1) Who is Louise Kang? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I live in Aberdeen, Scotland (for now ... I’m just about to move to sunny Spain) with my son Ali and dog Danny. I’ve done loads of different jobs, from secretary to accountant to baby products inventor. I fell into my current career after working in a meat business – I taught myself how to make recipe videos in order to promote our meat. This was a few years ago and recipe videos weren’t everywhere as they are now. So I kind of got ahead of the pack.
2) How many years have you been training?
2) How many years have you been training?
In my teens and twenties I used to be really into classes like step aerobics and running. In my thirties I took up Body Pump – people bash it but it was my introduction to weights. After a while I was lifting the heaviest weights in the class so it was time to brave the weights section of the gym.
3) Whats been the hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
The hardest part is fitting in training around work and family life. A few years ago I got so obsessed with training, I would go to the gym 5 days a week and even got qualified as a personal trainer. But at the time I was between businesses so I had loads of time to devote to it. Now I’m busy with High Protein Cook, training and my diet has slipped down my list of priorities. Next January I’m about to hit 40, which is depressing enough without being out of shape, so I am determined to sort my priorities out before then.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like?
I do Olympic lifting (clean & jerk, snatch etc.) with an instructor twice a week and walk my dog for an hour each day (briskly, I’m not one of those dog walkers who stand around and chat). As for diet, I haven’t been doing that well lately as it’s too tempting to just pick at whatever food I’m cooking to photograph or video. But in the run up to my 40th birthday that’s going to change.
5) What have you learned over the past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
I learned that abs really are made in the kitchen, but also the more you move around in every day life, the more you can get away with eating. Weight training is great for building muscle and for an apple shape girl like me, muscle really does give you curves, but it doesn’t burn a ton of calories alone sadly. Although things like fitbits are really common, the importance of everyday exercise – walking the dog, cycling to work etc.– is still underrated. Think about it, these days we all have a phone in our pocket which we can use to get everything to come to us – food, stuff from Amazon that we used to have to walk around the shops to buy. It’s no wonder we are getting fatter as a society really.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
I don’t really like the term ‘cheat/treat meal’. But I do like to go to my fave Japanese restaurant with my boyfriend and order around 10 dishes between us – sashimi, pork belly skewers, soft shell crab ... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
7) one supplement that you could not live without?
Caffeine.
8) If you had to start out from scratch with your physique what would you do differently and why?
It’s tempting to say I would have started weight training earlier – it not only helped me develop curves, it also helped to build mental strength too. But there’s no point in having regrets – I really enjoyed the step aerobics and half marathons at the time.
9) Who do you look up to in the fitness industry and why?
Those who genuinely want to help people rather than just massage their ego by showing off how clever they are or how much junk food they can fit into their IIFYM diet. People love to bash Joe Wicks but he’s done a great job at simplifying nutrition so that the average person on the street can understand it. Not everyone is ready to start learning about and tracking macros, it’s much easier for them to understand the concept of eating less on the days when you don’t workout.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Keep things simple. Don’t get hung up on things that don’t matter, like meal timing or what percentage of fat and carbs you should eat. Keep an open mind to new things and definitely don’t waste any time arguing about nutrition – it’s just as pointless as arguing about politics.
11) What new goals are on the horizon? (new goals, aims, etc)
I’ve really enjoyed learning Olympic lifting over the past year but I’ve kind of got bored of doing the same thing all the time. I’d love to take up Crossfit if there is a gym nearby when I move to Spain. And I’ve spent the last couple of years learning to do a handstand – I’m up to around 10 seconds on a good day but I still have a long way to go.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
highproteincook.com
facebook.com/highproteincook instagram.com/highproteincook
