"I remember seeing pictures and thinking, ‘Is that me’?": How Colin Montgomerie was spurred into losing weight

"I remember seeing pictures and thinking, ‘Is that me’?": How Colin Montgomerie was spurred into losing weight

Golf is a stressful lifestyle â€" forever travelling and trying to compete against guys half your age.

And, when you’re heavier, you do get out of breath easier than you would normally.

During the past few months, I’ve lost a couple of stone because my weight was an issue â€" when the clothes don’t fit and you’re 48, something has to be done. I’m a lot happier because of it.

Over the years, I’ve seen quite a few photographs of myself I haven’t particularly liked.

In 1995, when I was at my heaviest, I remember seeing pictures and thinking, ‘My God, is that me’?

I compare that to 2004, when I was at my slimmest. My weight has gone up again since and now down again.

I’ve done a bit of yo-yoing. I’m 6ft 1in and I’m now down to 220lb â€" that’s 15st 10lb. But I’d still like to weigh less.

The health professionals say to lose a bit more and I know being fitter improves performance.

When you play a round of golf, it’s seven miles of walking briskly and sometimes you’re making mistakes at the end of a round â€" if you were fitter in body, you’d also be fitter in the mind.

Golf’s 90% between the ears, I’m afraid.

I have no problems with my blood pressure and I had a cholesterol test the other week and came out just slightly above the national average â€" my level was 5.7 and, at my age, that’s not too bad.

It’s always good to know what your level is, especially as six out of 10 of the adult population have a higher than normal level and, if you catch problems early, you can normally fix it.

A cholesterol test is just a pinprick, but it could save your life.

I’d very much like to get my levels below average since there is a history of high cholesterol in my family â€" my grandfather, father and uncle all suffered.

Nowadays there are foods to help reduce cholesterol and we’re in a better position than them.

My uncle Ala stair has had a heart attack â€" but thankfully recovered.

At his heaviest: Colin in 1995

 

My father James had a triple bypass after a heart attack at 66.

And my grandfather, who was also called James, passed away due to it.

If tests had been carried out, warnings could have been given earlier.

It is genetic, so the doctors are now keeping a close eye on my older brother Douglas and me. But I don’t get worried about whether I might need surgery.

I’m doing my best to look after myself. I try to watch the fats and not eat saturated fats so much.

That’s not always easy, especially as I spend so much time travelling abroad and eating on the hoof.

Playing on The Professional Golfers’ Association tour for the past 20-plus years, it’s often been difficult to eat healthy food.

Teeing off at different times of the day means you can’t always eat three balanced meals and a lot of grazing and snacking goes on.

Official functions and dinners don’t help.

My weaknesses are cakes and biscuits.

In the pa st, I would have eaten chocolate bars during a round of golf to give me energy â€" I’ve now replaced them with bananas and other fruit and plenty of water.

In Scotland, we’re known for having a bad diet. The weather’s colder, windier and wetter and people stay inside, eating a lot.

I haven’t ever smoked. I drink very rarely â€" I’m practically teetotal.

But I have a sweet tooth. When I was young, my father worked for Fox’s Biscuits and brought them home.

For me, a healthy meal is grilled chicken with vegetables and fruit.

In recent months, I’ve lowered the fat content of my diet and made sure I’ve eaten less red meat and more fruit and veg.

Timing is important, too. A lot of people eat too late.

I have a treadmill at home and I burn off 300 calories in half an hour, which keeps my blood flowing.

I also take an aspirin a day to thin my blood and make it flow better.

Golf is great because one round burns off 1,600 calories â€" you’d have to go a long way in the gym to achieve that.

I feel fortunate not to have had any major incidents health-wise, apart from back pain six or seven years ago, which I think was caused by stress.

I can’t do much about that in my profession. My way of relaxing is to go home and take my dogs for a walk around the pond.

That’s calming time for my wife Gaynor and I.

As told to Caroline Day

Why lowering your cholesterol is so important

Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at The British Heart Foundation, says: “Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the body.

"It is made in the liver from fats that we eat and we need a certain amount of cholesterol to be healthy.

“But there are two types of cholesterol â€" HDL, often called good cholesterol, and LDL, often called bad.

"When the bad cholesterol builds, it can line the arteries and lead to a heart attack or stroke.

“Weight reductio n can help to bring down our levels of bad cholesterol, so this is a good step â€" although, with Colin Montgomerie, 15st 10lb is still a little too heavy, even for somebody who is this tall, so he could do with losing a little more weight.

“High cholesterol can be inherited, but your overall risk of heart disease is calculated from many factors, including smoking and blood pressure.

“Dietary measures, such as swapping chocolate for fruit, are great for both lowering cholesterol and keeping weight down â€" and, to reduce your risk of heart attacks, it’s important to be active and replace saturated fats with healthier fats.”

For more about lowering cholesterol, visit www.floraproactiv.co.uk.