Kerri WaldronMartin Lukeman is hoping his new ‘carnivore diet’ can help propel him beyond the Christmas break at the World Championship for the first time.
‘Smash’ is still to advance past the second round at Alexandra Palace but is better prepared than ever to buck that trend after making a major final for the first time at the recent Grand Slam. After emerging from his group, Lukeman beat former world champion Rob Cross en route to the final, where he ran into an unstoppable Luke Littler.
Having defeated Mickey Mansell in the semi-final earlier in the day, Lukeman admitted he had “nothing left to give” against a curry and Squashies-fuelled Littler. He had over-practised earlier in the day and found himself running on empty by the time of the final.
Speaking of novel diets, Lukeman has adopted one of his own to lose weight and improve his fitness. It’s a regime of meat, meat and more meat, appropriately known as the carnivore diet.
It’s worked a treat so far as he has dropped 3st in the last few months. He explained: “I was almost 22st and now I’m just under 19st, so it’s working.
“It’s just meat, eggs, butter. No carbs. We have blueberries now and again but very little fruit. No salad. It’s working fine. I’m not getting hungry anymore, no cravings. I’m getting used to it. I have electrolytes in the morning because you have to have a lot of salt when you’re just eating meat. I’m feeling really good.”
That is not all. Lukeman has also adopted a new night-time regime after being diagnosed with sleep apnea, which can lead to excessive snoring, fatigue, and irritability, among other symptoms. He now uses a CPAP machine, which uses mild air pressure to keep the airways open during sleep. As a result, the 39-year-old is feeling more refreshed in the mornings and better prepared for a long day on the oche.
“I’m getting a good night’s sleep for a change,” he said. “I’m waking up and feeling refreshed. I’m not so ratty in the mornings. Before, it would take me two hours to wake up properly and I’d feel groggy.”
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Explaining the roots of the condition, he added: “When you’re a snorer, your brain doesn’t shut down. The air can’t get through and your brain doesn’t shut off. You’re asleep but your brain’s not actually switching off.
“I wear a mask and this machine forces air down your throat and into your lungs. You don’t snore and it means your brain can go to sleep.
“It’s helped my insomnia as well. Before, I’d turn the light off at half 11 at night and be thinking about random stuff until half three in the morning. That’s eased off now since I’ve had the machine.”
Lukeman previously worked on building sites as a banksman before getting laid off at the start of the pandemic in 2020. As a result, he devoted more time to darts, winning a PDC Tour card in 2021 and enjoying a breakthrough in 2022, which saw him reach the final of a Euro Tour event in Germany, where he lost to Luke Humphries.
He had a leaner 2023 but did enough to keep his card before a 2024 of notable highs on either side of a rough patch. As well as his diet and improved sleep, he owes his recent return to form to his new darts cave.
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“This year I kicked off by getting to the UK Open quarter-finals and thought, ‘Come on’. Then I had a slow patch and struggled for wins,” he said. “But I finished my darts room a couple of months ago and it’s been brilliant because I’m in there everyday practising.
“Before, I had a dartboard in my bedroom but I couldn’t really practice properly with everyday life, kids screaming or whatever. Now I can go into my darts room in the back garden and crack on.”
Lukeman faces Indian qualifier Nitin Kumar in the first round at Ally Pally today (Thursday). He will be the overwhelming favourite to progress to round two, where he would meet Andrew Gilding on December 23.
“I can’t take anything for granted in the first round but I should get through,” he insisted. “And I’d be quite happy to face Andrew Gilding. I’ve beat him a few times and he’s beaten me a bit. I just want to try and get past the Christmas break because I’ve not done that before.”
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Source: bing.com
