h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I knew there was something I wanted to say. I have gone from a nearly pack-a-day smoker to a 2 pack a day gum chewer.

I actually ate a healthy diet today... Ate a peanut-butter and banana sandwich today and a cup of milk for breakfast, had a cup of squash soup for lunch, and 2 oz. of cheese, 3 oz. of of pork chop, and 1/2 cup beans for dinner. The only thing missing is raw broccoli (I can think about broccoli again!) or a big salad with homemade ranch dressing. This doesn't mean I won't snack on something tonight, but that's 1290 calories already - this leaves me room for some popcorn, perhaps.

Whups - and I forgot about the hot chocolate. That's 1410 calories today, so I only have 90 calories left. Hmm... What I need is one of those Blue Bunny non-fat fudge bars.

Yes, I calculate the calories on everything I eat. It's the only way I can keep track - I have no sense of when I'm eating too much. It's too bad that it doesn't work the other way 'round - I always know when I haven't eaten enough!

that just looks wrong.

I should be working, but I don't want to. I'm deadly sick of studying right about now.

23 days to go.

Dang, you guys eat some weird stuff. I'm still transcribing the meeting -- it was long and, in some places, utterly sleepmaking. I'm going to go have some cheetos and a bottle of water while I watch Forty-Deuce.

(have I got the text thing right?, she asks anxiously!)

Congrats to Mr. T!! I hope I'll soon be in a good career position, too.

--back to the conversation about diet.

I hit the local farmer's market this morning, on my way back from an interview, and got some lovely little aubergines and courgettes. Now if I could only remember my favorite veg stew recipe (my version of ratatouille)!

Breakfast was a hurried 2 slices of whole meal bread, toasted, with blueberry fruit spread. Lunch was ... sort of nonexistent, so I snacked when I got home on some tuna on a slice of bread with tomatoes. Dinner will be whatever I can do with some of my eggplant and zucchini. Or canned soup, although I hope not.

On the topic of "Supersize Me", is it worth a rent? It's true that I don't eat much fast food, unless it's the fast food *I* make, but have had enough of the bad sort to last a lifetime.

SC

Well, I'd have the text thingy right if I'd just post quicker, I think!

SC

I've heard it was, SC. I'm just easily grossed-out!

[S&T]

It's an interesting film, though a bit odd. I feel he went for effect. Like, his rules about eting nothing but McDonalds for a month and you have to eat everything on the menu once are okay.. but that means after a smal, medium and large drink and then shake he *could* have had oj and water for the rest of the time. Ditto with burgers, etc. But he doesn't. Also, general consensus is that if you at all like McDonalds, it just makes you want to go eat it. Scary, eh?

In the final analysis: interesting film, a few methodological problems, and it casued some changes at McDs ... like offering bottled water and sandwiches and Atkins meals (lord) and posting their helth info .. so .. not bad.

Beeblefish ... needs a

[Sol]

Hey teachers and parents!

I am doing a mini-enrichment course on "Looking Critically at Our Culture" and I am looking for general purpose activities that could appeal to 12-17 year olds (most of whom are in the 13-14 range) even boy/girl. I'm looking for all sorts, but especially, small group activities or writing activities. I'm getting them to put together a zine at the end of the week and I want them to have a few written things to choose fromm when designing their page.

Any ideas?

Morning all

Supersize me - I thought it was thought provoking and a good basis for discussion, but, like Beeblefish, I felt that he took things too far in that he could have had the salad options more often (although was shocked to find that one of the salads had more calories than a big mac) which would have at least helped his body chemistry by getting a few vitamins into him. I wondered why he didn't have the diet versions of the drinks more often, or water when it was available.

Still, he had a point to make - eating too much of that stuff is bad for you and here is what it does in large quantities. If you spread his consumption over a year rather than a month the additional calories would still have caused a weight gain but it would be more insidious rather than dramatic.

Interesting to note that it took him a month to gain nearly 25 lb and despite best efforts it took 14 months to take it off again - demonstrating that once the weight is on it is damn hard to get it off again!

MR, I was thinking about your friend, and I wondered if you had time to do something practical to help her - suggest that you could walk with her a couple of times a week to get some exercise? I'm suspecting you might not have the time to do this but it might help her to be more active if you do have the time.

k

I didn't watch Supersize Me because I was watching Question Time, which I obviously can't talk about without being moderated.

David

From listening to the Today programme this morning it seems that Question Time was fairly interesting as well.

I have a most inconvient cold I'm trying to revise and my head is entirely full of yellow gloop.

I wanted to go in and practice examining patients this afternoon, but I won't be able to go need a sick child in this state.

All this talk of food is making me hungry! Then again I was getting hungry before the talk of food.
I didn't watch the question time special or supersize me but I did watch the video of the second of the 2 part alien invasion Dr Who from last weekend and then watched Ray Mears canoe down some river in Canada. This latest series of his is looking quite good, not quite as gung-ho as some of his other stuff.

'ning sounds like a good idea - have slept way too little as I couldn't drag my sorry behind to bed last night

My contribution to the 2005 Salon One Day Menu Collection:

(yesterday)
Lunch: Self-mixed salad with loads of various greens, 3-4 small chicken breast slices. Piece of bread with cheese.

Some fruit during the day at the office (we get fresh fruit in 3 days a week )

Dinner: 'Frikadeller' (meat balls) with pasta & broccoli.

Breakfast 1: Bowl of yoghurt with müsli; toast with (homemade ) orange marmelade; tea

Breakfast 2 (office breakfast on Fridays): 2 slices of fresh baked bread with jam; café au lait.

Calories? Don't know. I am blessed with being eternally thin - with due apologies for those who aren't.

On a completely different matter:

I read through some Tom Peters stuff last night (does he still count as a marketing guru? Anyway, I like some of his views). One point he made was this:

The rarest of gifts: THANK YOU!

Backed on a few good quotes, he honestly suggests that you actively thanks someone for something every few days at least, better in writing than spoken (and even better in handwriting - beats E-mail!).

Quote: "If you can't think of anything or anyone to say “Thank you” to — I suggest you go see a shrink."

So, this morning, I start up my mail - and finds a thank you note from an external colleague who was happy about some minutes and an updated task list I'd done for a steering group I've just joined.

It's right - it does create joy and energy.

So - thank you all! This place is always a pleasure to come to and very frequently I leave knowing more than I did when I came in

(and in handwriting : http://www.lindevej.dk/blog/2005/04/thank-you.html)

Yes, we watched Question Time too, but shall be as good as David and keep gob shut. Did shout at the telly an awful lot, and harangue S, who had his best 'you are preaching to the choir here' expression on throughout.

I think the point he was trying ot make in Super Size Me was that there are very very many people out there who DO eat MacDonalds every single day, two or three times a day, and they DO ignore the salads and OJ and eat the chips. He did that for a month and nearly killed himself, but there are people who not only eat like that for years but feed their children like that. He was trying to shock THEM into realising just how sick they were and how badly they needed to stop. If he'd gone for the salads, he couldn't have made that point. Nuts, yes; martyr-complex, probably; brave, absolutely.

And yes I do know the burger people. Two sets of them. At Uni, I knew a really nice guy, very bright, looked set to do a PhD. He had never learnt to cook, so when he left catered halls after the first year, he ate nothing but burgers and pizza and crisps. I mean nothing. He'd skip breakfast (as he'd have nothing to eat in the house) and at lunch time he'd be ravenous. By graduation he had gone from thirteen stone to nearly twenty. By the end of his MA he'd been hospitalised twice for heart arrhythmias. After one year of PhD he found he could no longer study and had developed venous ulcers on his legs. And then he went home to be looked after by his Mum and I haven't heard of him since. He thought his diet MUST be healthy because he never ate sweets.

The other set of burger people were a family. Mum on permanent ryvita and lettuce diet and therefore refusing to cook, Dad couldn't cook. Admittedly, they had big Macs once a day (and sweets, fizzy drinks, crisps, takeaways and toast the rest). My littlest sister used to play with their daughter. At eleven, this girl weighed fourteen stone, had very bad teeth, a very bad temper, tended to be forgetful and difficult in school, and *whisper it* smelled awful. She did have a shower every day and wore deodorant and antipersperant and talc at a time when sis was having three baths a week and hadn't even heard of deodorant and smelt fine (joys of adolescence as yet in abeyance). I assumed she had some kind of glandular condition for years. It had never occured to me that loving concerned parents simply would not know about food and not be able to draw conclusions. My Mum was obsessed with fruit and veg and so we all are to this day.

I wonder why the burger people trouble and preoccupy me so much? *goes off to find an aplle and put the kettle on*

102 posts *sigh*

I am really sorry that Ben has unsubscribed, gobsmacked even.

I am not talking about food, as I have to compile a shopping list and will only add stuff I shouldn't.

*Admires Santra's handwriting*

Why, thank YOU.

*puts head round door very very carefully*

*blinks a couple of times*

Well, I am kinda-lurking and kinda-not-lurking, Caer. I unsubbed because the mood of the meeting was to not move conversations about the Edited Guide into a separate thread. Fairy-nuff. But the reason I asked to have 'em moved was that the subject has been done-to-death recently in Ask, in the Forum, and in various entries in the Post, in convos or entries which have been linked here, so peeps could go over and participate if they chose, and I tend to come here for a refuge. I know from experience that people tend to post long and highly emotional posts on the subject, and that things can get personal, which was already happening. I unsubbed because, to be honest, if I hadn't I'd have flamed instead.

I am not going to read the backlog because I will probably disagree with a fair amount of it, and I am not willing to let myself get ireful in the Salon.

It remains to be seen how much I can get online over the weekend. I am still having PC problems.

Ben

*throws her arms around Ben and then makes her a cup of . Or do you want ?*