5 minute read

What John Burns Eats in a Week

from The Tailchaser Times - Issue 3, page 9

Article from: The Tailchaser Times - Issue 3

Meet Pro BMXer Matti Hemmings

He’s spent his career advising cat and dog owners on the best possible diets for their prized pets. But does Veterinary Surgeon, John Burns practise what he preaches?

We challenged John to keep an honest food diary for a week…

“Could you accept advice on losing weight from an overweight nurse or GP? Is the worth of the advice lost because it is obvious that the person giving the advice clearly doesn’t follow it themselves? Is it hypocritical if you don’t practise what you preach?

This is a problem for me in that I know a lot about healthy eating but struggle to put it into practice on a daily basis.

This diary of my week’s eating practice will show me up to be a fraud or perhaps may help me to mend my ways. No more secret snacking on cake from Parc Y Bocs Farm Shop. An end to late-night chocolate guzzling? Even if I eat carefully for a week when I am compelled to write it down, will I keep it up longterm? Perhaps we will have a follow-up in the next issue.

I suspect that my diet will not make for interesting reading. I try to eat fairly simply, no fine dining and as you will see, fairly repetitive.

Pet owners often complain that the pet’s diet is boring and repetitive and they like to give variety. We do that with our own diet but really that is a way of keeping us eating when we are not really hungry.

The cakes on offer at Parc y Bocs are a major temptation and I go there on most days.

Every day is a challenge but I’m becoming more restrained.

At home in the evening is the biggest problem. If I’m eating out I rarely have a dessert, except perhaps a taste of someone else’s! In the round I know I eat too much. Most people find that heard to believe as I’m slim and just over 10 stone in weight. But I know different. And it’s the same with pets. A common fallacy is that if the pet is lean it is not being overfed. My Veterinary Guide contains a list of 14 health problems caused by overeating, even good-quality food.

Eating healthy food consistently is a real problem for humans. Feeding our pets well ought to be much more straightforward; we choose the type and amount of food and can control it rigorously.

Unfortunately there are many factors which get in the way of that. That must be worth an article all to itself. Perhaps I’ll do that for the next issue of the magazine too.

In the interest of not boring you to death, I have omitted breakfast beyond Day 1 as this is the same every morning.”

14 • burnspet.co.uk

Monday

• Breakfast

Porridge (organic flakes soaked overnight in water and seasoned with sea salt) with rice ‘milk’ and sliced banana

• Lunch

Spaghetti bolognaise and a handful of chips at Parc Y Bocs Farm Shop

• Dinner

A concoction of two soups - Cawl (A Welsh broth of vegetables, potatoes and lamb) plus leek and butternut squash with added boiled brown rice and a piece of buttered rye bread

• Evening snack

Slice of banana bread

Tuesday

• Lunch

Baked potato with tuna mayo and salad. A handful of chips