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"I took a cleaver and trimmed the fat"


NAME: SHANE MUNDY
HOME: HOBART, TASMANIA
OCCUPATION: BUTCHER
AGE: 45
'''HEIGHT: 175cm
WEIGHT BEFORE: 93 KG
WEIGHT AFTER: 70KG'''

THE GAIN Who knew that being a butcher was so bad for your health? For Mundy, opening his own shop 26 years ago signalled the end of his sporting career and the onset of health problems.

"I've been working seven days a week since I was about 20, so there was no time for sport. And even though I worked my butt off, it didn't compensate for the lack of exercise," he says.

Compounding the problem was a carnivorous diet, comprising 600-gram portions of steak, mountains of mash and five slices of bread and butter, all washed down with three or four beers.


THE CHANGE Mundy had a family history of high blood pressure and the medication, which he'd been on since his early twenties, produced side effects, such as a loss of libido, fluid retention and ringing in the ears.

He also had a bad lower back and required a disc replacement of the C5 in his neck."It was worn out and I was paralysed down my left arm, because my nerves were being crushed," reveals Mundy.

Facing a steep descent into middle age and sick of the toll medication was taking on his life, he decided it was time to fight back.

He began riding his exercise bike for two hours a day and gave up alcohol for seven months.

"After I lost about 10kg," he recalls, "I started running and got my 10-kilometre time down to about 44 minutes."


THE RESULT Mundy lost so much weight so quickly that his customers began to worry about his health. To alleviate their concerns, he put up a photo of himself training.

"I was down to 67kg, but I found I could maintain 70kg without any problems - still enjoy life, food and a little low-carb beer."

These days, Mundy makes time for exercise, cycling around 100km a week and running or walking every day. He's completed two marathons and aims to enter the Gold Coast 100 in July.

He's also off BP medication and has a cholesterol reading of just 3.8.

THE ADVICE

Cut back on carbs and portion sizes, Mundy advises.

"I only eat red meat twice a week, oily fish like tuna or salmon three times and I've trimmed portions to 250g." He also tries to drink two litres of water a day.

"It helps the kidneys flush out your system. And if your metabolism is working properly, which it should be if you're exercising, then the fat seems to flush out as well."