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

Ok, I was going to ask this before, but I didn't want to sound stupid. However, at the risk of sounding stupid, I have to admit I have no idea what a "stone" is--other than in the geological sense, of course. Is it some British measurement I'm not aware of?

Another piece of good news (which you probably already know): if you are working out but don't sem to be losing any weight, it might be because the weight is in a different place. Muscle (developed from working out) weighs more than fat, so just make sure you don't always trust the scale!

16 ounces(oz) = 1 pound(lb)
14 lbs = 1 stone
2 stone = 1 quarter
4 quarters = 1 hundredweight(cwt)
20 cwt = 1 ton
Thus a British ton is 2240 lbs (not 2000 which we call a short ton)
Theoretically we have changed to metric weights to conform to EEC rules, but people are still being prosecuted for refusing to work in kilos . HTH

OK, I guess that in the States they just specify weight in pounds and in Europe they use kilos. In the UK we use 'stones', and many people find it easier to talk about weighing 12 stone 2lb (my current weight, sob!) than it is to talk about weighing 170lb (which is exactly the same). Actually, if you read my original entry carefully, you can work it out. I say that 50lb is 3 stone 8lb. So, 50 - 8 = 42, 42 / 3 = 14. That gives 1 stone = 14 lb!

Still, I am over one-third of the way towards my target weight. I won't fit into my wedding dress in time for our 10th anniversary (only 5 - 6 weeks away), but I'll get there eventually and that's the main thing.

How's it going? Did you manage your target weight? I hope that I haven't put you off me with that question. If you don't hit your target weight for a particular occasion - have another occasion in the future.
I liked the 14 cals /pound thing. I'm going to try that (as soon as I'm able) and give serious dieting a good go.

I'm not going to make my target unless an alien comes down in a UFO and does some serious tinkering. 32lb in 1 month is neither possible nor advisable.

I was chatting to my mother on the phone at the weekend. We both have the same attitude. Although I wanted to reach my target by about this time next month, we both feel that the only important goal is the weight loss, not the date. So, maybe by my 11th (12th? 13th?) anniversary, or my 40th birthday, or something.

I think you have a great attitude to dieting. I hope some rubs off on me!! As long as it's not going back on everything is OK.
The most important thing is the support from those around you - and the knowledge that they don't think/feel any the less of you for not having reached your target at the time you set yourself. Good luck!

I think you have a great attitude to dieting. I hope some rubs off on me!! As long as it's not going back on everything is OK.
The most important thing is the support from those around you - and the knowledge that they don't think/feel any the less of you for not having reached your target at the time you set yourself. Good luck!

Although the weight-loss has been pretty slow and in 'fits and starts', I'm fairly confident the weight will stay off. I've been trying to change my eating habits and I've been getting a lot more exercise. I think exercise is the key thing. Over all, I feel fitter and happier.

Thanks for the good wishes - especially as they were posted twice!

Sorry about the double posting, my PC has a mind of it's own.
You're right though. Re-educating yourself in the way you eat is the only way to keep at the "right" weight (and by that I mean the right weight for you - how you feel comfortable). I talk a good diet, don't I? I can't wait for this baby to be born (still 7 months to go!) so I can start my "proper" diet again. Although my experience of being pregnant is that the weight comes off, then it stays the same for ages then I get a bump and a couple of extra kilos. My face and legs are thinner right now, but my boobs... it's depressing. I'm looking for a swimming costume: no luck. (apart from well upholstered, ugly granny ones. Might as well get the floral hat to go with it!)

Feeling happy: keep at it, that is the most important thing!

Dearest Cheerful Dragon,
Much encourgement in your exercise program and try orange juice instead of chocolate bars. Will write more later. Worlds of love,

Hi Cheerful Dragon!

I just wanted to tell you that i think it's great that you are staying cheerful whether your deadline is met or not. i'm not good with deadlines, either; what's important, i think, is that you meet your goal when your ready and then you can be happy about it. also, i wanted to add some tips that might help (i'm sorry, i'm an insufferable know-it-all, but maybe it'll be a good thing if you haven't heard one or two of them, though you've probably got the hang of exercising after a whole year):

1. you burn fat while doing cardiovascular exercise because your heart works faster than it usually does. its maximum effiency range is 60% to 80% of your maximum heart rate. i'll call that your "target heart rate", or THR

2. your THR can be deduced with a simple formula: subtract your age from the number 220 (i think that's the ideal max HR in beats per minute), and then multiply by .6 for the minimum and then .8 for the maximum. (e.g. i'm 17, so my THR is 121-162 BPM)

3. don't worry about how far/fast you've gone or how many weights you've pulled/pushed. just keep your heart rate in your target area, going slow if you have to and faster if you don't. while exercising, take a little break and check your pulse from time to time to make sure your in your THR.
---- check a pulse by counting how many heartbeats you have in ten seconds and then multiply the number by 6 (quite difficult to do while on a bike, especially if your as bad with arithmetic as i am, but this is what i learned in gym class)----

4. exercise for at least half an hour to 45 minutes at a time. your body burns sugar for the first 30 min. of exercise, and only then does it move to fat. (unfair, i know.)

5. if you exercise every other day, your body gets a well-deserved-rest while still keeping its metabolism up.

6. okay, this is a cool one, but at the same time impractical: eat six times a day! not kidding, eating small meals with some carbs and protein (i.e. meat and bread of some sort, and plenty of veggies and fruits, of course) every 2.5 hours or so will keep your body digesting food round the clock. which means its automatically burning calories while you can sleep/sit/wander aimlessly! (however, try explaining to the boss why you need two extra lunch breaks)

7. while on a bike (your hybrid was a good choice, i work at a bike shop and have this ingrained in my being) keep the speeds at a low gear, so there's less resistance and more cardio.

okay, so that's a semester of fitness and a job at dj's cycles all in one post. i hoped it helped some, and good luck!

Thanks for the hints and tips. I've known about the heart-rate thing for some time, I just never bother to check mine while exercising. I get half-an hour exercise 4 times a week (Monday - Thursday lunch times). I find it easier to exercise daily, and I don't think half-an-hour of brisk walking is going to kill me. I also go line dancing for a couple of hours on Friday, but this isn't continuous exercise so I don't know what my body is burning by the time I finish.

I haven't been out on my bike for a while as I'm trying to build up my fitness a bit. I do use low gears, though, 'cos my poor, unfit body isn't up to anything else.

Great stuff Cheerful Dragon. I hope you are feeling motivated. Just get out there and get on that bicycle if the weather is pretty. I did yesterday. Unfortunately, on my mountain bike the gears made it a bit too easy, but I didn't hurt myself. I sweated a lot and could tell my heart rate was up. You've got a diet partner here. I'm glad that everyone is getting into the various aspects. First meal of the day for me watermelon. A great diuretic.

I've just got back from my half-hour walk, checked my pulse and compared it to my THR (found using your calculation, so I hope it's right). I'm at the top end of OK - just on 80% - so the exercise should be doing me some good!

Hi again! i'm glad that everything going well. i just wanted to wish you a happy anniversary, as its sometime this month and i don't think i'll be able to later (with the end of summer and all). i hope you have fun!

Thank-you for your kind wishes. I don't know if you're married, but here's something to try for anniversary presents if (or when) you are. We have a book which lists the substances associated with the different wedding anniversaries. Everybody knows '25 = silver, 50 = gold, 60 = diamond', but there are a load of other ones. As our anniversary approaches, we look up the substance associated with that year and buy each other a present that is somehow associated with that substance. Sometimes the connections can be pretty tenuous, as we don't always want to go for the obvious. For example, the 8th anniversary (according to our list - there are different versions) is 'bronze or pottery'. Richard got me a couple of large mugs - I like to drink a lot of tea. I got him a beer glass with 'Muttley' on it, and a Muttley bean-bag toy; well, Muttley was always after medals, and they *can* be made of bronze! If you're too young to remember 'Muttley', he was Dick Dastardly's side-kick in 'The Wacky Races', but you won't remember that cartoon series, either.

This anniversary, our 10th, is tin. I've bought Richard a small, crystal vintage car. The connection is a famous vintage car, the first to be mass-produced (I think) - the Model-T Ford, affectionately known as the 'Tin Lizzie'.

Congatulations! It must be the Crystal Anniversary. Crash...Bang...Tinkle...Tinkle... Tinkle... I have this penchant for breaking glass. Maybe that's why I don't think I'll ever may it to the Crystal. Thank goodness we are in Cyberspace and I can't reach out and do any inadvertant damage.
Congratutaltions all around, let me know what he gets you, I'd like to live vicariously.
I haven't been getting much exercise. I have lost 5 lbs, last time I looked. I'm not trying hard enough. The only help I get from my partner is he insists that sex burns a lot of calories. On that note...Worlds of Love, JLC the TTP

Sorry, Tin, tin, tin, tin, tin, tin, tin, tin, tin, tin, tin, tin, ...
I hope he take you on a 2nd honeymoon in a little cabin with a tin roof. Worlds of love, JLC the TTp

Actually, I'm paying for our holiday for two reasons. One is that he paid for our first honeymoon, the other is that I'm earning more than him at the moment. And the holiday is two weeks in Egypt. Hopefully the boats for the Nile cruise *won't* have tin rooves.

Cheerful, you are a Gem. Thank you for giving me a glimpse of what real marital bliss can be like. I am so happy for you both. Happy Anniversay. I believe in true love, am a true romantic and on the subject of dieting...and looks, we are much to hard on ourselves. You are beautiful through and through, the main thing is to take care of yourself so that your true love can have you here with him as long as possible. Worlds of Love, JLC the TTp