P90X - Looking for some advice / answers

Ronin_HFX

Hi there - I guess the obligatory bit about me so you have at least some of the information to help me

43 year old male - currently 244 (was 275 when I started March 23). Overweight simply through eating poor while on the road for work and not being as active as I once was. 11 years ago when I started this job I had gotten down to 200 and ran 4 times a week (16km was the long run of the week - and was always playing sports from age 6 - so I have some tone and muscle memory - just a gut now too lol). I'm back to being active and eat 1000% better - since I was getting old and fat I decided that I can't stop aging so I'll deal with the other problem. So the initial loss has been all cardio - running 4-6 times a week, using the treadmill desk at work for a walk while I review stuff and it's been great - weight is going. However I know that without strength training I'll still suffer and I've been tossing 2 ideas around for the last 2 weeks and as such - didn't start either. I was going to do Strong Lifts but I would have to travel to the gym - they don't have a good 45 lb Olympic bar (mostly machines there) and I still travel a lot for work so that could impact the ability to do it consistently. Or I was going to start P90X again - I have the items at the house and can bring crap with me to hotels if I needed to.

Now my question/problem is this - I liked the loss of weight from cardio and eating at a big deficit. However I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to do this anymore while doing P90X. MFP had me at 1880 calories a day for a 2 lb/week loss. I was typically eating between 1750 and 1850 (not always hitting my carb number - usually 66% of it) but always hitting my protein number - careful attention to fat/sugar/salt - between 3-4 litres of water a day - and tried to never eat back exercise calories.

How can I adjust what I eat so I have the fuel to succeed with P90 but continue to lose - I know that as I build lean mass I will burn more and fat will come off - but should I still aim for a deficit, hit target, or aim for target plus 250 calories? (and 250 was just an arbitrary number there - no science behind that). Should I make sure it's protein, carbs or a mix (typical large protein targets I've had are in the 140-150g range and my protein comes from animal, dairy and some egg - but huge fan of lean cuts of beef, pork, chicken and a ton of fish - I do have a protein shake after exercise, have quest bars if I need them and tried Casein protein as a bedtime shake for days when I didn't do a lot of exercise but was a little short on protein as I read it's a good slow metabolizing protein that can help weight loss). I still think my results are good - but my goal is back to 200 lb so I want to make sure that I lose weight (fat). I remember a long time ago when I started P90 it told me I was to eat in that level 3 range (3000 calories) - I think subconsciously I feel if I went to that I would stop losing and while I might build muscle - I wouldn't see the fat loss that I want (and this could very well be me mind screwing myself lol).

So short story long.....what would be the right plan adjustment to my MFP numbers to help me succeed (I know it will be tough - but I need to make sure I have the fuel to do it).

I know there must be some graduates of the P90X plan here or those who focus on weights that could chime in with solid advice. Thanks to all in advance.

Also - I was thinking of subbing out Plyo with a run - I didn't like Plyo the first time I did the program and it had me so sore, walking was tough and I stopped until I recovered but am now a little gun shy - I was thinking throw in a run and after 90 days if I go back for round 2 - I should be in better shape for Plyo - thoughts on that?

I am starting P90X tonight regardless So 90 days of Tony - Chest and Back.

Cheers, Brian.

XavierNusum

I've done almost all of the p90x programs and one thing I've found is that it's on the very edge of resistance training. What we call the endurance range. Or like some would call weighted cardio. Not knocking any of them, because they do work, but understand what they are. That being said, if you're going to do P90x and commit 7 days per week to the program you definitely need to eat that way. Which will require you to increase your calorie intake. One mistake I made was trying to do the x on too large of a deficit. That's most likely one of the reasons why plyoX beat you up so bad. Lack of nutrition caused really long recovery times.

Any who, back to the point. Increasing your activity from 4-6 days a week of moderate to 6-7 days a week of intense DEMANDS more fuel, period. So here is what I suggest. If you finish a week of P90x and feel like crap (i.e. sluggish, tired, sore for days, wanna quit) increase your calories by 250/day the next week. If you don't feel better the next week, increase again. Once you feel better and your performance has improved, stay there.

Ronin_HFX

Thanks - I didn't really have enough to eat through today and man - that was a rough, ugly workout lol. I'll definitely have to start making changes tomorrow.