I grew up eating sugary cereal breakfasts

But we always had the ‘full English’ on Sundays

Eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, fried bread and black pudding swimming in fat

Its a wonder my arteries survived that weekly greasing

Upon flying the nest I stopped eating breakfast

It got in the way between sleeping and rushing to work

But I still had the Sunday brunch full English fry up

My arteries were attacked weekly but miraculously never clogged

I lived in France for five years in my forties

Discovering the joys of French cuisine and wine

The French cook everything in butter

I put on a lot of weight in that first year of the French adventure

I became more health conscious

I took early morning runs and ate oatmeal for breakfast

Amazingly shedding excess pounds while eating my way through France

I wonder if all that French butter kept my arteries flowing

I moved to New York in 2001 and fell in love with American cuisine

Diners were my favorite place to eat breakfast

Crispy bacon, pancakes and eggs anyway you wished resulted in more weight gain

My arteries were probably yelling STOP with a New York accent

A sensible diet combined with daily running got me back on track

Trips to the diner, and jumbo fast food meals became infrequent treats

I travelled a lot but reluctantly ate many hotel junky food breakfasts

My arteries resisted the onslaught and somehow kept flowing

In retirement my knees were too worn out for any more running

Cycling and yoga became my exercise partners

Porridge with flax filled my daily breakfast plate

Bacon cooking aromas from afar made my arteries cringe

I experimented with pre-cycling meals to fuel my muscles

Protein shakes propelled me along Eastern Shore lanes

Although every day was a weekend I never returned to Sunday fry ups

Intense endurance training increased my arterial blood flows

I decided to give up eating red meat a couple of years ago

No more fried bacon and sausage breakfast treats

Vegan protein shakes are now my daily breakfast routine

My arteries have somehow survived decades of abuse