Physiotherapist Benji Gilbert, owner of Benji Physio in Dunfermline, kick-starts his day with a pint of milk with a dash of instant coffee and enjoys the occasional glass of wine. Here he tells us about his daily routine.
I normally get up between 6 and 6.30am, after around six or seven hours sleep.
Breakfast is always two slices of homemade bread with butter and jam. My wife Laura and I make our own bread at the weekend, slice it and freeze it.
I will either have jam on the bread or honey. Laura makes a lot of homemade jams which can be strawberry, raspberry or blueberry.
Lots of my patients bring me jam and honey as well which they have made themselves.
A unique way of making coffee
In the morning I have a pint of milk with instant coffee in it. I put the milk in the microwave and then add the coffee. I don’t take any sugar.
It’s mad but I have done this since the age of seven. I have it every morning. It is a strange, bizarre thing but we have always done that in my family, with my parents. Not my wife though – she’s normal.
Beware the sandwiches…
After my breakfast I will make sure my two daughters and are up and then I will get them ready for school. They will usually have cereal for breakfast, maybe Cheerios, Weetabix or porridge. My wife will have Weetabix.
And at 11am I will usually have another coffee – an expresso.
As my wife, who works as a solicitor, cooks at lot at home I tend to take something out of the freezer. She is an amazing cook so she will prepare the meals at the weekend before freezing them for the week ahead.
This could be a tomato pasta, a homemade curry, chilli with rice or homemade quiche with salad.
I don’t eat sandwiches because if I did I would eat six of them and would be the size of a house!
I will make sure I have my five a day so will have two pieces of fruit at lunchtime.
This will normally be a banana – I am a big fan of bananas – an apple, a pear or a peach.
No need to cut anything completely – even alcohol
I eat everything in moderation. People always try to diet and cut things out but there is no need to do that. It is a question of calorie counting and just being careful about what you eat.
I like a bit of cheese, but not too much. I will also have chocolate, a beer or a glass of wine. I rarely drink alcohol during the week. Sometimes I will have a glass of wine to finish a bottle I have opened at the weekend.
Wine is ok to have in moderation and I do love wine. Having a wine or a beer, which goes nice with a meal, is good to have once in a while.
Don’t worry about eating late
When I go home I will usually have my dinner between 7.30 and 8.30pm. But if I am working late at my physiotherapy clinic I will eat after 9pm.
I grew up in France so eating late at night is completely reasonable and I am used to it.
Very often for dinner my wife and I will have some homemade soup. It might be soup with lentils and tomatoes in it. After soup I will have some cheese and maybe some grapes.
I will drink water with my meal.
My daughters eat the same as we do. They will eat earlier than us if they have evening activities but we will eat all together, especially at weekends.
Injuries can catch up with you
I do lots of cycling and mountain biking.
At work we have a gym which is there for the patients.
But I will also go to that gym and use the equipment for a couple of hours a week – on a Wednesday and a Friday lunchtime.
I had previously injured both my knees from skiing when I lived in France. When I came to Scotland I couldn’t ski so I started to play rugby.
Also in one month’s time I am going for a hip operation. It is to remove a bit of cartilage in my right hip which has become stuck.
It is important to say that these injuries are not because I’m always exercising the way I do. Everyone should exercise. I injured my knees and hip because I used to ski a lot.
I have managed for many years without any problem but when you reach your early 40s your injuries catch up with you.
