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

I'm still fat though, so could lose a lot more weight - I just don't seem to currently have the capacity for the iron-willed self-denial, which is what I need to lose weight.

I do feel a fraud at my fat club meeting, when people with a lower bmi than me ask me for advice on losing weight...

BMI is a rough guide - sure, it gives misleading results for bodu builders, but it's a starting point.

Over 30 I agree with Z, its time to take action.

26 - well that's near the recommended range, so not too much to worry about.

I've worked at getting mine from over 30 to under (just!) 25 over the last year. And I think things like fitness (being able to run a certain distance in a certain time) or size (fitting a size 10!)trump bmi numbers any day. But I still think it has its place.

I am going to have something about my waistline - (now 38) but my bad knee means running or jogging is a no go, and even a real bike is out.

My current plan is to go without kebabs until coventry City win a game.

Strange ~ I just got a BBC error message telling me the server is too busy.......

Swimming is good low impact exercise, but hard to fit into your daily routine, though I have managed it in the past.

I am a bit worried, because I'm starting to get at twinge behind my ankle when I walk. I'm due another workout today, and I'm worried that I'll damage it more by running on it.

Hmmm - can you do other exercise (like swimming) until it's better?

I'm having a bit of shoulder trouble again since the training session last weekend, but I think it's more a matter of building up the muscle again than anything else.

Z, google for eccentric calf raises for an exercise to help combat achillies tendonitis. Mine gets worse each time I go through a phase of forgetting to do these on my way to bed every night.

Hum, it's really near the achillies though. That said I have got a corridor opinion and I think stretches are the way forward.

Eccentric calf raises are what the physio gives you for achillies pain, there are tons of instructions for them online.

And the other thing they always give you are instructions to strengthen your core (lots of squats etc).

Well the pain in my deltiod tendon settled down. I'm now at the half way point in the running.



There's a bit of a pattern, finish one week, and really just manage it, don't feel up to the next run. But at the next run I think 'Oh what the and try the next step up.

So last week I was puffing and panting my way through three minute runs, this week it was a step up to a four minute run, then a six minute run.

Finally feel I can see an end to this bit of training, towards a place where I can run for 30 minutes. I don't know if I'll be able to run 5k in those 30 minutes, but that doesn't matter so much because I'll still have another 8 weeks before the sponsored race thingy.

I'm so glad I don't have to do the running, I shall just admire from afar.

Excellent. I'm getting back on the treadmill tonight to start over, and I'm going to do it this time.

Just got to get through the pain barrier (which is near enough constant at the moment anyway, even without running) - so it's a case of manning up and laying off the kebabs and fags.

'so it's a case of manning up and laying off the kebabs and fags'
So that's not going to happen then.

I've got to go for an injection in my knee to dull the pain so I can exercise it. Basically they're telling me I'm heading for arthritis, but as I'm hyper-mobile that was a given anyway.

Things were going really well, until I got distracted by organising an event for the Edinburgh Science Festival which kept me out of the house until midnight every night last week. Huge sucess though - we even got mentioned in The Scotsman.

There was one terrifying night when I was introing a speaker- but the speaker hadn't turned up, I was talking to a room full of 60 or so people, talking about our society, then events we had over the next few months, our pub quiz team... and desperately hoping that the speaker would make it in time.

Fortunately he did, just had I had finished introducing him he bounded in!

Anyway, the plan is do to a run every night next week to make up!

I wouldn't do every day, your muscles and joints need recovery time. I've been doing this running lark properly for 18 months now and still find it hard if I run every day without a break. By the end of the week all the normal niggles are worse and my technique is definitely worse as I try to protect the duff bits. Is disheartening to get slower at this stage! If you did 4 in the week, no more than two days in a row then you'd make progress.

I agree, all the advice I've received has been to run every other day.

How's this working for you, Z? I've just started the Couch to 5k thing as well, and I'm rather sceptical that it will do what it says on the box. I definitely need proper running shoes...

It will!! I just did my last training session today for time, and I ran for 30 min, my god was broken so I don't know my distance but it's probably between 4 and 4.5 k.

Now to repeat that til i can run 5k