Hello and welcome to FineInYourPrime.

My name is Darren Deadman or better known as Dan Deadman and I’m fifty one years old. A few years ago I was the classic ‘couch potato’ overweight, totally non-sporty and was mad for the fried food and sugary snacks.

On this site I will share all that you need to know about getting back into shape, or shedding a few pounds with the primary objective of being able to reduce or even cancel out some of common lifestyle /age related ailments.

I will not encourage you to lose any weight for the first few months as this will be the all important ‘muscle building’ phase.

When in full swing, all it takes is just three and a half hours of exercise per week. Half of this will be performed inside at home (if you have space) and the other half outdoors - plus keeping to a nourishing eating plan for six days.

On the seventh day (the ‘Off Day’) I encourage you to eat all that you feel you’ve missed out on during the week like pizza, cokes, cakes, ice cream and chocolates.

There will be no long drawn out dialogues just short bullet points, photos, time saving hints and tips that will hopefully make for easy understanding and allow for a quick start.

I will touch on how to minimize awful stretch marks / baggy skin folds that seem to go hand in hand with losing weight.

Cost effectiveness, re-using / recycling items will feature throughout.

My Own Story

On the 16th of October in 2008 (yes it was a memorable moment I remembered the date, even the time)after many failed attempts I tried once more to give up smoking using just plain and simple willpower. This time it was a success due to a new way of thinking, but three years on I was tipping the scales on the wrong side of fifteen stone. 

Also, I started to get some health issues that had a big negative impact on my daily life.

In early 2012 at one of my many hospital appointments a doctor suggested that losing some weight and changes to the diet might make things a bit easier.

It never occurred to me before that people like me with minor ailments were clogging up the whole hospital system and making it more difficult for people with more serious problems to be seen.

I would just like to say here that in my experience all staff at the hospitals I was a patient at, both in the U.K and Ireland, are doing a fantastic job and the service I received was excellent.

So that was it, I had a brain wave that I could use the same mind-set that had worked for me to give up the fags to help me succeed with losing a few stone.

And it worked a treat, by late 2013 my weight had come down to 11 stone 3lbs from fifteen stone 11lbs. 

More importantly all the things that I was at the hospital for had eased, I felt better than I had in decades and unexpectedly I could now see muscles I didn’t even know I had.

Today I just want to help other men folk who are eager to begin a weight loss / lifestyle change but have no idea where to start.

There’s loads of stuff out there at the moment about the weight loss game a lot of it seems to be for younger men and most of it is creating so much uncertainty and confusion that most ‘older’ men don’t know which way to turn.

My goal is to show everyone my simplified workout and nutrition plan which has worked very well for me over the last five years after much trial and error. It’s based on a three and half hours a week exercise routine and six days a week of planned / pre-prepared eating.

I know it’s not the ‘one stop solution’ and I definitely haven’t re-invented the wheel of the dieting industry. It’s not a ‘quick fix’ - anything worth having never is - many might not be willing to do all of the food prep stuff and the exercise plan may not appeal to everyone out there, but it’s totally changed my life for the better!

If you religiously follow the principals set out at FineInYourPrime be prepared to buy yourself a complete new wardrobe of clothing.

GENERAL HEALTH

Improvements to my general health started to happen after a few months of weight loss and massive changes came within a couple of years. I think at one point back then I was taking five different prescribed pills per day.

After losing just seven pounds in weight everything became a bit easier even simple things like bending down to tie your boot laces.

I always had terrible back problems that slowly seemed to develop at around the 42 mark (I was diagnosed with two slipped discs after an M.R.I.) I had to take strong pain killers most days. Doctors told me I would have to have lumbar epidural injections. However, I noticed less pain with the more weight I lost. Now I just have the occasional twinge so 98% sorted.

I didn’t have much trouble with my knees and elbows but they did give me some occasional discomfort. Now - no problems at all.

Suffered shockingly with Acid Reflux diagnosed with a para- oesophageal hernia so had all the usual symptoms like heartburn, difficulty in swallowing, pains in the chest and abdomen, unpredictable regurgitation of food, difficulty sleeping and breathing issues. Tried all the proton pump inhibitor tablets and settled for one brand (Protium) which only marginally helped but I continued to take it for eight years. Packets of Rennies in the day and swigging Gaviscon before bedtime and during the night were the norm. Doctors eventually put me on the waiting list for evasive corrective surgery. Now - no pills at all plus symptoms have really mellowed so 95% sorted. TIP - a reflux pillow/wedge pillow will help you right away.

Migraine attacks. My symptoms were; raging tinnitus in both ears then a sort of pressure in the head and neck, felt sick, balance gets bad and you then just have to lie down while it goes away which could be for hours but the underlying stuff was still there for weeks on end.  Doctors tried me on all sorts of pills and none of them worked even had a M.R.I. scan on the brain. Now - I still have very mild attacks, maybe only one per month instead of a few every week but sadly my tinnitus is still with me so I would say 80% sorted.

Glaucoma - It runs in my family and I was always borderline at my yearly examination and had to keep having the field test. Now - my optician has noticed great improvement over the last few years bringing me down to normal levels with no field test required so 100% improvement.

Snoring - My snoring was a big problem and thinking back now there may have been sleep apnea issues as well. Sometimes I used to virtually jump up out of bed gasping for breath it was very frightening and you were scared to go back to sleep after an incident. My wife had to wear earplugs every night and when the snoring got bad she moved to the spare bedroom. Tried all kinds of dedicated mouth / throat sprays, chin straps and even a device you put on your lower teeth like a gum guard. These were all a complete waste of money. Now - my wife says my snoring is much less frequent and when it does happen it’s softer / lighter and she gives a percentage of 75% improvement.

High blood-pressure - Again with this one I was always borderline but never had to take any medication. After just one year of losing weight normal levels were reached so 100% sorted.

Man boobs / man breasts / moobs - Whatever they’re called anyway I definitely had them as most of my fat seemed to congregate around this area and my waist and sides. Although they’re not sort of life-threatening they made you think twice about wearing a tee-shirt in the summer and definitely affected my self-esteem. Now the fat has gone and been replaced with slabs of muscle so 100% sorted.

Bloating / excess gas / flatulence / not regular - These problems seemed to calm down then go for good in tandem with the weight loss and eating the same healthier foods day after day seemed to regulate my digestive system and make me regular as clockwork.

And as a sort of by - product of ‘self-healing’ I’m fitter and stronger than I’ve ever been in my whole life.

So I’m not saying that exercise and a change in diet coupled with weight loss will work to improve everybody’s ailments but it’s worth having a go isn’t it?

Me in 2012 weighing in at 14 stone 11 pounds, 

feeling great after losing my first stone!

MIND-SET / MOTIVATION

Your mind is the strongest muscle you possess full stop.

Research tells us that the long term success rate of smokers giving up by the cold turkey method (that I myself used) based on scientific research, ranges from one percent to 6 percent.

Even more bad news is that 95 percent to 97 percent of dieters regain all weight lost, some well within the period of a year.

Why was I able to successfully give up smoking (going cold turkey) then use the same mindset years later to successfully lose four and a half stone and keep it off for six years? What puts me in the minority percentage brackets?

Okay I’ve given this a lot of thought and I’ve come up with this so get ready.

I suppose willpower comes into it up to a certain degree but it’s not the be all and end all.

There are five factors that you need to have in place in order to increase your success rate.

Number one - is a strong enough reason or a deep down desire. You need a reason to lose weight, give up fags, un-healthy eating habits or anything that you feel is worth quitting.

Having a reason like you want to slim down so a nice suit fits you properly for an upcoming event is not a strong enough reason. It just sounds short-lived, like after the event you’re going to just pile on the pounds again!

One of my reasons was that I was just totally fed up with lugging around all that excess fat 24/7 and found it uncomfortable.

Doctors also advised me to try and lose some weight as it may ease my terrible acid reflux, migraines / balance issues and bad back.

Number two - think in smaller stages. Never think in one go about all the weight you need to lose and keep off.

Just concentrate on losing the next single pound of fat.

All these small victories eventually add up to work in your favour; you just have to keep on breaking it down bit by bit.

Number three - is external factors beyond your control. Things that could put a stop to your dieting / quitting regime through no fault of your own like; negative comments from others / self-defeating thought’s, family crisis / sudden illness/ stressful period at work etc.

Just hope nothing like this crops up in your first few months!

Number four - is having certain advantages. I think the number one thing here is that you have a stable daily routine i.e. you wake up the same time most days / you start and leave work at the same time most days / your breaks are at the same time most days / you go to bed at the same time most days. It’s easier to groove into a new habit / permanent lifestyle change if your daily routine is fairly stable.

Another advantage would be that the people you share a home with /work with have to be supportive of your goals. For instance when I first started out on my weight loss journey my wife was already a seasoned before breakfast keep fit fan (and still is) and there was always wholesome foods knocking about inside the kitchen cupboards.

Maybe you have already given up a damaging addiction by going cold turkey – if you have then you possess a rock solid inner willpower which you can definitely bring back into play for a new weight loss program. Believe me if nicotine addiction was your vice then losing weight is going to be extremely easy for you.

As well, if you don’t have much weight to lose and you’re all ready into weight training / cardio or you were into sports when you were young this is another great advantage.

Number five - is having the knowledge. Having the right information to make the right choices for your new lifestyle change. Hopefully it’s all here at FineInYourPrime.

Please remember I’m here to help you achieve so drop me an email if you need any extra information or something doesn’t make sense.

NUTRITION.

This is the most debated subject of them all with almost every ‘expert‘ in the field in disagreement with each other.

Eat broccoli don’t eat broccoli, eat fish don’t eat fish, eat fruit avoid fruit is all you read.

I think it’s just best to eat a good cross section of everything to get a varied source of all the different vitamins and minerals for optimum health.

No more yo-yo dieting - this programme is designed for life. Okay this is what usually happens when you start a diet and I’m talking here from my own past experiences. You start to randomly reduce your food intake and at the same time go mad on the exercise. Great, you start to lose weight. However, the longer you remain in calorie deficit the more your metabolism slows down, you start to lose muscle and negative hormones are produced - quite literally working directly against your best intentions. Your body becomes stressed to the point you give up then start to scoff everything in sight and end up heavier than when you started out! That’s not going to happen on FineInYourPrime.

Some people are under the false impression that doing a bit of exercise and eating a salad now and again will somehow flick on a magical ‘fat loss’ switch in their body. That’s not how it works long term; you need to have in place a structured plan so you can map your progress (or lack of!).

On the FineInYourPrime nutrition plan there are no fancy meals, just straight forward simple tasty stuff you can box up and take to work or any time you’re heading out.

Fuel your body by eating smaller meals up to seven times per day to keep blood sugar levels stable and to keep hunger at bay. By the way if you do get mad hungry in between meals on this programme or any other diet plan for that matter something is very wrong and needs sorting quick.

Remember when you reduce your calories you’re sending your body in a direction it does not want to go. So after a few weeks your body will go into panic mode. It starts to send out all sorts of negative hormones trying to dislodge your best intentions. We will offset this problem that seems to catch lots of people out causing them to quit and gorge on everything in sight by throwing in one ‘eat anything’ day per week.

Would you believe all your body wants is to hold onto its fat reserves, it classes as a great asset especially now we are older. It all stems back to mankind’s hunter-gather years.

As individuals we all differ. Things like what job you do, lifestyle, Starting weight, metabolism, age, height the speed we digest food are all factors why the best nutritional advisor in the world could not tell you precisely what to eat for successful fat loss. You are going to have to work it all out for yourselves by trial and error and with my help of course. If I can do it and I’m not the sharpest tool in the box so can you.

TRAINING WITH WEIGHTS

As we get into our mid forties muscle break down is very much under way in all us men some more than others. Scientists all seem to agree on this one according to my extensive research.

In the spirit of keeping things simple this is definitely bad news.

So if you think you can skip the weight training (just like I did) think again!

With resistance training you can significantly increase your metabolic rate - the rate which your body uses food for energy - amongst many other benefits’ too long to list.

Never saw any worthwhile progress until I started weight training at home in my shed with a basic iron dumbbell kit and a bench which I bought off a car boot sale for £20.

The workouts will preferably done at home in a spare corner of a garage or shed.

These simple exercises will accelerate fat loss, boost metabolism, increase libido, build a rock solid core and prime the body to produce more positive hormones.

Tip - If you are making the wise choice of investing in a dumbbell set make sure you chose the ones with the screw type bars and collars; these are much safer to work out with. While on the subject of weights I much prefer the iron plates as opposed to the plastic ones, I just love the noise of the clanging iron when you’re in the ‘throes’ of a workout!

If by any chance you think that you don’t need to do any weight training as part of your new lifestyle change you may as well give up right now!

The benefit of having a bit more muscle goes way beyond just looking good.

When you start to exercise regularly for some reason you will begin to experience a weakening desire to overeat or binge and you will make healthier food choices as a matter of routine.

I’m not going to go into much too detail on the exercises you should be doing as there is so much info and great video demonstrations on other websites.

Just like the nutrition arguments the weight training guides are just as conflicting and the more you read the more you get confused.

One of the more sensible straight forward websites I can recommend is www.bodybuilding.com for a complete beginners guide and exercise demonstrations.

Just remember the older man will definitely need more time to recover from the workouts and the FineInYourPrime way is geared up for this with two workouts per week lasting around forty five minutes and one half hour session. These should ideally be spaced out by at least one day apart.

What’s the point of bashing yourself up weight training four or five times per week (most fitness programmes want you to weight-train four to five times per week plus cardio!) if you cannot sufficiently recover from these workouts in time for the next one!

This is my current weight training regime and over a four year period I’ve put on around 10 pounds of muscle in my slight calorie surplus mode whilst always maintaining a 30” waist.

Every three or four months I change it around a bit and do different exercises for the same body parts, with the exception of the static overhead lunges and the dumbbell pullovers which I include all the time.

Monday Evening - Legs and Shoulders (approx 45 minutes)

 1.  Static overhead Lunges - 4 sets of seven reps for each leg - Can be done with dumbbell’s or barbell -Great for core strength and improving your balance and coordination but difficult to learn the move.  This exercise is the best all-over developer in my opinion it seems to hit every part of you and gets your heart racing as well and you don’t have to go too heavy (around 30kg for me).  Never saw any abs development until I had mastered this excellent movement! 

2a. Seated overhead press - one heavy set of two reps followed by a reduction in weight and a further 3 sets of four to eight reps. 

2b. Standing Arnold dumbbell press - 2 sets of four to seven reps. 

3. Side laterals - 3 sets of ten reps. 

4. Rear delt flys seated, doing them seated means less stress on the lower back - 3 sets of twelve reps.

Wednesday Morning before work - abs and biceps (approx 30minutes). 

1. Crunches on a flat bench

2. Overhead side-bends. 

3. Hanging leg raise. 

I generally just work the abs for around fifteen minutes with no rest in between the different exercises. 

4. Dumbbell Curls - 3 sets of eight to ten reps. 

5. Close grip pull-ups done in combination with barbell curls - 3 sets of six to ten reps. 

Friday Evening - Back, Chest, and Triceps (approx 45 minutes) 

1. Bent over row – This is my own particular way of performing this exercise, using the bench as support -takes the pressure of the lower back.

Two light warm up sets then 1 heavy set of two / three reps then 3 further sets each set reducing in weight for eight to ten reps. 

   

2. Chin-ups - 3 sets of six to eight reps. 

3. Incline bench press - 4 sets of six to eight reps

4. Press ups - 3 sets of ten reps. 

5.  Face-pulls with resistance bands (see below for details) - 3 sets of fifteen reps. 

This exercise is all about the stretch / the feeling and not about how much weight you can shift; keep it light and strict - great for stretching the shoulders back / posture if you have been hunched over a computer all day. 

6.  Pullovers - 3 sets of eight reps - good for posture correction and shoulder mobility and triceps (see below for details) - combined with hanging off the chin-up bar with a wide grip - no rest in-between. 

The static overhead lunge - Like I said previously it’s hard to master this exercise but well worth all the effort.   I started off just by doing normal lunges without any weight for a few weeks. 

Then I progressed to doing them with a sweeping brush held overhead then bare dumbbell bars and eventually a bare barbell. 

You may have issues with shoulder flexibility which will have to be slowly worked on. 

Which leads me to the Dumbbell Pullover - which is another old-skool favourite of mine. 

Great for shoulder mobility, abs / core, lat stretch, upper ‘northwards body stretch’, triceps and improved posture in general. 

For my version I lie on the bench in the normal way, some websites show the exercise performed with you at ninety degrees with just your shoulders  on the bench which is awkward  to do and bad for the spine. 

Overall I think that these two are the best exercises for the older man plus you can get a nice all over north wards /upwards  stretch to your body when everything seems to be sagging south! 

Talking about the ‘northward stretch’ it’s vital to always incorporate a couple of these n/s exercises into your weekly routine. 

These, in my mind, are incredible for pulling / shocking up all your older age ‘bagginess’. 

* Static overhead dumbbell / barbell lunge. 

* Dumbbell pullover. 

* Standing military press/Arnold press. 

* Front deltoid raise to overhead position. 

* Chin ups / pull ups. 

* Hanging leg raises.

 * Overhead side bends. 

 

* Face pulls with resistance bands.

* Or just simply just hanging of a chin up bar with legs off the ground in-between sets of other exercises / or as a pre workout warm-up. 

If you have the space definitely get a chin up bar or a doorway mounted one.  A great website for information on how to begin doing chin ups/pull ups is www.thepullupsolution.com

The good news is you do not have to join a gym but you do have to buy a set of cast iron dumbbells which will do for starting off and then when you progress maybe a barbell set (the bar being 6ft in length preferably), a fold up bench, and a pair of stand-alone weight stands see mine in the pictures. 

Tip - Independent stands are so much versatile than fixed stands on a bench; you can even use them for doing chin-ups.

Then you need to find a space to train preferably with a solid concrete floor because your strength will quickly soar and the weight’s may damage the floor!  You could buy a small new / second hand shed if you have space in the garden.  If you simply do not have the space or the money it may mean you have to join a gym.  Personally I’m lucky to have a corner in my shed to work out in.  The weights could be bought used from Ebay / Donedeal or new from Argos. To wear you will need a pair of tracksuit bottoms, tee-shirt, trainers and a sweatshirt, x2 on everything one to wash and one to wear.   

Tip - I got most of my gear from the charity shops.  Also I can recommend a lifting belt and gloves. 

Working out in your shed/garage/spare room/man cave. 

I would just like to say that having your own weights and bench is the best way to get results on this programme. Why? 

1. No hanging about waiting for others to finish on equipment or getting distracted with talking, you can just get on with your own workout.   Public gyms are intimidating places for the more mature man.  The bench / dumbbells you next need to use might be hogged by some young whippersnappers and you will just have to hang about waiting if there’s only one in the place.

2. Your shed gym is open all the time 24/7 all year round. 

3. Most of (but not all) of the machines in those gyms do not work muscle / ligaments / tendons the way free weights do - scientific fact! 

4. You are in control of the radio / music system.  The music in some of those gyms is unbelievably loud.  I tend to do my training in the evenings around 8pm just in time for the John Creedon show on RTE 1. 

5. It’s your own private space where no one is watching you train it’s just you versus the iron for the next forty five minutes, at last you can de stress,  mentally sort things out or if you want roar out loud when you’re getting to the last rep of a heavy set. 

6. No wasting time travelling to and fro.  

Hope this has convinced you to set up your very own home gym.  

CARDIO TRAINING

Here at FineinYourPrime I will cover everything you need to know about doing exactly the right amount of cardio exercise for maximum fat loss in minimum time. 

Pounding the streets for hours on end is a pure waste of time if weight loss is your goal (unless you actually enjoy this sort of pursuit) and puts so much stress on your old tendons and ligaments. 

With my cardio I like to get in, hit the right intensity, and then get out to carry on with my day. 

Tip - Always get the all clear from your doctor before taking on any form of exercise or calorie reduction plan. 

Don’t get concerned, when I first started out doing cardio I just used to head out my front door and do three ten minute slow walks per week.

Eventually my fitness levels improved and now after five years I can jog / run / walk-fast cross country and up a few hills without stopping for over two miles on a good day. 

The cardio training can be done preferably and simply by opening your front door and heading off to the nearest park or open space. 

Before I started on my own well-being journey I had never done any intentional structured cardio training at all, maybe just the occasional bicycle ride here and there which tired me out really quick.  

Just like I said for the weight training if you’re thinking of excluding any form of cardio in your new lifestyle change you may as well give up right now! 

By the way if you think that doing a bit of gardening or taking the dog for a walk will do for cardio well think again - this kind of stuff is what I call ‘moving’. Although it’s better than sitting slouched on the sofa, the body will soon adapt to this low level stuff - the cardio has to be a bit more challenging if you want to see worthwhile results. 

It would be hard work trying to lose weight with just restricting your food intake alone, this would make you miserable with hunger pangs and the whole thing would be just a chore, attacking it from all angles with structured weight training and cardio plans is the way to go.

The best way to start (like everything else on my program) is to start off slow with short walks and work up as your fitness level improves.  Once you are able to comfortably do two half hour brisk walks per week you are ready to begin the FineInYourPrime cardio sessions. 

I think after a lot of trial and error that outdoor jogging /running (if you are physically able to) is the most simplistic form of worthwhile cardio why? 

You only need your good self to do it unlike say cycling (you need a bike) or swimming (you need to go to the bath’s) or them stationary bikes / aerobic machines in the gym. 

Also it’s good for hitting the required intensity levels in the half hour especially with the hill work. 

This is my regular weekly cardio training pattern and I always run the same 2 and a half  mile route cross country, come rain, shine or high wind for the twelve months of the year. 

The variation comes from the natural elements, sometimes the wind is so forceful that it’s impossible to run downhill and this powerful wind could come in any direction.  Or the ground is so waterlogged it saps your strength just to fast-walk it.

I can tell you now after six years of running that I am not a natural and definitely not cut out for anything over three mile, full respect to those eighty year old marathon entrants. 

Sunday morning - 30 minutes. 

Wednesday morning - 30 minutes. 

Tuesday morning (summertime only) - 30 minutes. 

I would say that my heart rate during these runs would be up around 60 percent max three quarters of the time as it’s a fairly tough route up and down with ditches, streams and boggy ground sapping your energy. 

Also in the run there are two moderately steep hills which I can some days power up or some days just run half way and walk fast the rest, the objective here being to get my heart rate up to around 90 percent of my max just for a few seconds. 

Hopefully on your run when you feel you are ready to take the challenge (it may take months like it did me) you would like to incorporate a couple of hills / inclines / stairways into your routine. 

Tip - Choose an incline that is not too steep or your leg muscles will give up before your stamina does. 

My own experience of running on tarmac was not a good one.  When I first started and when I had built up the stamina I used to run 3 mile on a more or less flat road around a lake at a steady pace.  Afterwards my knee, hip, and ankle joints would ache and not recover in time for the next cardio session, after that I just stuck to running on my current  boggy off road 2 and a half mile route and never had any problem. 

I’ve read that everybody will experience fluctuations in energy levels whilst out on a run and it falls true with me, some days I can run all of my regular route no trouble and some days I just have to run / walk fast to catch my breath for a minute then set off running again.  Same with the weights as well - good days and bad days, it’s just the way it is! 

Lastly while on this section I would like to tell you about the good and bad experience with running and certain health issues you may even identify with yourselves. 

1. When I first started out running / jogging in my mid forties it caused me to hack up and spit out a lot of sticky spittle, I still have this now but not in so much quantity  and it’s always a relief to spit it out.  It seems to brew up after about five minutes into the run then calm down for the final ten minutes towards the end of the run.  I put this down to my hiatus hernia?  Anyway over time it’s subdued and never caused me too much bother and a good job I never run accompanied! 

2.  Very rarely going out on a run would bring on a migraine attack / wicked headache but on the flip side nine times out of ten the run would neutralise the affects of one.

3. Very rarely going out on a run would trigger off a bout of acid reflux, just controlled it with some Gaviscon afterwards.  And like wise more often than not going out for a run could also take away the affects of reflux. 

4. Going on a run has never given me any more discomfort with my slipped discs on tarmac or off road, just the opposite in fact - it seemed to ease the pain. 

SUPPLEMENTS

During my first year of fat loss I didn’t take any supplements at all and still made good progress.

Now after some extensive research and self testing I can really feel and see the benefits of a few certain products listed below.

* Whey protein powder.

* Krill oil capsules.

* Green tea extract capsules.

* Vitamin C powder.

* Pre- workout supplement.

* Spirulina tablets.

Not all of the above supplements are created equal and there are tons of inferior products on the shelves of your local health food stores and online.

Let’s now look at supplements in more detail and the ones I have tried out over the years which I think make a worthwhile difference to health.

1. Protein powder - In a nutshell if you work out four / five times per week and are knocking on a bit you need extra protein every day and It would be very difficult to consume enough from food alone without adding loads of unwanted calories.

I recommended unflavoured Whey Protein Isolate with sunflower lecithin as the emulsifier not soya lecithin. Before mixing you could add a flavour of your choice with natural stevia instead of synthetic sweeteners like sucralose or use freeze dried banana / strawberry powder.

Don’t get tricked by fancy packaging and always read the label, the only ingredients should be Whey protein isolate and sunflower lecithin. Anything else added is just going to bump up the cost and will most probably play hell with your digestive system.

2. A fish oil capsule - The scientists recommend krill oil over cod liver and salmon oil because (without going into too much detail) it has been proven to be better absorbed and used by the body.

3. Vitamin C - Cranberry extract powder has lots of health benefits and just so happens to be high in vitamin c so it’s my choice over the synthetic ascorbic acids and those fizzy vit c tablets in a tube with loads of other added ingredients.

4. Green tea extract capsules - Amongst other numerous benefits these help with fat loss and I take one cap per day.

5. Pre-workout-drink - If my energy or enthusiasm is low before a workout or it’s crap weather or I have some niggily pain somewhere (or all three!) and I have to go out on your run or lift weights I usually feel the need for a p.w.d - The only one I recommend (having tried quite a few) is Truestart performance coffee sold by good health food shops. Its 100 percent Columbian Arabica freeze dried instant coffee so be careful how much you start off with!

6. Last but not least is Spirulina tablets - A great source of minerals and vitamins in a more natural form compared with those multi vitamins capsules you see in most shops. 

THE OFF DAY

Reward yourself for one full day for sticking to the healthy eating plan and exercise.

Once a week (for me it’s a Saturday) I take a day off from my normal eatingplan and eat / drink absolutely anything, and on the FineInYourPrimenutrition plan I want you to do the same.

I’ve been at this now week in week out for over six years and it’s never hindered my weight control just the opposite in fact.

There is actually a biological reason to purposely over-eat once a week.

It will help convince your body not to go into starvation mode and keep negative enzymes at bay and your sanity in check.

Helps you stay on course for the other six days and makes you eager to get into the next weeks positive patterns of action.

Usually for me the eat /drink absolutely anything day is on a Saturday.

There is no looking at labels on packaging for bad additives or weighing your food out - just go for it!

When I first started out in the first year I used to go crazy having things like doughnuts and cream for breakfast, fry-up’s mid day and massive pizza meals with chips followed by ice cream on the evening.

This type of bingeing one day per week did not affect my dieting one bit and I steadily continued to lose the one pound a week.

Now after six years my ‘off day’ is a bit less outrageous and I find it hard to stomach too much junk and actually look forward to Sunday to get back to normality.

As you get leaner your ‘off day’ needs to serve a purpose beyond rewarding yourself.

Increasing both caloric and carbohydrate intake stimulate a hormone called leptin which regulates hunger, metabolic rate, appetite, motivation, and libido amongst other things.

When you have been in calorie deficit (losing weight) for a few months your leptin levels drop like a stone and like most things they also diminish with age, so the ‘off day’ is designed to reignite this important hormone. 

FINDING THE TIME

I’m sure your probably thinking by now how on earth am I going to slot in three and a half hours of exercise into my already hectic week and find time for all that food prep?

You’re right, it’s impossible you’re simply not going to have any free time to train and things are just too busy right now to for you to commit so you end up putting it off till next month / year or a couple of years when things calm down a bit.

I know I did the very same thing but those calm times never seem to arrive.

You get what I’m trying to say you have to start at some point it may as well be right now.

If you’re saying that you have no time to lose weight and get fit you’re sort of saying that you have time to be over-weight and be unfit.

Personally I started my own training half way through building me and my wife a new home, just after relocating from the U.K. to the west coast of Ireland.

Slotted it into what was actually one of the busiest times in my life! 

WATER

Water is the most important substance to human life except for oxygen.

You need a good supply every day to function at your best.

This key nutrient makes up between 50 to 60 percent of our body weight.

When you drink more water obviously this will cause you to need the toilet more frequent and this is good to regularly flush out harmful toxins.

Make sure the water you drink is filtered, purified water and not the stuff that comes out straight out the end of your tap which could contain all sorts of ‘nasties’.

Plastic bottled water is not the best option either. Firstly it’s the price- I’ve worked out that based on the amount I drink per day it would cost me 260 euro per year. Secondly it’s the environmental impact of having to produce / recycle all that plastic. Then it’s the actual plastic container itself which discharges nasty chemicals into the water called b.p.a’s. Finally you have to lug the water packs about from supermarket to home and find somewhere to store them. The best way is to start off is with something like a Brita type pitcher (there are cheaper alternative versions) which can filter tap water.

The Rolls-Royce of filters is the reverse osmosis system. I installed one last year in my shed and it gives Evian / Volvic / fresh spring quality water every time. Cost me 128 euro and easy to fit yourself to a mains water supply pipe which it then filters six times.

I’ll cover R.O.M at some point in the blog so keep an eye out for it if you’re interested in installing one of these systems.

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT/ HOW TO MAINTAIN WEIGHT LOSS FOREVER

As you probably have gathered by now the FineInYourPrime wellbeing program is designed for life. When you have achieved your desired level of fitness / fat loss and self-heal there is no going back to your old ways while you are physically and mentally able to maintain at this level.... Why would you want to?

Dieting and training to maintain (as in you now want to keep at the weight you’ve reached ) what you have achieved through this website will be a bit easier than dieting / training to lose weight and finding the right balance when you’re in total control of your weight is a magical moment.

What I mean by to maintain is not just to go easy on the workouts and start throwing in more than one off day a week, no far from it. Your aim must always be for progress in the weight training and also the cardio sessions.

It’s a long way off yet and certainly by the time you’re ready for keeping what you have achieved you will be more knowledgeable in what works for you and what doesn’t and you can apply this to effectively keeping around the same weight all year round if you want to.

Of course if you need it you will have my help every step of the way forward.

Me at 12 stone 3 pounds

 (I’m 5 foot 10 inch tall) you could

easily maintain this look all year round when 

you groove into your new lifestyle change! 

I’m not going to even add to all the confusion out there by listing certain wholesome and healthy foods that you should be eating.  What I have learnt over rafts of research is every single food has something wrong with it according to the experts  things like worker exploitation, environmental damage, or the food or the packaging  it’s in are actually slowly  poisoning  you.

A good website offering loads of down to earth unbiased advice is www.whfoods.com

There is no point messing about here you just have to be practical and sensible and eat things that you enjoy and can afford. 

You should never get hungry (only a bit before you’re due to eat) when you start to restrict your calories.  Obviously when you do get fitter through cardio / weight training you actually need to eat more which makes things easier. 

Okay I’ll go straight into my current wintertime six day maintenance diet.  It might look at first glance a bit fussy but everything is there for a reason (I’ll explain later).  I’ve stuck with this eating plan more or less unchanged over the last five years because it works a treat for me!  

BREAKFAST - 6.45am

* 70g of Flahavan’s organic porridge oats. 

Mixed in is 400g of filtered water 15g of unflavoured whey protein powder 10g of desiccated coconut, one level dessert spoon of honey and 10g of millet flakes. 

* Coffee with powdered milk (Marvel). 

* A Krill oil capsule

140g of pure orange juice with bits and 6g of cranberry extract powder mixed in. 

MID-MORNING - 10am

* 75g of baked chicken breast with 100g of quinoa, mixed through are a couple of tea spoons full’s of pesto or homemade relish. 

* 50g of low fat natural yoghurt with 10g seed and nut mix sprinkled on top.  You could cheaply and easily make up your own seed and nut mix- see my blog for details. 

LUNCH - 1.00pm

* Exactly the same as 10am meal. 

MID- AFTERNOON - 3pm

* 4 oat cakes spread generously with Quark. 

* 100g of rice milk/100g of filtered water with 30g of unflavoured whey protein powder mixed in and a small spoon of freeze dried banana powder for a natural flavour and vit c.

* A green tea extract capsule. 

* A krill oil capsule. 

TEATIME - 5.30pm

* 2 vegetable burgers, half tin of kidney beans and a four egg omelette sprinkled with fresh parsley. 

* 100g of mixed berries and pineapple slices. 

SUPPER - 10.30pm   This meal varies in quantity depending on how hungry I’m feeling.  In general if it’s been a cardio day or a weight train day I will have a larger portion. 

* About 10g of nil fat Greek yoghurt mixed in with 10g of quark. 

 Also throughout the day I tend to get through about two litres of filtered water.

 About two years ago I slowly weaned myself of the drinking of tea, milk and alcohol. I do indulge in all three on the off day. 

Eating six times per day helps to sustain energy levels and prevents over-indulgence at fewer sittings.  

If it’s a Monday or a Friday which are my weight train nights I will have an extra 30g of whey protein /200ml of rice milk just after the work out. 

You have noticed that first four meals are accurately weighed out.  Above all this is the secret to optimum weight loss / maintaining your weigh /gaining weight.  When you have hit upon the right formula for you  -and it will take some months to perfect (you are steadily losing around half a pound to one pound of weight a week) for the first time in your life you will be able to have total control of your weight and this knowledge will last you for the rest of your life! 

Tip - Write down in a note book the weights of the portions of food for your first four meals of the day, this is so you can see where you either got your diet right or where you went wrong and gained weight or stayed the same. 

You eat exactly the same food's day in-day out-there is no calorie counting at FineInYourPrime but the first four meals you eat over the six days have to be accurately weighed out (more on this later).  This was the easiest way I came upon that didn’t involve the laborious counting of calories and it’s just second nature to me now and hopefully it will be for you. 

At the moment I’m using  a mixture of Amaranth, black, red and white quinoa because its packed full of  nutrients, beneficial for the digestive system and once its boiling cooks in about 12-15 minutes.  During cooking a scum of saponins occurs on top so scrape this off and dispose. 

I got this great wide, narrow meshed sieve that helps with cooling from Lakeland mail order.  

You could use some of the baked fillets and prepare for Monday’s 5.30pm meal.  For me it’s a chicken curry marinating it in the sauce and vegetables overnight, tastes fantastic when done this way and cuts down on the prep time / washing up on the Monday evening.

 

You could if you have space in your freezer weigh out six 100g portions of mixed berries / pineapple or whatever fruit you like to eat after your main evening meal.  Just remember to put into the fridge to defrost one portion at a time in the morning. 

Okay that’s it, all the prep is done (takes me around 20 minutes excluding cooking / cooling time) for the weighed out stuff for the week. I estimate the cost to be around the 25 euro mark that’s including all the chicken fillets / quinoa / yoghurt and even the meal for two on Monday evening! 

All you have to do now is prepare the meals for the day every morning after breakfast, this takes around twenty minutes and here is how I manage it. 

First of all keep all your plastic containers/lids together in the cupboard. 

Lay the containers out on the work top. 

I got these plastic tubs from Lakeland mail order. 

Weigh out your quinoa or your chosen ‘slow’ carbohydrate choice into the larger tub - for me its 270g (200g of quinoa and the empty tub weighs 70g). 

Add your already weighed out chicken portions - for me they were 195g (150g of chicken and the empty tub weighs 45g) and cut up into bite sized pieces. 

Mix in the pesto or your choice of dressing and put the lid on that’s done. 

Now I weigh out 123g of yoghurt (100g of yoghurt and the smaller tub weighs 23g) and sprinkle on top the 10g of my own nutty mix, lid on that’s done.

Next I spread four oat cakes with Quark and place in the tub.

 

One green tea extract capsule and one krill oil capsule is then dropped into a small screw lid pot (I only put one of each in at a time in case you can’t remember whether you took it or not). 

Then I make up my protein shake 200g of filtered water and 30g of unflavoured whey protein powder plus a small spoon of freeze dried fruit powder. A stainless steel shaker is best as its got no harmful chemicals leeching out /or tainting  the taste (like in the plastic ones) especially as you’re not going to be drinking it until around 3.00pm. 

Weigh out your frozen fruit  (for me its 123g that’s 100g of fruit and the tub weighs 23g)to eat  after your  evening meal and allow to thaw slowly in the fridge, wash off with nearly  boiling water before eating to get rid of any ’nasties’. 

Okay all of this lot will do you from 10.00 am through to your evening meal, now you’re good to go just store it all in the boot of your car or work bag.

At about 10am eat half of the chicken / quinoa and after that eat half of the yoghurt / nutty mix.

Drink any amount of filtered water in between and with meal breaks.  Again I like to use the stainless steel containers for the same reasons stated earlier. 

At about 1.00pm eat the other half of the chicken / quinoa mix and after that eat the other half of the yoghurt / nut and seed mix. 

At about 3.00pm eat all 4 of the oat cakes spread with quark, drink all of your protein shake and take your green tea extract capsule. 

It might all look a bit regimental but believe me it’s the only way you’re ever going to lose / maintain your weight forever plus it’s a daily reminder that you’re different! 

The food plan is just a guide to give you ideas or a good place to start - change the food choice and weights to suit your own palette and weight goals. 

I think that one of the biggest reasons for failure is when people just use ‘guess work’ for the food portions, maybe when youth was on our side we could have got away with it! 

When you have found what works for yourself you can comfortably maintain what weight you have lost, you can fine tune. 

For instance during the winter months I like to eat a deliberate mild (daily)  surplus and usually end up around  seven or eight pounds heavier at the start of the spring.  This kind of stuff would be impossible with ‘guess work’ I did try going a bit heavier one of the years but my acid reflux and other issues started to flare up again. 

 

This is so I can train a bit heavier on the weekly workouts to try and build a bit more muscle mass (remember it’s almost impossible to gain muscle when you’re in calorie deficit mode).  Also every winter I could almost guarantee that ‘man-flu’ will strike me down for a few weeks, usually one of the dreaded effects is nausea which puts you off eating so it pays to have a little excess weight in this situation. 

 

In the Spring I usually just add another weekly, before breakfast, thirty minute cardio session to slowly lose the few pounds gained during the winter months.  This is all that’s needed no need to restrict food intake that much either just a slight reduction of carbs here and there so you hardly notice it. 

 

Things I do my best to avoid or minimise eat wise over the six days. 

‘Minimise’ being the key word here - because all of these nasty additives are lurking in virtually every product on the supermarket shelves. We are the guinea pigs for the giant food manufactures who put these cheap ‘chemically enhanced’ additives into their products in order to achieve maximum profit for themselves. 

1. Refined sugar - It’s in virtually everything, just try to minimise intake. 

2. Salt - Same as the above. 

3. Soya - Anything that mentions soya on the ingredients label is a bad thing as most of it is G.M.O.  There is loads of uncertainty around at the minute about soya and its estrogenic effect’s.  The only people who have any good to say on the food product are the fat cat producers themselves! 

4a. Tinned Tuna - Just have one 120g tin per week (for two people).  Mercury poisoning from what the fish absorbed in the sea / B.P.A’s from the tin are seeping into the product. 

4b. Tinned beans - Only use one 400g tin per week (for two people) again the good vs. evil argument is out there on legumes.  As well as the B.P.A ‘s from the tin seeping into the product. 

5. Methylcellulose E461- Try and minimise intake of any of the chemically produced E number additives.  This one is common in veggie burgers / veggie sausages. 

6. Modified maize starch / modified corn starch / anything modified – It’s basically monosodium glutamate (M.S.G / E621) which the manufacturers have had to disguise with a new name. 

7. Artificial sweeteners - Surcalose is the most obvious one, usually used in lots of whey protein powders as well as Aspartame and Acesfulame –k 

8. Calcium disodium EDTA - It’s in stuff like jars of mayonnaise.

 

9. Polysorbate 60 - Found in salad dressings. 

10. B.H.A and B.H.T. (E320) 

I’m stopping at ten but the list could go on.

  

Would you believe that some of these additives and worse are also found lurking in stuff like facial and body moisturisers, hair shampoo and conditioners?  So not only are we eating them were rubbing them onto ourselves for double impact. 

In an ideal world it would be nice just to avoid all of these ‘nasties’ and grow our own organic fruit and veg and make lovely fresh food every mealtime.  In the real world this is not possible for the average working man so just being aware and doing your best to limit intake  and hope your body has enough antioxidants to mop this rubbish up is really the best  you can do. 

HOW TO START YOUR OWN FINEINYOURPRIME LIFE STYLE CHANGE

First of all get the go ahead from your doctor before commencing any form of exercise or weight loss.

People who force themselves to stick with a ‘crash diet’ will certainly lose weight, but it’s a very unfavourable type of weight loss. Typically half of the pounds lost come from muscle tissue that is sacrificed. It’s important to remember muscle is your body’s metabolic furnace and it needs to be built up with resistance training while you’re not in calorie deficit and then preserved as much as possible when dieting.

Therefore my advice would be:-

Read through this website again and again so you fully understand everything. If there is anything you’re not sure about drop me an email and I will eventually get back to you (I’m a bit of a dinosaur with social media and the like!).

Start to look in detail at the contents labels on food products you are eating and strive to eat a bit healthier but do not lose weight, not yet!

Look on www.whfoods.com to get some great advice and ideas on nutrition.

Start to drink more filtered water.

I got these glass one litre bottles from Dunnes Stores for my filtered water.

Start with your weight training three days per week. Make sure that you fully understand and are able to perform all your exercises with strict form. Drink your protein shake / fast carbs within the hour after training.

I know you will be eager to start losing weight but bear with me on this one. Having more muscle will turn you into a better fat fighting machine for the rest of your life. It’s important you do not lose any weight at all for the first six months of doing your three weekly weight sessions. Any sign of calorie reductions and your muscle building could come to a quick halt!

You may not be able to see your new muscle under your fat layers but if you’re getting stronger every week your muscles are definitely growing!

BUY A NOTEBOOK AND RECORD THE ACTUAL EXERCISE - WEIGHT AND REPS FOR EACH SESSION - remember your aim is to progress each week not just idly go through the motions with random exercises.

Start to rub moisturising cream or better still coconut oil on your mid-section (or everywhere for that matter) every day to eliminate / reduce- saggy skin /wrinkles in readiness for when your weight comes down. I did this myself and my jean size went from 36” to 30” waist without too many creases and my baggy belly skin slowly went away after about two years of staying slim and my creases are still slowly improving.

After a couple of months of just doing the weight training two one hour sessions per week gradually phase in just one half hour of cardio per week.

Try not to lose weight- you may have to eat a bit more by now!

Look at my eating plan and start to devise one for yourselves.

WHEN YOU HAVE SORTED OUT A SIX DAY FOOD PLAN FOR YOURSELVES - EAT ONLY THE FOOD ON THAT PLAN. The significance of having a well-planned food strategy is that it frees you from making impulsive decisions about what to eat.

It’s inevitable that at some point you will go off plan, maybe you will forget to defrost your food overnight for the next day (this happens to me quite often) or miss a workout through no fault of your own or just generally can’t be arsed, its life, just get back on track as soon as you can.

After six to eight months of doing the weight training and cardio slowly phase in your calorie reduction diet plan and another half hour cardio session per week.

BUY A NOTEBOOK AND WRITE DOWN THE WEIGHT OF FOOD YOU ARE EATING FOR THE FIRST FOUR MEALS OF YOUR DAY- Without doubt this is the most important part of the whole process.

Ideally you should aim for losing around half a pound to one pound per week this will pay off with very few baggy skin folds / stretch marks.

When your weight loss stalls or your weight goes up or you lose too much weight re-evaluate your meal plan, reduce or increase carbs by about 50g-70g per day. Do not reduce protein intake. Give the alteration at least eight to twelve days to kick in.

Use the mirror / waist fit on your jeans to check progress more than the scales especially if you’re a total newcomer to weight training, a few of you could have to your advantage something called ‘newbie gains’ where your body responds dramatically to a new stimulus and replaces fat with muscle so your weight sort of stays the same but in the mirror your different. Just for the record this did not happen with me!

Important - Make sure that your eating enough protein every day, (they say around 1g per pound of bodyweight) and adjust as your weight comes down.

Carbs are not your enemy and people will respond to them differently so you will just have to juggle about with quantities for a while before you hit on the formula for you - same goes for the healthy fats as well.

There are loads of websites out there that give the nutritional breakdown of all foods just remember to type in the word ‘cooked’ before any inquiry as the profile nearly always differs greatly between the raw versus cooked product.

LIFE

This might be a bit controversial but my personal belief is that being fitter and eating all the right foods will not make you live any longer (or shorter for that matter) or make you more resilient to virus’s or disease.

I believe that our life span is determined at birth no matter what you do to yourself nothing will change this.

One good example of this is Sir Winston Churchill prime minister of England during the Second World War years.

This great man was way overweight most of his adult life and puffed away on ten Cuban cigars a day, plus boozed and fine dined to the max. He lived to ninety years of age.

Your life span you can do nothing to change, but you can make positive changes to become leaner, stronger, more agile, have more energy, be common ailment free, the list is endless. All to make life a bit easier upon yourself and your family, to just enjoy life more and be fit enough to look after others less fortunate than yourselves.

THE FINAL WORD.

I’m not going to give you any motivational quotes at this point that’s not me, but would like to say this - I just cannot put into words how good it feels being fitter and stronger now at fifty years old than I ever was in my younger life.

Having total control over your weight and leading a healthy lifestyle sort of takes the edge off other stressful things that life seems to throw at you when you least expect it.

Hope you all found the website of interest and I would like your feed back please (good or bad!) and feel free to follow my blog.

I’m not really into the whole social media scene and I’m not too computer savvy either so if you do ask me a question I will get back to you but it may take me a few days.

Okay good luck to all of you who give my program a try!

I suppose this is my bit of a disclaimer, I’m no expert, I do not hold a master’s degree in exercise science and I am not a certified personal fitness trainer. I do know what I have learned and practised upon myself over the last six years and I’m more than happy to share every bit of it with you!