Shop Yourself Slim

Usually when I read surveys, I skim over them with a disinterested air and an urge to get onto some more constructive reading – such as what shoulder pad size we should all be sporting this season.

So I was knocked sideways when I saw a survey that thrilled me so much, I read it twice!

The basis of this revelatory read was that shopping can make your slim- oh yes! Apparently, during the course of a year, the average woman takes a trot round the shops over 130 times and that can result in 48,000 calories being burnt off over the twelve months.

Clearly if that's based on an 'average woman', then a shopaholic is going to be shedding a lot more pounds and ounces in her quest for the perfect purchase!

Yes, I know, there is a flaw.

For people like me who really shouldn’t be shopping, this is simply a case of shedding more pounds from my wallet than my waist.

But I have a solution…

If the shopping alone burns all those calories, just think how many more you’ll burn when you return all those goodies for a refund.

Six Sensational Days & Three Lovely Locations

It’s amazing what you can do when you drop your promise to curb your spending and embrace a promise to live life to the full.

We’d been planning a few trips away between now and the end of the year, but with less than a week until Kevin heads into hospital, we reckoned we should just squish the whole lot together.

So, we pooled our cash, packed our cases and set off.

First stop was Slaley Hall in Northumberland where Hobbs had a snuffle-tastic time in their grounds, ate handsomely from the sausage selection of the breakfast buffet and snored loudly at the end of each day; Kevin’s time in the pool and sauna was so extensive that he almost grew webbed feet and I couldn’t resist the lure of the spa and a quick snooze through one of their relaxing facials. Combined with cocktails on the couches after dinner and a few glasses of bubbly, it was the perfect trip.

Despite having to drop into work on the way back, I was still tingling and glowing from my spa treatment when we hit the Crieff Hydro a couple of days later. Another blissful episode of being indulged, pampered and fed to the point of bursting; kicking through the autumn leaves and pulling faces for the camera.

Our final destination was Gleneagles and the afternoon tea that our fabulous chum, Alan – or Uncle Mongoose as he’s known to Hobbs - had booked for us. Two hours and about a million calories later, we were heading for home; happy and relaxed in the knowledge that we’d done everything we could to put the worry of Kevin’s impending op to the back of our minds.

My two favourite lads having lunch in Hexham

Weighty Issues

Now I’m all for gaining a few pounds on the bottom line when it comes to my bank balance, but when I’m just gaining them on my bottom, I’m not quite so thrilled.

I’m still not quite back to my previous level of exercise and I’m now locating more and more areas about my person with a higher-than-average wobble factor.

While Kevin’s new pet name for me is Lung Lung Wee (to be said in an accent usually only reserved for performances of the Mikado), I’m more inclined to think it should be Bum Bum Wide.

So, having been able to stick to my £5 a day rule without too much stress, I’m now looking for ways to curb my calories as well as my cash and salad seems to be the answer.

It’s cheap, it’s healthy and it’s going to be my main food source over the next week or so. I’ve already invested today’s £5 on a supply of fruit and veggies and can feel the temptation to make celery soup sneaking up on me.

Remind me of this post when you find me face down in a vat of melted chocolate…