“CORPULENCY.”
From my birth up to within the past twelve months I have had the
misfortune to be afflicted with one of the most dreadful diseases that
flesh is heir to. It is one that entails suffering both to body and
mind, and from which a vast proportion of humanity suffers in a more or
less aggravated form. It is a slow and insidious disease that never
decreases of its own accord, but on the contrary develops itself with
one’s increasing years as surely as the most virulent cancer. It has
this advantage, however, over this latter dreadful complaint—that it
invariably yields to treatment conscientiously applied; but it has also
this disadvantage, that, whereas other afflictions invariably enlist the
sympathy of our fellow-creatures, this one never fails to be jeered and
hooted at and turned into ridicule by the coarse and vulgar of our
species. This complaint, surprising as it may appear, is held in
contempt by most of the faculty, and I doubt whether it has ever received
baptism in the English or any other pharmacopoeia. I will therefore
without further preamble state, for the benefit of afflicted humanity,
that it is called “obesity.” In the course of my remarks I may be led
into the use of what may appear strong expressions; and if I should
unwittingly offend the susceptibilities of any fat reader, he or she
will, I trust, forgive it, as coming from one who has, as it were, gone
through the mill, and been subjected to the like ridicule and the like
temptations as themselves.
For thirty-eight years I’ve been a martyr to obesity. At my birth, as I
am credibly informed, I was enormous—a freak of nature that was clearly
intended for twins. As I developed into boyhood I still maintained the
same pronounced pattern; and when I entered the Army as an ensign, it was
said, with a certain amount of truth, that I was eighteen years of age
and 18 stone in weight. I am particular in giving these otherwise
uninteresting details, for I am aware from experience how fat people
catch at every straw to evade a “regimen,” and invariably say as I did,
“Nothing will make me thin,” “I’ve tried everything,” “It’s natural in
our family,” “My father weighed nineteen stone,” &c., &c. I say to these
people, “This is rubbish. I don’t care if your father weighed forty and
your grandmother fifty stone; I’ll GUARANTEE to REDUCE you perceptibly
and with PERFECT SAFETY if you’ll guarantee to follow my instructions.”
For the past fifteen years I’ve tried every remedy, with, however, the
invariable result—that they did me no good, or at least so little that I
came to the conclusion that the result did not repay the inconvenience.
It must here be understood that when I refer to “remedies,” I do not
speak of some that aspire to that title, which, if they don’t kill, don’t
certainly cure; nor of others which will assuredly first cure and then as
certainly kill—though I confess to have given even these a trial, and
swallowed ingredients that don’t come well out of analysis. I would warn
all zealous fat people to be careful of these concoctions, and at least
consult a physician before saturating their systems with poisons. I do
not even refer to other “remedies,” admittedly and which I have found
safe, though before concluding my hints I shall have a word to say about
them, and give my opinion of their respective titles to merit, on the
principle that “a wink is as good as a nod to a blind horse.” In support
of my claim to credence I may state that my appearance was known to
almost everybody, many of whom have since seen me as I now am; and though
I cannot produce testimonials from a corpulent clergyman in Australia who
weighed 40 stone and now only 14, and never felt better in his life, nor
from the fat Countess del Quackador, of Buenos Ayres, who attributes her
recovery to the sole use of —, still I can produce myself, and seeing is
usually admitted to be half way to believing. My theory is based on that
of that excellent man and apostle of corpulency, the late Mr. Banting—a
theory which, as propounded by him, was in a crude state, but, like all
great discoveries, is capable of improvement based on experience. In
short, I agree with him as a whole, but differ on many essential points.
I felt, whilst practising his treatment, that something was wanting, and
my experience has since discovered what that something is. Others like
myself may have found the Banting theory deficient beyond a certain
point. I would ask these to give mine a fair trial for three months.
Anyone who has waded through my narrative will observe that the dietary I
subsisted on for some months of my life was in itself incapable of
reducing a man; and it was thanks to the liberal margin I had to work
upon, and the facilities I enjoyed for not only weighing myself, but also
my food, that I attribute in a great measure the perfecting of my theory,
and the reliance that may be placed on it. Banting lays down as a
principle that “quantity may fairly be left to the natural appetite,
provided the quality is rigidly adhered to.” In this I disagree with
him, but on the contrary confidently assert that until the subject is
reduced to its proper size, it is absolutely imperative to limit the
quantity as well as the quality. The quantity, however, is a liberal
one, both as regards solid and fluid. At the same time it must be
remembered that great ignorance exists as to the weight of the commonest
articles of dietary, and to form an estimate of their weight by their
appearance can only be attained by experience. One often hears of
persons that “don’t eat more than a bird,” and stout people are
invariably accredited with being small eaters. It would astonish these
persons to find that they consume in blissful ignorance three or four
pounds a day. I would recommend every corpulent person to purchase a set
of cheap scales capable of weighing accurately one, two, four, and eight
ounces (an ounce is a word that conveys a diminutive impression, yet
eight of them constitute half a pound); these can be procured at any
ironmonger’s at a cost of two or three shillings. I would also suggest a
half-pint measure; this involves an outlay of about twopence. Without
these two articles no corpulent person’s house can be considered properly
furnished. Before commencing the experiment it is indispensable to be
accurately weighed, taking care to weigh _all_ you have on (separately
and at another time), so that your exact weight can be arrived at,
whether attired in summer or winter clothing. By degrees this weekly
weighing becomes an amusement, and one that increases as your weight
decreases.
The following table may be accepted as fairly accurate, and shows what
the respective natural weights of persons ought to be. I do not lay down
a hard and fast rule, that in no case ought it to be exceeded. On the
contrary, my theory, based on personal experience, convinces me that
every person has his own peculiar weight and dimensions as intended by
Nature, and when he has found his “bearings”—which he will have no
difficulty in doing, as I shall explain hereafter, by unmistakable
symptoms—any further reduction is attended with difficulty, and is,
indeed, unnecessary. Taken, however, as something to work upon, the
following scale, obtained from a leading insurance company, may be
studied with advantage; and when the corpulent reader has arrived within
half a stone of the specified weight—a generous concession surely—he may
then, but not till then, begin to take occasional liberties, both as
regards quantity and quality. I am offering these remarks to those only
who conscientiously intend to give my theory a fair trial. To those
lukewarm disciples who would like to be thin, without possessing the
self-denial necessary for this most simple remedy, I cannot do better
than apply the views I once heard expressed by a piper to a cockney
officer in a Highland regiment who asked him to play the “Mabel”
valse—that “it would only be making a fool of the tune and a fool of the
pipes.”
Average weight for a High
person
Stones Pounds Feet Inches
8 2 or 3 5 0
8 8 – 9 5 1
9 1 – 2 5 2
9 8 – 9 5 3
9 11 – 12 5 4
10 3 – 4 5 5
10 6 – 7 5 6
10 9 – 10 5 7
11 2 – 3 5 8
11 9 – 10 5 9
12 4 – 5 5 10
12 10 – 12 5 11
13 0 6 0
When the reader has attained to within half a stone of these figures, he
will have the game in his own hands, and can regulate his system with as
much accuracy as a clock. On November 25th, 1881, I weighed the enormous
weight of 19 stone 13 lbs. On October 1st, 1882, I weighed 12 stone 4
lbs., and with a loss of 18 inches in girth—_i.e._, a reduction of 7
stone 9 lbs.; and as this can be verified, my opinion is at least worthy
of attention. I consider it absolutely necessary that one should at
first limit one’s self to 2 pounds solid and 3 pints fluid daily; and I
cannot do better than give the dietary I have pursued for the past five
or six months in the south of France:—
_At_ 6 A.M.—I take half-a-pint of black coffee and one ounce of coarse
_brown_ bread or biscuit.
_At_ 9 A.M.—I breakfast off four ounces of lean meat, three ounces of
brown bread or biscuit, and half-a-pint of black coffee.
_At_ 2 P.M.—I have six ounces lean meat, three ounces brown bread or
biscuit, six ounces green vegetables, and half-a-pint of any fluid except
ale, effervescing wines, or aërated waters.
_After Dinner_—I take half-a-pint of coffee.
_At_ 6 P.M.—I take half-a-pint of coffee.
_At Supper_—I have two ounces brown bread or biscuit, and a couple of
glasses of sherry or claret.
Independently of this I eat fruit _ad lib._ I find as a broad rule that
all vegetables that grow above ground, such as cauliflower, artichokes,
sprouts, &c. (except peas and rice), are conducive to health; whereas all
that grow underground, such as potatoes, carrots, beet-root, &c., are fat
persons’ poison. It is immaterial what meat one eats, whether fish,
flesh—except pork—or fowl, but it is necessary to avoid the fat. Stout
persons will find, as I did, an inclination to smuggle in a little, but
they must flee from the temptation. A severe trial at first is confining
one’s self to this quantity and quality, whilst others are indulging to a
greater extent at the same table; but the feeling soon wears off, and
must be looked on as the penalty attached to Pharaoh’s fat kine. Fat
people never consider that if they were suffering from a cancer they
would not hesitate to submit to amputation—and amputation is not
unattended with pain—to prolong life; and yet they waver regarding the
treatment of corpulency—an equally certain enemy to life—with a painless
remedy! Do they invariably also, in other paths of life, return good for
evil, and heap coals of fire on an enemy’s head? And yet here is a
hideous, ungainly, deadly foe pampered and fattened at the cost of life,
comfort, and appearance. And then the ridicule! I ask you, amiable fat
reader, is that agreeable? I would, in fact, make obesity penal, as
calling for special legislation, whereby the police would be justified in
arresting oleaginous pedestrians, clapping them into the scales at the
nearest police-station, and if they exceeded a certain number of feet in
circumference, or weight, at once procure their summary imprisonment,
without the option of a fine. The streets would thus be cleared of these
fleshy obstructions; besides which, if the law recognises attempted
suicide as a crime in one way, why not in another? The dietary I have
suggested is conducive to constipation, a result that brown bread
remedies considerably, if not entirely removes. There are brown breads
and brown breads, however, and after trying a good many, I have come to
the conclusion that the “whole meal bread” made by Messrs. Hill and Son,
of 60, Bishopsgate Street Within, and 3, Albert Mansions, Victoria
Street, is admirably adapted to the requirements of the corpulent. It
keeps the bowels open, is delicious in flavour, and entirely free from
the alum that finds its way into many other kinds. Some six months ago I
had an interview with a member of this firm, and explained my views of
the advantages that would attend a biscuit made of the same meal. I have
lately tasted some made by them, that are apparently specially adapted
for the consumption of the corpulent; and as they have agents in every
part of the kingdom, the regular supply is within the reach of all. I
strongly commend these to all my readers. There is one more item to
which I attach great importance, namely, the taking at bed-time of one
teaspoonful of liquorice-powder (German Pharmacopoeia) in half a tumbler
of water. This quantity may be gradually increased, as circumstances
seem to require; and as a good deal depends on the purity and freshness
of this drug, the advisability of going to a good chemist cannot be too
strongly urged. I have often been told that smoking is injurious to the
corpulent, but this I consider sheer nonsense. I smoke from morning to
night, and, on the contrary, believe it makes up for the larger amount of
food one had previously been in the habit of consuming. In America,
where I spent many happy years, I was never without “a smoke,” a habit I
still continue, though with the disadvantage of having to substitute
British for the fragrant Oronoko and Perique tobaccos. This latter is,
in my estimation, whether used as cigar, cigarette, or in a pipe, the
finest tobacco in the world. I have discovered, beyond doubt, that a
person afflicted with obesity is affected by the smallest transgression
of the strict _regimen_. I have for experiment taken one lump of sugar
in my coffee at meals, and found that this single innovation has produced
an increase of a pound in my weight in a week; indeed, a person disposed
to this affliction is as sensitive as an aneroid. It was in May last
that I first determined to reap at least one benefit from my late
incarceration, and, by a careful regard to quantity and quality, to test
effects that my position and the time at my disposal offered great
facilities for, and thus reduce corpulency to a science, and its
reduction to a certainty. A reference to other portions of this
narrative will put it beyond a doubt that the unlimited amount of food at
my disposal made this an easy task. I will not here go into these
particulars, as a detailed account necessary for the unbroken interest in
my narrative will be found elsewhere, but will confine myself to giving a
table of the reduction I made in myself by my own free-will and
determination.
I weighed
1881. stone pounds
November 25th 19 13
December 7th 19 9
,, 19th 18 12
1882.
January 10th 18 1
,, 31st 17 12
March 20th 16 10
May 18th 16 4
June 6th 15 12
,, 20th to July 2nd 15 8
July 15th 15 4
,, 29th 14 10
September 2nd 13 2
,, 9th 12 10
,, 23rd 12 6
October 1st 12 4
Making a total loss of 107 lbs. (7 stone 9 lbs.) in 318 days. This loss
was not obtained without great determination and self denial, but was it
not worth it? If any corpulent reader could see my photograph of
November, 1881, and November, 1882, he would, I think, admit it was, and
receive a stimulus to persevere as I did. A reference to the above table
will show no diminution between June 20th and July 2nd. I attribute this
to my having found what I call my “bearings,” for though continuing in
the same course, I could not get away from 15 stone 8 lbs. I persisted,
however, and eventually succeeded; and the next date shows a steady
decline. I would recommend no experimentalist to transgress this bound,
and when they find that after a fortnight’s continuance of the strict
system they have obtained no perceptible diminution of weight they should
STOP; they have found their “bearings,” and any further perseverance is
attended with unnecessary inconvenience. The time, however, has then
come for most careful watch and guard, and the slightest liberty is
accompanied by a proportionate increase. Yielding to the kindly meant
advice of friends, I some months ago took new milk and other fattening
luxuries, with the result of increasing a stone in six weeks. I had,
however, the remedy in my own hands, and can now play fast and loose with
an amusing degree of certainty. I can, without an effort, reduce or
increase my weight three or four pounds in a week, and having attained
the comfortable weight of 13 stone 10 lbs, I am determined never again to
turn the scale beyond 14 stone. I allow this margin as the legitimate
perquisite of advancing years.
In conclusion, I guarantee reduction with perfect safety to all who will
honestly try the following _regimen_ in its integrity for three months:—
_Breakfast_—Eight ounces coarse brown bread (yesterday’s baking); four
ounces lean meat; one pint coffee or other fluid.
_Dinner_.—Four and a-half ounces brown bread; six ounces any lean meat
(or, if preferred as an occasional substitute, half-pint of soup—ten
ounces); six ounces green vegetables; one pint fluid.
_Tea_.—One and a-half ounces brown bread; half a pint of coffee.
_Supper_.—One or two glasses of wine, or a glass of spirit and water
(except rum); and two ounces biscuit.
_Total_.—Two pounds solid and three pints fluid.
_Bed-time_.—One teaspoonful liquorice powder (German pharmacopoeia) in
half a tumbler of water.
I have parcelled the above out into meals to meet the ordinary taste,
though it is quite immaterial how or when the quantity is taken. It is,
moreover, a matter of perfect indifference whether tea (no sugar or
milk), claret, or, in fact, any other fluid (except ale and aërated or
effervescing drinks), is substituted for coffee.
The principal points on which I differ from the so-called “Banting”
system are:—
(_a_) The limiting of the quantity till a proper reduction has taken
place.
(_b_) The occasional substituting (if desired) of soup for meat, which I
have found attended with no inconvenience.
(_c_) The substitution of brown bread or brown biscuit for toast or
rusk—thereby obviating constipation.
(_d_) The taking of liquorice powder at bed-time in lieu of the alkaline
on rising.
To the uninitiated the above may appear trifles; their advantage can only
be estimated by those who have tried both systems.