Caroline Allen with husband Martin and Lucy the dog. Photograph: Jeff Harvey

As a journalist, you get used to probing the minutiae of other peoples lives. When the tables are turned, its not so easy, especially when the e word is involved - exercise.

While I try to embrace healthy eating, exercise is a bit of a stumbling block, my main concession being walking Lucy the Labrador. And right now shes sprawled across the sofa. Im the non-sporty one in the household.

The boys, who are just turned 15 and 11, are on soccer teams in Portlaoise. The 11-year-old also plays hurling, football and table tennis. Hubby played hurling in his heyday but now spends a lot of his time on the sidelines. After having two stents inserted a few years back, he started to incorporate daily walking into his routine and to cut back on sweet treats.

Ironically a move to the country has meant fewer opportunities to walk as our road is a narrow twisty and busy one. The lane leading up to the forest across the road tends to be mucky in autumn/winter, so he has joined a local leisure centre.

His approach is not as rigorous as the 15-year-olds who deemed himself to be too skinny so he joined a local teen gym during the summer. Now its all about benching and bulking - and eating scrambled eggs at strange times of the night. All with the aim of gains in strength and weight.

While he has become a tad obsessive about food, the good thing is he is more aware of nutrition, and has even attempted to cook. I think hes a bit young for the gym but as his GP remarked Girls want to get skinnier and boys want to get bigger.

Im mainly vegetarian but the others are carnivores. As were both freelancers, working to erratic schedules and with some form of sports training for the boys on most evenings, putting healthy food on the table that suits everyone can be a challenge.

A lot of veggie dishes involve a multitude of ingredients and Im not the best of cooks. I started to eat a small amount of fish a few years ago but Ive gone back to mostly vegetarian fare. Ive tried to shift the emphasis away from red meat to fish but the 11-year-old isnt a fan. So sometimes it can be a case of a three-dish dinner in the evenings.

On a recent visit to Lyrath Health Club, Kilkenny, I picked up some simple recipes as well as advice - on some go-to foods such as Quinoa, nuts and seeds.

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Health Diaries: Excercise is a bit of a stumbling block