Daddy why have you got a big belly?

The thing about children is that they are very honest. They don’t understand how to deviate from the truth at the expense or people’s feelings.  They say how it is, exactly how they see it.

Sometimes that can funny.

Sometimes it can be refreshing.

Sometimes it can really make you think.

Now I’m not taking the moral high ground on this subject as I know that I could do with losing a few pounds, but hubby has gained quite a lot of weight recently.

He has been busy and his job is very stressful.  His answer to this is similar to mine; how much can I eat?  He eats healthy meals but is a terrible snacker, especially in the evenings, and of course we had the usual excess of chocolate and biscuits over Christmas which he has been happily devouring.We all do it don’t we?  Well at least a lot of us seem to.

So, back to the children and their honesty.  Hubby was getting changed the other day when A commented about ‘Daddy’s big tummy’, which I’m sure is a line from Peppa Pig.  However, unlike in Peppa Pig, where everyone falls over laughing (I have often wondered why they do this by the way, not a good example to set), everyone turned to look at the aforementioned big belly and just stared at it.

L quickly asked; “Daddy, why have you got a big belly?”  Daddy was a little speechless to say the least and disappeared muttering something about Christmas and chocolate.

This is a good example of a defining moment.  Those are the moments that make us really look at ourselves and think about the example that we are setting to our children and I know that my husband does worry about his lifestyle and the fact that particularly for the boys, he is their biggest role model.

So, times are changing.  He has decided that he has to do something sensible about his excess weight.  There is no denying the health risks of carrying extra pounds not to mention the increased risk of heart problems and other weight related illnesses.

He is lucky as he is as good at losing weight as he is at putting it on.  He loves sport.  Running, cycling, rugby, football, tennis, swimming, in fact he will try any sport.  The only things that stand in his way are lack of time and the biscuit tin.  So I have promised to stop buying as many sweet things and endeavour to buy or make healthier things and he is going to set aside two or three times a week to go for a swim and a couple of runs.

The next problem was trainers.  He hasn’t bought a pair of running shoes for a while and his last pair are looking rather worn.  He tells me that if you are a road runner, you need a really good pair of trainers to protect your joints, so we have been looking at lots of different pairs of trainers, in fact so many different pairs of trainers, my mind is boggling with it.  Apparently, my husband over pronates and this is why his trainers don’t last very long, so he is off at the weekend to a specialist sport shop to find some special trainers to suit his needs.

Hopefully, he will start getting into shape soon and he is one of those lucky people who loses weight quite quickly.  As for the biscuits, well luckily I think I may be able to eat those on his behalf, just to do him a favour of course.