On our way to Beddgelert this afternoon we stopped off at the Rhug Estate Organic Farm.

It has an amazing restaurant, shop and most importantly cafe outside that serves great coffee and snacks like buffalo burgers from their own buffalo.

The service is usually brilliant but today there seemed to be the cast of Faulty Towers working.

It wasn't running smoothly, we ordered our food and waited at the side.

Another couple petted our dogs and had a chat while they were waiting for theirs.

It wasn't exactly fast food, the system is they shout your order number out and you go back to the till to collect it.

One of the problems today was that the staff hadn't explained the system to any of the customers.  Your order number wasn't given to you at the till, it was actually just the last numbers of the bar code on your receipt.

Some customers were getting a little frustrated but nothing major.

Then a simple request of asking for salt for some fries sent the previously nice lady who fussed over Poppy in to a rage.  She must have really wanted that salt; if I put my nutrition coach head on I would make an educated guess that she has a magnesium deficiency.

The young lad on the bar went to find some, and a young girl who was in training, smiled at the lady and asked if everything was ok.

She kicked off big time, the poor girl had no idea how to react or what she had done wrong.

I'm sure, waiting for salt for fries wouldn't normally send somebody into a rage but a series of events had built up a story in her mind that led to her getting angry over something so small.

The stories that we build up over little things can have an affect on the way we react to everything, particularly around food.

How often do you say to yourself that you won't drink alcohol on a school night, to have your boss piss you off and reach for a glass of wine when you get home?

I'm the same with sweet things, if I feel sad or annoyed in anyway, I reach for something sweet and preferably chewy.

It's not until I've pretty much finished it do I realise that I've even started it.  It seems pre-programmed and in fact it actually is.

Gaining control is a difficult process and requires you to look at the big picture and the reasons behind the choices you are not aware you're making.

Part of it is about feeling safe and gaining control of our animal brains, I'll discuss this more in the coming weeks.  

It plays a big part in breaking the comfort and emotional eating cycle.

This afternoon, we've been for a walk down by the river, we got soaked.  I think the weather is going to be the same tomorrow, which will make the hike up Mount Snowdon more interesting as I've discovered that my waterproofs are no longer up to the job.

Darren 'drying out with a pint' Checkley