Edmonton Sun HEALTH Monday, March 26, 2007

Brandy Humtrainer last sumford reached her mer, Humford heaviest weight was encouraged sometime beseveral months tween Grade 12 later in the fall of and her first year 2006 to enter the of university. gym chains Now 24 years first-ever Biggest old, the SherWinner Contest. wood Park resiThe 12-week dent remembers Cary fitness chaltipping the Tolenge, which was ledo back then at divided into two a corpulent 215 KEEPING FIT categories one pounds. for media perSure, Humford sonalities and was tall at five-foot-11. But one for the general public for a teenage girl with body- gave Humford all the motiimage issues, her weight was vation she needed to shed the source of much chagrin. her stubborn excess weight. And it was only exacerbated The determined dental asby the fact she ran with a thin sistant cleaned up her diet crowd, or as she refers to and began pumping iron them, a group of friends with renewed vigour under that are toothpicks and can the watchful eye of her eat whatever they want. trainer Carrie Knudson. Humford quickly grew Within three months, tired of always being the Humford dropped 29 heavier friend. And pounds going from 199 to clothes-shopping excursions 170. In the process, her bodto the mall were just down- yfat percentage dipped 7.5%. right depressing. The impressive metamorYou want certain clothes, phosis earned Humford the but you cant wear them be- grand prize in the Biggest cause they dont make them Winner Contest a VIP in your size, seven-night she recalls. cruise for two, T h r o u gho ut which she plans her early 20s, to take in the Humford was a near future to yo-yo dieter. the southern Soon after dipCaribbean. ping to as low as But Humford 180 pounds on didnt stop there more than one with her weight occasion, she loss. She has would revert to since shed anher old habits other 11 pounds including conor so, putting suming ice Brandy Humford her at roughly cream and beer 159 pounds. And and her weight as she continues would slowly creep back up to work towards her goal again, leaving her basically weight of 150, Humford says right where she started. she hasnt felt this good in a Its been a roller-coaster long time. as far as weight loss these last You definitely dont ever few years, she admits. want to go back where you But the see-saw ride may were before, she explains, finally be history. adding she has motivated After joining Club Fit and friends and family, while bolsigning up with a personal stering both her self-confi-

Victory in battle of bulge

Castagna

edmontonsun.canoe.ca

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You want certain clothes, but you cant wear them because they dont make them in your size.

dence and energy levels. When you eat clean foods, you feel better. Among the keys to her weight-loss success, Humford has been eating five small meals a day. She relies heavily on oatmeal and egg whites for breakfast, and chicken, fibrous veggies and rice or potatoes for her other four daily meals. Humford is also conscious to keep her sodium and sugar intake to a minimum, as well as drink plenty of water. As for her workouts, she has been recently plagued with pain in both knees an old injury from her younger days playing girls soccer and basketball. But with physiotherapy, Humford is continuing to hit Club Fits northeast location up to six days a week. Her cardio sessions usually include 45 minutes on the stationary bike or elliptical machine. Plus, she routinely lifts weights for 90 minutes. Her biggest key to success, however, has been persistence and staying consistent. Youve just got to focus on your long-term goals, she advises, and not worry whether your weight is dropping on a day-to-day basis. Members from each of the four other Club Fit locations also won seven-night cruises in the Biggest Winner Contest. They were: Robert Lindsay (northwest), Jeff Nykolaychuk (west), Nicole Demytruk (south) and Tiffany Jackson (downtown). Of course, yours truly captured the Biggest Winner media category. Media participants werent eligible for cruises. Do you have an inspirational story for Keeping Fit? E-mail Cary Castagna at ccastagna@edmsun.com

RYAN JACKSON/SUN MEDIA

Brandy Humford, 24, poses for a photo at ClubFit, 13543 St. Albert Trail. She was the nonmedia winner in the Sun-sponsored Biggest Winner contest to lose fat and build muscle.

Healing power of pepper

RICHARD BELIVEAU Special to Sun Media
Pepper has become so omnipresent in our daily lives that we forget it was the most enjoyed and soughtafter spice in the world for a long time. The importance attached to pepper is all the more deserved since research conducted in recent years has shown it plays an essential part in cancer prevention by enhancing the absorption of several anticancerous molecules. Pepper comes from the pepper plant (Piper nigrum), a climbing vine mainly grown in India and Southeast Asia. The three main kinds of pepper used to cook (black, green and white) are, in fact, the same fruit which is picked at different levels of maturity. The characteristic hot taste of pepper is due to its high content of piperine, a complex molecule that can represent up to 10% of the grains total weight. Much more than a molecule that brings out the taste, piperine plays a very important part in cancer prevention by influencing the absorption of anticancerous molecules present in the diet. The best example of the remarkable effect of piperine on the absorption of nutrition-related substances is probably its influence on the bioavailability of curcumin, a powerful anticancerous and

anti-inflammatory molecule present in the Indian spice turmeric. The happy marriage of piperine and curcumin is not an isolated case. Indeed, piperine also improves the absorption of several other molecules present in our diet, like beta carotene (essential to the formation of vitamin A), selenium and EGCG, green teas primary anticancerous molecule. Prefer whole pepper that you can ground yourself? This way you can maximize the benefits of its taste and take advantage of piperines properties. Ground pepper goes stale quickly and loses most of its properties after only two to three months of storage.