Living in China is both a blessing and a curse for the waist-line. There is so much cheap, delicious and deep fried food here that can wreak havoc on any diet but there are also such fantastic high fiber, delicious, low fat options AND great raw produce to be bought that staying fit shouldn’t be an issue.

For me though, staying fit is unfortunately always an issue. I love to eat, cook, think about food, come up with new recipes and even dream about food. It pains me to leave that last morsel of sweet and sour pork on the plate and I tend to always over order, over grocery shop and finish up the leftovers.

This has all had to change though, I realized on a recent trip to Chile (when I had to don my bikini for what would otherwise be winter but for the Southern hemisphere was summer), and enough really and truly had to be enough. Didn’t help that the Chileans actually BBQed cheese. Seriously.

Anyway, my vanity has gotten the better of me as my nuptials and the old wedding dress deadline draws near and I have also realized that my outfits and holiday photos will all improve greatly if I manage to shed some excess pounds. Enter the gym.

I have always liked the idea of going to the gym much more than actually doing it. I buy in to the idea of “pampering oneself” by working up a good sweat and then chilling out in the sauna. Unfortunately, the saunas here are too gross to hang out in which means a brisk and sweaty walk back home in the cold for a shower. No matter though, Jonas and I have been dragging our lazy behinds to the gym loyally for a while now and lo and behold, I actually have a bottom. I also no longer have a sack attached to my front that shirts and pants won’t cover.

I have discovered however that the goal of weight loss alone is not enough to motivate me to get my new bottom and I off to the gym every day so Jonas devised an evil plan. He told me how fast he runs and bet I couldn’t do it. It was a cunning and evil plan, so simple that it had to work. And it did.

So, for the first time in my life, I entered a running competition last week. I did not don a cute outfit or nice hair (as you can see) but I managed to finish not last. Pride abounds… and I have realized that 5 km (and perhaps more!) is not impossible. Jonas managed to run in record time of course but he will have a worthy opponent soon enough. I will keep you posted on my progress but until next time: I race on!

On your marks....