Well, well, well...

Now I've got back to my pre-Christmas weight, I've been noticing some differences.

I've shed about 8 pounds, and am not yet pulling in my belt noticeably further than before. This isn't really a surprise; I'm expecting there to be quite a few more hours on the bike and less hours at the cheese board before that happens. But I have, as I say, noticed a couple of things, to my pleasant surprise.

One thing came to light the other day, as I was going up the stairs to our flat. We live three flights up, and hence often get observations from visitors along the lines of "I bet that keeps you fit!" To be honest, the stairs haven't been cutting the mustard in that department; though I must ascend 60 feet's worth every time I go home, unfitness has been steadily encroaching for some time. It's been over two years since I bounded up the stairs two at a time. Until last Saturday, that is! I suddenly noticed I was doing it just as I used to. The jeans may still be tight, but there's one triumph to mark up. Yay!

The other thing is even more unexpected. It's only in the past couple of years, in which I quit smoking and took up being happy and comfortable, that I've become sufficiently corpulent to generate belly button fluff. It never used to happen. And now, as if by magic, it's stopped happening.

It all goes to show you never know what the benefits are going to be.