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

After the Christmas holidays, I'm feeling de distinctly overweight. I don't think it was just Christmas, it had been building up for a bit before that.

So I've decided to do something about it. I've bought some exercise videos and I started with the New York Ballet Workshop yesterday and I've done the programme for two days running so far. It's graceful as well as effective. I haven't done the programme to the end, however I'm really pleased with being able to do it as far as I have. I've no problem with the plies and stretches. Some of the crunch type exercises are a bit hard.

Trouble is, doing it in the bedroom, I'm a bit short of room for the floor exercises. The proof of the pudding is going to be in the eating, so it remains to be seen whether I can have the discipline to keep it up and to see what effect it has on me.

Good for you ZSF

I'm in the same boat - need to lose some weight The lack of space is always a problem isn't it? I have various gym exercises I like to do at home, but have to position myself carefully so that I don't end up kicking the telly, or the bedside table!

My hearty walk yesterday is the start of my new fitness/weightloss campaign. I've been having stomach problems recently and the doctor has suggested that losing a stone will help. I need a proper incentive!




Frenchbean

Good for you too, Fb . Yes, positioning is a bit of a problem with limited space. I end up kicking the bed or the chair.

Today I had little watching me, saying 'You've had enough, mummy!' - he was after his breakfast!

What would you consider to be a proper incentive?

My household moved last April. I finally have an 'office'. It still remains to be be seen whether I can retain part of it for my exercise machine.

When we first moved in, it became a staging room for unpacking. Then it became a supply and workroom for interior projects. Then my wife got a huge walking machine that it turned out she could not use. Then it was back to projects.

It's clear, at the moment, and I'm hoping I can keep it that way till Spring.

I lost a stone last summer, and put a bit back on through the holidays. I'm back to losing another stone; but, I'm afraid nobody likes my diet.

Being told by my doctor that my stomach problems may be helped if I lose a stone is quite an incentive, ZSF!

What's your diet Fords, that nobody likes? Cabbage soup?


f/b

Funnily enough, now that I've started exercising, even though it was only yesterday I started, I'm feeling a lot better about my body!

What is the problem with your stomach, Fb?

I like cabbage, but I've never had cabbage soup. Doesn't sound particularly appetising? Poor Fords (or does it taste delicious?)!

I've a history of acid stomach and recently getting a lot of heartburn and so on. So I'm having a gastroscopy in a couple of weeks, so they can have a proper look. My doctor thinks there's a possibility it's a small hiatus hernia, which can be exacerbated by fat

So I'm cutting down and taking more exercise and aim to lose the weight I put on after my died and which I've so far failed miserably to shift!

F/b

Good luck with it, Fb. I've a colleague at work who has a hernia and he was in such pain on Friday that he couldn't drive. Won't get strapping for it, though - it's a pride issue. I wouldn't be proud!

Something which helped me feel better about my shape was going out and getting a pair of trousers which actually fit - it's miserable being in clothes which are too tight - makes me feel like a blimp, and I'm not really that much overweight. I'm surprised how much better I feel doing the exercise, though!

It's all those endorphins that you've released ZSF!

After a long walk I feel really good: positive and ready for anything (except perhaps another strenuous walk!). I've had spells of going to the gym and I know that it makes me feel good too. But there are other things about gyms that I really don't much like - fit and thin people being two Also, I ended up putting myself under a lot of pressure to get there at least 3 times a week, before work (quietest time), and got fed up with the stress related to that

Now I try to have a good walk (at least 2 hours) every weekend. But I'm in the lucky position of having fabulous places to walk around here. Not so good for folk living in town.

It's much easier to take exercise with somebody else. Most of the time it's just me, but it's great to walk and chat with friends...


F/b

Having now met you ZSF - and Little fish, he seemed a great kid I can assure you that you don't need to loose weight. But I'm glad that you're enjoying it anyway.

Where abouts in Scotland are you based FB? Orkney? I'm not about to take up stalking just that I'm visiting some of the islands in the summer and it would nice to have some tips.

Hi Z

I'm based in Perthshire, but my Dad's family was Orcadian and I go there every year for a couple of weeks' hols.

So if you want to know anything about Orkney, please ask.

And watch out for a whole series of entries to come...


F/b

Cabbage Soup? I think I'll stick with the Rye Bagels.

Before I get too many responses telling me that my method of dieting is unhealthy, let me preface my technique with this bit.

Decades ago, a chidren's 'Fat Camp' hosted a special study. After a couple of days observation, they separated the children into three groups based on their eating 'patterns' not content or prefrences.

The control group went through normal dietary restrictions and excersize program including lots of fun camp stuff.

The second group, labelled 'herbivore pattern' emulated the eating pattern of ancient forest dwellers who mainly foraged for small bits of high-carb stuff like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and roots. They were kept at the camp, but not encouraged to have sit-down meals. They had tables of fruit and veggie snacks and quarter sandwiches available at all times. They would play and snack and play and snack.

The third group, labelled 'carnivore pattern' emulated the ancient plains dwellers who had to hunt for food, gorge on it while it was fresh enough to eat, and then go for extended lengths of time before the next gorging. They were given a light breakfast and taken out for long treks during which they would walk trails, canoe, play ball and the like. In the evenings they would have a large meal before hiking back to camp where they would join the other two groups in group campfire stuff.

Ancient hunting parties used to gather to hunt larger game, and everyone in the tribe went a couple of days between gorgings, working around the group's camp, until they were hungry enough and had fixed their weapons for another round (which may still take a day or more to be successful).

Group one lost the normal camp weight loss results. Both of the other two groups did astonishingly better, to the delight of their parents. However (there's always a however), many parents were horrified to find what the camp had 'done to their children', and insisted that they needed three square meals a day (because dieticians tell them so). Those that were not allowed to continue their natural eating pattern gained the weight right back. The others were able to maintain the reduction.

Too many of our 'rules' are based on averages that are not necessarily good for an individual. It would appear that the three meals concept is one of them.

My personal theory is that we sometimes change our natural eating pattern based on what our current caloric needs and activity levels are at the time. I have found myself in each of the modes, as well as one I call the 'omnivore pattern' where instead of nibbling all day, or gorging once, I gorge all day long. I feel that this may be a transition period, the opposite of which would be nibbling once a day for a while.

To lose weight, I force myself into the 'carnivore pattern', but maintain a healthy balance of meats (including fish), fruits, vegetables, legumes, roots, grains, etc. I sort of imagine having finished my meal around the ancient campfire, and relax to digest the big meal. Perhaps I have just a bit more between meal and sleep.

The key is that I may go a couple of days or more in between. The body metabolizes what it can, but cannot store as much of it as it could if I ate less at a time. I may even go five days with only an occasional half, or quarter meal; much as if I where carrying leftover jerky or pemmican, nursing it until the next hunting success. But, then I gorge. (It's still civilized eating, I just do a lot more of it.)

See! I told you that nobody likes it.

==> Right about here, <==
==> I should have about a ton of food-based emoticons. <==

Z - It was lovely to meet you at the meet! Thank you for the kind words! Shame we weren't able to stay for the evening - I always enjoy the quiz - not won it yet, but came third at the summer one.

Fb - I think exercise does you most good if you enjoy it. If it's a penance, I think it can be counter-productive. I'm enjoying doing the ballet stuff, although some of it is very hard. I did more this morning and managed more of the tape, but not to the end yet. Also, it'd going to depend on how much time I've got. It's much easier to do it at weekends - I like to exercise first thing in the morning. I must admit I feel fairly envious sometimes of you contryside dwellers.

Fords - Your Fat Camp story is really interesting. Where was it carried out?

There was an experiment reported on on ITV on Friday (I think) where children at a primary school were put on a 1940s diet for two weeks - rations - no snacking between meals - big breakfast - lots of vegetables. Their families had to eat it too. At the end of the time, all children had grown in height. A lot had also lost weight. At the beginning it was difficult to get the children to eat vegetables and they found the 'no snacking' rule difficult (although having a big breakfast helped). One of the mothers lost a stone (and was in tears). She elected to keep with the diet and lost 2 1/2 stone. Children on this diet consumed about 1/10 of the 'usual' amount of sugar that today's kids eat.

I think you're right, though. There probably isn't a 'one size fits all' type of diet.

Sounds as though you may have the material there for a Guide Entry!

Thanks for the kudos, ZSF.

I considered it for a guide entry, but I've lost all the details. I was working for a newspaper, at the time, and the story came across my desk. It obviously left an impression.

Perhaps a little web-searching will bring up some info and data.

I'll take a look. Wish me luck.

The diet you mentioned sounds interesting, and healthier than that of most kids today. My son had access to sweets, and generally avoided a lot of them (as well as the fatty and salty snacks). My sister's boys were denied all sweets and came to crave them. One is vastly overweight, and the other is skinny with juvenile diabetes.

Most hard-and-fast rules can lead to rebellion later in life. I hope the kids that are kept on the diet don't overdo when they no longer have the rules.

Good luck with it Fords!

My little is being brought up vegetarian. He tells me he would really like to eat meat and I tell him when he es older, he will get the choice. He will happily eat vegetables and often will choose water if we're out (OK he would prefer Coke, but only gets it very infrequently - it's not good for him). He gets sweets from time to time.

I looked at some advice dentists give about sweets. The advice sheet I had said - give them sweets - if you don't, they'll get them in any case and you won't be able to control where and when they eat them. It also said that the occasional binge is better than eating sweets over a period as it's the amount of sugar attacks that's the killer, not the amount of sugar per se. From a dietary point of view, bingeing on sugar can't be said to be a good thing, of course!

I suspect that the kids on the diet will mostly go back to the type of diet they had before, although they may be more amenable to eating vegetables. They said they had learned to eat with their taste buds rather than with their eyes. It was only a two week experiment, after all!

Good luck with the little one's diet, ZSF.

Nothing wrong with vegetarianism (it is the pattern and not the content that the study I mentioned was concerned with). Just be sure to get the amino acids that the human body needs, that only come from meat sources.

I have a brother who has been a vegetarian for about 25 years. He's not always veggan, but mostly so. He was also a triathaloner for twenty years. Pity he's the least healthy of the five of us kids.

He has been more susceptible to colds and flu-type diseases, and he ran his feet into near total unusability. Now, he's gained much weight, and cannot even ride his bikes. At least he can still swim.

Many things are good in moderation, and almost nothing is good in excess. More's the pity; I'd love for chocolate to be good in excess.

I grew up in a school where everyone was vegeatrian and yes there are some unhealthy people I known from school, but the majority of them are healthy, I know many who play sports on a regular basis - climb up mountains trek in India.

Most of our parents have been vegetarian for years and seem to be quite a healthy bunch. I don't know anyone who is seriously ill as a result of poor lifestyle..

I only became overweight, (considerablely) when I left, went to a normal school and started getting free school meals, which were chips, chips and chips.

I blame Lloyd George for my weight problem..

A vegetarian school, Z? Probably not in the public sector then. You weren't educated at a Steiner School or something similar, were you?

We eat fish, Fords, so we're probably getting the right amino acids. I do know that for proper protein balance, if you're vegan, you need to combine two of of three food groups - pulses, nuts and grains. Some B vitamins are only obtainable from things like seaweed, apart from meat, I think. (Actually, I rather like seaweed, it gives such a good flavour to dishes.)

I did used to know an athlete who has written a book about being a vegetarian athlete. I think it's called something like 'The Vegetarian Athlete'. He works for an allergy testing company.

What's Lloyd George to do with it?