'I was bedbound with back pain – now I lift weights five times a week'

"Do you fancy a challenge?" Dr Paul Frank Faulder asked his personal trainer. Photo / 123RF

OPINION:

Dr Paul Frank Faulder, 46, is the CEO of a scientific software company and lives in Cheshire

I was 17 when I first felt an intense shooting pain in my lower back – the kind that totally stops you in your tracks. I went to the doctor who prescribed an anti-inflammatory and although it affected my schoolwork, because I found it painful to sit down for long periods, I put up with it.

I continued to get back pain. There was no real cause, I just assumed it was because of my 6ft4in height. But then, over the last few years, it got significantly worse and more frequent – not helped because I had put on a bit of extra lockdown weight. One morning last year I woke up screaming in pain; I called the paramedics who gave me gas and air to treat what felt like a slipped disc. I managed to get up and started hobbling about, but two weeks later my back went again. I was 45 and I thought: "I've had enough of this, where's it going to end?" My 80-year-old dad was doing the garden for me – it was embarrassing and depressing.

After an MRI scan, a neurosurgeon looked at the results and said that one of my discs was "almost obliterated". He told me there were two things I could try before surgery: lose two stone of weight – I was 17 and half stone (111kg) – and get a steroid injection between my discs.

I'd periodically trained at the gym, but I was really nervous about doing the wrong thing and making it worse. But I booked an appointment at Ultimate Performance Fitness in Cheshire and asked them: "Do you fancy a challenge?"

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The first thing they tackled was my diet: I was put on a low-carb, high-protein diet and reduced my daily calories down to 1500. Within two weeks, I'd lost a stone.

My trainer had me training three times a week with exercises designed to protect my back and build up my core and legs. Things like squats and deadlifts were out – they aggravated my back – and instead it was leg extensions and walking lunges.

She also upped my walking; I can't run as it puts too much strain on my discs, but walking is just as good a way to lose weight.

Since joining the gym in November last year I've not had a single back episode. Of course, I have the normal aches of middle age, but nothing like before. Overall, I've lost about 3½ stone (20kg), but the best part is that I'm not bedbound. I just couldn't live like that anymore.

My workout week

Every day I do 15 minutes of exercises to wake myself up; then I do weights five times a week in the gym for an hour. I also walk 8000-10,000 steps a day, either outside or on a treadmill at home.

What I eat in a day

I'm not on a low-carb diet anymore, I'm in maintenance mode so carbs are back on the menu but I keep the protein high to keep me full and help build and maintain muscle mass.

Breakfast: Omelette with three eggs, chopped cherry tomatoes, chilli flakes, mushrooms and 30g of feta cheese

Lunch: Chicken breast and salad with rice

Dinner: Stir fry with veg and some meat, such as duck or chicken.

Snacks: If I'm not going to meet my protein target of 175g, I'll have a protein shake – but mostly I try to get it from real food.

Lifestyle aides

Carbs: I don't have to be as strict on cutting out carbs totally like in the beginning, but I tend to go for slow-release carbs like brown rice or sweet potatoes.

Caffeine: I couldn't give up coffee! I have one espresso before a workout and two more decaf espressos during the day.

Alcohol: I cut alcohol out for the first month and lost my craving for beer, which is about the worst kind of drink for a diet. I do have the odd drink now and then.

Sleep: I take magnesium supplements to help my sleep.