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

I somehow found myself reading a diet thread here, and thought about my weight.

I'm not, apparently (if you believe the BMI guff - which I might as well when it's in my favour ) overweight. But I'm off to check in a mo.

But I was remembering 2003 which is the Year I Lost Weight And Didn't Notice Until My Trousers Slipped Down At Work. Luckily I was wearing a long (fat covering) shirt. I thought the zip had gone, but nope - I'd gone from 74kg (164lbs, er... 11st 10lbs ) to 62kgs (136lbs or... oh wait... 9st 10lbs) which is a loss of 2 stones. That was in May.

Actually, I had quite sunken cheeks, and my collar bones and breastbones could be seen - which I don't consider attractive. My boobs weren't noticeably smaller, but I had no bum and my legs were skinny at the top. I also had a flat stomach, which I liked a lot. (this was prior to my resuming my running activities)

Of course, once I realised that I'd got "skinny" I began to put weight on, and was happy at around 68-69kg. But now I've crept back up to about 71-72 kg and although I do sport, and eat healthily (and, according to my mum and not enough to keep a sparrow alive - I dispute that) I can't seem to get back under 70kg.

And of course, having been at an all girls boarding school for my teenage years I have an unhealthy relationship with food anyway.

I'm off to check my BMI now to see if I really am fat.

OK, that's apparently 24.7 (within the normal range) according to this calculator
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/

24.7 with this one too
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

24.9 with this one
but at my age I'm allowed to go up to 26...
http://www.medizin.de/gesundheit/deutsch/68.htm

The thing is I feel quite stodgy at this weight and just recently I've only made it to the gym once a week, and I haven't run for a while now (I'm stressed but yet also bored at work which is part of it, dissatisfied with other things so that's making me lethargic)

I need to motivate myself

Perhaps I need to keep a food diary.

Are you needing to motivate yourself to keep up with your fitness stuff or lose weight? Because I think if you kept a food diary you'd probably find you needed to eat more not less. Could you be feeling lethargic through lack of more food than a sparrow eats? Oh don't be hasty.

I'll join you.

>>> having been at an all girls boarding school for my teenage years I have an unhealthy relationship with food anyway. <<<

Unhealthy as in eat crap food? Eat not enough food? Eat too much food? Snog your food? How?

(I ask with a personal agenda, as you know ...)

*having no useful input, just watches for a while ... *

The pounds don't sound as if they are exactly *piling* on. I've had the trousers falling down thing recently, too - quite scarey. And so annoying that all my favourite trousers now make me look like Charlie Chaplin.

But it does sound to me like it's exercise you're craving, rather than lettuce leaves.

Just my

Mol

Wilma - my unhealthy relationship to food goes like this. I'm plump, if I actually eat anything at all I'm just getting fatter, so I don't eat for as long as i can last out. Then I eat two bars of chocolate, then I feel awful so I live on lettuce for a week... Almost every time I eat something I know instinctively how fat it will make me, how I'll feel after I've eaten it etc etc

I was teased an awful lot at school - not for being fat (I wasn't particularly large, my BMI would have been about 23) but for having huge boobs, which I covered with loose clothes which made me look fat. And being afraid of being labelled "lezzers" we never undressed in front of each other.

What I need is to be happy in myself. I'm basically ok but I'm at the stage where I hate my job so much, and am stuck in it to feed the family, that everything is too much trouble. I'm knackered when I get home, and so demotivated that it's hard to do anything. Training at lunchtime is ok, but takes more than the 45 minutes that are automatically booked off my time card. Because I have to make my hours, but still be able to get home to collect the girls etc etc

I feel happier when I do more sport, so I just need to make a run fit into every day. it doesn't help that I have to be with the Gruesomes until 8pm when they go to bed - if I go for a 45 minute run then, it means I have to have eaten at the latest while I'm driving home. So I don't bother...

I'll get it worked out

right (feel free to unsub)
I'm starting a food diary

today (12 May)
breakfast: orange juice, mug of herb tea, fruit salad*, full fat yoghurt* (about 5 tbsp), granola* (about 2 tbsp)

* home made

as for the yoghurt - we make about 5 litres a week. I prefer to use full-fat milk because I use organic stuff and I can only get full fat for that

let's see...