From 110kg, Manhunt finalist is now 83kg of lean muscle

Mr Zacky Mohammed Hosnen, who stands at 1.76m, was overweight until two years ago.

"My tummy was bulging," the 39-year-old told The New Paper yesterday.

"Whenever I saw my tummy, I thought I should do something about it. But I didn't."

At his heaviest, the pre-press technician at Singapore Press Holdings tipped the scales at 110kg.

Today, he is 83kg of muscle and one of the 10 Manhunt finalists (Senior category, those aged 30 and above) in this year's Manhunt Singapore contest. The finals will be held on Aug 27.

But the transformation did not come easily. He blames his love for food.

Mr Zacky often travelled overseas in search of new culinary experiences, making up to three trips a year when his schedule allowed it.

"I would pay for really expensive beef in Korea," he said.

He said he would even seek out lesser-known restaurants in dark alleys that he read about on the Internet and be "the only foreigner there".

Having been overweight since childhood, Mr Zacky first tried to lose weight in his early 20s.

He started going to the gym and dreamt of competing in fitness competitions.

But he soon found himself gaining weight again.

He said: "Sometimes you just don't have any motivation, and you think, 'Why are you doing this?' So I started to stuff myself again. I started to hate going to the gym."

TURNING POINT

The turning point came two years ago when a friend reminded him of his dream.

The friend became his fitness coach and kept him motivated whenever he felt like giving up.

"(My friend) would tell me, 'If you quit, you will never get anything done'."

Mr Zacky dropped his weight to 73kg by February this year and was placed 10th in his first fitness competition.

He celebrated by eating eight tubs of ice cream in three days.

He hopes to host his own travel and food television show one day and joined Manhunt Singapore for the exposure.

"Have you ever seen a TV programme that shows you that you can travel and still eat healthy food?

"That is what I'm trying to achieve," he said.

THEN & NOW : (Above) Mr Zacky Mohammed Hosnen in 2012, when he weighed 98kg.