Skelton: I lost more than 2st in 60 days
Saracens lock goes on rigid diet to get in shape Australian could earn recall for World Cup
Will Skelton has revealed the dietary regime that helped him lose more than 2st in just two months, rekindling his hopes of winning a place back in Australia’s World Cup squad.
The 6ft 8in lock has transformed his physique with a disciplined diet that has led to him slimming down from more than 23st to 21st and being hailed as “like having a new player” by Mark Mccall, the Saracens director of rugby.
Skelton, who won the last of his 18 caps for Australia against France in November 2016, said his “lightbulb moment” came when he returned to Saracens in July for pre-season training heavier than the club’s target.
“I had a chat with the coaches and the training staff, who weren’t happy with the nick I came back in,” he said. “I had a good break, really enjoyed it, no regrets there, but there was that light-bulb moment – I had a chat to my wife, we sat down and set some goals.”
Skelton employed his own nutritionist and began tracking his calorie intake on a free diet app called Myfitnesspal. He began weighing his different food groups and restricted his daily calorie intake to 2,500 before “loading up” on the day before matches.
“It is really simple. I am in here four days a week and for lunch I will have plain chicken,” he said. “I weigh a chicken breast and the carbs that I will have with it. I will weigh my sweet potato or normal potato or rice or pasta. I put them in the app. I will also always have it with vegetables like broccoli, beans or salad and that is my lunch.
“I stick to a certain weight of each – protein and carbs – and that usually gives me a lot of fuel for training and I feel like I have lacked that in my career, not having that fuel, not feeling good at training, feeling quite lethargic and just getting through training.
“I can still have a doughnut or a chocolate here or there but it is knowing that I have tracked it and can I fit it in to what I have got to eat for the rest of the day.
“I used to think to lose weight you had to eat less and that was probably the downfall of me not having energy on training days. I would weigh in heavy and think ‘I can’t eat today’.
“Now I am feeding myself and training and making sure I have enough energy to perform, rather than worrying.”
Skelton now describes his condition as “the best shape I have ever been in” and inevitably his thoughts have turned to the prospect of representing
‘I feel like I have lacked that in my career, not having that fuel, not feeling good at training’
Australia again at next year’s World Cup in Japan.
To do so, however, would require him to leave Saracens at the end of the season, given Rugby Australia’s restrictions on selecting overseas players.
“You always feel that urge,” said Skelton. “As a professional athlete, the highest level is the international scene. It hurt when I watched the boys, my boys, play against New Zealand or South Africa and lose and they lost to Argentina a few weeks ago and that hurts.
“But that was the sacrifice we made when we came here. We knew I would not be eligible and you have to make the most of the opportunity where you are.
“I am fully committed to Sarries right now and will try and put everything I can into that. I am contracted for this season but there might be a few options to go home.”