This Engineer Recovered From Brain Surgery and Got In The Shape of His Life
After doctors found three urgent brain aneurysms in his brain, Terry Careswell, a 48-year-old maintenance engineer from West Didsbury, England, never thought he could exercise again. Over the years, Careswell’s weight had always fluctuated, as he “wasn’t so accurate or educated about nutrition and was also going through surgery recovery,” he explains. “I felt heavy for about 12 to 18 months, as I didn’t understand just how important nutrition is to body composition, especially post-brain surgery.”
“I had a bit of an idea but not as much as I do now, especially in regard to the amount of ‘hidden’ calories there are in food.” At his heaviest, Careswell weighed 88.6kg (about 194 pounds) and was around 24 percent body fat. The aneurysms, Careswell explains, originally emerged during exercise and required urgent attention. “I felt a pop in the back of my head, then started getting constantly bad headaches… once I had the post-surgery all-clear from my neurosurgeon, I was ready to get back into shape at any cost. “
This was where Careswell came into the care of Ultimate Performance Manchester, where his trainer, David Cogley, gave him simple exercises that would chip away at his body to achieve “visible abdominals in eight weeks”.
His nutrition was overhauled, too. “I learned a lot more around foods and carbohydrates, and sugar, especially—the whole package. The nutrition and what kinds of portions are good and not good. It’s totally blown me as to how big and important nutrition is for the body, you know.”
“My quality of life has changed, including my outlook on the food we have in the house. We have a two-year-old daughter, so when she is older, she will be able to make better decisions around food.”
“This is the leanest and most defined I can ever remember being,” says Careswell. “I feel absolutely phenomenal and reached seven percent body fat and 68kg (about 150 pounds).” For Careswell, however, it’s not just about the physical benefits of resistance exercise. “I feel mentally strong, more confident, proud and internally healthy.”
What’s more, Careswell’s cholesterol went from a high of 5.8 mmol/L to a healthy 4.4 mmol/L and his LDL cholesterol down from 3.46 mmol/L to 2.1 mmol/L.
He also halved his triglycerides down to a healthy range and thereby decreased his risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and stroke.
“To lower my risk of cardiovascular disease and get into the healthy range—I’m lost for words because a simple thing of following good nutrition and training is all it takes to feel and be a lot more healthy.
“I look at the future with my daughter, and I know I can be around a hell of a lot longer and be a lot healthier around her. That plays a big part in my heart.”
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