May has been a manic month. I have travelled to Edinburgh, Eastbourne, Northern Ireland, Leeds and Wales for work and spent a wonderful weekend at Center Parcs with friends. Throw in a 40^th birthday celebration (unfortunately not mine) and I can confidently admit that my training and diet have regressed. 

Whilst I love the diversity of my job I am somewhat relieved to get back to an outlook calendar that allows me more control over what passes my lips and gives me my evenings back. Why is it that working lunches are so carb heavy? Sandwiches, wraps, baguettes and crisps are not only calorie dense but guarantees that the first presenter in the afternoon will be confronted by a semi comotosed audience. It is not called the graveyard slot for nothing.

Whilst I love the diversity of my job I am somewhat relieved to get back to an outlook calendar that allows me more control over what passes my lips and gives me my evenings back. Why is it that working lunches are so carb heavy? Sandwiches, wraps, baguettes and crisps are not only calorie dense but guarantees that the first presenter in the afternoon will be confronted by a semi comotosed audience. It is not called the graveyard slot for nothing.

But hopefully I will soon be back on track. Life has caused a slight diversion. I just need to get past this week’s weigh and measure.

This has focused my attention on the difficulties that some people have in fitting in exercise. For many people in their 50s life is extremely busy and stressful. It is a time when we can feel sandwiched between the needs of children and elderly parents as well as working full time. So much easier to reach for a glass of wine in the evening than go for a run.

But our 50s are also a time when we start looking towards retirement and in particular investing in our financial security. Shouldn’t we be taking the same care where our health is concerned?

Current UK recommendations for adults are 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of ‘vigorous intensity’ exercise per week plus physical activity to improve muscle strength on two days per week. However it has recently been reported that nearly half of the UK population don’t do any exercise. Maybe people feel overwhelmed by the numbers but anything is better than nothing.

I do think that there is often too much focus on the extra years of life that exercise can add. For a 30 year old does it really matter to them if doing exercise will guaranteed an extra 5 years past 80? What is important is what is happening now. And whilst ‘instant gratification’ is a term that is often used negatively it is a reality in society today. We should focus more on the benefits of exercise that can be gained today and less on what will happen in 50 years’ time.

But back to my diversion. This weekend I will have clocked up more than my 150 minutes. This included a 10k walk/run as part of my preparation for the Newham 10k in July that finishes in the Olympic stadium. I did this with a bit of a hangover following the 40th birthday celebration. Life can get in the way but only if you let it. So go for the run and then enjoy the glass of wine.