A former bartender has revealed how he shed five stone in six months and sculpted an enviable six-pack after his weight escalated during university.
Adam Hindley, 25, from Leeds, blamed a boozy lifestyle and a greasy takeaway diet for piling on the pounds throughout his studies. Despite training to become a physio and knowing how to stay in shape, Adam, now a competitive bodybuilder who weighs 12th 7lb, once tipped the scales at a whopping 17 stone 3lbs. 'I've always been into fitness and eating well, but as soon as I went to university, that all went out of the window,' he explained. 'I spent three years having a great time, drinking too much, eating the wrong food and cutting right back on gym time.'
Adam Hindley, 25, from Leeds, blamed a boozy lifestyle and a greasy takeaway diet for piling on the pounds throughout his studies. Despite training to become a physio and knowing how to stay in shape, Adam, now a competitive bodybuilder who weighs 12th 7lb, once tipped the scales at a whopping 17 stone 3lbs. 'I've always been into fitness and eating well, but as soon as I went to university, that all went out of the window,' he explained. 'I spent three years having a great time, drinking too much, eating the wrong food and cutting right back on gym time.'
Adam would indulge in booze up to four nights a week while working at a bar but has since ditched his calorie fueled takeaway meals for lean meat and fish. 'During my second year I began working in a bar and saw the extra weight pile on,' he said. 'When I wasn't hungover, I'd eat really well.''I'd meal prep each week so there was always something lean and nutritious in the freezer, but as soon as I woke up with a hangover, I'd head for all the greasy, high-calorie food I could get my hands on.' But six months after he graduated, Adam finally realised he had to clean up his act if he was ever to put his degree to good use.' I started working as a physio and was keen to get my PT business off the ground so had to shape up,' he explained. 'I had the knowledge of how to lose the weight, I just needed to get on with it.' In a bid to slim down and shed the pounds, Adam started setting himself realistic goals.' At the time I told a mate I'd have abs in six months,' he said. 'That was my first goal and despite lots of sarcastic comments from friends, I smashed it.''In just six months I lost nearly two-and-a-half stone and my confidence soared. My next one was to compete, so I signed up for my first comp.' In preparation for the competition, Adam swapped his occasional training sessions for a dedicated 14 hours-a-week in the gym doing weights and cardio, which he upped to almost 18 hours ahead of his first competition. He also changed his healthy diet of lean meat and vegetables from musclefood.com to a stripped-down menu of egg whites, lean turkey and fish and no booze. Adam spent 20 weeks training for his first competition, Pure Elite, in the Beach Body and Transformation categories. Adam's exercise went from 45 minutes in the gym three-times-a-week to working out for two-and-a-half-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, with an occasional rest day. Calorie intake gradually went down from around 3,000 calories a day to 1,600. He placed fourth in transformation and fifth in beach body and is already planning ahead to more competitions next year. Adam, who now works as a physio and online personal trainer, is using his transformation success to help others achieve the same goal through his business.' Training for a competition isn't sustainable and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone just trying to shed weight,' he explained. 'It's a short burst of training and calorie-cutting for a fixed period.'
'The tough training and low-calorie intake meant Adam could peak physically for the show, but now it's over, it's all about getting back to a healthier way of living.' I'm not a fan of the word diet,' he said. 'Changing your eating habits to improve your weight or fitness is about making sustainable changes to nutrition that can be maintained long-term.' In the run-up to the competition, I was down to around 1,600 calories a day and was eating a lot of lean white meat and fish. I was spending 90 minutes a day doing cardio on top of a strenuous weight session.' He continued: 'Now I'm building back up to my normal 3,000 calories and enjoying lots of muscle food meats and treats.' I love the lean healthier burgers with all the tasty toppings and steaks and the treats like the high protein pork scratchings and beef jerky. They're the things I really missed when I was prepping for the competition.'