Midlife Fitness Files: The Telegraph"s new health series, in which we get keep fit advice from the experts as they talk us through their weekly workouts and daily diet Noel Clarke, 44 is an actor, screenwriter and Bafta award-winning director known for his roles in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Doctor Who as well as for appearing in, writing and directing the blockbuster film series Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood. He lives in London with his wife Iris, and their three children. In 2012 I had to put on three and a half stone for a film about cage fighters. But the project didn’t happen and the weight stayed on. Then, in April last year, we were shooting season two of Bulletproof when I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘This is not cool’. I was 83 kilos (13 stone) and over the years everything had got softer. I was with my co-star Ashley [Walters] who said, ‘Let’s get in shape’. I thought about making excuses: ‘I’m not as muscular as you, I don’t have your genetics, I’m five years older’ etc. But excuses aren’t me. So I said ‘let’s do it.’ When I got back to London I signed up for a body transformation with Ultimate Performance (UP), a gym that specialises in body composition and within four months I’d dropped 14kg (2.2stone), lost six inches around my waist and gone from 25 per cent body fat to 12 percent. My dieting principles: burn off more than you use and get enough protein A lot of the fat was there because I didn’t understand the simple thermodynamics of calories. I would eat a healthy breakfast such as spinach, salmon and poached eggs, have a fish poke bowl for lunch and then come home in the evening and say to myself, ‘Oh I’ve been healthy all day, let’s have pizza or Chinese or finish off a tub of ice cream,’ not understating that I would be taking in about 3000 calories which wasn’t anywhere near the amount I’d burned off that day. Doing the transformation taught me that yes, I can still eat junk or burgers, but I have to burn it off somehow. Since the ‘after’ pics in January, I have gone up three kilos and won’t be staying quite as lean as I was then - I still want to occasionally have the pizza or ice cream. But I’m still two stone lighter. Now, there are few rules except making sure I eat mostly healthily, stay under a certain number of calories and get enough protein at each meal. If I want a burger, I will have it, but the next day I just cut out my snacks, train a bit harder or do more steps. How I workout: slow lifting, cycling cardio, steps – and more steps I train three times a week in the gym around 6am, a combination of lifting and cardio. Monday is lifting on chest, back and legs [weight training] then half an hour of cardio on the Spin bike and then throughout the day, I will do about 12,000 steps. Wednesday is back, biceps and triceps, some core work and a brutal nine minute ‘Tabata’ cardio session on the rower. That’s 30 seconds hard as I can, ten seconds off for four minutes, with one minute rest then repeated plus another 12K steps in the day. On Fridays I do a combination of all the lifting moves with no cardio and get my steps up to 20K. What I eat in a typical day: Breakfast: Greek yoghurt and blueberries, two eggs fried in coconut oil and chilli flakes Snack: protein bar Lunch: 200g salmon, courgettes, aubergines, broccoli and brown rice Snack: rice cakes with tuna Dinner: chicken breast grilled with cauliflower, tomato and green beans What motivates you? Being healthy for my kids. But also, if I want to play leading roles on TV and in films I have to look a certain way and that’s just the truth of it. I couldn’t be in Bulletproof at 93 kilos with three chins. Worst diet habit: I have a sweet tooth. Salted caramel M&Ms, peanut butter crunch Haagen-Dazs, pizza and burgers are my downfall. Sleep stats: About six hours - I could do with more but I wake up naturally after six. Alcohol: none. Maybe a port at Christmas. Caffeine count: None. I’ve never drunk the stuff. My energy levels are naturally high. Stress fix: Saying what I think. I don’t do anything like yoga or meditation and will say ‘Listen, this is what I need to say,’ so I don’t build up resentments. I think people who aren’t brave enough to say what they think are the ones who need yoga and meditation. Occasionally, if the kids are driving me crazy or I’ve had a bad day I’ll sit in a dark room for ten minutes. And sex with the wife – that helps with stress. Best fitness advice: ‘It’s just science. If you burn more than you take in, you will lose weight.’ Bulletproof will air on 20th March on Sky One