Have your cake and eat it

Treat yourself to a winery tour All of this and more is available to taste at Kingscote Estate. Much like the New World wine regions of Australia and New Zealand, England’s wineries are throwing opening their doors to the public. Besides a wine tasting – you’re welcome to visit unannounced on any day of the week – the estate offers a wealth of activities to explore.

Tours run Thursday to Saturday and are followed by a tutored tasting. If you choose (and I’d recommend it), cream teas or lunch platters are available for grazing afterwards. Come the summer, tour goers will also be able to enjoy a picnic within the grounds. Demand has led the estate to increase tours to three per day, so book in advance to avoid disappointment.

A wonderful place to spend a day – or more At the nights warm up, Jazz on the Lawn will be making a return and, new to the estate, monthly chef masterclasses. But perhaps the most exciting to come are pop-up events bringing visitors from London to Kingscote via steam train.

Discover the peaceful countryside on self-guided walks through vineyards and an apple orchard, or head to the famous Stone Farm Rocks and Bluebell Railway. There are also two fishing lakes brimming with carp and bream. Do as three ramblers did during our visit and make a mid-walk pitstop at the barn for a cup of tea or coffee - though a glass of wine makes much more sense.

The estate has a tranquility to it, so only being able to enjoy it for an afternoon feels a shame. Luckily, those keen to immerse themselves in the English wine scene will soon be able to luxuriate in a stay at the estate’s two-bedroom cottage. I’ll be back As my afternoon drew to an end and I sipped my glass of Blanc de Noirs, I sat watching people coming through the doors. Couples with dogs, ramblers sodden from the rain, a Master of Wine – and us. All there for the same reason: Kingscote Estate offers something truly special.

This includes wines that sing to the likes of myself, MWs and Cibare readers, and beautiful surroundings for those who want to explore. The generosity and warm welcome of the staff has stayed with me. In an industry that can appear all too stuffy, Kingscote Estate has forged a remarkable business devoid of British stiff upper lip.

Now you really CAN have your cake and eat it!

By Suzanne Purton

The position that we find ourselves in actually makes this method of Flexible Dieting easier. As the large majority of us are forced to spend more time in our homes, it actually puts people in more in control of their nutrition as most of us are preparing meals at home. So this is a perfect time to be organised with shopping, and start a new, healthy habit and relationship with food!

Now that the days are finally lighter and the weather’s getting a little warmer, these are two positive contributing factors that help people continue with their workout schedules. And with the summer months not far behind, there’s the prospect of wearing less clothes, trips to the beach and so on. These are all motivators to keep up with training. However, what many tend people to neglect is their nutrition.

54 It’s often said that to make weight changes, 80% of what we do should focus on nutrition. There are many diet plans out there, and many work. Don’t eat any carbs, fats are bad for you, definitely no cakes or treats… But are they sustainable? Yo-yo dieting has proven time and again that they’re not. This is not a healthy or happy way to lose weight and keep it off.

So I stay away from that kind of dieting misery and introduce clients to the Flexible Dieting method – also known as If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM). This plan promotes the idea that no foods are bad and you can choose the ones you like, as long as they fall within your macronutrient needs. It’s not so much a diet as a healthy lifestyle. And it‘s becoming a popular way of controlling calories because it doesn’t eliminate any foods.

So yes, you CAN still eat all the foods you love – as long as they fall within your macro and calorie ranges.