Portions

Before I tell you what I've been up to today, I would like to have a bit of a rant about cereal... When you're as health-conscious as I am, you - to the detriment of a happy life - check the nutritional value of everything you eat. If I don't know what's going in, I don't stand a chance when it comes to getting the weight off. Most food nowadays comes with fairly good information regarding it's nutritional content and will usually tell you how many calories you'll get through if you eat a "portion". Now this "portion" that they talk of is, in my mind, an extremely subjective matter but a lot of the time it is fairly accurate. Rice and pasta for instance, is always dead on. However, according to producers of cereal, a portion size would involve a bowl that looked like milk had been spilt in it with less than a baby's handful of actual cereal! I think the variety packs you can get can only be a rubbish practical joke that has gone on for far too long, who could ever be satisfied with 30g of cornflakes?! You need at least 50g just for a first course of a decent breakfast. Phew, rant over! So, after my four portions of Shreddies this morning I was fuelled and ready for some Sunday morning exercise. I had planned a swim but having left my swimming kit at work yesterday I was in a state of confused disarray. Deviating from your training plan is always a bit dramatic as you frantically figure out how to rearrange and get the right amount of different things in. I had also planned a long run though, and this was made easier by being invited out by a few of the ladies from the running group. Normally my long run is around 6 miles and by the end of it my legs have given up and decided to go from being legs into being sticks of pain. However, having a bit of company really keeps your mind off the actual running and you can concentrate on having a jolly good chat instead! 8.5 miles later and my legs were as fresh as a daisy, which more than can be said for my t-shirt. A really brilliant run in great company, and we averaged just over 10-minute miles so not bad all in all. I did feel the ache later today though as I had to cancel my cycle, the legs were definitely feeling a bit drained after a day of the stairs at work. Instead I came home, relaxed and made a lovely veggie chilli. For anyone that's ever eaten my cooking, you'll know my portion sizes are very anti-cereal.. and I just couldn't resist having two!