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You don’t have to not eat chocolate cake ever, if you’re burning enough calories. That’s the real secret and that’s what we all tend to forget.
For people who want to start exercising more, what is a realistic goal for how much and how often?
We tend to say to get your heart rate up and fast for 1/2 hour; 3 times a week is a good start. It doesn’t sound much but it’s about 1 hour and a half. It doesn’t have to be in blocks like that either.
I always say to people if you work on the fourth floor, or live on the fourth floor than ban the lift - that burns calories straight away. If you go on an escalator - walk up them instead. It actually burns a significant number of calories, without you having to panic about ‘Oh no, I haven’t been to the gym today’. It will also improve your heart rate as well as your looks.
Are men any better than women at dieting?
I think that’s debatable. Men tend to have more muscle so men burn more calories naturally. The more muscle you have the more calories you can burn, in theory. But we all know loads of fatties don’t we.
What are your motivational tips to getting healthy?
Don’t set yourself targets in too short a time scale. People say they want to lose 2 stone in 2 months, but when they don’t they get depressed and beat themselves up about it.
Look for things you can keep up with - cook things that are tasty and keep you fuller for longer.
Do you think that the Nintendo Ds or Wii video games can help people to lose weight?
Well, the one I know is called myhealthcoach for Nintendo DS and its one that I know a lot of women have.
The reason why I like it is because it comes with a little pedometer that counts how active you’ve been, how many calories you’ve burnt and how many calories you’ve consumed that day.
Then you can plug it into the computer and it works out if you’ve burnt more calories then you’ve eaten or have you eaten more than you burned. It then lets you know if you need to be more active and it gives you little tips. It’s not like ‘you must go to the gym and slog away for an hour’. Its fun, really motivational and you don’t need to think.
It’s designed by a fitness coach and nutritionists. People pay a lot of money for this type of advice, which is why I say it’s so great. Especially if you find it hard to get motivated and not really sure what you need to be doing.
Should junk food be banned?
That’s a really interesting question. Personally my philosophy is that nothing should be banned, because then I think what next. Are we going to ban homosexuality, immigration - it’s a slippery slope.
But junk food is highly available and very cheap. I think there needs to be more health warnings, just like smoking has health warnings, I think we need to go down that route.
Perhaps restrictions on advertising is needed, especially adverts on junk food aimed towards kids.
Are you a fan of Jamie Oliver’s School Dinners?
One of the most horrifying images I saw last year and working as a doctor for sexual health you see a lot of disturbing things and nasty things was seeing mothers pushing junk food through the bars of the school to their kids. I really did have a crisis of faith.
Jamie is just trying to do some good - so I am a fan. Anything that can teach people while making it fun and easy is a good thing.
What was your most shocking experience on Supersize vs. Superskinny?
There were two things - firstly the really underweight people who found any excuse not to eat. I would give it all the babble, but when it came to eating time it was “I feel sick, I feel funny” every excuse under the sun. There really were deep rooted phobias. That really was an eye opener. Even as a doctor I don’t get to sit down with people during their dinners.
The other shocking thing; a man in his mid 30s had never eaten a strawberry before, never tasted a strawberry! It’s not a particular rare wonderful fruit either; I think it’s pretty available and affordable. He never had a kiwi fruit either. This was someone who was supersized who had been guzzling away on everything but had never had a strawberry! I was really surprised by that actually.
Have you ever had a problem with your weight?
I used to be really skinny. My dad always said I was puny and I would get upset about that. So I was like “right, I’m going to do something about this.” I’m a bit more comfortable about how I look now.
How often do you exercise?
I go to the gym about 4-5 times a week and I really enjoy it. I’ve been doing it for 10 years and I don’t find it hard. It’s more like a habit and I find it distresses me.
You were one of the doctors on Embarrassing Illnesses - were men really worse compared to women, when it comes to discussing their embarrassing problems?
Absolutely, totally. You go to a pub and you might hear women talking about their period pains, but you won’t hear men talking about haemorrhoids or not being able to get an erection. It really isn’t done.
They don’t talk about it with their mates, they don’t even talk about it with their doctors and that’s how they get into so much trouble.
What is the most common embarrassing problem amongst men?
There are lots, feet is one. Lots of men have really nasty feet. They wrap themselves up in shoes and never show their feet. So you can find loads of yucky fungal infections.
Sexual problems or erectile dysfunction is another one. Lots of men feel a lot less of a man - particularly when talking to a male doctor. It’s like an admission of weakness which is nonsense and we can actually do something about it. So come and talk to us.
What is a common embarrassing problem with women?
Women are a completely different kettle of fish. You have babies, you have periods and you’re far more used to talking about your bodily functions. When you’ve had a baby the whole world has seen all your insides - so it’s not so much an embarrassing problem. Women tend to get upset about skin problems - spots, rashes especially when it comes to summer and you have to reveal a bit more.