Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Sobering thoughts on weighty matters

By Virginia Winder
Easter was hard.
I blame the chocolate and with that came the blue cheese and brie we offered guests. I couldn't help myself. On top of that was Alan Scott pinot gris and apple cider.
Perhaps it was frustration over my bike, which kept having chain problems, or the chocolates stacked up everywhere, but to be honest I think it was the hotcross buns, which are my absolute downfall.
Whatever happened at Easter, the scales showed the damage.
So, instead of shedding the extra 1-2kg I was needing to sneak under the 90kg mark into the wonderful 80s, I actually put that amount on!
That was despite running, swimming and trying to bike (it's fixed now).
It's time to follow my own wise advice and not beat myself up for my first failure in seven months and, instead, realise I am only human. It's time to think ahead, regroup, train harder and fit everything in.
Went for my first walking lunch with fellow garden writer Sarah Foy and it was brilliant.
We chatted, brainstormed ideas, snooped on a tropical inner-city garden and felt good about working up a sweat. You see I've been researching information about how getting moving helps our brains work better, so have decided to put it into practice.
Even wrote an entire feature on it in my weekly sustainably column, Your World, which appears in the Taranaki Daily News each Tuesday.
This week, I've focused on the power of water for performance. Did you know a lack of water is the No 1 trigger for daytime fatigue? Check out: Drink lots to stay above water for more H20 info.
So now I'm drinking more water in earnest, trying to move more each day inbetween writing to prevent computer-related problems and doing my best to keep my brain in order.
As for the food, I have replaced chocolate eggs with feijoas. Yum!
I have decided that my absolute favourite meal of all, even above chicken mole, is bircher muesli soaked overnight in water, topped with freshly scooped-out feijoas, a handful of fresh walnuts and Biofarm bush honey yoghurt. 
Sorry whanau in Aussie, who may now be craving feijoas, but they are oh so delicious. Especially from the farmers market and grown by Marion and Gavin Struthers! Mmmm.
Other new things... have been training quite hard for my second Contact Tri Women's race, which is on this weekend in Auckland. Feel quite confident that I'll be able to run rather than walk this time!
Also, have decided to give up alcohol for good. Yes, forever.
You're probably wondering why.
Well, it's to do with sleep mostly. I'm not a big drinker at all, but when I do have a glass or two of wine or cider, I suffer terrible insomnia. In fact, the more I drink, the less sleep I get. So, if I have a glass of wine or even two a couple of nights in a row, that's it, I may as well not bother heading to bed. Annoyingly, I can't concentrate on anything either, so am unable to write, read, watch a movie or do art. It's just nightmarish.
Even though I do love a glass of wine, a cider or margarita, it's just not worth it any more and seems to be getting worse with age. So, from now on, my lovely husband has a permanent sober driver.
For life.