The holidays are over (at least for a few weeks) and I’m left with the sad fact that I put on 2kg and am very reluctant to put myself on a diet. Not that I don’t have the resolve, I managed to loose quite a bit of chunk in the past, it’s just that I don’t want to be hungry anymore (I was hungnry for two years and just can’t face it). It is not a large amount I need to shed, so an all out, starve to the point of migraneous headache isn’t really necessary. What is one to do?? The answer actually presented itself the other day in the form of a simple question: IS IT WORTH IT??

I was out having lunch with a friend and chose a pretty healthy baked fish and veg dish, which turned out to be less than thrilling. The fish was overcooked, the sauce pedestrian, the vegetables hard and under-salted. I was hungry, so I ate half of it. On we went to another place for coffee and I thought I might reward myself with a slice of cake. Reward myself  not for eating a dull fish that is, but for having run ten km in the morning (on the treadmill. Slowly.).  I asked what there was, Service was friendly and the hazelnut cake came recommended, so I thought, what the hell, I’ll have it.  Now, there was nothing wrong with it. A thinnish layer of cake, two layers of something fluffy, vaguely flavoured with something nutty. It wasn’t disgusting, it just wasn’t a great cake and so the question came to me, even as I spooned in another mouthful: Is this really worth getting fat for? Answer? A resounding NO. I dropped the three pronged fork (no, pitchforks have four!) and felt entirely virtuous.

So here’s my post prandial diet advice: After the first mouthful, just ask The Question and you’ll be amazed how much you don’t really need to eat. The not eating vast quantities of unsatisfactory foodstuff will leave you with so many calorie credits that you can sit in front of the foie gras on top of the steak on top of the crouton fried in duck fat and just say: Yes, yes, OH YESS, baby, it’s so worth it! ..and still have room for dessert.  Just like I had yesterday.