FEBRUARY 7 2019 - 10:00AM
Kalyn Ponga's healthy diet and potential to become a megabrand
+19
Dad for a Day: Kalyn Ponga looked after kids as part of an experiment for a brand.
Newcastle Knights star Kalyn Ponga found himself appreciating his mum a whole lot more after participating in an experiment dubbed “The Stay at Home Athlete”.
The experiment was done in his new role as brand ambassador for V8 Vegetable Juice, which is running with the slogan – “The Official Drink of the Healthyish”.
It’s fair to say Kalyn himself is quite healthyish – super-fit would be a more accurate description – and it’s worth noting the type of brand he’s chosen to associate himself with. V8 has no added sugar and is considered a healthier drink than many other options on the market. But if you drink it, you’ve still got to eat your vegies. OK?
It’s quite a coup for V8 to have signed Kalyn. The more ground he makes in the world of rugby league – on and off the field – the more chance he has of becoming a megabrand in his own right.
But let’s get back to the experiment. It involved 20-year-old Kalyn looking after four children and a dog, while a sports dietitian and camera crew followed him.
He performed parenting duties like making breakfast, cleaning the house, changing nappies, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, shopping for groceries and taking the kids to the playground.
He also wore a device that monitored his energy expenditure and measured his steps, as he did parenting duties over 10 hours.
The results showed he burnt more calories than he would during a footy game.
“I think I’m pretty physically fit, but the challenge that a parent faces with their day-to-day chores, which I thought would be easy, actually weren’t,” he said.
“I was faced with situations I’d never encountered before. I found a lot of them difficult. Probably not physically, but more mentally. Throughout the day, I was drained. Parenting is a 24-7 job.”
He found one particular activity – folding a pram – especially difficult.
“I didn’t even know how to do it. I still reckon I’d be there now trying to figure it out. Luckily the kids helped me out.”
Kalyn’s Diet
Kalyn says he’s pretty lucky when it comes to food, as the Knights provide players with breakfast and lunch.
“We get our meals made,” he said.
“We eat pretty healthy across the board. Snack foods are things like crackers and avocado. We eat a lot of fruit, lots of meat and salads. And drink lots of water,” he said.
He tries to eat reasonably big meals for breakfast and dinner, so he’s replenishing energy he burns during training and “not picking throughout the day”.
He has joined housemate and teammate Connor Watson in cutting out dairy.
He joked that Connor had a much better body than him.
“If you look at his rig and mine, you’d think I’d been eating chocolate for the last three months,” he said.
While he does follow a pretty strict diet, he doesn’t live like a monk.
“I do have a bit of chocolate here and there,” he said, adding that he enjoys a coffee and the odd beer.
He said preseason can be tough.
“It’s not meant to be easy, but it’s rewarding at the same time,” he said.
“We’re training three to four hours a day, so it’s important to eat at the right times.”
The Knights attended an army camp before Christmas for 24 hours, which involved sleep deprivation and team-bonding.
“I’ve never done one before. It was tough,” he said, adding it involved “pushing ourselves physically and mentally”.
“Pre-Christmas is all about running, getting fit and getting your legs ready. Post-Christmas is more ballwork, games and combinations.
“We’re still running a lot to get fitter and fitter. Our strength and conditioning coaches are doing a good job of that.”
As for being involved in the V8 campaign, he said it related to his need to have a healthy diet.
“It’s still something that I’m learning. But it does make you feel better and it helps you learn and perform at a higher level,” he said.
He said this outlook can apply to anyone, “not just professional athletes”.
But we should make it clear that he’s not a food Nazi. He’s realistic.
“If you are gonna eat unhealthy, do it in moderation. You can have a chocolate bar every now and then, but not every single night,” he said.
Good advice, that.
https://www.theherald.com.au/story/5890216/could-kalyn-ponga-become-a-megabrand/?cs=12#slide=1