Hi All!

Its been a LONG time since I posted on here, last time being in 2011 during a horrid postdoc experience and you guys certainly helped me through it!

Now doing a lovely postdoc in sunny portugal and enjoying it (although procrastination STILL rears its ugly head now and again!)

Now guys here is my big confession - I have turned into a big podge! I used to be a nice 9.5st in first year of PhD and now I am a squidgy 11.5st (im ony 5ft4!) and concerned that if I continue in academic field I will become morbidly obese - although I will be the greatest computational chemist in world as I will be too fat to leave my desk :D

So come on guys, what can you suggest? what keeps you all slim whilst being eternally stuck at desks?

ps I will be taking up running again - long distance

cheers me dears!
B

Hey BevCha,

welcome back. Glad to hear you are having a good time!

First, I would like to express a very personal opinion, that weight is just a number, and is only a crude indication of health.

One suggestion I would like to make is NOT to start with running, as it can put a lot of strain on your knees and ankles. If I were you I would start with swimming that is gentle for the body, and brings you slowly into a good physical condition. More important, find a balance between work and play (easier said than done) : take the weekends off and go for hiking and rowing.

Well, the rest you probably know already :) Eat your veggies, and cut down on sugar (we are all addicts) blah blah :)

Have fun

Hello,

I also have to keep a close eye on my weight because I find I could easily eat rubbish all day when at my desk!

I restrict what I eat during the day when I'm at uni so that on most days I only eat between 1500 - 1800 calories in total and then find this is compensates for the treats I have and extra calories I eat at the weekend, so that my weight is maintained.

I take 3 or 4 pieces of fruit to uni with me and then either bring a home made soup or salad for lunch (no dressing on the salad, basically just veggies so lunch is only 200 to 300 calories).

I'm really hungry by the time I get home in the evening, so I eat a proper big meal (about 800 calories) that I've already prepared earlier in the week (otherwise I would just eat junk as I'd be too hungry to cook).

This is the only way I can maintain my weight, as I have found that if I eat a normal lunch (sandwich etc), I slowly start to put on extra pounds.

I also don't buy crisps, cakes or biscuits unless I intend to eat them that day otherwise I will just keep eating them if they are in the house!

I walk or cycle to uni as well, and that is basically my only exercise.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies and the advice! I am following it to the letter having done a huge shop of healthy goods yesterday and will try to fit some more walking in (saves on bus fare too!)

Regarding Dr Jeckyll indeed it is sensible to not go into running straight away but I should have mentioned that up until an injury in May I was an avid runner (injured during Edinburgh Marathon) however after injury I clearly carried on eating as if I was burning all those calories! Hence the cardiac when I got on the scales :D

Many thanks guys - will keep you updated. Just submitted a paper today too - I will NOT celebrate with cake!

B
x

Me too. I've only just started and I'm 'pudding-ing'. Ditch fruit snacks, any sugar is sugar, even fructose, your better snacking on cucumber and corrot sticks. Try and reduce bread or look for alternatives e.g.g flatbreads. Only drink water! If your really cold and need to warm up drink a herbal tea with no milk or sugar or sugar free hot blackcurrant juice. Do I do all this stuff, erm no but I wish I did ha ha it's the advice I was given. I have swapped to water and cut down on sugar though. I agree swiming would be good. Get on youtube and look at workouts. I've just started 30 day shred. 20 mins each morning at 9am ;-p It's a killer at the start. I've bought myself some swimsuits a size to small...I will fit in them in time for my holiday! Good luck.

You are right about the sugar, but fructose is used differently in the body than sucrose or glucose. Carrots have a reasonably high sugar content too though.

Drinking water is good advice - I only drink water, tea, coffee [or wine] ;)

Sugar-free alternatives are best avoided as well, since they excite similar biochemical pathways as sugar, but without the actual sugar so your body is expecting something it doesn't get, causing more cravings.

You will find that your preferences change once you change your diet. If I go away for a weekend and eat out all the time, I don't feel good and I'm craving vegetables by the time I get home.

Thanks tree of life, that's good to know. I try steer clear of sugar free awell because of the Aspartame. I've ditched chocolate :(

Hi Guys,

Still nibbling healthy things and walking home every night (its about 3K) I dont walk in because its at the top of a massive hill and I would be a mess by the time I got there!

I wanted some opinions on sweetener? I dont have a sweet tooth with the exception of in tea :( I have replaced most of my cuppas with herbal tea but just wondered if Low Cal sweetener has worked for anyone?

thanks again for all replies!

B
x

Most artificial sweetners contain aspartame which should be avoided (see above). The less sugar you have, the less you will want, so try to cut down the amount you add to tea and eventually you will find you don't want any extra sweetness in your tea anyway.

To be honest though, sugar in tea is probably only a small percentage of the amount sugar in your diet (depending upon how many cups you drink a day, obviously). I think two teaspoons of sugar are about 40 calories - same as an orange or apple (although the fruit is obviously better for you). Fizzy drinks or processed meals on the other hand can contain 10 teaspoons of sugar, so these are the real enemies.

Well done with walking home every day - soon you will be able to walk in up that hill as well :)

Thanks TreeofLife

I hope so, will be sprinting up that hill no problems! :D
Thanks for the advice with the sweetener, I will instead try to cut down - to be honest through the week I tend to have only maybe 2 cups of tea.

My saving grace is that I don't drink fizzy drinks, no cola or anything like that, I don't eat crisps and I never have processed meals.

:)

thanks lots for your advice :)