T H E E D M O N T O N S U N T h urs d a y , S ep t em b e r 7 , 2006

life sty le 6 9

Huge value of nutrition

CARY CASTAGNA
sion on a cardio machine. And sure he was religious about it, rarely missing a scheduled trip to the gym in the several years since he first began lifting weights. But McCabe didnt have much fruit to show for his labours. In fact, at six-foot-one, he weighed a bulky 312 pounds. Not the type of streamlined physique youd expect from someone who worked out regularly. That was a little more than five years ago, just before he found out he was missing a key ingredient in the fitness equation proper nutrition. About 95% of people who go to the gym dont make progress, he explains. Most of it has to do with nutrition. Nutri John McCabe tion is the building block of your body. In McCabes case, he says his portions were way too big at the time and he was eating too much of the wrong types of food like highly processed fare and sugar-laden protein bars. I was disgusted with the way I looked and the way I felt. I had to do something, he recalls. After enlisting the help of a couple of personal trainers, McCabe soon began seeing the error of his dietary ways. And as he learned first-hand the importance of good nutrition, a funny thing happened along the way his previously stubborn physique finally began to change for the better. That thick layer of fat covering his body started to melt away and McCabe drew further inspiration from his progress. The biggest motivating factor was seeing that scale drop every day or every two days, he says, adding compliments from friends and acquaintances also served to buoy his spirits. McCabe ended up buying a whole new wardrobe twice and getting rid of his fat clothes along the way. After six months, McCabe says he dropped 105 pounds, bringing him to a lean 207 with 7% bodyfat and the type of chiselled abs he used to only dream about while flipohn McCabe admits his workouts used to be an exercise in futility. Sure he would pump iron with vigour and top it off with a sweaty ses-

EDITOR: Sally Johnston

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Shed 105 pounds by eating right

I was disgusted with the way I looked and the way I felt.

ping through the glossy pages of muscle magazines. These days, the 38-year-old Edmontonians weight has levelled out to about 220 pounds. He works out at the south-side Club Fit four times a week, lifting weights for about 45 minutes and doing up to an hour of cardio either the elliptical machine, the stationary bike or walking on the treadmill at a steep incline. Most importantly, he still monitors every morsel of food that he puts in his mouth. His six-meals-a-day diet includes lean cuts of red meat, chicken, tuna, egg whites, rice, pasta, baked potatoes, low-fat dairy products, yogurt, microwave popcorn and veggies. Since his metamorphosis, McCabe has become a certified personal trainer and nutritional consultant. He has also launched a web-based business bodyshaping101.com with the goal of helping others reach their fitness and weight-loss aspirations through weight training and nutrition. McCabe, who makes house calls, points out that hes just the guy next door. And because hes not perfect, he subscribes to the 80/20 rule, which means he eats what hes supposed to 80% of the time. The remaining 20% of the time, he allows himself to splurge. Its OK to go out and have pizza on a Friday night with your friends, but you dont do that every day, he says. Its moderation. And the Nova Scotia native, who as an overweight child was teased by his peers and was forced to endure the indignity of being picked last for sports teams, knows his battle of the bulge will likely last a lifetime. It has to be a lifestyle change if you want to keep what you achieve, he says. Its a never-ending battle. Its something you have to work at every day. That six months was easy. Its the rest of my life thats hard.
Do you have an inspirational story for Keeping Fit? E-mail Cary Castagna at ccastagna@edmsun.com

In six months, John McCabe transformed himself from a bulky 312 pounds, left, to a lean 207 pounds with 7% body fat, above.

Supplied photos