Greenbelt

Green again

I loved being part of the Greenbelt team in Cheltenham. But this year I've loved even more being a normal punter at the first festival of the millennium to be held in a green-field site.

It was really rather wonderful. Long may Greenbelt be green.

Greenbelt , Personal

Questions

It's time to present the questions for last week's answers.

Last week Martin persuaded me to do a short talk at Greenbelt. It's not a topic I would've thought presenting in public, but here goes. This is the text of what I'd intended to say. The full seven minutes were recorded for posterity so later in the year we'll find out what I actually said.

"You look incredible!"

People are friendly at Greenbelt but I wasn't expecting this.

I've many friends here that I only see once a year and I'd forgotten: this time last year there was 50% more of me. I've changed.

Mostly people ask the same questions:
"Are you well?" Yes, Very healthy thanks.
"Are you trying to lose weight?" I guess so.
"What's your secret?"

One of those friends suggested I take a few minutes to answer the last question publicly.

So here goes: "How technology can help you lose weight faster than you might imagine."

BMI is a scary concept isn't it? In December last year I was obese. To join the minority of people in this country who are a healthy weight (only 1 in 3 of us!) I had to shed four stone. One stone seemed an insurmountable challenge. Was change possible? Could it fit with my life?

It started with a hunch. I've never been particularly inactive (I walked 500 miles recreationally last year) but I felt I just needed to get out a bit more.

The latest mobile phones can track motion, so perhaps an app could help. The first I tried was Nike+ Move. It awards you Fuel for your activity, and you can compare one day with the next to see how you're getting on. I got hooked on trying to improve my weekly average and soon topped the UK leaderboard. It was amazing what an extra half an hour's walking in the morning did.

The problem is, I didn't always have my phone in my pocket.

Various companies have fixed this: they've taken the motion detection electronics and squeezed them into wristbands, clip-on gadgets or little widgets that nestle in your pocket. One birthday later I ended up with this: a FitBit One tracker.

It's really quite a simple device. It's a pedometer. It counts steps. So far I've taken 7,410 steps today. Since I've also told it my height, it can estimate how far I've walked: 3.06 miles. It's also got an altimeter, and it reckons I've climbed the equivalent of 15 flights of stairs.

The gadget synchronises with an app on the phone so I can see these figures there too, and I can compare one day with the next. Each day I try to walk at least five miles and climb ten flights of stairs.

It's got another trick up its electronic sleeve too. And it's and age old one. Having told FitBit my age and weight, it can convert my day's activity into an estimate of the number of calories I've burned: 1,385 and counting.

I use the app to keep track of the calories I've eaten, and the theory goes that so long as I burn more than I eat I'll lose weight.

If you tell FitBit what your goal weight is, and how hard-core you want to be, it'll give you a budget so you can see how many calories you've got left each day. Too few? Go for a quick walk found the block. Too many spare? Eat cake.

You can even hook it up to digital bathroom scales that record your weight automatically so you don't even have to track your progress. (Side note: don't weigh yourself in my house, although I'm surprised at just how many visitors do.)

Is it really that easy? I tried it for two weeks in January. It seemed to work.

Eat less. Exercise more. Who knew? Why did no one tell us?

Of course we all know the secret. The trick that FitBit and others pull off is that they bring all the critical information together in one place. Information is power.

After four months I'd lost four stone. I'd changed. I'd joined the healthy minority.

I'm reluctant to say FitBit is the secret. It's not a panacea This device did not make me lose weight. I did it myself. But at times it's been hard work.

It's hard counting calories when eating out, though many restaurants publish nutrition information online.

Trying to track calories consumed at a festival is futile. This weekend I'll be queuing at Cambrian Organics with everyone else.

But come Tuesday I know what I need to do to get back on track.

So if you - like I did last year - feel you could spare a pound or two, there's three things I'd ask you to remember.

Information is power.

Change is possible.

You are incredible.

Personal

Answers

Over the next few days I'm likely to meet a good few people who I haven't seen in a year.

If those encounters are anything like others I've had recently, there are a set of questions that are bound to come up. Here are the answers.

1. No, I'm quite healthy thanks.
2. Yes, deliberate.
3. Twenty-six kilograms.
4. Eight inches.
5. 1. Eat a bit less, walk a bit more.
   2. FitBit

If you get to The Treehouse at the right time this weekend you might catch me explaining what the questions are.

Tech

Preventing password expiry on Windows 7 Home

I provide occasional IT support to neighbours. This week's request was harder to resolve than it should've been, so here's a quick summary for anyone who

Problem: Windows prompts me to change my login password every 42 days.

Desired outcome: I don't local users' passwords to ever expire.

Solution:

1. Click the Start button
2. Type cmd then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter
3. Select "Run as Administrator" (you'll need to enter your password here)
4. In the command-line window, type net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited then press Enter
5. Type exit to quit the command-line window

Notes: Absurdly, Microsoft don't provide a graphical user interface for adjusting this setting on "Home" versions of Windows 7, hence the need to dive into the command-line. Running net accounts without further options will show the current settings.