Hamster's Treadmill

[Hamster]

Gentle Reader

I have very little to report today. The legs are feeling tired and a little stiff but no real pain so I should be able to do the same walk again in the near future. Mrs Hamster and Hamster are feeling quietly pleased with completing our 36 kms

Today we walked a mere 5 kms. This was to the local shopping centre in Kipper-Ring to buy some new trousers for Hamster because all my existing pairs seem to have stretched. The pair I bought have a 36 inch waist. Hamster has not had a 36 inch waist since being shackled to Mrs Hamster a quarter of a century ago.

A rather good book that I've just bought is "Walk Yourself Thin" by David A. Rives, http://www.thinwalker.com This is a simple book aimed at the non-walker who wants to start a simple exercise program. The philosophy of the book can be summed-up as "WALK AS FAST AS YOU COMFORTABLY CAN FOR AS LONG AS YOU COMPORTABLY CAN". Nothing complex there and indeed the whole book is basically full of common sense sugestions like "stay away from 'all you can eat' resturants."

Tomorrow is my weigh-in day, I feel confident of a good result and will let you all know tomorrow. I hope that all is good with you gentle reader and that all your hopes and dreams come true.

[Daffodil]

"stay away from 'all you can eat' resturants."

Yeah, that's a no-brainer for sure, huh? lol
I do go to them sometimes, but I hang out at the salad bar only, picking the things that look healthy enough to go on the salad.

As for my ticker, I still can't figure out why it doesn't show up. Is it invisible? Inquring minds want to know, especially mine.

[Daffodil]

After i posted that about the ticker, it showed up! Dang, where was it hiding? It scared me. So maybe when i said "ticker" it came to life. What a loopy day. lol

[Ege Bamyasi]

Sometimes that ticker website can be a bit slow to update or display things. I've done data updates at the end of a week and had them take 5 - 10 minutes to make it into my ticker or graph.

[Hamster]

Gentle Reader,

The attached graph gives my weight (in kilograms) over the past 2 years. As it demonstrates the power of diet combined with regular exercise to combat obesity I thought that it would be interesting to share.

The jagged downward sloping segments are the result of SAD eating with portion control. The three upward sloping straight lines are largely caused by eating excessive quantities of dairy.
The steep downward sloping most recent segment is the result of eliminating dairy and following a largely vegan diet plus regular exercise.

[Ege Bamyasi]

That sure is a sweet drop over at the end there, isn't it?

Congratulations, Hamster!

[Letha.]

I like your chart. Congratulations on your progress Hamster. Tell me, how did you post that chart. I can see you used tinypic but how did you save an excel spreadsheet as a jpg|bmp|gif|pcx|png|psd|tif file so you could use tinypic?
Letha

[bunsofaluminum]

On all you can eat restaurants: If you can do this, it really works.

Chew every bite slowly and thoroughly. Really taste what you have in your mouth; take a sip of your drink here and there; enjoy the company. stop when full. It has to do with awareness.

But I agree with you on staying away from that kind of place. We don't eat out much anyway.

That graph is terrific, Hamster, but it's got the formatting on your journal all weird and "long" so you have to scroll sideways instead of up and down.

but I can hardly wait until my ticker starts moving. yay!


blessings. HeidiW

[Hamster]

I like your chart. Congratulations on your progress Hamster. Tell me, how did you post that chart. I can see you used tinypic but how did you save an excel spreadsheet as a jpg|bmp|gif|pcx|png|psd|tif file so you could use tinypic?
Letha

Letha,

It's really very easy. Just take a screen shot by holding down shift and hitting the print screen button. Then fire-up paint and paste the image by clicking on edit and selecting paste. Then save as a .jpg file. Then upload into tinypic and post the link.

It I had cropped the image down I may not have caused the margins to blow-out but oh well something to remember for next time.

[LauraA]

Wow! You are doing so great! Be sure that your Dr knows that if your BP is low or normal, this is not a fluke thing, but the result of permanent changes in our eating. Be sure he/she takes you off of the meds! Oh, weren't you the one who said something about picturing an "off" switch when you saw certain foods? If so, where did you say that -do you remember? I liked it, and wanted to see it again. Thanks, LauraA

[Hamster]

Gentle Reader

Monday is when Hamster weighs himself to see if all the careful food selection and exercise have had the desired effect. Today, Hamster can announce that he has lost 2.7 kg for the week and now weighs 88.5 kg and has a BMI of 28.2 WooooooHoooooo.

I have also discovered the joy of shopping in my own wardrobe. It is amazing what can be found hiding back in there. I am currently wearing jeans and work trousers that I have been unable to wear for well over a decade. The shirts I was wearing only a few months ago now look more like dresses than a shirts.

The main reason for my past weight-loss failures has been dairy and its elimination has had a remarkable effect. With the weight loss the ability to do more exercise increases which burns more calories.

Gentle reader I hope that everything is going well for you. The kind comments you leave in the journal are very much appreciated.

[Hamster]

Here's a link to my comment regarding my dairy switch http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic ... 64&start=0

[LauraA]

Thanks, your off or excess switch doesn't sound silly at all. It completely explains how I handle nuts, bread etc. I went somewhere with a couple of friends yesterday, and there were fresh baked cookies available. They each took one, wrapped them in napkins, and asked if I wanted one. I said no, that I could either have none or the whole tray. Then, we came back to my house. They started to leave, and forgot the cookies! That would never happen to me. Anyway I reminded them, and told them that fresh baked cookies could not be left in my sight! Take care, LauraA

[Hamster]

LauraA

When my dairy switch is “off” I can look at cheese, ice-cream etc and not recognize it as being food. Every morning I check to see that the switch is properly set and I’m right for another day. If ever I feel even slightly tempted, like I did with some cheesecake at a local coffee shop all I have to do is to check the switch and ensure that it hasn’t been bumped to the “excess” position.

[Talyae]

Monday is when Hamster weighs himself to see if all the careful food selection and exercise have had the desired effect. Today, Hamster can announce that he has lost 2.7 kg for the week and now weighs 88.5 kg and has a BMI of 28.2 WooooooHoooooo.

Woo hoo indeed! Way to go Hamster!

Congrats on your amazing walk as well.