Former grand chief walks six miles a day

“Be active, whichever way you know how.”
Those are the words of advice from former Nishnawbe Aski Nation grand chief Bentley Cheechoo, who has been following a regular walking routine for about four years.
“The more activity in your life, the better you are going to be able to feel,” Cheechoo said, explaining he walks about six miles a day. “And watch what you eat, because a lot of the stuff that’s been put in our stores is not conducive to a healthy lifestyle.”
Cheechoo recommends that those who have access to wild food should be eating wild food.
“That’s the best food to eat,” Cheechoo said.
Although Cheechoo’s exercise and diet routine may be working well for him, others are encouraged to seek medical advice before undertaking any exercise or diet program.
Cheechoo usually gets up early every morning to get in three miles of walking before heading off to work at the NAN office in Thunder Bay.
“I walk wherever I can,” Cheechoo said, explaining he usually walks on the streets around his home in Thunder Bay and on treadmills in hotels while on the road for NAN. “I walk wherever it takes me.”
Cheechoo was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes in 2002, so although he started an exercise program, he said it was just an on-again off-again routine until 2007 when he became more serious about maintaining a regular exercise program.
“I started off slow and gradually built it up to about five miles a day,” Cheechoo said. “Again I fell into a pattern of sometimes I would go and sometimes I wouldn’t go.
“In 2009, I got into a very serious walking program where I walked every day.
“The commitment I made was nothing would interfere with it – that’s what I’ve been doing for the past (17 months).”
Cheechoo usually walks three miles in the morning and three miles in the evening.
“It made a difference because I lost quite a bit of weight,” Cheechoo said. “When I started in 2009, I weighed 256 pounds; right now I weigh 208 pounds.”
In addition to his regular walking program, Cheechoo also monitored his intake of carbohydrates and sugars.
“I eat a lot of moose meat and a lot of vegetables,” Cheechoo said.
Cheechoo has been maintaining his blood sugar levels since then, depending on his exercise levels or food intake.
“My sugar levels are down – some days it’s actually perfect: 5.1 or 5.2,” Cheechoo said, noting his doctor recently told him his blood sugar levels were very good during a physical. “If you’re not doing anything one day, your sugar will start going up.”
Cheechoo suggests people set reasonable goals when exercising otherwise they may become discouraged if they don’t meet their goal.
“When I first got into this I set my objective that I would lose 20 pounds, and it didn’t work,” Cheechoo said.
“My (altered) objective is I was going to lose a pound. Then after I lost a pound, I said again I was going to lose another pound.”