The Shape I'm In: Kian Egan

KIAN EGAN should be hired by Fáilte Ireland as an ambassador for Sligo. This summer, the former member of Westlife moved from London with his wife Jodi Albert and sons — Koa, four, and Zeke, six months — to live full time in his native county.

A self-proclaimed surfing addict, he is literally riding on the crest of a wave. “I’ve been surfing a lot — probably once a day, sometimes even twice a day,” says the 35-year-old.

“Then there’s going for a walk on the beach — myself, Jodi, the kids and the dog. It’s just a much more active life here.”

Sligo has always been a place to retreat back to when things have been “crazy,” he says. “We built a house there about four years ago and we felt it was the better place for us to raise our family and to send our kids to school.

“We’ve a fantastic small community — we live in a beautiful seaside village, Strandhill. And Jodi’s got loads of friends there — she’s opened a business venture in Sligo town as well, a clothing boutique. It’s just been a lovely transition for us after a hectic 15 years.”

Kian Egan is an ambassador for Ben’s Beginners, a programme that encourages parents to cook with their children.

What shape are you in?

I wouldn’t say I’m in the best shape of my life right now but I’m certainly in decent shape. I’ve probably lost about a half stone since the start of the summer. It’s not my ideal weight but definitely a good weight.

What are your healthiest eating habits?

Breakfast is always something like porridge, berries, nuts, eggs avocados, grilled tomatoes, whole grain toast — we don’t eat white bread. And we don’t eat cereals, just real food to get you going for the day. Lunchtime, meals for us would probably be healthy salads. And then our dinners would be everything from good fish dishes. It’s impossible to eat like that all the time, we try very hard to maintain what I call an 80:20 split so we’ll have a cheat day on a Sunday, and we’ll have a few drinks on a Saturday night.

What are your guiltiest pleasures?

Our guilty pleasure would probably be an Indian. We’ve stopped with the takeaways. I make it at home now. The thing that’s bad with the Indian is probably the naan bread — that’s the part of the Indian I love. I do all of the cooking at home.

What would keep you awake at night?

We are so blessed with our new baby. He’s six months old and sleeps 12 hours a night. I’m a good sleeper these days. We’re up at 7 o’clock every morning with two kids. By the time your head hits the pillow at 11, you don’t have time to think about all the stuff you used to think about.

How do you relax?

Surfing.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

We share a mini Come Dine With Me with a few of our friends where they’d invite us around to their house for dinner, and we’d invite them around to our house for dinner. Celeb-wise, I’d like [to invite] professional surfer Kelly Slater — who I actually cooked for him in Barbados. And I’d love to cook for Dave Grohl, the lead singer of the Foo Fighters.

What’s your favourite smell?

I think lavender is a beautiful smell. After that, I really love the smell of garlic on my hands after chopping it.

What would you like to change about your appearance?

I’m not a very vain guy — believe it or not coming from the world that I’m in. I look the way I look. I do take care of myself — I put a bit of moisturiser on my face probably five days a week. If I want to change something about myself sometimes it might be if I put on a few pounds because I’ve been lazy — I might want to shave that off.

When is the last time you cried?

Probably when Jodi’s mum passed away in the last few months we’ve had a difficult time with that. And I sobbed my eyes out when my son was born.

What traits do you least like in others?

People being jealous of other people and what they have in their lives.

What traits do you least like about yourself?

I’m a very bad timekeeper.

Do you pray?

I do, every now and again. I am not a super religious person but I certainly believe that my Dad and Jodi’s mum have moved on to another place and I would call that heaven and the person I would talk to I would call God.

What would cheer up your day?

Good waves — always good waves.