By Tope Adubi
Do not eat more food than you exercise.
It was a fine Tuesday afternoon, having lunch and feeling quite great with myself up until I heard the CEO of Tenoil, Tony Chukwueke popularly known as TC talk about his health routine and I kid you not, I had to drop my morsel of starch. I mean he’s 63, a grandfather and has an amazing routine!
“There’s no need to be worried”, you say.
I caught up with him for a short interview. Well, let’s just say here’s your moment of shock self-reflection.
On why he decided to start working out
TC: I come from a family where I have seen my uncles and even my dad die of heart attack. When I got to university, one of the things that interested me was to try to understand these diseases. Particularly diabetes. This lead me to my work out life. Once I started working out, I realized the power behind a workout routine. You just feel healthier, stronger and better.
TC’s Workout Routine
I started from strenuous exercises- Football and squash. Now I spend an hour exercising every day. I run for 8-10KM. You can never quantify the value of exercise. I never get sick, I’ve not been sick in 20 years. I believe fatal diseases have very weak viruses. They are the ones that die when you work out regularly.
On his meal plan (You know TC eats only Beans and boiled Plantain)
I believe you should eat what you like as much as you want but bear in mind that you must have the capacity to burn it all out. Getting older, I have decided to reduce my portions, so I have the capacity to burn it. That way, I can keep trim.
What you need do is take fresh food. I only have fruits for breakfast and lunch at the office.
I do not drink water when I exercise. When you take water after exercise, it dilutes what you have achieved. 80% of the body mass is water. What we need to do is rehydrate. You can train yourself to rehydrate slowly. This way you force your body to keep taking water from your body. I do not drink water or any liquid for the first hour after exercising. (this might differ based on your body type. Please check with your doctor before you try this out) After which, I take a fruit or freshly squeezed juice, then coffee.
Quote: Do not eat more food than you exercise.
Yes, he has a kryptonite.
I need to reduce my intake of coke. In my head, I think I need a lot of sugar because I burn a lot of energy. But then, if I don’t exercise, I don’t eat or drink coke! I also eat around 2pm that way, I cut out the need to eat again.
On Champagne, wine or beer?
I’m cutting off champagne now because of the economy. (we can absolutely relate). So, I only wait till I go to Chairman’s house. 🙂
There you have it. I hope you are challenged to go ye forth and be inspired!
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