The Silver Fern

[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
NTA is displeased with himself - he should have worn better socks when trialling his new boots. 20 minutes into it I've got 1 blister the size of a 20 cent piece on my right heel. Better forethought - and the purchase of some new socks - will be required in future.<br />
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Try the Carl Rackemann method; especially if you're bowling: Two socks on each foot. Both thick.<br />
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Lots of help, especially if you plan on doing more than an MVJesque amount of bowling and have a run up longer than 2 m.

[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
Go to the local oval and run around for a bit like an idiot; and throw a few cherries down the pitch.<br />
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You're not Pakistani; you can bloody well bowl!

[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
Cricket beat both Mrs TA's virtue and Glenlivet. I feel like such a fat bastard having done no exercise since Saturday arv. [/quote]<br />
Cricket can help. Here's something I did occasionally in the past (quite rare now that I'm in Chicago) - grab half a dozen or so tennis balls, cover them partially in duct tape (at least one complete layer of tape around most of the ball, then a second partial layer around half the ball to get some weight imbalance). <br />
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Find a net (proper length), set of stumps - do a few warmups to start, then run in and just keep bowling for about 45 minutes or so, or until you feel like dropping. For fat burning/muscle building, it doesn't have the same effect as weights or a good sprint, but far easier to keep motivated (especially if you can get someone to stand down the other end and take on your bowling. If it's a bad batsman, you'll be amazed at how energised you feel <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />). Lot more fun, and does a lot for stamina as well; especially when done in heat. <br />
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Plus it might even help your bowling. That's one fun thing about a taped tennis ball - it'll move around FAR more than a cricket ball (if taped properly) and swing like mad once scuffed up just a bit, and it's also heavy enough to give the arms/shoulder a bit of exercise too.

Rice is a godsend, particularly on a college campus in the USA.<br />
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I've got one of those magnificent microwaveable rice cookers that you can put the rice and water into, then put into a microwave for 15 minutes. <br />
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For variety, I often just mix in a few various spices - some chilli powder, turmeric, cloves and such, and then let the flavours get absorbed during the cooking process. Very good and quite healthy too.<br />
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Food though is a real problem here - campus food is atrocious American fare, usually too greasy or deep fried - only the plain grilled chicken burgers in the caf are anything near decent. I can cook adequately, but time is an issue when cooking - as is cleaning up, and quite often it's just not possible to take 30 mins to cook a decent dinner, eat and then wash the dishes up later on. I can do it maybe 2-3 times a week at max, but not much more often.<br />
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Soups, btw, are excellent. There are a lot of low-cal ones you can just mix in with boiling water so preparation isn't an issue, plus it also fills you up at the beginning of a meal.

[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
Easiest way to lose the taste for the Hut them is find a decent pizza joint - once you've had the good stuff you don't go back easily. And it costs a bit more than the Hut so you find you put your budget ahead of your stomach sometimes, and eat pizza less <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />[/quote]<br />
Yep. Used to be big on the Hut & Domino's in my early teens - picked up a taste for thin crust Italian pizza, become an epicurean now as far as pizza (and many other things are concerned). Haven't touched 'fast food' pizza for a few years now - stuck to simply eating Neopolitan style pizza every time I feel like getting it in a restaurant, rather than ordering it from Pizza Hut/etc.<br />
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Problem as far as food is concerned is the college cafeteria food these days. I'm being forced to eat greasy stuff like burgers/pizza/fries FAR more than I really should, given the lack of other options, and the result's been showing on my waistline over the last year and a half. <br />
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Don't drink soft drinks too regularly, and not a big drinker, so no problem of putting on weight from those things - it's mainly the Yank food.