'If one person decides to be healthy, the family will follow'

Just five years ago, UAE-based personal trainer Shane Seery's life was very different. He was living in Dublin, Ireland, worked for a bank and weighed approximately 62kg. However, when his father's health deteriorated, Shane was suddenly forced to rethink certain aspects of his life.

"My family has always been really close and I always looked up to my father," says Shane. "He's always been a big person and people used to respect him for it. Once I saw him step in and stop a woman from being mugged. He was my inspiration. But what I never understood at that time was that he was unhealthy. I don't think he understood it either."

Shane's father weighed 124kg and health complications meant he had to undergo a gastric bypass surgery. "I remember going to the hospital and the doctor telling me it didn't look so good. He had lost a lot of blood during the surgery and it was touch-and-go for a while. And I thought to myself, if he did make it, there needed to be a lot of changes made at home."

At the time Shane was 'skinny'. He enjoyed sports but didn't work out. But, with the belief that if he didn't make changes at home, no one would, he started hitting the gym and reading up on health and nutrition to help his father. "After his surgery, everything he ate had to be carefully monitored as he also had diabetes," says Shane. "Simple foods would make him sick. I thought it might make a difference to see a family member go out of his way to help."

As his father's condition started to stabilise, Shane got a chance to work with Emirates as part of cabin crew and relocate to Dubai - an offer that was tempting because of the travel opportunities it offered. However, as he started his new job, he realised his new routine - which included 120 flight hours a month - would make sticking to his health regimen almost impossible.

"Cabin crew members generally eat just about anything," says Shane. "A flight can be long and boring, and - this holds true for life in general - when people are bored and they see food, they just start nibbling. The problem with that is you can never keep track of calories as you're nibbling throughout the day."
Shane devised a strict routine to help him stick to his fitness goals. While travelling, he would prep his meals for the coming days. He would then freeze it, put it in a suitcase and check it in as cargo. On layovers, he would only eat the food he had cooked, and then eat the leftovers during the flight back home. This went on for three-and-a-half years.

His dedication to the routine meant he was always carrying around food scales and once even got fined 400$ (Dh1,470) when he entered New Zealand while forgetting to declare an apple he had on him. His fitness journey wasn't just about the food either. "I remember, when we had layovers, they would usually last three or four hours and, after a long flight, all you really want to do is nap. I would listen to all my colleagues talk about how they want to hit the sack - while, I would be heading to the gym for 45 minutes of cardio."

In order to show his father that anything is possible, Shane decided to bulk up by working out and eating a healthy amount. When his weight hit 98kg, he reversed it by changing his workout to reduce body fat percentage. To ensure that he stuck to his goal, he signed up and participated in the Miami Pro, a fitness modelling championship, in the UK, in 2018. And as people started approaching him for health and fitness advice, Shane realised what he really wanted to do was help people get fit - and looked at a career in personal training.

Today, Shane is living his best life, working with Ultimate Performance Dubai, a personal training gym. His family has been supportive over the journey, with his mother occasionally sending him food, like beef, all the way from Ireland. Meanwhile, his father regularly asks him for health and fitness advice - he even shares his daily meals with Shane through WhatsApp pictures. Since the surgery, he has maintained his weight at 93kg. "He follows a nutritional plan I've made for him. If he ever tells me that he's feeling fatigued, I call him up and ask him what he's eating," says Shane. "I think it's inspired him to see how exercise and eating right affected someone so close to him. We're all seeing transformation stories, but it's different when it's someone close to you."

It's also helped his family opt for healthier eating choices. "This may sound very obvious, but when one family member refuses to eat something that's not healthy, loved ones will support them," says Shane. "For example, if I tell my parents I won't eat creamy potatoes but I don't mind regular potatoes, they won't make two different dishes. They'll make the healthy one and everyone on the dining table will have that. If one person decides to be healthy, the rest of the family will follow."

Sounds like the perfect piece of advice for the new year.
janice@khaleejtimes.com