Lenny Henry's impressive weight loss regime: how to shed the pounds in your 50s

After being diagnosed with diabetes – the same disease which caused his mother Winnifred to lose both her legs before she died in 1998 – Henry took decisive action by cutting back on sugar, alcohol and biscuits, and by taking up Ashtanga yoga alongside cardiovascular exercise.

“I've lost between two-and-a-half and three stone, I was big," he's said previously. "You've got to eat no sugar and drink hardly any alcohol... all the stuff you like. You can't Hobnob your way through the day."

As well as avoiding sugar and adding cardiovascular exercise into the mix, Henry simultaneously upped the quantity of green vegetables in his diet. He explained to The Mail On Sunday: “Well, it’s eating broccoli and not much else. I’ve also been running a lot. It has worked.”

The comedian has admitted that he was persuaded to take action because he did not want to be "a heffalump running around the stage."

He's attributed further weight loss to the strict workout regime he was put under while on the cast of The Comedy of Errors at London’s National Theatre. During the run, he was instructed to undertake yoga, dance, Pilates and military exercise for four hours a day.

Although many have congratulated him for making changes to his lifestyle, some fans on social media expressed concerns that the star had taken his regime too far. 

Henry admitted he planned to take a break from his diet to celebrate his milestone 60th birthday this week. During his appearance on The One Show on Wednesday, he said he was looking forward to enjoying “a bit of a do” and planned to treat himself to plenty of “pies and Prosecco”.

Dalton Wong, trainer to Jennifer Lawrence and Kit Harrington and co-author of The Feelgood Plan: Happier, Healthier and Slimmer in 15 Minutes a Day, applauds the change.  “He’s done so well. Before, he was perhaps sedentary, liked to drink and eat too much of the wrong things, and didn't take so much care of himself. Reducing sugar and alcohol is a positive step," he affirms.

"Increased physical activity will have been really important in changing how he feels, as well as how much as what he weighs. He’s taken on a wide range of activities to give him a new lease of life: yoga for relaxation, Pilates for the core, and military exercise, which is more like HIIT training."

But according to Melissa Weldon, head trainer at boutique gym Sweat It, the approach isn't necessarily as healthy as you might think. Weldon notes Henry's intention to gorge on Prosecco and pies, and warns against a cycle of bingeing. “Of course exercising for four hours a day and eating nothing but healthy food will work, but it is extreme," she comments. "People should be making long term life changes to their nutrition and training regimen to avoid spending their whole life on a perpetual yo-yo diet.”

But while tucking into pies and prosecco can be seen as "bingeing" or as a "cheat meal", Wong emphasises that they don't have to be, and points out that there’s no reason why a treat every now and then can’t be part of an overall healthy diet.

With these thoughts in mind, we asked the experts how best to get healthy in midlife like Sir Lenny...

How to lose weight in your fifties, in five simple steps

1. Make small, sustainable changes

Max Bridger, personal trainer, author of Leaner, Fitter, Stronger: Get the Body You Want and co-founder of  LDN Muscle), suggests starting small. "It's much better to make gradual changes, rather than makeover your diet completely while embarking on a punishing regime all in the space of a week, especially if you're in your fifties and have lots of responsibilities and high stress levels already. 

"Avoid shocking the body and ease yourself into it one step at a time to avoid burnout. That way, you're less likely to give up."

If you're feeling inspired by Sir Lenny's new look, he advises avoiding trying to emulate him by taking on all of his drastic lifestyle changes at once. Instead of aiming for a total body transformation in a short space of time, take things slowly.  "Fit things into your existing lifestyle, rather than try to fit your life around an unattainable lifestyle. No-one can live like Lenny Henry or the fitness bloggers on Instagram overnight."

2. Get flexy

While Sir Lenny's focus on diet and exercise has had a big impact on his weight loss, he's also worked to maintain and improve his flexibility, mobility and co-ordination, particularly through Ashtanga yoga.

"These are all too often overlooked," says Bridger, and could be the downfall of even those with the best intentions in terms of  sustained weight loss in the long run.

By taking up yoga and dance, Henry has made them a central focus of his regime. As you age, hand-eye co-ordination decreases – so activities that allow you to practise, and which also incorporate balance, are crucial to prevent falls and injury later down the line. 

3. Cook from scratch

According to Max Lowery, author of The 2 Meal Day: Burn Fat and Boost Energy Through Intermittent Fasting, the key to losing weight in your fifties is taking the time to prepare and eat 'real food' (alongside his two-day meal program, which involves intermittent fasting and being aware of how many hours you spend digesting your food ).

For Lowery, eating real food means cutting out processed meals and refined sugars. "It doesn't have to be complicated," he says. "If you're cooking with fresh ingredients, you'll find yourself in decent shape. Cutting out refined sugar is a good thing, because it contains zero nutritional value – there are tons of natural sugars you could be eating, a whole rainbow of fruit and vegetables.

"I disagree with Henry that you should only eat broccoli – there are hundreds of delicious foods you can eat, so it's not boring, unless you're just starting out and you're used to eating junk food full of sugar."

Those partial to a treat will be pleased to hear that Lowery is not against Henry's birthday feast, however: "There's no reason why you shouldn't enjoy the things you like on your birthday. Henry's pies and Prosecco are a case in point. For me, I love ice cream, but I might save it to enjoy only occasionally when I can get hold of really great Italian gelato. Think quality over quantity."

4. Don't overdo it

Trainer Dalton Wong warns that Henry needs to be careful, because the older you get, the more time your body needs to recover – and if you get injured, you can't maintain an active lifestyle. 

“You could exercise for four hours a day as a 26-year-old, but not in your fifties, while still on a strict diet. In the short term it facilitates weight loss, but long term you need to be careful to recover and not to injure yourself. It’s about finding a more balanced approach that the body will be able to sustain.

"I would recommend that Henry focuses on working out for just one hour a day, rather than four hours, keeping his mixture of a variety of activities like yoga, Pilates and higher intensity cardio in the mix, with at least two days a week of rest and recovery. That’s a more sensible approach.”

Clearly, Henry is onto a good thing with his mix of yoga, Pilates and dance combined with more intense workouts like running and military-style training.

"Older adults are often guilty of under-recovery," says exercise physiologist Richard Brennan. “One of your training sessions should be below threshold, a nice, easy 30 to 60-minute rhythmical session. At the end you should feel like you can do a lot more. You’ve got a little sweat on, you’ve got nice and warm, but it’s also helped move around the metabolic waste that you’ve built up in more intense interval sessions the day before."

5. Cut back on the booze

While Lowery agrees that Henry's decision to cut back on booze will undoubtedly have helped him to lose weight, he points out that it's still possible to fit alcohol into a healthy lifestyle. "Booze tends to be calorific – and the body loves to burn those calories before it burns any from fat or sugar, which is why you tend to put on weight rather than the other way round after a heavy drinking session. Anyone looking to drop a belt size is advised to swap the wine for the water," he says.

However, Lowery suggests that rather than obsessing over drinking, you could simply focus on developing healthy habits into your fifties and beyond, in order to cut back a bit. As with his approach to food, he stresses quality over quantity – as well as alternating alcoholic drinks with water, avoiding shots at any cost, and even making up excuses to say "no" to one more drink.