Time flies ...

Well nearly a year has come and gone and I'm back up to 15 stone.

Learnt a few things over the year, some of which I will share over the next few posts.

First thing - Exercise

Please don't groan, I'm not a great lover of exercise especially in the winter months, however this winter I discovered 'Walk with Mii'. Now as you can tell by my recipes, I'm not one to promote brands but this is fun and easy to do.

Basically you need a Nintendo DS (if you have children, pinch theirs) and purchase the game 'Walk with Mii'. The game comes with two small squares which are activity meters, a sort of pedometer. You carry one of the meters around with you from the moment you get up until you go to bed. Just before you go to sleep, open up the game and press your meter button. The meter then downloads your walking information into the DS.

The point is to walk the world, it asks you to walk 3,000 steps a day. 3,000 sounds a lot but you'll be suprised how easily the steps build up, by just doing your normal routine. The game also has other minigames, such as using your steps to illuminate your home. You can alter the number of steps your required to walk by increasing or decreasing your target. It helps to regulate your day, and makes you realise what time you get up, how active throughout the day you are, what time you go to bed etc, which sounds obvious but if you have a desk job it's amazing to see the length of time that your inactive, and if your prone to watching tv until late at night, it shows you just how many late nights you have.

The game is a bit expensive, about £30 but one game can have up to four players and you can purchase extra activity meters, so potentially £30 divided by 4 makes it £7.50 each. Alternatively see if you can rent it from the local DVD/game store.

The reason I'm suggesting this is:

It's not too energetic to make you tired but enough to get you going.

If you don't have an exercise buddy, then the game is like a personal trainer (however Nintendo suggest putting one on the dog!).

If you do have exercise buddies, well it can become a team sport or a bit of a challenge.

The most important thing is don't overdo it and have fun.

Please seek your doctors advice if you suffer from any illness, medical complaint or existing problem, or taking medication before trying this game.

Please see Nintendo Health & Safety information published in the Activity Meter booklet which comes with the game for further guidance on use of Activity Meters, game precautions and health warnings.