Damien English’s fitness regime: running marathons and dodging biscuits

The Fine Gael think-in last month was the first serious test for Damien English, Fine's Gael's Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal. First test , that is, since he decided to quit biscuits for two months for The Irish Times Pfizer Healthy Town 2016 initiative which is based this year in his home town of Navan.

He may not have kicked up any dust at the think-in, but he will be hitting the road hard over the next few months in preparation for the Dubin City Marathon.

It’ll be English’s fifth marathon since he returned to running eight years ago when he completed a charity 21km event in Galway at the behest of fellow politician Joe McHugh. It was the wake-up call he needed to kickstart a new exercise regime and to realise that his gut instinct was too heavily insulated to be properly heard.

"I knew I was carrying a stone or two but it's only when I lost the weight that it dawned on me just how much I had to lose," says the Meath West TD.

A former member of local GAA clubs St Cuthbert's and St Ultan's as well as Bohermeen AC, English was forced to sideline his involvement when he entered politics, becoming a Meath county councillor at just 21.

“I was very involved in sports at a young age and we won a minor county championship when I was 18 years old. I became a councillor and then my Dáil campaign started when I was 22, so most of my evenings were spent on the canvass trail.

“I also worked in a bar in Navan at night on top of council commitments so there was no real time to do any team sports. It was only in 2008 when my colleague Joe McHugh asked me to take part in a half-race in the Connemarathon that I was lured back to running,” he says.

“It nearly killed me, but it got me going again and rekindled my love of running. In politics, committing 100 per cent to a team sport is hard, so running was the perfect option.”

Fit training in

Training was tough but he learned to fit it in around his work and family life.

“I often got up at 5am to run before driving to work. I try to get out for at least one good long run of about 20km a week and I run more when the Dáil is not in session.

“I’ve often gone running with the buggy when the kids were smaller. Now my seven-year-old is coming out on his bike with me on my run. It gets the kids involved and fitter too.”

English admits that while his diet was on a gradual downward slide, it was when his children Harvey (7), Karla (5) and twins Andrea and Darcie (3) were born that his weight ballooned.

“Looking back, this was probably the worst time as regards diet. Because you’re so tired with night feeds and young kids, you eat more crap, more sugar and more carbohydrates. Running was my way of keeping fit but I needed to do something else to shift the weight.”

With a gentle nudge from his wife Laura, English started the 5:2 diet which he still follows daily.

The 5:2 or fast diet by Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer is a diet that stipulates calorie restriction for two non-consecutive days a week and unconstrained eating the other five days.

“I knew I had put on a stone or two,” he says. “I went up from a 32-inch to sometimes a 36-inch waist but I honestly didn’t think I had piled on almost four stone,” he recalls.

“For two days a week, I consume 600 calories which is basically a bowl of soup and a sandwich and I stuck to about 2,000 calories for the other five days. I shed the weight in about six months.

“I still follow the diet to maintain my weight but have to admit, I’m a divil for biscuits and pizza or chips.”

Sluggish

Now the 5:2 is part of life and he admits: “If I let the eating plan lapse for whatever reason, I feel sluggish and just out of sorts.”

“I’m the type of person who puts on weight if I even look at the label on a packet of sweets. It’s hard not to put on weight in this job because of all the functions and meetings to attend.”

It’s even harder when your workload keeps you away from the gym.

“We have a gym in the Dáil but to be honest, I don’t think I’ve been in it in about two years. I just haven’t had the time and the new Dáil schedule hasn’t made it any easier or harder to be fitter and healthier.

“The Dáil is only one aspect of my work. A lot of the job is countrywide and countywide.”

The ongoing Navan Healthy Town programme which English launched in recent weeks has encouraged him to ditch the biscuits and embrace more healthy food despite his self-proclaimed aversion.

“I admit it. I don’t eat healthy. Give me any biscuits or cakes and I’ll succumb to temptation. I do all I can to avoid eating healthy food.”

The current initiative urges Navan residents to improve their health and wellbeing through a series of organised events. This week’s theme is men’s health.

“When I launched the Healthy Town campaign, I undertook to give up biscuits for the eight weeks. It has been tough so far but the biggest test was Fine Gael’s two-day think-in where there was loads of confectionery. I lasted but it really took the biscuit,” he laughs.

This week is all about men’s health in Navan. For more information on events and on The Irish Times Pfizer Healthy Town project, see irishtimes.com/healthytown