Designer diet

No, I'm not talking about some hip trendy new weight loss plan to give you that "cut look". What I am talking about is what an industrial designer likes to eat whilst working.

Although I work from a home office these days, there have been times when I used to go to the office and work with other industrial designers, so my observations are not based simply on my own lifestyle, but others also.

A couple of years ago my weight had crept up to just over 80kg, not a huge amount you might think, but at five feet, five and a half inches tall that's clearly a tad overweight (don't forget the half inch, that half inch is very important to a shorty like me).

The reason for the piling on the pounds is the deliciously evil flavors of crisps, cakes and chocolate bars.

You see, sat in my chair all day the only exercise I used to get was getting out the chair to go get more chocolate... and maybe swiveling my chair to the sound of a loud wheeeeeeeee.

What I couldn't quite figure out was why I had such an urge for sugary sweets as I don't really have a sweet tooth and I just put it down to middle age spread and the fact I didn't go walking and rock climbing as much as I used to in my twenties and all the sitting down, thus not burring off the energy.

Then I discovered, well told by a friend in the medical profession that my habit was normal for my line of work and similar.

Truck drivers, computer programmers, analysts et.al use up lots of glucose or blood sugar, and this sugar needs replacing. A pea sized gland right in the centre of your head called the pituitary gland send out messages to get yourself tanked up with lots of lovely stickies.

However, there is a word of warning to be heeded here more than just a reminder that such indulgences will expand you waist line, your brain whilst it needs the glucose can suffer irreparable damage by over consumption... there is truth in the old saying 'everything on moderation'

As usual the recommendation is eat a balanced diet and get plenty of exercise. With EU law stipulating that we should take a ten minuet break after twenty minuets of work in front of the computer screen why not use this time to walk to the shop for some fruit instead of those Mars bars or Snickers you usually crave