Stay At Home Saturday

“Who would have thought losing weight was as simple as eating sensibly, getting enough exercise, and drinking less?”, I’ve said to a couple of people since arriving back from my trip.

Yes, I know from a lifetime of experience it’s far more complicated than that, and I acknowledge the difficult task it can be for many people.

I was always an overweight child and then I lost a lot of weight and was quite thin in my late teens and early twenties. Since my mid to late 20s, however, I’ve struggled with my weight. I love all the wrong foods, drink far too much, and don’t get anywhere near enough exercise.

When I went overseas I was pretty unhealthy and overweight. As I travelled around I lost about 10 kilograms in all, mostly due to the exercise, healthy food and less booze regime. People are still commenting about it, which is a great encouragement.

However, since arriving back I haven’t done nearly as much exercise as I should, and yet, I seem to have kept the kilograms off. I can’t work it out. Especially today where I’ve done absolutely nothing. Well, not nothing, but close to it.

About four o’clock this afternoon I realised I hadn’t left the house all day. “Is it a bad thing?”, I thought to myself as I looked outside at the sunshine. “Have I wasted a wonderful day?”, I wondered. And then I concluded I hadn’t.

I’d spent several hours working on family history, I’d made lunch, I’d watched a bit of televsion, I’d surfed the net, I’d listened to a lot of music, I’d cleaned (a little) and I’d done some Swedish practice.

Admittedly though, I hadn’t shaved and I hadn’t had a shower.

And then it all became a bit of a mental challenge. “What if I don’t leave the house today?”, I thought to myself.

It’s now close to midnight and, unless there’s an earthquake or an evacuation of some sort, I reckon I’ll be able to complete the challenge of “Stay At Home Saturday”.