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Fitness & Health

04th Mar 2019

Sheamus from WWE gets shredded after making one simple change to his diet

Also known as The Celtic Warrior, WWE wrestler Sheamus lost over 40 pounds by tracking his calories and macros and factoring what he ate into this figure

Alex Roberts

Sheamus Shredded Transformation

The Celtic Warrior lost over 40 pounds (around 18kg) by carefully tracking his macros

Packing on size isn’t difficult for WWE wrestler Sheamus. The more muscle mass a wrestler has, the better their ability to dish out and receive any number of piledrivers.

Gaining weight comes easy for the Irishman – and while losing it is a far trickier process, it’s one that Sheamus has recently cracked.

In recent months, the former WWE Tag Team champion has lost over 40 pounds – in doing so also burning vast swathes of his body fat.

As documented on his YouTube channel Celtic Warrior Workouts, Sheamus credits this seriously impressive shred to one major diet tip: macro tracking.

Why calories and macros are key

  • Protein, carbs and fat are all examples of ‘macronutrients’ (macros for short)
  • Per gram, protein and carbs both have four calories, whereas fat contains nine calories in each gram

Previously, Sheamus says he was eating apparently ‘healthy foods’, but did not pay enough attention to the calories and macros he was consuming. He gained excessive weight as a result.

This is where many fad diets fall down. The modern obsession with clean eating glosses over the fact that losing weight depends most on your calorie intake and the ratio of protein, carbs and fat you consume.

So-called ‘superfoods’ such as coconut oil, avocado and kale are extremely popular, and despite how nutritious each food may be, can still lead to weight gain if you don’t adhere to a calorie deficit.

How Sheamus got shredded – and how you can lose weight too

The Celtic Warrior enlisted the help of Avatar Nutrition, an online fitness consultancy aimed at helping people achieve their fitness goals through food.

They provided Sheamus with a diet plan bespoke to his body. The calorie intake and breakdown of protein, carbs and fat were completely tailored to the Irishman’s body.

You can work your calorie intake out by using a reliable online calculator. You’ll have to enter your height, weight and general activity level to get the most accurate measure.

You’ll likely be presented with the number of calories needed to maintain your weight. If you’re trying to lose weight, take 10-20% of that figure, then subtract. That should be the new figure you shoot for.

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