When Mike Denman’s two-year-old daughter confused him with a large-bellied statue, he knew something had to change
“I’m essentially a different person now,” says Mike Denman, father of two, who’s now in the best shape of his life. After shifting his body weight from 146kg to 96kg, Mike has transformed his life and now runs a FIT DAD programme to help others do the same.
Back in 2021, however, it was a very different story; Mike was 41 and was 23 stone. Eating between meals had become a regular habit – and being furloughed from his chef job during the pandemic only perpetuated the problem.
“I was just bored at home, so I was eating and drinking wine and COVID didn’t go particularly well for me,” says Mike. “A lot of people spent it getting fit, and I did the exact opposite.”
But then one moment changed his mindset. On a trip to a garden centre, his daughter confused him with a large Buddha statue. “It literally just flipped a switch,” says Mike. “I thought ‘this isn’t good enough; I need to set an example’.” In fact, his role as a father was the main motivator in the whole thing.
“I’m not an old dad but I’m relatively older in the grand scheme of things,” he says. “You start kind of doing this maths: ‘How old am I gonna be when they graduate from university or get married at 30?’ There are no guarantees anyway – but there’s definitely no guarantees that you’re still going be around if you’re 23-stone!”
Mike Denham’s transformation
- Cut out the obvious crap
“The first thing I did was just cut out all the obvious junk food,” says Mike. “I would go and eat a huge McDonald’s in the afternoon, in between lunch and dinner – or on the way home I’d go into Pret next to the train station and buy a huge baguette, a brownie, a bag of crisps- eat that on the train on the way home – and then go in and have dinner,” says Mike.
“So, I just cut out all the stuff that was just blatantly stupid and tried to cut down on snacking.”
- Build an exercise plan
“I then added in the exercise part,” explains Mike, who joined a group personal training gym near his home. “It was really good for accountability because I knew that historically I would join a gym and then just not go. I’d start off going five days a week and then it’d be three and then it’d be two, and then other things take over, especially when you’ve got kids.”
Mike says the personal training aspect really helped him stick to it. “You’re kind of financially accountable to yourself, but also the fact that you book a session means you’re personally accountable to someone. They’ll ask you how you’re doing, how your diet is, how the training is going, and they’re invested in your progress as well.”
- Intentional food planning
“As you get lighter your calorie needs get lower, so you need to start getting a little bit more intentional about what you’re doing,” explains Mike. This was the point he started tracking calories, protein and building the plan he now uses with clients through FIT DAD.
“It’s about having like those specific targets and having the strategies to stick to those targets,” he says. “I also started working on meal plans. Meal prep was quite a big step so you’re not scrabbling around for something to eat for lunch.
“You need to make as many decisions as possible so that they’re all already made. Then it’s there and you’re just gonna eat it.”
- Bake the change into your schedule
One key tip Mike recommends is making meal prep and your exercise plan a consistent part of your routine. “Everyone’s got busy jobs, kids and you’re making hundreds of little micro decisions every day.
“You just end up with decision fatigue and then the easiest option (if you haven’t got the plan) is just to say, ‘I won’t bother or I’ll go tomorrow or I’ll grab a takeaway’ – but planning and prep mitigates a lot of that,” he says.
“It’s the same with your workouts, if they’re planned into your diary, you’re not deciding whether you feel like going to the gym, you’re just going to the gym because it’s Wednesday night and that’s when you go.”
Was it all worth it?!
“There’s still little traces of the old fat guy left, but I’ve essentially just changed who I am completely – my behaviour, my mindset and my outlook on life,” says Mike.
Alongside his physical appearance, Mike says the transformation, which took around 3-4 years in total, has also aided his mental health. “I wasn’t depressed in a clinical sense, but I definitely suffered from a bit of anxiety, low mood, and lack of enthusiasm for life – and that’s completely different now.”
“I have so much more energy and more patience with the kids,” says Mike. “I’m not saying I’m happy all the time, but as an overall picture, my mood is so much better. I’m more tolerant, patient and just my general outlook is more positive. I have much more zest for life and just want to do things, travel with the kids and go on adventures rather than just sit around and snack all day!”
Mike now wants to use his experience to help other Dads in a similar position through his programme. “People say what I’ve done is really impressive. The only really impressive thing I did was just to not stop – and that’s what you need to do.”
“People spend a lot of time researching, trying to find the perfect programme, thinking ‘can I fit this in? I’m too busy’. The solution to that is just to do something, and then once you do something, you can refine it.
“Don’t spend ages either thinking you can’t fit it in or trying to find the perfect plan for you, just do something, and just don’t stop.”
“It’s very rarely too late, like there’s always something you can do.”
You can find Mike Denman’s FITDAD programme here.
