Waking up the healthy wayand not smelling the bacon

I think it is fair to say that I resemble a man who has had more than his fair share of Weetabix on a daily basis, not to mention, bacon, eggs, black pudding and a fried slice. Despite my increasing need for elasticated trousers, the fact of the matter is that, until very recently, brekkie consisted of a slice or two of toast with own-brand butter spread, and maybe a smearing of Marmite. And, of course, the obligatory goldfish bowl-sized mug of coffee.

It turns out that I was not on my own as nearly 9 in 10 Brits say that they skip breakfast and make up for it later in the morning with classics such as packet of cheese and onion or a Mars Bar. One news website helpfully produced a league table of the 15 most popular mid morning snacks, which were consumed by those who regularly shun cornflakes or a salmon and cream cheese bagel first thing.

In my case it was a pattern that developed in my late twenties when I used to wake up with the lark so I could drive for an hour to make the 7.30am news conference, something that was never best attempted on a full stomach. It was during this period that I developed a penchant for swapping the products of Walkers for Kelloggs.

These days, regular squabbles over who is going to scrape out the last of the honey from the jar. Then there’s the fact that there’s never enough time in the mornings, especially when you have to participate in the regular game of hunt the missing shoe. Spoiler alert: it’s usually under the sofa.

Despite all of this, I have made the time to eat something substantial before I clean my teeth and have started to have a bowl of posh muesli - not the budget stuff which resembles something that you would find in a bowl in a hutch - and even a banana. While I am yet to see any dramatic changes in my body shape, I think I might just resist any future temptation to slip back into bad habits.