This Modern Love

It’s been over 5 months since I’ve being trying to get healthy and lose weight which probably has a correlation with the lack of posts in recent months. 

It’s not that I’ve stopped eating AT ALL. I just have tried to be choosy about what I’m going to splash out on eating rather than eating anything I god well please all day long. So instead of pre-made calorific sandwiches for lunch and massive helpings of dinner, I plan what I eat and cut down on my portions.

I’ve tried to be inventive in our meal time food, using Weight Watchers recipes online or putting a twist on our own favourite tea-time treats. So when it comes to having cake at WI meetings or nights out at Dining Club, I can treat myself. It’s nothing new. We all know it’s about balance. And hopefully that’s what will make it sustainable and keep me healthy into a ripe old age. 

I’ve lost 2 stones so far and I’m halfway through my weight-loss plan but I know the harder bit will be keeping it off. That’s why I’ve failed before. 

But it’s not all about weight. I’m not too bothered about the actual numbers on the scales, I more concerned with how I feel and what clothes I can wear. What I know has done me good has been actually getting off my arse and doing some exercise. I’ve been walking to work and back pretty much everyday since January and tried a few classes. But the biggest revelation for me has been running. 

I’ve always been a self-confessed running-phobe. I hated it. I wasn’t built to be a runner with my larger-than-average chest. At school, I came second to last in our House Cross-Country competition, in front of the obese girl with asthma. I’ve never been able to understand what those people who choose to jog around parks get out of it, other than a sweaty face and aching knees. It seemed like rubbish way of getting fit. 

But it seems like in 2013, everyone is running…even geeks. So I decided to give it a whirl and find out why. I downloaded the NHS Choices Couch to 5k podcast, donned my trainers (same pair I’ve had since I was 15) and got out there. 

The first week was hard. Running for 60 seconds may sound like the easiest thing in the world to you but for me, it was a struggle. I panted and wheezed my way around the woods, delighted every time it was time to walk. But it ended. And the woman on the podcast, whose soothing voice helped me through the run, congratulated me. And I felt good. And I got up early a couple of days later and did it again and again. 

Now, I don’t feel like a runner yet. I’ve just finished Week 3 and I’m no Paula Radcliffe; I’m only running for 3 minutes straight at a time. But the amazing feeling I get when I’ve finished a run is awesome. I feel strong and alive. Yesterday, I got up at 7am in the rain and ran through the woods with mud splashing up my calves. I want to carry on and get better and I seriously can’t wait to start Week 4 tomorrow. I’ve even signed up to do a 3km fun run in July. 

I’m not sure why I’ve suddenly felt like this compared to all the times I’ve tried to exercise before. On some level, I feel like now is the time for me to focus on my health and stop taking for granted my body. At the end of last year, I lost a close family member who should have lived for a long time. I don’t want that to happen to me. 

So I’ll try my best to run. And I’ll continue to eat my slice of cake now and then too. 

I thought it was about time I wrote down what happened when we went to Munich before it became too long ago and I forget we even went.

A lot of people have asked, why Munich? Well, in 2009, myself and my partner spent 5 days in Berlin and loved it. One of the best holidays ever. It was sunny, there was plenty to do, the people were great and the beer was ace. The food was pretty shoddy, but hey, there was currywurst to be had. Quite a few of my friends have spent plenty of time in Germany and have said we’d love Munich so we thought we had to give it a whirl.

Munich is what you think of when us Brits think of Germany (well, apart from the wars). Lederhosen, sausage, beer, beerhalls, sauerkraut - it’s all there. Berlin feels hip, arty, modern, international. Munich feels like an old city that’s on to a good thing. Tourists come here to experience Bavaria and sample what’s on offer.

We stayed at the Adagio Munchen on Schwanthalerstrasse. A great hotel full of serviced apartments. We had a little studio with it’s own kitchen and free wi-fi in the lobby. As it was Easter, they left little chocolate bunnies in our room which was a nice touch.

On our first day, we tried to get our bearings and walked to the Englischer Garten, a massive park in the city centre. And when I say massive, I mean it. It’s bigger than Central Park in New York. It has lots of green space to run around but also attractions like a Japanese Teahouse and the Chinesischer Turm, a restaurant and beer garden. You can even surf or join in with the nudists around the lake on a warm day. The Monday of our visit was too cold to strip off but we did manage one beer outside.

We then walked back into the centre and found the Hofbrauhaus. This is the most popular beerhall in Munich, rammed with tourists but it’s not as bad as it sounds. It was actually fun. The place is huge so there’s chance you’ll find somewhere to sit. A traditional Oompah band plays which adds to the great atmosphere. On our first visit, we tried a few beers and went for the brotzeitteller - a sharing plate of meats, cheese and bread. I was advised to try the obazda - a mixture of camembert and butter, and it was as good as it sounds. The other meats were not so great as there were mainly processed or had some weird kind of offal in.

In the evening, we ate at the recommended Augustiner Braustuben, a traditional Bavarian restaurant that was busy and lively. We couldn’t sit in the main hall so sat in an off-shot room that was a little quieter. My OH went for the mixed pan, a load of meat served in a metal frying pan. There was duck breast, pork knuckle, roasted pork, red cabbage, a dumpling and a dark beer gravy. He loved it but it did defeat him.

I fancied something a little more saucy and went for the Braumeisterpfanne (brewer master’s special). Served in a similar pan, the dish was a slice of pork saddle, swabian ravioli, a grilled meatball, a meaty dumpling, mushroom cream and gravy. It was delicious but so rich. A swabian ravioli is a really dense meaty parcel with thick pasta.

There was still room for pudding though. I had to go with their special apple strudel served with vanilla cream and the OH went for a cheeseboard.

A really nice place with a great atmosphere and good, hearty, artery-clogging food.