Ian weighed into the competition at 18.3% body fat, 4 weeks later he was 8.8% body fat and 10 pounds lighter!
That’s an incredible 50% total reduction in body fat, in just 4 weeks!
Read the interview to find out how he did it!
PL – Congratulations on being the male biggest loser, you must be over the moon?
IC – Thanks. I made a point of not weighing myself during the month, I relied on seeing physical changes to know I was on the right track – the biggest change I saw was the gap between my abs and trousers was getting bigger, so when I went for the final weigh in I was pleasantly surprised and delighted with the result.
PL – Was the cash prize a big incentive for you?
IC – No. The reason for taking part was to set a personal challenge for myself and to see what results I could produce within the month. I don’t believe you enter something like this with the sole purpose to win the money. The winning is achieving fat loss targets and improving your health, therefore there are hopefully are a lot of others who have found themselves as winners through achieving targets and losing fat through this competition – the added bonus in my case is I won some money in the pursuit of my target.
PL – Have you attempted fat loss before and if so what type of diet did you try?
IC – No, I have not attempted fat loss before. This is the first time I have challenged myself in this format to see what could be achieved
PL – Did you make a lot of changes to your diet? Can you give us a brief snapshot of a what typical days food looked like?
IC – I generally ate fairly healthy before the contest which was evident from my initial BF reading at the start of the month, although when it came to sweets I could be like a child in a candy store and never take me shopping on an empty stomach!. I tried to vary the food I ate on different days to keep the food interesting and ensured I was getting the right amount of protein and carbs to ensure that I maintained my muscle and energy levels. The amount I ate changed depending on what was going on at work and when I would get a chance to eat as well as if I was training that day or not. I also became efficient at preparing my food in advance as well as maintaining treat days wich were generally at the weekend
PL – Did you count or track calories at all?
IC – Nothing obsessive like counting or tracking – I had a rough idea of what I needed to maintain my weight, and then increased or decreased the amount of food I ate during the day depending on whether I was training or not. I generally worked on the principle that my body started to tell me when it was hungry and so I fed it accordingly.
PL – Tell us about the exercise you did over the 4 weeks, was it just kettlebell? How often did you train?
IC – Stuck to exercising after work during the week and kept the weekend as rest/social time. I focused on a mixed training program that included weights, kettlebell and cardio – these exercises enabled me to maintain muscle, develop core muscle and increase cardio endurance resulting in focused fat loss.
PL – How did the change in diet make you feel? Were you ever hungry? Did the diet affect your energy and exercise performance?
IC – Most of the time my energy levels and core strength improved – I was able to match or improve on the performace from the previous training sesion. Mid way through the month I did hit an energy slump, and oddly had a rest and a cheat day that included sweets – got me out of that slump. If I got hungry, I listened to my body and fuelled it.
PL – So would you say the experience has changed your perception on dieting? What have you learnt?
IC – It has taught me that you can still have your treats, you just need to keep everything in moderation and eat not only balanced meals, but eat at the right time.
PL – What advice would you give to someone else desperate to lose body fat?
IC – I’m not an expert, but I did listen to the advice given by those that were and also those that had been through this before. If I was asked for advice, I would primarily say understand how your body works in terms of exercise and metabolism and then structure a program to suit that and your life commitments. It does not have to take over your life, you need to keep the balance of family / friends / work. The key is to remember depending on what you are doing, your body only needs X amount of calories to survive – if you insist on taking more than X, then your body will have more calories than it can burn and your body will end up storing these excess calories – but this will be in the fat larder. Talk to others or read how they managed it, plan ahead and stick to your plan – everything in moderation
PL – What will you spend the £200 prize money on?
IC – Trousers that fit the new waistline and wont fall down without a belt.
PL – Ha ha! Well done mate!
IC – Cheers
