Wayne Stevens meets Ballymoney Cycling Club

In 2011 Ballymoney Cycling Club was introduced to a live wire character at one of their club meetings in Sketchers Coffee shop. Club Chairman Charlie Dickson and club PRO Maurice McAllister both did there best to answer a barrage of questions from an excited young man who wanted to get started racing his bike ....

His attitude was and is.....if not yesterday then TODAY!

Here is a brief account of his story so far!

My name is Wayne Stevens, 38 years old…… I am married to my beautiful wife Jacki, we have two wonderful children.... Hannah who is 8 and John is 6.
Also in my life today.....I love Jesus and I love my Bike……!

BCC .... Wayne, thank you for taking the time to have chat with me and for sharing some of your experiences! For the readers can you start off by telling us a wee bit more about yourself. You have talked about cycling in your teens and how you were competitive in schoolboy/junior events. I understand there are details that we cannot discuss but please if you can....just a wee bit more detail?

Wayne Stevens. Yes off course I would be delighted, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story with you.
As I was growing up I lived in a tiny village where public transport was limited, so I had to ride everywhere on my bicycle. Each day rain hail or shine I rode my bike to school, as I was only 7 years of age the round trip of 6 miles was a good introduction for me to cycling.

Some might say that I was a late starter to the sport, but at the age of 16 I was introduced to "Competition" cycling! When I entered and rode in some of these local events it was not long until it came clear that the young Steven's had a natural talent for cycling, especially racing cycling.

Within the space of two years I was the Junior cycling Champion, in fact I held numerous junior and schoolboy records. The famous "Cycling Weekly" magazine in what seemed to be every week was publishing my success, and tracking what they and everyone else expected to be a very promising career in cycling.....When.!

Was it Game Over?
I was competing in Harrogate in Yorkshire in the junior championships, and enjoying unpresidented success accumulating six gold medals and a silver when I had to withdraw, I was in a lot of distress, but to cut a long story short...after hospital tests it was discovered that I had ruptured a valve in my heart.
The young and very distraught Mr Stevens was told, "No more cycling for you lad!"

My life from that day on took a course that I will not go into in great detail at this time other than to say that cycling and good health were far from my mind!

BCC... You have said that "You love Jesus and that your faith holds a big part in your life, why is that and can you explain what you mean?"

Wayne.... Wow, that is a massive question, Jesus holds a massive part in my life, over the past years I have shared my testimoney and by the way it usually takes 37 minutes...lol. I have told my story to youth groups, in rehab centers and in front of large and small audiences and perhaps at another time I can tell it to Ballymoney CC and its readers and supporters.
I will simply and humbly say this, that "Jesus saved me from myself!"

BCC.... Thank you for that frank and honest answer! What is your job, what do you work at?

Wayne.... I am a networking engineer by trade, however with the current recession I am working in a supply store for an electrical contractor. I am certainly not complaining and very grateful that I am able to provide for my family. A before you ask, No I am not a full time bike rider and yes it is a full time 9 to 5 job...lol.

BCC.... We have seen your photographs and we can see you now today. But there was a time that you were overweight, 20 stones at one time. What caused that?

Wayne.... Thats hard to say...lol.... Kebabs did not help! I think that I just got comfortable and over the years it just seemed to creep up on me. I watched it happening, infact I can say I was not unhappy with my weight.

I liked being called "Big Man", I even thought I suited my weight, the tatoos, goatee beard, tightly shaved head....I even had a big black VW trike, lets say I looked the part. At that time I was happy with "ME!"

BCC... Then why did you become unhappy with "ME" and decide to lose the image and the weight. What was your motivation?

Wayne.... My Dad was diagnosed with late on set two diabetes, and was given 8 weeks to live due to a failing liver. It was then recommended that I go and get checked out. I did this but the news was bad!
The doctor whose honesty shocked me, he looked into my eyes and guaranteed me that I would go the same way as my Dad...... however he also gave me another guarantee.
If I came back to him with my waistline under 34" and my weight below 14 stone...I was was in with a better than good chance of not ending up with diabetes..!

Yet again a big time in my life with some BIG choices to make...It was Do or Die! I from that day decided to follow his instructions and do as I was told.

You ask what was my motivation? I was facing a life of bad health, certain premature death... and this was due to "Being Overweight!"

BCC.... Were you a very big eater?

Wayne.... I was a massive eater, it was Maccy Dees for breakfast...KFC for lunch....Burger King on the way home, followed by the evening meal, pudding, crisps, choc bars, sweets......Ummmmmmmmmmmm Food (said in a Homer Simpson style voice)

Let me assure your readers that you do not get to over 20 stone eating vegetables!

BCC.... For the benefit of some of our readers also looking at the challenge of loosing weight, on the day that you decided to start your weight loss programme/diet. What were your thoughts, did you consider that you might not keep at it, you might fail?

Wayne.... My first reaction was "Lets go to work!" To anyone one of you who are at a point in your life today where you realise that your health is in grave danger and that an early grave beckons..It is a no brainer, you have to make changes. Yes I was was a little nervous, I wanted and was slightly excited about going back to the gym.... but the "Big Guy" was a bit embarressed that I was probably going to be the biggest/fattest guy in there! But you know what after a few sessions I felt ok.

To those of you reading this who were like me, pick the equipment in the gym you enjoy exercising on, should it be rowing, stationary bike, stepper, cross trainer the free weights...just get using them. Prepare a wee plan and go with it.

Start off gently and build up.... 30 mins today and so on! Always finish off with a reward. The jacuzzi and the steam room to ease those tired joints.... remember you have burned off some calories and your body is loosing weight.
You have taken the first steps on a very worth while journey.

I never considered failing, it is not in my nature, I tend to be full on...flat to the mat type of guy...... and God was on my side!

BCC... So this is how you lose weight? I am a bit sceptical as I along with others have tried and failed and found it difficult to stick to, please tell us how you found it so easy and what exactly did you do ...apart from the gym!

Wayne.... Yes I have to say it was easy.... I ate less and moved more! SIMPLE! It is about realisation, discovering what is happeneing to you and your life and health.
It became part of my make up if you like, I do it it or don't..... Life is simpler that way... You need to make a decision and stick with it. It took time to put the weight on and get you to where you are today.... so take the time to undo the damage that YOU did to yourself.

"Remember that no one accidently over ate anything!"

BCC... Have you any tips, something that makes a REAL difference?

Wayne.... YES... there are a few things, the simple diary of what you eat was for me a KEY point. At the start you weigh out what you were eating and after a few times you get to know what the size was and what calories it had. This also gets your life more regimented and organised. And believe me it needs to be after the disorganised mess we get our selves into.

If you do this on a daily basis it keeps you on track and on the weeks when you see weight loss you know you are winning and on the week where you maybe were less strict you can adjust the food intake and get back on track.

When you can look at what you are doing on a daily/weekly basis and see that you are WINNING...it is like a pat on the back and that I can tell you really helps. Also don't forget to record the exercise you do as well, 10 minutes walking, jogging going up and down stairs.

BCC.... How much weight have you lost to date?

Wayne.... I have lost over 7 stone, at my heaviest I was over 20 stone.

BCC.... That is amazing, you have told us about the use of the diary to record everything, is there anything else that you can recommend?

Wayne.... We talked about the food diary, so you can monitor your food intake and the exercise that you do. But it is also vital to set targets, we can call them goals although it is a word that people seem to dislike...so we will call them targets.

Find out your proper weight for your age,
MAN - 18 -29 years - body weight say 16 stone - calorie intake is 2225 per day
WOMAN -  1995

Man - 30 - 59 years - body weight 16 stone - calorie intake - 2041 per day
Woman - 1673 

Eating LESS calories than you actually need will cause you to LOSE WEIGHT! FACT!!!

You can go on line and get more facts as these are just a few quick examples.

Everyone wants a hot tip, a trick even a short cut and I can assure you this is easily the best one that I discovered.

• Spilt your daily calories into small chunks/meals of say 300 calories every 4 hours!
• 5 - 6 small meals a day and I will guarantee that you will lose weight, it stops the craving and keeps the body feeling full and well fed.
• Plan to lose only 1 - 2 lbs each week

BCC....Wayne.... Wayne...! I have to stop you there.... Losing weight and eating 6 meals a day, are we not looking at cutting down. Can you explain this in more detail?

Wayne.... It makes perfect sense, Imagine your body's metabolism as a fire and you only feed the fire with big piles of logs/meals. The body's metabolism slows down, and over the years it gets slower and slower. On the other hand if you top the fire up with a dry log/small meal every few hours it will burn quicker and remain active. The smaller meals more often re invigourates the metabolism, gets it working harder and helps you lose the weight! It also stops you feeling hungry!

BCC.... This sounds very simple and straight forward. Can you suggest a menu for example for a day in the life of Wayne Stevens. Can you show us what helps you lose weight!

Wayne.... OK lets look at a Monday,

07.00am Porridge with a little SS milk - 300cals
10.00am 2 x slices wholemeal bread and a slice of ham/turkey - 300cals
13.00pm Tin of Tuna, 2 apples, wholemeal pitta - 350cals
16.00pm Chicken breast and a pile of brocolli - 300cals
19.00pm Baked potato and beans - 300cals
21.00pm Protein Shake mixed with fruit and water - 300cals
Throughout the day drink plenty of water....!
Total Cals...approx 1900.

BCC.... That looks simple, what is the one thing you have learned and can pass on to others as they look at getting started?

Wayne.... Don't get excited about food, don't make it a highlight of your day. It is not a fun thing...it is a fuel to keep your body going each day. Imagine it was your car...do you get excited about pulling into the filling station and forking out £30/40 every time. It is just the same! Just learn to put the proper food into your body and it will perform and feel better.

BCC....I don't mean to be a cycnic, you talk about the right food, fuel in the tank, firing on all cyclinders! Are these not just terms, buzz words trotted out by the multimillion pound diet industry to sell their products? To the fat/obese person it seems like everything is the "Wrong fuel". Surely they must have got it right, the Slimming products on sale must work, Is that not the case?

Wayne.... NO SLIMMING PRODUCTS NEEDED....! Smaller meals are the best piece of advice I can give you. Learn, use the internet to find out what you are shoving in your mouth before you do it! Take care about what you are eating, think about what you are eating, once you discover what is in some of the stuff you are feeding yourself and your family it will shock you.  

BCC.... What do you do if you have a bad day? I mean lets say you want to eat some sweet tasting unhealthy food?

Wayne.... A couple of things helped… I have a photo in my wallet of me at 20 stone sat with my family… it just reminds me of why I was doing it.

I also had a training regime to stick to. I would look back at the past weeks and see the difference it had made … it worked so stuck to it!!

I also did a video diary once a month.. looking back at the old videos was funny… I never realised how fat I was until I saw myself on the TV…

BCC.... You have mentioned the gym and riding your bike and keeping fit etc, but what about some one who is not interested in sport, going to the gym or in fact any form of exercise apart from sedentary walking from A to B? You have said "Eat more and move more" what about these types?

Wayne.... GET INTERESTED…….. IT MIGHT JUST SAVE YOUR LIFE! ...... DO OR DIE!  THAT SOFA WILL KILL YOU!!.........Sorry I am not very subtle… I don’t know what else to say… you do it or you don’t…on or off… black or white… live or die!!   There is something out there that will “fire you up”….. Get a dog……….. Take up hiking…… JUST DO SOMETHING...! PLEASE....!

This was Wayne's "REWARD for losing the first 5 stone"

BCC.... Why the bike? 

Wayne.... I was 20 stone and decided to do something about it. I went to the gym. But after 5 months it started to get boring.  I found the bike interesting. As I began to get fitter and lighter I found I began to get lighter on my feet.. it was nice… I seemed to escape the enormous gravitational pull that had held me down for sooooooo long…. On the bike I was flying… like a bird….free as the wind… it felt great to be on the bike again after 20 years apart……Fresh air. The wind in my hair (I am bold…lol). It made me smile.

I made a deal with myself (a little motivation perhaps)…..”When I lose 5 stone I will treat myself to a race bike”…. I reached my target weight of 15 stone and bought myself a Vitus with Shimano 105 throughout……….wow. It was like being reunited with an old friend, a best friend that you had simply lost contact with….it was beautiful… I was in love !!! That moment. That was it!! Demons defeated…Job done.. The rest is history..

And that is the key………………..” Fall in love with something that keeps you fit”

Wayne before and after, he leaves you without an excuse!

I also made a workout plan… exercise I needed to do, and calories i needed to burn. I bought a heart monitor (it helps keep track of you workouts and how hard you’re working). To start off with I set a goal of burning 600 calories each time I went to the gym (I burnt 3861calories last Saturday on the bike and went back for more on Sunday….lol)…. I never left without fulfilling my goal… Even when you don’t feel like doing it, this keeps you right!!  

BCC.... What are the benefits of your new found figure?

Wayne.... My knees don’t hurt when I walk first thing in the morning.. I have lost the equivalent of my wife’s weight.. Imagine carrying her on your back all day… I have more energy.. More physical interest in life. More get up and go!!

BCC..... Are there any down sides?

Wayne.... Yes…… I feel the cold now….lol…………. Honestly, I can’t think of any reason at all why you wouldn’t want to get fit and healthy…. Oh I have just thought of one….The cost of changing your wardrobe every other month!! 

BCC.... So are you still dieting?

Wayne.... No…. My hobby and my lifestyle keeps me fit…. It also keeps me healthy. 

Wayne (L) with his BCC Racing Team mates, L-R Garreth McBride, Stevie McAllister and under16 schoolboy Stuart Laverty

BCC.... Why Ballymoney Cycling Club?

Wayne.... Simply put!! Diversity. There is something for everyone. You have the leisure riders (fun). They enjoy going out in a small group (maybe 12 riders) perhaps to the coast / café having a nice coffee and a slice of pie and enjoying the bike….. However, there are racers… Blood sweat and tears (lots of all).. No pain, no gain… flat to the matt… full-bore… eyeballs out… a love hate relationship with the fellow riders (I love you if you are behind me…lol)……and everything in between!!! All shapes.. all sizes.. all abilities from novice to pro-rider…from Mountain biking to Time-Trailing on futuristic machines made out of carbon fibre and titanium.

Ballymoney Cycling Club has something for everyone.

BCC.... Whats your thing about bike racing?

Wayne.... Personally I love road-racing. Interclub. Open-racing. ……….The pain of victory!! Pushing man and machine to the extremes of physical and mental breaking point (and then some) .Feeling like your lungs are filling up with a mixture of blood and barbed-wire and your legs are filling up with molten hot lead……………and then……………. Crossing the line first!!!!………. lol…….

Two years, seven stone….Let’s see what the next two years hold!! Watch this space!!

Wayne enjoys success at the 2011 Lakeland GP. "The SMILE!"

Ballymoney Cycling Club would like to again thank Wayne for this open and infomitive interview, Wayne just hopes that some of his tips that WORK help someone else enjoy better health.

 
Tour de France winner Cadel Evans,

Some interesting points to read...see below...

Cut Calories

The low-fat/low-carbohydrate debate comes down to this: You still have to eat fewer calories than you burn if you want to lose weight. Every study I looked at shows this. The perfect weight-loss diet is the one you can live with, whether you cut fat, carbs, or some combination

Use Whey to Cut Waist

Protein-rich foods put more distance between hunger pangs. And the fuller you feel between meals, the easier it is to avoid binges.

The best food for appetite destruction: whey protein. A daily shake made with two scoops of whey protein, fruit (fresh or frozen berries or a banana), and water or crushed ice will improve your middle line. You can buy whey protein at any good health-food store.

Meat Cuts Fat

When you eat, your body has to expend calories to digest the food. Protein causes this inner fire to burn the hottest, followed by carbohydrates, followed by fat. Animal proteins increase thermogenesis more than vegetable proteins, so the best calorie-burning foods are lean meats. So eat some protein at each meal—build your dinner around lean chicken, beef, or pork. That way, you're burning the most calories through digestion at the end of the day, when your metabolism is slower.

Remember These Letters: BCAA

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and the branched-chain amino acids—leucine, isoleucine, and valine—are the best of the bunch. BCAAs are as close to magic foods as we'll ever get. They help you recover from hard workouts by reducing the protein breakdown within your muscles; they increase testosterone and growth hormone, your body's most important fat-fighting and muscle-building hormones; and they have their most profound effect when you're following law number 1 and cutting calories in order to lose weight.

For starters, try to get at least 10 grams (g) of BCAAs a day. Since they're most abundant in meat and dairy products, you can get the better part of that by following laws 2 and 3. (Two scoops of whey protein and 3 ounces of beef contains 10 g of BCAAs.)

You can also buy BCAA supplements (which, you should be aware, are expensive). Look for supplements that are 50 percent leucine, 25 percent isoleucine, and 25 percent valine. Start off with 10 g per day, and wait a month before bumping up the dose. The maximum useful intake is probably 60 g a day from food and supplements.

If It's Fryin', You're Dyin'

One thing that every weight-loss researcher and diet-plan author can agree on: Highly refined carbohydrates, such as fructose-sweetened beverages and low-fiber breads, are a terrible idea. Among the many sins of Mountain Dew and Twinkies is the way they cause your blood sugar to spike soon after eating. What goes up fast comes down fast, and you end up feeling tired and hungry much sooner than you should.

Goodbye diet, hello diabetes.

Now we know of a way to make refined carbohydrates even worse: Fry them. Researchers have found a suspected carcinogen called acrylamide in such products as potato chips and french fries.

A "suspected" carcinogen isn't the same as a proven carcinogen, such as tobacco smoke. But anytime I get a chance to talk you out of eating worthless snack foods, I do it.

Food Goes Farther with Fiber

Fiber's effect is the opposite of snack foods'. When you have fiber in your stomach, food takes longer to enter the bloodstream, and your blood-sugar level stays steady.

The benefits: You'll have a more consistent energy supply and less between-meal hunger. The only potential downside is that you won't get as much reading done in the bathroom. What slows down your blood sugar at the front end speeds things up at the back end. I could give you the usual riff about eating more broccoli and raisin bran, but you can safely and easily take in more fiber by using a supplement. (MD Labs' Fiber-Psyll is a good one; go to MDlabs.com.) Start with 7 to 12 g a day, mixing some with water and drinking it before your main meals.

Count on Calcium

Recently, nutrition researchers discovered that dairy and other calcium-rich foods help you stay lean, prevent osteoporosis, and possibly prevent colon cancer. The recommendation is to take in 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams (mg) of calcium a day. (A cup of milk contains 300.)

Unfortunately, too much calcium may increase the risk of prostate cancer. The tragic number seems to be 600 mg a day from dairy products. And what's the point of having a V-shaped torso if your prostate has a spare tire?

Here's how to reap the benefits of calcium without the risks:

• Avoid taking high-dose calcium supplements unless you really need them (under doctor's orders, or if you never eat foods naturally rich in calcium). The fat-fighting properties of calcium are activated only if you obtain it from real food.

• Look for low-fat dairy products fortified with vitamin D, such as fat-free milk and yogurt. Vitamin D offers prostate protection.

• Triple your home-gland security by occasionally eating a tomato salad (rich in prostate-protecting lycopene), mozzarella cheese (rich in calcium), and olive oil (which contains a cancer-fighting fat called beta-sitosterol).

Alpha Males Use Omega-3 Fats

Each year, we learn more about the health benefits of omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, which are found in fish, nuts, seeds, and flaxseed and fish oils. (And also in the cool, orange-flavored supplement Coromega, available at iherb.com.)

These health benefits—less risk of heart disease and diabetes, for example—are great on their own. But omega-3 fats contribute to a better physique as well. For example, omega-3s reduce inflammation throughout your body. That not only prevents heart attacks (inflammation in the tissues surrounding blood vessels is a major cause) but also helps your muscles recover faster from workouts.

Bigger, less-inflamed muscles mean a faster metabolism, and speeding up your metabolism is crucial when you're trying to get lean. If you don't eat fish twice a week and can't stomach fish-oil supplements, try eggs high in omega-3s, which are found in the dairy case, next to the regular eggs. You can eat four of them a day without any negative effect on your cholesterol levels.

Make a Plan

Next time you read a weight-loss story in a newspaper or magazine, count the number of disparaging references to popular diets. Based on the way diet gurus trash their competitors, you'd think there was no plan on earth that actually works. But the truth is that you can't lose weight without a diet.

You must have a plan. The more sophisticated it is, and the more tailored to your likes and dislikes, the better. You can't wing it and expect to see results. I won't offer you the perfect weight-loss regimen, because research has yet to discover one. But even the worst plan is more likely to succeed than no plan at all.

The best plan is likely to include these elements:

• Meals and snacks are based on some lean protein source—fish, eggs, dairy, meat.

• More meals are better than fewer. Five or six meals and snacks a day is ideal.

• Low-fat and high-fat diets can both work, but one that cuts almost all fat is doomed.

• Nobody ever became obese from eating the best carbohydrates—fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. And nobody ever died from skipping potatoes, pasta, rice, popcorn, and Wonder Bread.