she was decidedly not impressed…. Ah ha, we had a culprit (big shock it was Minty not the saintly Shelagh…).



But how did she get to the biscuits? They are kept either in a jar in a kitchen cupboard or in a sack under the stairs in the back room, the door to which is kept shut to stop them going upstairs when we’re out. Apparently, unbeknownst to us, she has now mastered the art of opening the door to the back room and creeping under the stairs (no door) and sticking her head into the sack of mixer biscuits and chowing down like a horse with a feedbag!! I think this must have been the first time though, and the last.



I hope so because picking up after her was not a pleasant task for a day or so!!



Anyway, it made me ponder on the topic of over-eating. I, unlike Minty, know full well that eating too much does not make me feel good. Either it makes me feel sicky and bloated or I feel unhappy a day later when I step on the scales. But I still do it from time to time. My pesky chimp still fools me into it when my resistance is low. I suppose the trick is to enjoy the sensation of having a blowout without going too far. To build the odd splurge into your lifestyle but ensure that it doesn’t do any damage by otherwise eating healthily and doing lots of exercise….oh yeah, simples…



I’m trying though. We had a great weekend. A few early door drinks on Friday in our local (which we would ideally like to remain our local so we really hope we can find a new house to rent in the same village....). Then a busy Saturday of hospital appointment, chores and football. Not the greatest match but a draw and a new manager so at least there's hope now. And a quiet night in....yay! Then on Sunday a blustery wet walk up and down Lose Hill, a run (how virtuous) and into town for Madness!!



Such fun (as Miranda's mum might say, although probably not about a night at a Madness gig...). They haven't changed in the 25 years since I first started to like their music. Rich is more of a fan than me and has seen them before but I really enjoyed the whole night. I haven't been in a mosh pit (an old-fashioned one at that) for years....come on Lesley, be honest, decades...and it was FAB! So exhilerating and sweaty. Just being carried around on a tide of jumping, happy humanity. It was not so big a venue that I might have felt a bit scared but big enough that you could have a proper laugh. We emerged into the night, sweaty, tired out, buzzing on adrenalin and with ringing ears....felt 18 again!



Monday was more sedate - it was Rich's birthday so we both had the day off. He seemed to like his present from me (a couple of the designer jumpers that he likes but can't usually justify as so over-priced but which I found on double-discounted sale!!). He said he liked them of course but the acid test was whether he would wear one straight away - and he has - and he looked good in it - phew!! It's such a trial picking out that first birthday present of a new relationship....stressful stuff. We were so tired though from Sunday night that going to dancing was almost a step too far. We went but started to flag about half way through, around about the time the teacher decided we should start learning a new dance - the Jive! High energy or what! I'm going to love it but last night I thought my legs were going to seize up!!



So, dragging myself back to my "splurge but in moderation" analogy, I managed lots of exercise both planned and impromptu, I drank too much on Sunday night but also had some quiet nights and sensible suppers as well. Overall a balance was achieved and no damage has been done on the scales. I'm back to my start of January weight and heading in the right direction again....and we had a good time....

4 comments:

Claire said...

Sounds like all is good..unless you are a dog. x

Peridot said...

Ah yes, I remember our first proper Christmas together, bf bought me..... a food processor! Of course, wuss that I am, I pretended to like it whilst gulping back the tears! Fortunately it never turned into a trend for household appliances!

Px

Seren said...

Poor old Minty! Your weekend sounds wonderful, and great that you can achieve some balance in the midst of a social whirlwind.

Sx

Foxy said...

You look great, and cheery!

Greetings from prague :)