Episode 5: “Don’t Call it a Comeback” with Chris Cornell
00:16 Introduction to Chris Cornell, @BiggestComeback.
01:35 The rude awakening when the scale said 278lbs. This triggered a MUST-change response.
03:22 Reaching out to a friend to seek help to lose weight. Friend recommended Gary Taubes’s Why We Get Fat. Immediately led to a better ordering choice at the Mexican restaurant that he was at.
04:35 Decision to go low carb and immediately began seeing results—down 3 pounds in the first 2 weeks. Went 2 more weeks—still working. At the end of the first month, Chris had lost 5 pounds. LOW CARB WAS WORKING! He lost 5 pounds per month for the duration until he reached his goal weight of 200 pounds. “I was not in a rush. Holy cow, it doesn’t matter how long it takes. Once you are on the right path, it’s irrelevant because you know that you’re going to get there.”
06:10 Started training for his 5k. Now understands that being on the right path is THE way to get to your goals.
08:45 “Chasing progress, not perfection” that Chris picked up from the Low Carb MD podcast with Dr. Brian Lenzkes & Dr. Tro Kalayjian. Another source of inspiration was Ted Naiman’s P:E Diet seeking to improve to get to the next tier. Ted’s message about adjusting protein and carb mixes in your diet really stuck with Chris.
10:10 Setting goals to optimize results while also maintaining a sustainable, good quality of life. Great example: working on a 5k training plan from Brady Holmer @B_Holmer in 120 minutes/week. The benefits of balancing goals with also having a life and making your program fit within your life. Chris respects David Goggin’s style of finding what you seek on the other side of pain (YouTube: On the Other Side of Suffering is Greatness), but finding sustainability is key to integrating fitness into life. Learning point: make it fun!
15:00 Pursuing progress in the context of a 325lb one rep max bench press. The pursuit of goals is as important and enjoyable as attaining them.
17:30 The benefits of finding a healthy community, including on social media, and the impact of that community on Chris’s cancer diagnosis and radiation treatment.
22:00 How being metabolically healthy before the cancer diagnosis prepared Chris for successfully fighting his cancer. Also discusses how fitness helped get him healthy again after chemotherapy. Interesting parallels between getting metabolically healthy before cancer treatment and the benefits of good metabolic health for those faced with COVID-19.
29:40 Discussion about hurdles along that path that may have caused setbacks. Having a plan has been critical to maintaining a healthy journey. Recognizing that when you control your weight any your health, there’s no fear. (editorial: I LOVE THIS!)
Chris Cornell's nutrition rules
33:30 Being healthy has resulted in writing more including his weekly Biggest Comeback Newsletter (Subscribe now!). This writing has helped with other writing and focus on struggles with personal organization. Recently colocating his home office with home gym allows better integration of a little exercise into his day. Modifying program to match current goals without sweating it.
Chris Cornell's fitness rules
37:20 Other fitness goals: Sprinting. Pretty happy with current nutrition. Discussion about having shared his Cardiometabolic Risk Assessment in his Biggest Comeback newsletter. His LDL was high but not concerning; otherwise pretty happy with his health progress. Likes listening and understanding different views to understand why smart people on all sides hold the beliefs they do. The risk assessment and discussion with Dr. Bill Cromwell, gave him good insights into LDL particles instead of LDL cholesterol. The behavior changes after his report are incorporating more seafood (which is not a compromise) and cutting seed oils.
48:00 Who Chris looks to for advice: Dr. Brian Lenzkes @BrianLenzkes and Dr. Tro @DoctorTro and their awesome LowCarbMD podcast. Doug Reynolds @DougieReynolds and Pam Devine @LCPamDevine of LowCarb USA and the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners. Ted Naiman @tednaiman and his work with the P:E Diet.
50:30 Using the Twitter hive-mind input for a 5k training as an example of getting help and feedback. Most recent theme in the Biggest Comeback newsletter is about “the process” conveyed by Brian Lenzkes in letting people know that you need help.
53:00 Story of the @BiggestComeback Twitter handle that led to the “Biggest Comeback” newsletter sponsored by Sue Kramlich at Simply Snackin’. Biggest Comeback’s inspiration from dad’s pancreatic cancer, business failure, and re-birth as low carb account. Biggest comeback has many partners like Simply Snackin’, LowCarbMD Podcast, and Precision Health Reports. These aren’t conflicts of interest rather alignments of interest.