Introduction

"Heathrow Injection" is fairly well-known among South Africans, Australians and New Zealanders moving to Europe: it manifests as sudden and inexplicable weight gain.

Thanks to Modern Media Hype, most people dismiss their weight gain as eating too much, not exercising enough, a change to a more fatty diet. I would guess that most of them are actually bewildered that seemingly small dietary indulgences result in such massive consequences.

Well, I didn't fall for the media hype and the typical insults. I knew what I was eating, and it was not significantly different from my South African diet. Plus I knew that I was walking a great deal more as I no longer had a car.

In England the usual battery of tests all returned normal and the NHS doctors (NHS = Nobody's Health Service) left it at that, telling me to cut out of my diet all the things I never actually eat.

In the Netherlands, which is darker and colder than England, the problem got worse. I tried a daylight lamp, as used in SAD, and the occasional sunbed. After all, when I go on holiday to a warm, sunny place, no matter what I eat or drink the weight just drops off.

That didn't help. So again, I went to my doctor and asked him if he had any ideas why 75 degrees of latitude could affect one's weight so. I wasn't really expecting an answer.

He listened to my tale with interest, and then said, "Very interesting. Just two weeks ago I was at a seminar on the effect of climate on metabolism."

Basically, he said, what you eat or drink makes very little odds. Metabolism is the secret.

After sending me for the usual tests to make sure there was nothing measurably wrong with me, he referred me to an endocrinologist who has a particular interest in climate and metabolism.

He explained that Heathrow Injection is basically a form of hibernation which is genetically triggered. Not much he can do about that, but he did have some ideas on reducing the excess weight.

He could not immediately implement idea no 1, as the excess weight has sent my blood pressure up.

Idea no 2 was to prescribe metformin, a drug normally used to treat diabetics, in conjunction with a low carb diet. Metformin helps makes the cells more responsive to insulin.

So it seems the hibernation effect triggers a massive insulin resistance, and the only way to overcome that is to drop the starchy carbs immediately and take medication if necessary.

This blog will be a journal of what I've been eating since seeing the dietician on the 3rd December. And probably also a progress report.