On cake

Tomorrow evening marks a very special moment in the life of Jess: the return of the Great British Bake Off, aka the best of British programming. Anyone who knows me can attest to just how important I deem cake to be - not just in my own life, but to the continued turning of the Earth and the fate of mankind as a whole. I self-identify as a baker. If I'm asked to introduce myself to strangers, the words "I'm Jess. I'm the one who turns up to things with baked goods" tend to tumble from my mouth in an awkward, self-effacing manner. If I want to make friends and influence people, my first move will be to pull out the mixing bowl and start throwing things in it (cake ingredients, not just random household objects...)

If anyone asks me why I enjoy baking so much, I'll tell them it's because I like the process of creating something, and then basically giving it away to others. It is for precisely this reason that I am a firm believer in the superiority of baking over cooking: in my life I am generally cooking for one, which is both phenomenally boring and highly unsatisfying. When I bake, it's often for an event - a party, a gathering, or a friendly competition - and I know that whatever emerges from my oven will be passed around and (hopefully) enjoyed by others. Who could possibly argue that whipping up a mean pasta sauce comes anywhere close to that level of satisfaction?

I am also, obviously, a huge believer that one should frequently partake of cake. And not just because it has a nice rhyming pattern to it, either. People who are constantly on diets make me sad: imagine not being able to enjoy food for the worry of constantly counting calories or weighing up nutritional values! Many of us are lucky enough to live in circumstances that allow food to be about flavour as well as sustenance, so why deny yourself the endless possibilities that that brings? And cake - well, baked goods in general, really - presents such a rich banquet of flavour combinations that to miss out would be, to my mind at least, a bit of a travesty.

I do not begrudge cake for the fact that it has settled on my hips: rounded out my curves in a way that has provided perhaps just a little too much padding for a person of my height. To place blame on cake would hurt us both, and I don't think our relationship could survive that kind of blow. However, I am coming around to the fact that I should probably be doing more to compensate for the place I have allowed cake to have in my heart (and stomach). As I gain in years and wisdom (no sniggering at the back, please), I must acknowledge that I can no longer continue to indulge in frequent portions of sugary sponge and buttery biscuits without introducing a little exercise and healthy living into my life.

So the battle has begun. After a lot of procrastinating, I have finally embarked on a Couch to 5K training plan, and have started doing the unthinkable - getting up early to go running before work. I am also learning to remind myself that seconds are not a natural and necessary progression from firsts, and that not every meal needs to be rounded off by something sweet.

Thankfully, life seems to be on my side in this particular fight. Running (when not conducted in the form of unwise, unplanned uphill sprints) does wonders for my energy levels, and gives me some much needed clear head space in the morning. Eating more sensible portion sizes at lunch time means that I don't feel lethargic in the afternoon. And most importantly - believe me, I cannot stress just how important this is - I can still indulge in a bit of cake without feeling a tidal wave of guilt. Cake and I remain good friends. And if you try to come between us...well, let's just say I was once a yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do.