Like many men in their middle youth, years of inactivity and a neglected diet had resulted in my waistline being more substantial than it should have been. The terms “muffin top” and “love handles” are often used to refer to this area of a man’s body. In my opinion these are just polite ways of others saying “Lose some weight big boy!”
When I decided to reboot my physical activity with Luke Bremner Fitness back in 2014, the mid-section of my body, was one of the areas that I highlighted as wanting to change. Mr Bremner was very frank with me, “Think about how many years of neglect you’ve subjected you body too Derek.” he said. “Excess fat around your waistline is not going to disappear overnight.”
Over the past two years, through the combination of correct nutrition, exercise, and expert mentoring from Luke and his team, I had managed to significantly reduce my waistline. I would go a stage further and say that I was thrilled with the how I looked. However, in May 2016, as I embarked on a the next phase of my body transformation, Mr Bremner suggested that we try and reduce my waistline even further.
Before we even started on the exercise aspect of the programme, Luke and I got together to talk diet and nutrition. He made me pick 5 proteins, 5 carbohydrates, 5 fats and a handful of snacks – some of which are protein and carbs, and others are proteins and fats. We agreed that I would stick primarily to eating only these items over the course of the next 8 to 10 weeks. Each week we closely monitored my weight, energy levels, quality of sleep, concentration etc., in case we needed to make modifications to my diet.
Initially I thought having a restricted number of ingredients to eat would be challenging. The reality is that shopping has become quicker and easier, plus I'm being more creative in the kitchen. Certainly dinner guests who have sampled recent meals that I've prepared for them, have been very complimentary about dishes that I've made.
As for workouts, the word “Ouch!” best summarises much of what has been going on both at Jamaica Street and at home. More milestones have been past and I’ve managed to deadlift 110kg. Who would have thought I was capable of doing that two years ago? Certainly not me!
Last week was a numbers week. Time for Luke and I to check whether my body had responded to this new diet and exercise regime. More specifically, had I managed reduce my waistline further?
The answer to both these question was most definitely “Yes!” An added bonus was learning that my body fat percentage was at a two year low too.
As the photographs below illustrate, since the beginning of May I've managed to reduce my waistline and develop my upper body futher. The difference between the images of where I was, when I first approached Luke and asked for his help, with where I am now is almost incomprehensible.
Thank goodness that the muffin top, that I once had, is rapidly disappearing! Still more work to do in that area of my body, but in general I'm super-pleased with the progress that I've made over the past 10 weeks.
Before we even started on the exercise aspect of the programme, Luke and I got together to talk diet and nutrition. He made me pick 5 proteins, 5 carbohydrates, 5 fats and a handful of snacks – some of which are protein and carbs, and others are proteins and fats. We agreed that I would stick primarily to eating only these items over the course of the next 8 to 10 weeks. Each week we closely monitored my weight, energy levels, quality of sleep, concentration etc., in case we needed to make modifications to my diet.
Initially I thought having a restricted number of ingredients to eat would be challenging. The reality is that shopping has become quicker and easier, plus I'm being more creative in the kitchen. Certainly dinner guests who have sampled recent meals that I've prepared for them, have been very complimentary about dishes that I've made.
As for workouts, the word “Ouch!” best summarises much of what has been going on both at Jamaica Street and at home. More milestones have been past and I’ve managed to deadlift 110kg. Who would have thought I was capable of doing that two years ago? Certainly not me!
Last week was a numbers week. Time for Luke and I to check whether my body had responded to this new diet and exercise regime. More specifically, had I managed reduce my waistline further?
The answer to both these question was most definitely “Yes!” An added bonus was learning that my body fat percentage was at a two year low too.
As the photographs below illustrate, since the beginning of May I've managed to reduce my waistline and develop my upper body futher. The difference between the images of where I was, when I first approached Luke and asked for his help, with where I am now is almost incomprehensible.
Thank goodness that the muffin top, that I once had, is rapidly disappearing! Still more work to do in that area of my body, but in general I'm super-pleased with the progress that I've made over the past 10 weeks.
Left: 03 May 2016; Right: 12 July 2016
Left: 01 April 2014; Right: 12 July 2016
