There`s still plenty of time, hh 

Specially once you take up kilt-wearing.

Sir! I took the liberty of bringing along the RED BLOOMERS you always like to have handy in case of emergencies, sir!

That's all very well in theory, Mary.  I already don't drive.  In theory I can walk to and from work (about five miles a day) but in practice I have a bus route going past my front door which drops me very near my office in around 20 minutes.  My expenditure on buses on occasions when I need to take the bus (coming home after dark, going to and from the fruit & veg market, going to church) is such that an annual bus pass is cost-effective, which means I have no incentive NOT to take the bus to work.

I could cycle but I'm a bit phobic about doing so on London streets, especially when my journey to work would take me across the Elephant & Castle roundabouts (there's a bypass route but this has  dangers of its own).

The forms of exercise I enjoy the most are classes (aerobics etc) and swimming, neither of which I can fit into the "getting from A to B" part of my life.  That's why the gym I joined 4 years ago didn't work out - it had no exercise studio and no swimming pool.

Eating less is something that I'm already working on, but exercise is something I'm useless at - I need the structure and motivation to keep going.  One motivating factor is nice surroundings full of people doing the same thing.  Another is the sight of a monthly direct debit coming out of my bank account for the use of the facility.  And the way PruHealth works, it encourages regular gym use and healthy eating by reducing the cost of premiums in future years.

I agree, HH.  I sometimes do walk part of the way to work anyway (the bus services are better from the end of my road, a ten minute walk away) and sometimes I also get off the bus early as they often stop to change drivers at Elephant & Castle from which point it's less than a 15 minute walk to work.  However, that has it's own drawbacks - the route takes me past my favourite purveyor of finest bacon sandwiches

Walking from A to B is something I used to do loads of.  I still do to a certain extent, and sometimes I do walk the whole way to work, but my approach is inconsistent.

I have to admit, Ruth, that I wouldn't walk five miles if I had a handy bus going past my front door.

One of my sons cycles to work in London, which worries me a bit.

Now I live on my own and don't have all that much I have to do, I find it terribly difficult not to eat too much. Food is so nice! I'm quite good about it, I think, but with difficulty.

Yes, Mary - food is lovely.  So is wine.  And beer.  Together they form a very pleasant part of my existence and I know I'm not cut out to put myself on a rabbit-food diet, hence I need to make sure I exercise enough to create a calorie deficit

What I do eat is largely quite healthy and wholesome (I cook a lot from scratch) but I'm reviewing my portion sizes.  I'm always very much on the generous side with those.

As for the handy bus going past the door - if, as I leave my block of flats in the morning, the bus is approaching the bus stop and isn't jam-packed, I get on it.  If not, I walk up the road but from ten minutes into my walk there are two other bus routes that are more reliable.  Coming home from work, the bus that goes down my street is always empty (as I get on at the third stop on the route) and difficult to resist!

For my height I could do with having a little more weight on me, and using a gym will help make it a bit better distributed than just round my middle! Combined with a healthy diet of course!