This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Many thoughts forthcoming on Utah Jazz media day, but first among them...
It may be time for a new nickname for Enes Kanter. Derrick Favors and others continue to call their teammate "Big Turkey." But after the No. 3 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft reported for camp 30 pounds lighter than at the end of last season, the moniker carries less, well, weight.
Kanter said his weight spiked from 270 at the end of the season to 293 in the summer. Then, a diet change and rigorous workouts led him to shed an astonishing 51 pounds in two months, he said.
So, Lean Turkey?
Kanter said he now weighs 242 pounds, and arrived at camp looking significantly trimmer from his rookie season, which was shortened by the owners' lockout. Of course, Kanter's new level of fitness should come as little of a surprise after an offseason spent tweeting photos of himself working out. The photos caught they eyes of his teammates, Kanter said.
"They said are you trying to be a body builder?" he recalled. "I said no, I'm just trying to be in better shape."
Kanter said he posted photos of himself to show how much work he had put in. Of his fans, he said, "they love it. Boys, girls, everybody love it."
As for the weight loss, Kanter said he switched to a diet based primarily on seafood and salads. It raised a natural question with an unnatural answer: What was the 6-foot-11 20-year-old eating before?
He broke it down thusly...
"First my breakfast: I was eating like six eggs, omelet with six eggs; seven or eight pancakes, with sugar, whipped cream, everything; then a breakfast burrito. That was just my breakfast. Then I came to practice and my lunch was just like pasta, chicken alfredo or whatever, and then a burger and an appetizer. Dessert? No. Dessert was at dinnertime. Dinnertime I ate another burger, a big meal again and a dessert."
After running through this, Kanter said he invented his own diet and, joking, guaranteed anyone who followed it would have abs like his. He was prepared to show them off before Jazz public relations staff intervened.
— Bill Oram —