I See Your P90X and Raise You Bacon & Eggs


After three months, my projected total weight would put me in the mid-150s. But would that weight look more like the 150s of my skinny-fat self (left) or my P90X self (right)?

These fat-loss posts are being published retroactively. I originally wrote the following at the start of July this year.


Right, so I've done this before. Lost the gut. And the doublechin. And the moobs. I was up to 210lbs at my most heaviest, say around 1999. Straight up, I porked out on too many shrimp burritos and Sourdough Jacks.

The flab came off during three distinct periods:

 Around 2002, when I took up distance running and eventually did a marathon at 160 pounds. (I'm 5'8".)

 Around 2005, when I cleaned up my nutrition (reading Tom Venuto) and got down into the low 140s. 


 Around 2007, when I focused on strength training (with P90X) combined with clean nutrition. Total weight raised to the low 150s, but with definition and six-pack abs! (If the lighting was right, I swear, you could even see my abs through a cycling jersey.)


Vanity-wise, I was content with the results of the combined P90X and Tom Venuto programs. There was still some carving to be done in my lower abs. 


With my lean mass at the time, I would've had to dip back into the low 140s (maybe into the 130s) to get cut like Bruce Lee (or Pinoy brotha Manny Pacquiao). But, even with relatively few responsibilities back then, low 150s with some soft spots seemed as lean as my schedule and willpower allowed.


The Realness


Then other real-life things happened. Good things: Lisa's booming soap business, a house, a baby, a new career, going back to school, a new puppy, a picket fence, a second baby on the way... . All those nice dinners to celebrate all those things.


While livin' the dream, my weight gradually pushed back upwards, into the 180s. Then one day recently I had a hard time getting my wedding ring off. That was it. It was time.


Time to re-focus on slimming down again. Time to make it a top priority.


The slow-gain period was not without attempts, however. But efforts to eat "clean" below maintenance made only marginal improvements weight-wise. (By eating "clean" I mean a "balanced" nutrient ratio of 20/30/50 -- percent of fat, protein, carb -- of non/minimaly processed foods.) The food got boring fast and a meal or two of indulgence seemed to wipeout weeks of progress.


Besides strength training to rehab a nagging hip injury, workout time became more limited. Considering baby No. 2's arrival, there'd be a good chance that workouts would stop temporarily while we adjusted.


I considered whether the extra flab was the not-so-hidden cost of having a full family and work life. Was the cosmos or the comforts of The American Dream enforcing some sort of inescapable balance?


My previous Best Known Practices for fat loss couldn't be maintained in the context of everything else. There had to be a natural, non-medicated way of igniting the fat furnace and keep it burning -- even with the inevitability of missed workouts. But how?


The Eggs Are Alright Tour


With little time for workouts, change had to be based on even cleaner eating habits than ever before. But, low-fat again? Ugh. It seemed without a constant workout routine low-fat at deficit barely made a dent. There had to be something else.


And that something was paleo (paleolithic meals), which, after some trial and error, led to keto (ketogenic meals). I couldn't deny the increasing amount of studies that found its low-carb (high-fat, adequate protein) meals to be more beneficial than eating "clean, balanced" low-fat meals ever could.


That's not to say Keto would be necessarily easier. For steady fat loss, it'd still require precision with meal plans and nutrient ratios. But the kicker was that I could eat tastier, more fulfilling meals! Chicken legs? With skin? Filet mingon? Bacon? Dip for my celery? Seriously?


How could more fat possibly be "cleaner" than its equal in grains and veggies?


With paleo, I became suspicious about carbs but still made space for them coming from an endurance background. (C'mon, how you gonna fuel an intense workout without carbs?!?) But with keto, carbs became even more questionable. And if weekends spent cycling or running were long gone, maybe I could cut carbs even further.


I did the unthinkable. Counter to every training guide I'd ever read up to this point, I reversed my nutrient ratios to the keto-guideline 65/30/5 (percent of fat, protein, carb) split.


Would I lose the fat? Would I see results fast enough to help keep at it? Would it work with our hectic schedules? I had to put keto to the test.


Stay tuned.

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