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NAME:
STEPHEN BUMFREY
DOB:
29/10/59
JOB
:
BROADCASTER
FACT
:
I will never be skinny. No matter how strict the diet, my sternum will
maintain its current distance from my vertebrae.
FACT
:
12 months before
I was introduced to Lee Ashford, the first thing you might have noticed about
me was my blubber.
FACT
:
I now enjoy above
average fitness for a man of my age.
FACT
: This
isn’t a quick fix – it’s a change of lifestyle.
I front
BBC
Radio
Norfolk’s breakfast programme, co-present The Cox & Bumfrey Show on
British Forces station BFBS Radio One, and occasionally report for ‘Inside
Out’ on
BBC
1
(East). Although my work demands a high degree of mental agility, it seldom
requires me to work up a sweat. I was fat. So why had I allowed myself to grow
outward and old before my time?
WHY
BOTHER?: Suddenly
I was in my forties – a little too late to start keeping fit. Did I really
want to show myself up at my local gym? Could I be bothered? In any case,
I’d always been a bit podgy – apart from my late teens, and a few months
in 1990. Then in May 2003, I came home from work one evening to discover that
my partner of nine years had died from an epileptic seizure. What was the
point of anything anymore? I had ticked all the boxes on the ‘Let Yourself
Go’ sheet.
But how can you turn down the call of
BBC
Children In Need when they ask you to participate in an
obstacle race? Three weeks ahead of the event the organisers insisted I at
least tried to get into shape. They persuaded me to visit L.A. Personal
Training for an assessment with Lee. I will always remember his impeccable
diplomacy as he delivered the bad news.
The
obstacle race came and went with some surprising results, not least of which
being that I could barely handle ten minutes of energetic fun. Post race, I
found Lee among the spectators and, once I had returned to my usual colour,
asked if I could sign up for an hour session once a week for a couple of
months. Why? Because I’d had enough of making excuses for myself!
FOOD
FOR THOUGHT: Lee
knows all about nutrition. Of course, we all have a reasonable idea of
what’s good and what’s bad. But there are hidden calorie hotspots. For
example, many products boasting a low fat content actually contain heaps of
added sugar.
Lee
talked me through what I ought to be eating, and gave me a list of foods types
- ranging from green for healthy, through amber for okay in moderation, to red
for danger. The good news is that the choice of nosh in the green category
makes for a tasty menu. And now if I know something is loaded with calories it
rather puts me off wanting to buy it – even chocolate!
LONG-TERM
PLAN
: L.
A. Personal Training isn’t a boot camp. You won’t be limping home with
pulled muscles and torn ligaments. It’s all about you, your aims, your
ability, your potential. Lee is a qualified professional. He’ll keep tabs on
your body fat, blood pressure, heart rate and, of course, your weight. All you
have to do is put in some time and effort.
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