The Experts

Paul Plakas

For five seasons, Paul Plakas has been assessing and analyzing the fitness of participants on X-Weighted. Plakas has been a personal trainer for 19 years, working with all levels of fitness, from the totally sedentary to the professional athlete. Plakas is co-founder of Custom Fit, an Edmonton based team of fitness professionals, and creator of The i3 Workout exercise video.

Plakas earned his degree in physical fitness from the University of Alberta, and is certified as both a Health and Fitness Instructor and a Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Plakas says that watching participants on X-Weighted achieve their own goals gives him great personal satisfaction. “When somebody is a prisoner in their own body and never had a chance to experience what life has to offer them, being lighter and fitter opens them up to things they never thought they could do before,” he says. 

To watch Paul's Intro Video, click here.

Dr David A Macklin

As one of Canada’s leading physicians in the field of lifestyle medicine, Dr David A Macklin brings a wealth of experience to X-Weighted. He has committed his career to helping others change their behaviour, develop a healthy lifestyle and manage their weight.

He is board certified in Family Medicine by the Canadian College of Family Physicians, a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the college of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Medical Association.

Macklin says that one of the most interesting parts of X-Weighted is that he is able to go in to participants’ homes. “That way I can better identify the obstacles they face” he says. Macklin founded the Weightcare Clinic in Toronto in 2005, where he teaches people to lose weight permanently. 

To watch Dr David Macklin's Intro Video, click here.

Steffany Hanlen - Performance Coach

Following her studies in Physical Education and Coaching at the University of Alberta, Steffany began her career as a Power Skating Coach. After 9-years as Head Skating Instructor with the world-renowned Okanagan Hockey Schools, Steffany became the NHL’s only paid female skating coach under contract first with the Edmonton Oilers and then with the St. Louis Blues. Steffany was at the sideboards with the Canadian Champion Ice Dancers in 2006 Torino, Italy, for the Winter Olympic Games, the first time ever that a performance coach had been accredited by the COC.  Steffany has used her methodology for training world class athletes as a framework and foundation for taking non athlete individuals, business owners and corporate teams to the top of their podium, discovering their inner champion.

Nikki Dueck, Former X-Weighted Participant

Although always active and engaged in sports, Nikki continually struggled with weight, body image and self-esteem. In her twenties, Nikki reached her highest weight of 240 pounds, had tried every diet on the market and was astounded when she was diagnosed as clinically obese, at a high risk for diabetes and other weight related heart diseases.

As one more attempt at weight loss, she applied to be a participant on X-Weighted. This opportunity ended up being her greatest success as she was able to not only lose the weight but to regain a sense of self. After five years of keeping the weight off, she has had to take a real hard look into her heart and soul to start uncovering the feelings that were causing her to abuse food, abuse herself with food and ultimately become victim of the drug “food.” Inspired by her success, Nikki has started her own business that supports women with their emotional and social struggles with food, Authentic Image. Her newest challenge is to complete a triathlon in May 2012.