1 Up and at it – what is your morning routine?
On a normal working day, I am up around 7.30am and then it's a fight for the bathroom. I have three daughters so I always end up coming last in our rota system. At breakfast, it has become a habit that I sit beside my youngest who usually begins the day by singing – at the minute she is singing Christmas songs at breakfast. I'm not a social media fanatic but I will check my phone to check the news headlines. I'm a bit of a news junkie.
2 What might you eat in a typical working day for…
Breakfast? Shredded wheat or cereal of some sort.
Lunch? I don't eat much during the day, but occasionally I will take a sandwich at lunch. I think it's the nature of the job – sometimes I don't stop for lunch and it has become a habit.
Evening meal? This can be varied, but generally I am a meat-and-two-veg type person; pretty standard fare. Sometimes, though, I will like to have a rice or pasta dish.
3 Is nutrition important to you?
If you count having a chocolate bar before going on stage. I wouldn't say I go out of my way when it comes to worrying about nutrition.
4 Are you a calorie counter?
No, I don't count calories, but at the same time I watch what I eat.
5 Best meal ever?
I work as a project manager for a food and drinks company, so sometimes we are treated to amazing food at events like the food and drinks awards. I remember at one such event in Belfast we were served a fantastic red meat dish which was locally produced and cooked to perfection. I can't remember what it was called but I remember how it tasted.
6 Do you have a guilty pleasure?
A late night snack – something sweet and full of fresh cream. My wife's family background is in the bakery business so there would always be cream treats brought home for us to eat rather than let them go to waste. I love fresh cream gateaux.
7 Have you ever been on a diet? If so, how did it go?
The only time I have ever been on a diet was when I was about two stone heavier than I am now. At that stage I was around 14 and-a-half to 15 stone and I got down to just over 12. I didn't follow a particular diet as such; I just cut down on the amount I was eating and did more exercise. I have always done some weights, but at that point I started running as well. Being on stage and stripping down to your bare chest in front of a crowd is a great motivator to try to stay in shape – but I have now hung up the leotards.
8 Do you take health supplements?
No, I never felt the need.
9 Teetotal or tipple?
I never touched a drop of alcohol until I was 40. I had a bad experience with half a bottle of cider when I was a teenager and didn't want to feel like that again. I started to have a few glasses of red wine when I hit 40 but I don't over-do it.
10 Fruit or fry-up?
Always a fry-up when given the choice. At breakfast in a hotel, you won't see me walking back to the table with a bowl of fruit.
11 Stairs or lift?
I'm a 'stairs' guy, definitely, in the same way I will walk up a moving escalator – I like to keep on the move. I am always in a hurry to get somewhere, so I tend not to take the lazy option.
12 Do you have a daily exercise regime?
I don't have a specific regime but I have gym equipment in my garage at home and I work out once, twice a week. It's my place of escape.
13 On a scale of one to 10, how fit do you think you are; how fit would you like to be?
I think I'm reasonably fit for my age – about a seven or eight maybe.
14 Best tip for everyday fitness?
Eat less and move more.
15 Do you have a memory from school sport / PE days you would rather forget?
Not being picked for team sports while at school. I wasn't much good at sports, but it still scarred me – in much the same way I wasn't picked for the school choir at my primary school in Lurgan. A while back they asked me to do a fundraiser and I thought, you wouldn't pick me for your b***** choir and now you want me to sing?
16 Did you ever have a health epiphany which made you change your lifestyle?
Yes, the posters for 'Fat Freddie', as I was described by some unkind bouncers at performance venues when I was not as trim as I should have been. That definitely prompted me to lose the weight.
17 Best health advice you were ever given and would pass on to others?
Eat what you want but in moderation.
18 Who would you try to emulate in terms of fitness / attitude to life?
My father is by best role model. He is a musician, he's 84 and he still does jazz gigs. Last week he was working at a garden fence and broke a hammer because he was hammering so hard. I hope I have his stamina and zest for life at that age – he has a real joy for living and is often out partying when I am fast asleep.
19 What time do you get to bed normally and do you think you get enough sleep?
On a 'school' night I am in bed by 12.30 and up again at 7.30, so I think seven hours is a healthy amount.
20 Would you say you have a healthy attitude towards your own mortality?
I breezed through 40 but I honestly struggled a bit when I hit 50. When you see more grey hairs, it makes you pause for a while. I don't obsess about age, though – I'm lucky to be healthy and happy and I have a good life.
Harry Hamilton is best known for his role as the singer in Queen / Freddie Mercury tribute band Flash Harry
