The Martlet

The wrapping paper is recycled and the mistletoe stowed away for another year. Now, second-semester classes are in full-swing, so the resolutions made to save money and eat healthy have begun to wane in favour of a vending machine pick-me-up between classes.

However, inspiration to continue forward with those hangover-haze ambitions exists between the pages of one quirky memoir.

The Urban Hermit (St. Martin’s Press, 2008) chronicles the tale of 350-plus-pound protagonist Sam Macdonald, who was indebted to various creditors and loan officers to the tune of over $20,000.

In an effort to save money, Macdonald embarked on an extreme plan to live on $8 a day, which required limiting his caloric intake to 800 calories a day — a feat pulled off by feasting on eggs, canned tuna and lentils.

The family members informed of his plan reacted with the obligatory concern for his health, pleading that he reconsider his goals and increase his mandate to at least 1200 life sustaining calories, but Macdonald refused.

The plan worked for Macdonald and he paid off his debts, lost over 150 pounds and started a lucrative career as a journalist. He even met his wife.

All of his successes aside, the book raises some questions. The first and most glaring is why his family sat back while Macdonald ate and drank himself into obessity, but expresses abject horror when he explains his ambitions to cut back. Yes, Macdonald’s solution to consume lentils and tuna while living off the stored reserves of his bloated body is extreme, but his consumption of 5,000 calories per day in dollar beers alone is equally detrimental.

Though healthy body image is important, the dangers of over-consumption should be addressed with the same seriousness of under-eating. Information obtained from obesitycanada.com states that 20 per cent to 50 per cent of Canadian adults have weight problems — and those numbers continue to climb. The other vices Macdonald addresses in his book involve his problems with drugs and alcohol, but the extreme nature of his addictions only becomes detrimental when he runs out of money to support his habits.

Macdonald’s book comes during a global recession and demonstrates (though in an exaggerated manner) the necessity for some individuals to re-evaluate their poor health habits and over-spending.

At a time of year when many have made resolutions to lose weight, save money and quit drinking or smoking, The Urban Hermit may help inspire individuals to make that shift toward self-improvement.