By Frances Grant
Sydney policeman Vince Carrabs didn't have to look far for a subject for an assignment for his university course in journalism.
"Basically I had this idea for writing a documentary about this fat policeman and Mr Universe," says Carrabs on the phone from Sydney. "And how Mr Universe went through the routine of getting this person and moulding him into something he wanted to be."
As luck would have it, Carrabs' idea neatly coincided with a television documentary series being planned by Australia's Nine Network.
"I told a friend at Channel 9 about it and he said one of the producers there was working on something similar," he says. "And they asked will you be a part of it? And I said, 'Of course I will, not a problem.'"
Carrabs joined The Weighting Game (TV3, 7.30 pm), a series which follows a group of solid citizens through a three-month battle with the bulge.
The participants adopt a weight-loss programme or method - some resort to surgery - which suits them best.
Carrabs put himself in the hands of a personal trainer, a childhood friend who has won titles in Mr Universe competitions. "Actually Mr Universe was a fat kid and I was a very athletic kid - and in our adult lives we swapped roles."
Over the course of the programme, 40-year-old Carrabs went from a hefty 145kg to 116kg and he's happy to report he's kept the weight off.
"I think the whole thing was I worked on the metabolism as well as looking after myself in a regular exercise regime. I think metabolism plays a very important part in how your body processes and stores fats. Now these two things need to be able to combine to achieve a satisfactory result - does that sound too much like a copper talking to you?"
The hardest thing about the regime was learning to eat smaller amounts more often, he says. But the good news for the policeman and pizza-joint owner (Vinnie's Woodfired Pizzas in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra) was he didn't have to give up the food he loved.
"I've never stopped eating pizza, I've never stopped eating gelato, lasagne, all the Italian-type dishes I grew up with, I never gave up anything. But what I did do is I adopted what they call a grazing style of eating."
Could he have done it without the help of Mr U? "I think he opened my eyes to the fact that what was wrong was the way I was treating myself, that the lifestyle I was leading was not conducive to good health and nutrition."
But it must have been embarrassing to be a featured fat person on a programme about losing weight. "I'm a police officer," he says. "So I'm not really embarrassed about too many things."
Still, watching the first episode, he admits, gave him a bit of a shock. He'd become used to the cameras turning up to check his progress every few weeks and had almost forgotten that the results would be broadcast on national TV.
"Then suddenly it all happens and you think, 'Jeez, did I do that? Is that what I look like, is that how I sound?' I actually had no idea what I looked like or sounded like and some of the footage there - it's a bit suspect."
Now that sounds like a copper talking. When Carrabs isn't overseeing the pizzeria or studying, his professional base is the police station in the inner Sydney suburb of Surry Hills. "It's famous for Oxford St, where we're shortly going to have our mardi gras. I go every year."
So will he show off the new bod when he goes along this year? Police officers can handle cheeky questions. "No, I don't think I'll be taking my shirt off. I don't think the commissioner would be too happy with that."
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from Lifestyle
Five surprising benefits of a firm and shapely bottom
Toning your glutes provides many health benefits from bone health to back pain.