Ian Lloyd, a former champion bodybuilder who endured stomach pain and bloating for years, says his health has been revolutionised after eliminating a common breakfast staple from his diet. The 59-year-old, who was crowned 'Mr Coventry' in 2014, had always followed a healthy diet when competing. For years he would routinely eat 10 eggs daily, including eight of them scrambled in a single meal.
Years of Misdiagnosis
For over four years, Ian battled with pain diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and had to take medication before every meal. The dad-of-two, from Nuneaton, was determined to identify the cause of his digestive issues and underwent a food intolerance test with Supply Life. Ian said: "I was flabbergasted with what it brought up. One of the biggest things that came back was eggs. I was eating 10 eggs a day. Little did I know that was one of the main things that was upsetting my stomach."
A Bodybuilder's Diet
Ian dedicated 30 years to physique competitions and was highly knowledgeable about maintaining a nutritious diet, focusing on protein. At his peak he would consume 220g daily, equivalent to seven chicken breasts. After retiring from bodybuilding, having won the Nabba Masters class in 2016 and finishing runner-up in the UK finals in 2014, Ian maintained his healthy lifestyle. He continued training four times weekly while eating well across six small meals each day.
Unexplained Symptoms
Difficulties emerged around four years ago when gastrointestinal symptoms developed and Ian struggled to shed weight as rapidly as previously. He said: "I was forever bloated and I was very, very gassy. I was always on the toilet. One of the things about being a bodybuilder is I used to have to diet a lot. It came very easily to me. It's not as if I didn't know what I was doing. But then I started having trouble losing weight. The doctor I saw didn't even think about intolerances."
Food Intolerance Test
After spotting an advert online for Supply Life, Ian decided to investigate whether a food intolerance was the culprit. Supply Life specialise in tests that measure IgG antibodies in the blood, which indicate a sensitivity to particular foods. Symptoms of food intolerances can include bloating, stomach pain, diarrhoea and gas, as well as general feelings of fatigue and headaches. Intolerances differ from allergies, where the body reacts to certain foods and symptoms can be extremely severe.
Life-Changing Results
Following testing, it emerged that Ian was intolerant to eggs, cow's milk, almonds and brewer's yeast. Ian said: "I couldn't understand. I've eaten eggs for years, day in and day out. From there I stopped eating and drinking everything they told me I was intolerant to. It really did change my life. Since Christmas I've lost 10kg. From a healthy gut comes a healthy body and life's never been better."
New Diet
Ian's daily diet now looks somewhat different, with his eight scrambled eggs swapped for chicken, vegetables and rice at breakfast. He also now enjoys meals of salmon, sweet potato and vegetables, minced beef with vegetables, and coconut yoghurt with blueberries and walnuts. Ian said: "Once I found out these were the things that were the problem I was absolutely gutted to say the least. But I cut them all out and within weeks I had lost 6kg in weight and I couldn't feel healthier."
