My suspicions have been confirmed.
If you're a loyal, valiant soldier of the losing battle against the bulge, this Time magazine article may have the answers. But I'm pretty sure most of you already know at least one of the reasons.
One of those people who've never lost weight through exercise - me. And I do exercise regularly (but stubbornly remain a tofu de beast). I might have had some success losing weight by watching my diet, but I have to say the effects don't last long.
But I unknowingly (gradually) lost some 4 kgs the second year I lived in China. The thing is, I wasn't exactly exercising that much then, for various reasons (polluted air, too frozen stiff, odd work hours).
I did find myself doing loads of other things. Daily, mundane activities you get saddled with when living alone. Topping the list - cleaning the house, doing the laundry (hand washing winter clothes are a real pain), buying the groceries and cooking. On top of that, I cycled to work (15 minutes away), to the supermarket (30 minutes away, at least once a week) and most other nearby places.
I also started on an odd regiment of working part time on Saturday mornings at least 3 times a month. That means after getting off work at 6am, I cycle home, grab some breakfast, the catch a cab to a school across town, where I'll work till about noon. Then I generally like to go for lunch, and maybe walk to the shopping area near the school. Then I go to bed at 5pm and get out of bed at about 8am the next day. That adds up to about 21 hours of wakefulness followed by 15 hours of sleep (always gives me a backache).
Food-wise, I use very little oil cooking because I like steaming, stewing, soups, and also love porridge - very convenient for packing to work. In the large supermarkets, there's always a wide range of mushrooms, tofu and vegetables, so I ate loads of those (because I actually like them). But I also had my fair share of snacks each week - giant bags of Cheesy Doritoes, Lays original potato chips, ice cream, Kinder chocolates, etc.
Then, there's the horribly bitter winter - I'm sure that can take some credit for burning up the calories.
The moral of the story - get off your collective butts and do stuff regularly. Walk the dog. Take the stairs. Buy groceries. Wash the car. Use public transport - not because it's cheaper, but because you'll walk more! Walk or cycle to nearby places. Do the household chores at shorter intervals. Eat homecooked food - again, not because it's cheaper!
Most importantly, do it regularly. And exercise, if only to build your stamina.
Indeed, I should practise what I preach. Heck, I already do 3 out of the 7 listed above anyway. (Thankfully, no dog to walk.)
