OPINION:
Some went high in lockdown, achieving Olympian levels of fitness; I went low, contracting a pesky case of what’s called sinus tachycardia that consultants ascribe to long Covid. At first even gentle walking sent my heart rate soaring; it would then remain at 125bpm resting for the next two days. Sinus tachycardia: makes you feel grotty.
A previously fit gentleman who played tennis four times a week, I found I couldn’t do any cardio beyond walking up the stairs. So instead I focused my energies during lockdown on preparing vast, comforting feasts, and was prescribed red wine ad libitum to cheer me up, by me. Jeez, two years on I got huge as my muscles dissolved.
When I finally met up with my regular tennis four again, I feared the Averted Male Gaze – devastating – but met only sympathy. Then I lasted 10 minutes on court. “Right, this is ridiculous,” said my doubles partner, Andy. “You’re going to my wife’s personal trainer. She has transformed my wife’s body in two years.”
Not all heroes wear Lycra, but Sarah Gad, who runs boutique gym Core Connection in south London, took me on as her first client who could manage only half-hour sessions; accepted short notice cancellations (“Feeling grotty”) without charging me; and pushed me through resistance training (sometimes just stretching, or “Pathetic Training”, as we knew it) while anxiously keeping an eye on my heart rate to avoid red-lining it. When I had improved sufficiently, she suggested I get a DEXA scan to ascertain my exact fat vs muscle ratio, so I didn’t grow complacent.
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry gives precise data on your bone density, lean mass (muscle) and fat content; it doesn’t just tell you how fat you are, but where fat you are. It’s much more accurate than BMI, which several studies have shown can diverge by as much as 35 per cent from actual body make-up, and correlates strongly with the gold-standard measure of body composition, CT or computerised tomography. Just the prospect of a body scan, and the mention of the word “obesity”, are enough to motivate me to go on a diet – my first.
Ben’s week-by-week plan
Week 1
Weight 82kg (13st, dead)
BMI 27.2
Scaffolder’s stomach 105cm (41in)
Cholesterol 5.7
While I wait for my scan, I do a deep dive into all available diets and, in the interim, just eat less. Currently in vogue is intermittent fasting (IF), particularly with my male friends. There’s evidence that it assists with vital gut functions, but no evidence that it’s better than any calorie-controlled diet. The best-evidenced regime remains the Mediterranean diet – but have you seen the price of fish, or olive oil, or nuts? Nuts.
DEXA day. At Bodyscan, London EC3, I am first weighed, then hop onto a sunbed-type affair that whirs away for five minutes – and that’s it. I’m handed a Rorschach blob-like image of myself (fat in yellow), and reams of data on everything from the muscle mass of my left leg, to how fat my head is. For £249 (including two scans, a minimum of eight weeks apart), director Philip Chant then takes me through the findings in briskly affable, pitiless detail.
“Bone density, good. Your lean mass is in the 29th percentile… No, that’s not good – 71 per cent of men your age have more muscle. Your weight is in the 79th percentile [again, bad]. But the really concerning thing –” I’d hoped we’d finished with the bad news “– is your VAT score, the amount of visceral adipose tissue [belly fat, basically] in your abdomen, which, at 169, is medically concerning.”
So it turns out I’m VAT. Which multiplies my chances of meeting head-on diabetes, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s. Chant says I will need to adopt a calorie-deficit diet of 1700 cals per day, for months. As long as I calorie-count and maintain a calorie deficit, I can eat sausage rolls and drink Guinness, he says. I should major on protein, which takes more energy to digest. The best diet? One that I stick to; everything else is a gimmick. I should eat as much fruit and salad as I can bear. One tiny positive: visceral fat can come off quicker than subcutaneous, which is fat under your skin. Brisk walking will help.
Week 2
Weight 80.1kg (12st 8½lb)
Total fat content 22kg (3st 6½lb)
Sarah is less pleased about the sausage rolls and Guinness diet. So we settle on a diet designed to make me eat less, eat more healthily and, in an inspired move, keep me out of the pub and save money. Our slogan: “Lose weight and save money fast with… The Ten Pound Diet!” Which will observe all known dietary laws – calorie deficit; “eat food, not too much, mainly plants” – while spending only £10 [about NZ$21] a day on food and drink. A diet for our times. But also a liberal one – any money left over can be spent on inexpensive red wine. I will have to cook everything myself, which will keep me out of Pret, and the market – global financial, or just my local street market – will look after everything else.
Sarah agrees to bring scales into her gym – a first – to avoid self-reporting. And by the end of the week, I’ve already lost nearly two kilos! Dieting is easy; it’s going to be a hard-body summer.
Week 3
Weight 79.6kg (12st 7½lb)
Scaffolder’s stomach 102cm (40in)
Swimsuit rating 3/10
Dieting is hard. I can’t calorie count and I’m hungry. “Strong peppermints and water,” counsels a friend, depressing me further.
I’ve found cutting out snacks and sweets weirdly easy. Almost a relief. Budgeting is a pain, but at least reminds you food is fuel. I am bulk-buying, batch-cooking, freezing and bargain-hunting on brisk walks. Otherwise I’m living on cheap chicken, tinned tuna and pulses. I make stock from scratch, soda bread and hummus. I order whole salmon from Scotland and have a salad trough: free rocket!
Week 7
Weight 79.1kg (12st 6½lb)
Yes, well, I’ve skipped three weeks because basically my weight plateaued. Or got worse. But let the record show that the period included a heatwave, a holiday, summer parties, endless barbecues… “You’re allowed one cheat meal per week,” Sarah reckoned. I’ve averaged four. And I blew the budget in the pub. But everyone is enjoying the sunshine.
“Oh dear, the diet’s looking like a disaster,” observes Sarah. “At least you’ve had a reset, though. Of sorts.” So I resolve to knuckle down and pull on my mental Spanx for the final fortnight.
Week 8
Final weight 76.9kg (12st 1½lb)
Stomach 95cm (37½in)
Blood pressure 121 / 74
Cholesterol 5.4
Swimsuit rating 4/10
Before my final scan, I spend the weekend at a music festival, drinking strong craft lager; I only hope heatstroke and dehydration help weight loss. “Good luck! Let’s hope our ruined summer was worth it,” offers my wife as I leave.
“You’ve actually lost 5.1kg, which is a good trend,” says Chant. (That’s 11lb, I think; my editor only demanded 10.)
“And very good news: it was all fat. But the really surprising thing is 80 per cent of it was visceral fat. I’m not sure how to explain that.” Nor am I, but I’m not going to argue with hard data. My VAT is now 131 – which I’ll take as a win. Obviously I credit Sarah Gad and my Ten Pound Diet. The one may help pay for the other.
Visceral fat: The facts
What is it?
Visceral fat, also known as active fat, is a specific type of fat that is stored in the abdominal cavity, where many of our vital organs also sit. We can’t physically feel visceral fat; the fat that we can feel is just under the skin and is called subcutaneous fat; this doesn’t pose as many health risks as visceral fat.
What are the health risks?
Everyone has a percentage of visceral fat, but it becomes a problem when high amounts of it are stored. If you are carrying a larger quantity of visceral fat, you may be at higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, Alzheimer’s and colorectal (bowel) cancer.
Why should I worry about it?
Visceral fat, unlike subcutaneous fat, is thought to disrupt the normal functioning of our hormones. It is also stored near vital organs such as the liver, stomach and intestines. Visceral fat can also build up in the walls of your arteries and result in clogging, meaning blood flow to these vital organs is reduced.
How can I tell if I’m carrying too much visceral fat?
Unfortunately, the only way of determining how much visceral fat you have is with an MRI scan. However, this is an expensive procedure, so a good indicator you can observe easily is a growing belly.
You can keep an eye on this by calculating your waist-to-height ratio. It’s recommended that your waist circumference should be less than half your height to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Generally speaking, a cause for concern in women would be a waist size of more than 35 inches (90cm), and over 40 inches (101cm) for men. Check your BMI using an online calculator.
How can you prevent/get rid of it?
It’s as simple as maintaining a healthy lifestyle, with a balanced diet and plenty of exercise. Specifically, you should avoid foods that are high in saturated fat or that increase cholesterol levels, and limit your alcohol intake.
Stress is also thought to be a cause of visceral fat, as the stress hormone cortisol can increase the amount of it we store. Although easier said than done, implementing stress management into your daily routine is a way to manage this.
- Ben Rowell is a writer for the Daily Telegraph