Too much astro made me fat

[jahnpahwa]

I wonder if anyone has noticed this?

I took up this hobby last year and really lost a lot of sleep over it, literally, of course. I'd say that something around 70 nights from April to end of year, I was up very late, or had broken sleep to get up and make a meridian flip, etc.

At the end of the year we were finally able to travel and I visited my mum, who happened to be the only person that I know with a scale. So I weighed myself and was shocked that I was a good chunk heavier than I've ever been. I've never been one to put weight on accidentally/without knowing that I am throwing a lot of food into my face, and I didnt feel that 2020 was an especially bad year for eating.

I put it down to not exercising (see my goals for 2021 topic) but I related this to a friend who confirmed that poor sleep/lack of sleep does indeed inhibit metabolism. A quick google shows a LOT of evidence supporting this.

I make this post because it changes totally the trade off that I see in staying up for a night of astro action. Its not just "be a bit tired and grumpy the following day", it has a cumulative effect and that effect is a huge risk factor for lots and lots of bad health outcomes.

I dont really expect a response here, just throwing it out there as this never, ever occurred to me as I took up the hobby! Its not to say that a balance cant be struck, of course, and this year I'm going to try to find it :)

[JA]

Sleep affects many bodily systems. See Prof. Matt Walker for details with something of a summary here in a TED Talk....

Best
JA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MuIMqhT8DM

[Atmos]

I’ve put on weight from April until now but I can assure you it isn’t from astro :lol:
2020 hasn’t been a good year for weight loss ;)

[strongmanmike]

Yeah..well, apart from the lower levels of sleep, my problem is a liiiittle more obvious...arhem.. beer :whistle: :drink: ...the association between partaking in night time astro and beer, is just as strong as it is standing at a BBQ and beer...impossible not to do both at the same time :doh:...actually, processing data can't be done without beer either :question:...so, there are quite a few hours of beer in every image I produce :face:....:help:

Mike

[JA]

Hi Mike,
So tongue in cheek ..... are we talking a six pack per image?:D

Best
JA

[strongmanmike]

That would be approx the nightly quantity, so considering 10 nights of data collection and who knows how many hours processing... puts my 52 hr Centaurus A shot... in bloomin alcoholism territory...:eyepop: :lol:

Mike

[multiweb]

Depends if you sleep in between runs and put a lock on the fridge. :lol:

[jwoody]

I try not to drink beer while in the observatory.
Just Scotch ;)

[mura_gadi]

Get a bigger telescope/gear, pack the astro stuff in more containers, walk further from the car when setting up...

That should do the trick!

I like the 1st one, but good luck explaining that to the powers that be for an upgrade!


Steve

[taminga16]

Jeremy,
In my case I think that it my have been too much pasta and red wine.
Greg.

[jwoody]

A solution (albeit not a cheap one) is automation and an observatory. For me it was a game changer. Once you get everything dialled in, like meridian flips, shutter closure, your sleep pattern is not upset too much.
But like I said not a cheap option.

[xa-coupe]

I suppose that I should be thankful for so few clear nights, already being a fat ******* and all !!

[Wilsil]

That's what i do.
Get it up and running, check it from the couch on my tablet.
When it's time to go to sleep, I go.
The sequence has the script set to stop guiding, stop tracking and park the scope.
And it's cheap, free even with APT. :-)

Now, when to get an auto focuser…..

[doppler]

I guess I'm old school, just enjoying being out under the stars on a clear night watching the images download, and having a few too many beers. For me its the chase, capture that eclipse, occultation, transit or meteor shower, technical processing is just more time sitting indoors looking at a screen. If anything the lack of astro (lugging the scope, battery and CW's out each night) due to cloud has put on the kg's.
Rick

[jahnpahwa]

I do like the sound of this, Rick! (And Mike too, for that matter). Going to bed and leaving things running is about where I'm at these days, and it's a good way to get lots of data. But I enjoy much more the sitting out with either a visual scope or bins, sweeping the sky while the imaging set up does its thing. Mozzies have absolutely stuffed that for me though, and I can see it being a cooler weather activity.

And I do appreciate the humour here, but as strange or laughable as it may be, my post was a serious one. Yeah, we all enjoy good food and drink, sometimes/often to excess, but my realisation was a shocking one: eat what you usually eat, drink what you usually drink, stay up later more often, you will chuck on weight and increase your risk of serious illness while also probably hindering your ability to kick arse in other aspects of life.

I thought that message was a good one to get out :thumbsup: