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EDMONTON SUN YOUR HEALTH MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2007

Practise what you preach

Fitness author Brad King lost weight when he started to follow his own advice
cardio usually consists of taking his 16-pound Yorkie-Schnauzer, Kira, for at least an hour hike in North Vancouvers scenic Lynn Valley. The hikes, which often last up to two hours, are a time to de-stress and think about ideas for books, lectures and other projects. I clear my head and I do a lot of internal thinking, he says. On other cardio days, King plays football or soccer. Cardio is anything fun, he adds. For me to do cardiobased activity, I need to have fun doing it. After a workout, King always makes sure to feed his tired muscles with high-quality protein. Throughout the day, he eats every two to three hours. Frequent meals ensure hes never full or famished, maintain his blood-sugar levels and keep his metabolism working efficiently. While King admits hes definitely a carnivore, he prefers grassfed beef sources. The fat content is too high in grain-fed cattle, he explains, adding thats the same reason he opts for free-range chicken. Other staples in Kings diet include a variety of veggies, high-fibre and high-antioxidant fruits like blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, boysenberries and pomegranates and plenty of seeds and nuts, such as cashews, walnuts and almonds. King says theres one other key ingredient to his healthy lifestyle: his positive mindset. You have to believe in your ability to change your life, he says. The power of belief is everything. Sound advice. After all, he wrote the book. Do you have an inspirational story for Keeping Fit? E-mail Cary Castagna at Best-selling fitmyriad maladies. ness and nutrition Average people, author Brad King caught up in their admits he didnt get day-to-day lives, ininto the best shape variably end up of his life until after reaching for metahe published his bolic stimulants, first book and actusuch as coffee and ally started followother caffeinated ing his own advice. beverages, King Kings first edi- Cary points out. tion of Fat Wars: 45 We forget what Days to Transform we felt like before Your Body hit bookwe needed the cofstores seven years KEEPING FIT fee to get us through ago. the day, he says. Around that time, the fiveWeve all been given these foot-eight Vancouver resident miracles, these incredible bodweighed close to 200 pounds. ies. We should all expect a little While King had decent mus- more from them. cle mass from years of weight I love life. I want to experitraining, he knew he was carry- ence a life thats truly worth living around at least a few pounds ing. of excess baggage. King, a 42-year-old nutriSo shortly after his first book tional researcher who has gone was published, the fitness guru on to publish five other books, and nutritional expert started keeps a hectic schedule these practising exactly what he was days, sharing his healthy mespreaching. And in 45 days, he sage throughout Canada and shed 16 pounds. the U.S. Just last week, he preI had no idea I sented three health was that out of seminars in Banff shape, he recalls. and Calgary. That said a lot to But no matter me. I thought I had how busy he is, a great deal of musKing makes sure he cle on my frame, does some form of but I was not in exercise every sinphenomenal gle day, usually in shape. the morning. But King, who now hes quick to point maintains a much Brad King, fitness out that he considleaner body weight and nutrition author ers exercise a reof about 185, figward and not a ures he was only in chore. average shape at the time. I cant go through my life Of course, for King, medioc- without doing some form of acrity just doesnt cut it espe- tivity because it literally comcially with the North American pletes my day, he says. average rapidly expanding in Every second day, King perrecent years. forms what he calls a weightI look around me and I dont bearing activity, which is typilike what I see. The average per- cally 45 to 60 minutes of son is overfat, he says, ex- pumping iron in the gym. plaining that too much fat On the other days, he perleaves our bodies with a toxic forms cardio. burden that paves the way for When King is not travelling,

ccastagna@edmsun.com

Castagna

Best-selling author Brad King dropped 16 pounds in 45 days and keeps it off with a regular exercise plan and healthy diet.

I look around me and I dont like what I see. The average person is overfat.

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Nuts and bolts of weight loss common sense

RICHARD BELIVEAU Special to Sun Media
Fat surplus linked to excess weight and obesity is caused by an imbalance between the amount of calories we consume and the amount of calories we burn during physical activity. In order to avoid putting on weight, which strategy should we adopt? Eat less or exercise more? Calories are a measure of the energy contained in food as carbohydrates, proteins or fats. The amount of calories we need each day directly depends on the amount of energy we use. As a general rule, its estimated that the majority of people need between 2,000 and 3,000 calories per day to meet their physical needs. Unless you are a nutrition expert, however, its difficult to know precisely the amount of calories you eat daily. If you have a stable weight, you dont have to rack your brain: you consume the right amount of calories. On the other hand, if you have a tendency to put on weight, this means your calorie intake exceeds your physical needs and the surplus is stored as fat. If you want to stop accumulating excess pounds, you must either reduce your calorie intake, increase your physical activity so as to burn more calories or, even better, adopt a combination of the two approaches.

Fast-food diet
Despite having an increasingly sedentary way of life, Canadians have in-

creased their consumption of calories by almost 20% during recent years. Several factors contribute to this overconsumption, the most important undoubtedly being the large place occupied by fast-food and manufactured foods in general in our diet. This is a worrying situation because these products often contain extraordinary amounts of fat and sugar and

lead to the absorption of an impressive amount of calories. We have two options to reduce the negative impact of these products: reducing consumption and thus avoiding their related calorie intake or increasing our level of physical activity so as to burn the excess calories. Restoring balance in our calorie intake by adopting a healthy diet, is important in any weight control strategy.