How not to be a fat food writer

Wimbledon 2017 – the most famous tennis championship in the world – is over. While Britain’s Andy Murray will be nursing himself back to fitness after the injury which cost him the trophy, in London SW12 one armchair tennis fan must also regroup. Two weeks of cheering for Muller, Konta and Radwanska from my sofa and consequently fewer walks and more ice creams have taken their toll. But now it’s over and for Andy and me, it’s time to get inspired and back to our routines. Step 1: hop on the scales and assess the damage – two or three pounds more than I’d like.Read More →

Do you look forward to the party season while dreading the effects of too much food and drink? The greatest weight management challenge is the stand-up buffet and worst of all, the Beige Buffet. You know the sort of thing. Spring rolls, mini-quiches, mini-pizzas, Scotch eggs, sausage rolls, chopped up mini pork pies, mince pies, brownie bites, stollen bites. Be honest, you’re a bit disappointed but dive in because you’re hungry and later, you feel cheated that you’ve wasted hundreds of calories on a not-very-good eating experience. You also hanker after some fresh raw food to offset all that greasy pastry. Here’s a fact that revolutionised my thinking about buffets. It made me feelRead More →

Today I was passing through London’s Tooting Broadway tube station when a handwritten saying on a board made me stop. The motivational words are by the late Arthur Ashe, 1943 – 1993, former Wimbledon tennis champion and social activist. He said: To achieve greatness, start where you are, use what you have and do what you can. You can apply Arthur Ashe’s motivational motto to weight management. Simply change the first three words to say ‘to lose weight’. Start where you are. There’s no point remaining in denial. This is where you are today and there’s no point harping back to what you used to weigh when you were 21 or before your mumRead More →