17 February 2023 , 21:22
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A bodybuilding dad claims to have maintained his 22-year-old body by swerving a particular food over the past three decades.
Gym fanatic Derik Fay has managed to dodge cake for the past 30 years, and in doing so has kept his lean physique.
The 44-year-old has been pumping iron since he was a teen, and had managed to maintain a disciplined diet throughout.
But while he admits his cake-free diet can get "pretty boring", his impressively-lean physique often draws envious glares in the gym.
Entrepreneur Derik drew inspiration from strongman Arnold Schwarzenegger with his 'no cake' rule, sticking to a low-carb and fat and high-protein menu to complement his training.
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Derik trains with weights 5-6 days a week and rarely ever does cardio (Jam Press/@derikfay)At just 7% body fat, Derik's training regime of five to six days a week of weight training and almost zero cardio has paid off.
“Every once in a while I go and spoil myself, but I don't ever eat desserts,” he said.
"Other than on my birthday – when I might have a tiny slice, to be polite – I haven't eaten cake in more than 30 years. That's not to say that you can't eat cake and stay in shape.
“But when I was a kid, I remember Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about never eating a dessert, and that locked into my head.”
Dad-of-two Derik, from Florida, says his daughters Sophia, 16, and 14-year-old Isabella, as well as partner Shandra Phillips, will happily treat themselves to sugary foods every now and again, but he turns down any offers to share.
At 44, Derik claims to have the physique of a man half his age and regularly swerves offers of dessert from his daughters Sophia and Isabella (Jam Press/@derikfay)
Derik is inspired by Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger and has been weight training since he was a teen (Jam Press/@derikfay)"That's not to say I don't have a sweet tooth. I love cheesecake but I just don't give it to myself.
"Even now, when I sit with my daughters and they have cheesecake, I say no and stay away.
"I'm a very much a nothing-or-a-million type of guy. There is no in-between, and that is the same with every endeavor in my life."
Derik's diet consists mainly of lean meat and fish, protein shakes and lots of fruit and veg.
The dad, a CEO of a venture capital firm, says he usually hate cardio training but has been reluctantly using the treadmill recently to train for a basketball match with Floyd Mayweather.
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Derik is extremely disciplined when it comes to sharing sweet treats with his family (Jam Press/@derikfay)"My diet is so regimented that I haven't had to do a lot of cardio to stay lean," he added. "My personality is that I like to always compete at an equal level, so I am stepping up the cardio purely for that reason.
"I came from an impoverished and abusive childhood and had no assistance any step of the way. I did not finish college and I'm 100 percent self-taught.
“I learned through trial and error, failure and persistence.
"This gave me a foundation of appreciation for what I have and the drive to help as many people as possible, so no one has to feel hopeless or poor."