J ohn McCabe admits his workouts used to be an exercise in f utility. Sure he would pump iron with vig- our and top it off with a sweaty ses- 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 lif ting weights. But McCabe didn’ t have much f ruit t o show for his la- bours. In f act, at s ix-foot-one, he weighed a bulky 3 12 pounds. Not t he typeof str eamlinedphysique you’d expect f rom someone who worked out regularly. That was a littlemore than five years ago, just before he found out he was missing a key ingre- dient in thefitness equa- tion – proper nutrition. “About 95% of people who go to the gym don’t make progress,” he ex- plains. “Most of it has to do with nutrition. Nutri- tio n is t he building block of your body.” In McCabe’s case, he says his portions were way too big at the time andhe was eating too much of the wrong types of foodlikehighly processed f are 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. Af ter enlist ing t hehelpof a coupleofpersonal tr aine rs, McCabe soon began seeing the error of his dietary ways. And as he learned first-hand the importance of good nutrition, a f unny thing happened along the way – hi s previously stubborn physique fi nally began to changefor the better. That t hick layer of f at coveringhis body st art ed t o me lt away and McCabe drew f urther inspiration f rom his progress. “The biggest motivating f actor was seeing that scale drop every day or every two days,” he says, adding com- pliments f romf riends and acquaintances also served to buoy his spirits. McCabe ended up buying a whole new wardrobe – twice – andgetting ridofhis “f at clothes” along the way. Af ter s ix months, McCab e says he droppe d 105 pounds, bringing him to a lean 207 with 7% bodyf at and the type of chiselled abs he used to only dream about whileflip- ping through the glossy pages of muscle magazines. These days, the 38-year-old Edmontonian’s weight has levelled out to about 220 pounds. He works out at the south-side Club Fit four times a week, lif ting weights for about 45 minutes and doing up to an hour of cardio – either the elliptical machine, the stationary bikeor walki ng on t he tr eadmill at a st eepin- cline. Most importantly, he st ill monitors every morsel of food that he puts in his mouth. His six-meals-a-day diet includes lean c uts of red meat, c hicken, tuna, egg whites, rice, pasta, baked po- tatoes, low-f at dairy products, yogurt, microwave pop- corn and veggies. Since his metamorphosis, McCa be has become a cer- tified personal trainer and nutritional consultant. He has also launched a web-based business – body- shaping101.com – with the goal of helping others reach thei r fitness and weight-loss aspirations through weight training and nutrition. McCabe, who makes house calls, points out that he’s just “the guy next door.” And because he ’s not perfect, h e subscribes to the 80/20 rule, which means he eats what he’s supposed to 80% of the time. The re- maining 20% of the time, he allows himself to splurge. “It’s OK to go out and have pizza on a Friday night with your f riends, but you don’t do that every day,” he says. “It’s moderation.” And the Nova Scotia na- tive, who as an overweight child was teased by his peers and was forced to en- dure the indignity of being picke d last for s ports teams, knows his battle of the bulge will likely last a life- time. “It has to be a lifestyle change if you want to keep what you achieve,” he says. “It’s a never-ending battle. It’s something you have t o work at every day. That six months was easy. I t’s the rest of my life that’s hard.” – D o y o u h a v e a n in s pi r a t ion a l st o ry fo r K eeping F i t ? E -m a il Ca ry Ca st a gn a a t cca st a gn a@ edm su n.c om EDITOR: S a ll y J o h n s t o n PHONE: 4 6 8 - 0 115 FAX: 4 6 8 - 0 1 3 9 E - MAIL: s john s t o n @e dm s u n. c o m T H E E D M O N T O N S U N • T hur s da y , Sep t em be r 7 , 2006 lifes ty l e 6 9 CARY CASTAGNA – Supplied photos In six months, John McCabe tr ansformed himself f rom a bulky 312 pounds, lef t, to a lean 207 pounds with 7% body f at, above. H u ge v a l u e o f n u t r i t ion ‘I was disgusted with the wa y I looked and the wa y I felt.’ – J ohn McCabe S hed 10 5 po u nd s b y e a t ing r igh t