Ooh...that I don't know, sorry. Perhaps someone else here can help you with that

Yeah, you're right. I'm only dieting now cos I have a conference next week and I want to wear my size 8 dress

What usually works for me is eating really well during the week and eating whatever I like at weekends. I just put on 8lb cos I was being greedy during the week too.

Yeah, I'm hardly an expert: that's just what I read in my (old, undergrad) medical textbook. I'd like to eat more, it's boring being on a diet!

It is important to exerxise when you're dieting, to keep the metabolism going.

Today my mind is on junk food...potato cakes with sausages and beans. Or: Morrisons bread and butter pudding

H, I shouldn't eat more than 1,800 calories in a "normal", non-dieting day (that's the recommended amount for a small person with a reasonably active lifestyle: that's cycling to uni, and doing martial arts twice a week, in my case).

Then again, best not to obsess. You can eat like a pig some days as long as you cut back a bit to compenate the next day.

An MPhil what you get if you do a research Masters. An MSc (or MA) is what you get if you do a taught Masters.

Sometimes, if you do a doctorate but (whisper it) fail, you may be awarded an MPhil instead of a PhD.

Olivia: barfi are a type of Indian sweet: a bit like fudge. I think they're made from condensed milk. If you are in London you should be able to get hold of them easily.

Rosy, you shouldn't go below 800 calories a day if you are an avergae female, but 1000 calories is what doctors recommend for weight loss. You just need to make sure you are eating the right amounts of the major food groups (i.e. none of that Atkins nonsense).

Thanks everyone. Seems similar situation to here then: I'm research body funded but I'm on 12,000 a year for the 3 years. Boo!

I had thought that each year, my bursary would go up a bit: most of the other students here get a "cost of living" increase every April. However, I've just found out that mine does not. Something to do with how they scale your salary.

Without being too nosey, what happens at other unis?

Swantje, that's incredible. You must have lost over a 3rd of your body weight

(given that ideal weight is around 45 kilos for a short-arse like me, anyway).

Re: dokla. Asda brand dokla contain 150 calories per 100g, and not too much fat. I reckon I can fit them into my diet.

Well, it depends how much you eat. You need starchy carbohydrates in your normal diet. As long as you're not eating giant bowls of pasta every day, you'll be fine.

Aloha - what kind of oil? Is it one of the "good" oils (so I can eat guilt-free)?

Ooooh...I love boterkoek and gemberkoek and stroopwafels and bokkepotjes. If I lived in the Netherlands I'd be twice the size I am now

Lost 3lb this week! Woohoo!

They had chocolate oranges on half-price at WHSmith...it took a lot of restraint not to buy a load of them yesterday.