Eating more protein helped me lose my ‘skinny fat’ dad bod

Alan started weight training during lockdown to gain muscle and lose fat

Throughout my 20s, I always thought about getting in shape but just never got around to it. Then I turned 30 and noticed I’d put on weight. Fearing getting older and chubbier spurred me on to do something about it. Now, I think I look younger now than I did back then.

Growing up, I was always musical so that was where all my focus went. I was never sporty, and when I started seeing a personal trainer (PT) in my early 30s, it was the most exercise I’d ever done. His main concern at that point wasn’t about building muscle or getting in shape, he was just focused on the fact that I needed to lose weight. I was quite miserable, only eating salads for a while and doing gentle cardio each day.

I lost loads of weight at first and ended up being really skinny, only eating 1,500 calories a day. At six foot one though, I wanted to build some muscle and be in proportion. To this day, I absolutely detest salad and I never want to see one again in my life.

At 35, I moved gyms to Fitness First Cottons Gym in London Bridge where I worked with a PT. They introduced me to MyFitnessPal (a food-tracking app) and big lift exercises like deadlifts, squats and bench presses.

At the end of the first lockdown in 2020, I could start training again in person, where I shifted up a gear. I used lockdown as a time to work on building muscle and putting on a fair amount of weight in the process. When I started with my new trainer, Will, I weighed 94kg. He really got me into weightlifting because I wanted to lose fat but maintain muscle.

I started seeing him twice a week because my legs were my weakest point. As they’re so long, it’s hard to build muscle on them. At first, I was doing two sessions of legs with Will; one would focus on deadlifts and the other would focus on squats. We also incorporated front squats to help boost my quads, which I hadn’t done before. And we did really high volume on the leg press.

My back and core strength wasn’t good either. The only way I can describe it is that I was sort of floppy in the middle. Coming into muscle building late, they were always tight, meaning they quite simply didn’t want to do the work.

I was never sporty when I was younger. When I started training, I had never done so much exercise

I do core every week now too, after not being rigid with my schedule for core workouts. I split my sessions into body parts and do six weighted ones a week. My workouts are split as follows: chest and abs, back and triceps, shoulder and biceps, legs, legs and biceps, shoulders and triceps. I’ll try and do a 5km run each week too for my cardio, depending on my work schedule.

Food-wise, it’s always porridge with berries (it helps with my sweet tooth) and protein powder for breakfast. For lunch, it’s either homemade chicken sandwiches or salmon and rice, if I’m working from home.

I use Prep Kitchen, a high protein, healthy meal delivery service for my evening meals. You can have lasagna, meatballs and pasta, curries – they do all sorts of meals. I work evenings a lot of the time so I just cook them in the microwave before the nightshift begins. I eat more now, yet I’m in much better shape. I came to that sharp realisation you don’t need to punish yourself to look great.

Bulking and shredding have also become part of my routine. Bulking means eating more calories to put on muscle mass. Shredding follows this and means eating fewer calories to burn any fat from the bulk yet maintain the muscle. You’ve got to give yourself 12 weeks to do a shred properly. This year I’m going to shred for the beginning of August because I’ve got a holiday coming up. If I’m shredding, I will do two 5km runs a week.

In terms of calories, at maintenance, my calories are about 2,800 to 3,000 calories per day. During a bulk, I’ll go up to 3,200 calories per day. The most I’ve done is 3,600 per day. Will knows when it’s best to bulk and shred, whilst helping me with my food and water intake.

I don’t find it hard to stay motivated anymore. I prefer to train in the morning because I’m not great in the evening. Even with my busy life, training has just become part of my schedule. I have to be very meticulous about my diary because every day is different with my work. It’s just another thing to factor in, and I can’t go a week without training each body part.

Having my PT sessions booked in keeps me accountable. and that’s why I do it, particularly for legs. I have an hour with Will, but some sessions on my own will be up to an hour and 20 minutes.

Even though I’m training and tracking my food, I still drink alcohol because my work is social. I know alcohol has calories, but I just ignore them. I do stick to spirits though, always going for either vodka and Diet Coke or lemonade. I refuse to give up alcohol, I don’t think I need to deny myself things I enjoy to stay in shape.

Being noticeably in shape at the age of 44, I do stand out. I’ve gained more confidence dating and it’s probably helped with my career a little bit too. In an industry where I am surrounded by a lot of fit and glamorous dancers, I do feel self-conscious. Now, I don’t worry about what I look like the way that I did before.

‘When I won the Olivier, I only had to worry about my speech, not how I look’

I recently won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Contribution. I had to get up on television, in front of 5,000 people at the Royal Albert Hall and give a speech. Whilst being immensely terrifying, it just helps your confidence, especially since all I had to worry about was what I sounded like, not my looks.

At the moment I weigh 84kg; I’ve lost 10kg of fat, not muscle. I always want to smash my personal best. I’m doing dumbbell presses at the moment and recently got a personal best with that, pressing two 40kg weights. I don’t set myself goals anymore. Now, it’s just to keep going and do my best.

Alan’s typical breakfast of porridge, berries and vanilla protein powder

Alan’s three top tips

• Have a weekly workout plan. Knowing what my week of workouts looks like ahead of time means I will 100 per cent stick to it, as my workouts are essentially scheduled into my diary, like an appointment.
• Be consistent. It takes me several months to bulk up or shred down; it doesn’t happen overnight. I have to keep at it every day and remember that it’s what I do every day that counts.
• Balance your meals. I always make sure my meals have a healthy balance of carbs, protein and fats. I keep my daily protein intake above 200g whether I am bulking or shredding, which is the amount that’s been recommended for my weight and height.

As told to Lucy Gornall

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