Man gains 36kg then loses it all again to inspire his overweight dad

A personal trainer inspired his own father to lose weight by gaining size and then shedding it again

So effective was Shane Seery’s impact on his overweight father that it inspired the Dublin native to leave his job as a flight attendant and take up personal training full time.

In his words, the 26-year-old was always ‘skinny fat’, weighing 62 kilograms at the most. He also suffered from hypogonadism, a condition leading to low levels of testosterone.

Contrastingly, Shane’s father had type 2 diabetes and weighed 124 kilograms. A health scare forced him to undergo a gastric bypass operation.

Ditching the Dad bod

Shane vowed to help his dad overcome his health issues and lose weight. He bravely did this by gaining 36 kilograms, taking his bodyweight to around 100 kilograms.

Helping his father was a tricky process.

“Anytime I tried to help, it was falling on deaf ears. It wasn’t until he was admitted for gastric bypass surgery that it really hit home.

“If I didn’t initiate a change in the house, I couldn’t see who would. I’ll not forget the time I visited him post surgery, he was sat on the hospital bed, white as a ghost.

“I researched heavily on nutrition, bought many books, read through many articles, and deciphered fact from fiction. Went to the gym, and needless to say, hand held high, I was not there lifting with correct technique or form. I was simply moving as heavy a weight as I could from point A to point B.”

This had a hugely positive impact on his father, who went on to lose over 30 kilograms, cleaning up his entire diet and lifestyle in the process.

“Post-operation and after following up on his nutritional changes, Dad is currently sat at 94kgs, and living a much healthier life.

“His knowledge on nutrition has increased dramatically with my help over the years and as a type 2 diabetic, he understands the implications some foods may have on him.”

Now living and working in Dubai, Seery lost the majority of that weight again (26 kilograms) over a four-month period and even went on to compete in his first bodybuilding competition.

How Shane got shredded

Losing weight while working as cabin crew was tough and took extreme dedication, according to Seery.

He made a point of prepping all his meals down to the gram, which involved boiling eggs and broccoli in hotel kettles. The 26-year-old was even fined 500USD for taking a stray Granny Smith apple with him onboard a flight.

“Self discipline is key here. Meal prepping for every flight, every sector, planning meals in advance, getting fined by customs for having an apple in my bag…I went through it all.

“I stuck to plan however and never deviated once. Many hotel gyms were, well, not really gyms. Sometimes I would walk for an hour to get to the city to find the best facility to train.”

Where training in a gym wasn’t possible, Seery devised hotel bedroom workouts to fend off extra fat.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtqgwR3ngGE/

Transitioning into personal training

While working as cabin crew, Seery studied for his personal training exams. He went on to land his dream job working as a personal trainer for Ultimate Performance in Dubai.

“What made me transition into Personal Training was that many people began following my journey, reaching out for help, support and advice.

“It came at a time where I then said enough is enough, my life revolves around fitness and helping others. Why not put my whole effort into helping others achieve their dreams and goals?”

If you – or someone you know – has made an impressive transformation with a story to tell, you could be featured on JOE’s Transformation Tuesday!

Just send your nominations to Alex.Roberts@JOE.co.uk