Male Weight Loss: The rush to look like Dan the man
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'Can you send me some Dukan recipes? I think I'm eating too many carbs." I read out the text message from my 25-year-old brother to my boyfriend expecting a laugh, only for him to nod sagely. "Hm, yes, I've been trying to cut down myself."
The episode came after my 50-something father recently waxed lyrical about how long it takes on the treadmill to shift the calories in a KitKat.
Worrying about carbs? Body insecurities? Weight-loss endeavours? It would seem that perhaps men and women might not be as different after all.
In fact, according to a new survey conducted by the Centre For Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, we're all in the same dissatisfied boat.
The poll found that 80pc of men don't feel good about their appearance, four out of five reckon their "level of muscularity" doesn't come up to scratch, and a third would happily dedicate a full year of their lives to getting the perfect body.
The average age of men polled was 38, with the oldest 70, so it's not just the thinking of preening young fellas.
"Historically, conversation about your body has been something women do," says Rosi Prescott, who worked on the study of almost 400 men. "But it's clear from this research that men are also guilty of commenting on each other's bodies."
Irish actor Chris O'Dowd noticed this change and penned a sitcom pilot, which he recently sold to NBC, based on a male weight-loss group.
He says: "It's not about making fun of fat people. It's more about the way modern men talk with their buddies." Ten years ago, man-chats would have been about football or girls. Now there's a good chance it would be about where to get a vertically striped shirt."
It's not all that surprising. Society as a whole has become increasingly image-obsessed. Slimming shows such as Operation Transformation and The Biggest Loser are aimed at both sexes, with some of the programmes' most successful contestants being male. At the start of the 1990s, the biggest selling men's magazine was FHM, a celebration of boozy, pizza-scoffing, lad culture, now it's Men's Health magazine.
Then, of course, there are the buffed legions of screen stars held up as exhibits of male physical perfection. Faced with Daniel Craig exiting the ocean in those little blue trunks, who wouldn't feel a twinge of insecurity?
What's more, celebrities previously best known for their rotundity are swiftly disappearing. The Sitter star Jonah Hill recently shed over 40lbs and Ricky Gervais dropped 20lbs joyfully announcing: "I can't play the little, funny, fat guy any more."
Dublin-based fitness trainer Paul Byrne says he's often faced with clients wanting to emulate celebrity examples.
"There's a lot who are influenced by what they see on TV and film. But the ones most keen to shape up are men over 35. Younger lads have the metabolism but post-35, things start to go downhill and guys want to fight that."
When you look at the nation's health stats, it's hard to argue with men wanting to get fit. Last year's National Adult Nutrition Survey showed that 37.5pc of Irish adults are overweight and 23.55pc are obese. Among the most seriously affected are men aged 36-50, of whom 49.2pc are overweight, and men aged 51-64, with 44.4pc overweight and 42.1pc obese.
But the concern is that some men might be taking weight loss too far. The University of the West poll revealed a small number of men admitted to making themselves ill or taking laxatives to lose weight.
Figures suggest some 10pc of Irish men could be suffering an eating disorder.
"A lot of guys will have tried everything before they come to a trainer," says Byrne. "Some guys are under the illusion that steroids make you lean. They don't. They're not fat burners so you just get bigger. If calories are too low then the body just eats more muscle. The reality is there's no quick fix, it comes down to the right diet and exercise."
How to tone up
DO weigh yourself every day and know your BMI. Studies have shown that people often are in denial about their weight, arm yourself with the facts.
DON’T skip meals or use meal replacements. Instead aim to eat smaller meals more frequently to maintain blood sugar levels.
DO eat breakfast every day to kickstart your metabolism
DON’T forget to count calories in drinks. Four pints =1000 calories, half your daily calorie intake.
DO read packaging and avoid saturated fats, make comparisons and learn which foods are bad for you.
DON’T eat convenience, processed foots or fatty sweet foods on a regular basis. As well as making you fat you could be at risk of developing diabetes or heart disease.
DO exercise. To maintain weight you need 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day, five days a week.
DON’T buy ‘slimming’ tablets or other medication over the internet. It could do you more harm than good.
DO be realistic. Set yourself a target of 5-10% weight loss over 3-6 months and allow occasional food treats.
- Chrissie Russell
Irish Independent
