As a journalist, you get used to probing the minutiae of other people’s lives. When the tables are turned, it’s not so easy, especially when the ‘e’ word is involved - exercise.
While I try to embrace healthy eating, exercise is a bit of a stumbling block, my main concession being walking Lucy the Labrador. And right now she’s sprawled across the sofa. I’m the non-sporty one in the household.
The boys, who are just turned 15 and 11, are on soccer teams in Portlaoise. The 11-year-old also plays hurling, football and table tennis. Hubby played hurling in his heyday but now spends a lot of his time on the sidelines. After having two stents inserted a few years back, he started to incorporate daily walking into his routine and to cut back on sweet treats.
Ironically a move to the country has meant fewer opportunities to walk as our road is a narrow twisty and busy one. The lane leading up to the forest across the road tends to be mucky in autumn/winter, so he has joined a local leisure centre.
His approach is not as rigorous as the 15-year-old’s who deemed himself to be too skinny so he joined a local teen gym during the summer. Now it’s all about benching and bulking - and eating scrambled eggs at strange times of the night. All with the aim of “gains” in strength and weight.
While he has become a tad obsessive about food, the good thing is he is more aware of nutrition, and has even attempted to cook. I think he’s a bit young for the gym but as his GP remarked “Girls want to get skinnier and boys want to get bigger.”
I’m mainly vegetarian but the others are carnivores. As we’re both freelancers, working to erratic schedules and with some form of sports training for the boys on most evenings, putting healthy food on the table that suits everyone can be a challenge.
A lot of veggie dishes involve a multitude of ingredients and I’m not the best of cooks. I started to eat a small amount of fish a few years ago but I’ve gone back to mostly vegetarian fare. I’ve tried to shift the emphasis away from red meat to fish but the 11-year-old isn’t a fan. So sometimes it can be a case of a three-dish dinner in the evenings.
On a recent visit to Lyrath Health Club, Kilkenny, I picked up some simple recipes as well as advice - on some go-to foods such as Quinoa, nuts and seeds.
Trying to keep a lid on over-exposure to processed food - reading the labels on some foods can be a scary experience - confectionery and screen time can be difficult.
While holidaying on a Spanish camping site during the summer, we noticed how healthily a lot of Spanish children eat - we spotted little more than tots tucking into monkfish in a Barcelona restaurant. Chocolate bars and crisps just don’t seem to be as widely available there as here.
I guess it’s all about balance. I’m interested in the Healthy Towns initiative for its proactive approach. When it comes to health matters, like many people, I tend to leave well enough alone. However, there are always steps - even small ones- that we can take to ensure our lifestyle is as healthy as possible. When the health professionals roll into town, it’s time to sit up and listen to what they have to say. I just won’t buy the tracksuit yet.