Lack of P90x Results

Brenda_1129

I finished 90 days of P90x and only lost 4LBS and approximately 3% body fat. This is not only frustrating beyond belief but also freaks me out a little bit. For the sake of full disclosure, I missed a few workouts in the last 30 days due to moving and traveling internationally for work. I took my measurements and pictures on days 1, 30, 60, and 90 as I know that it is not all about the numbers on the scale. The changes were all between days 1 and 30 but after that, nothing. In trying to find answers, I analyzed everything for the past 90 days, workouts, food, sleep, stress, etc. The findings leave me with more questions than I started with. With the assistance of sleep technology, I found that I have a 70% average of restful sleep for the past 90 days. The 30% restless sleep is due to trying to fall asleep, getting up 1-3 times to go to the bathroom, being too hot or too cold, or just being uncomfortable (which does not happen often.) My stress levels were a little elevated as I was in the process of buying a house and dealing with all that it entailed but the stress seemed manageable. I am not on any medication except an over the counter Vitamin D supplement. I already covered the workouts – finished 90 days of P90x, only missed a few workouts in the last 30 days.

Now, for the most complex topic, diet. In looking at everything else, I was sure that my diet was the problem so I looked at my MFP reports and went back through my food diaries for this time frame which was very time consuming. I have transitioned to primarily a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet without meaning to. Basically, I lost my appetite for meat but I still eat eggs and cheese and on the rare occasion I have meat. Although there were a few days in the past 90 days where I could have made better choices, it overall was not bad. Like the weekend I moved and lived on a diet of McDonald’s and Wendy’s for 3 days. Throughout the time frame may calorie intake was between 1400-1800 90% of the time and 1800-2100 the other 10% of the time (the 2100 only happened once). My sugar intake has decreased and I do not add sugar to anything. Since artificial sweeteners cause migraines, I stay away from those. Fried food makes me sick, so I do not bother with it. With the exception of the weekend that I moved, I do not eat fast food. I stopped drinking beer for the last 60 days of P90x. This was VERY difficult when football season started! I eat breakfast every day, which consists of oatmeal with shredded coconut or a smoothie or egg whites with peppers and onions or a breakfast burrito and black coffee. Lunch varies depending on leftovers from the night before. If I do not have leftovers or want something different, I always have salad. Dinner also varies; I have been eating a lot of beans with rice (both white and brown) and different types of vegetables. I am a bit of a snacker so I make a conscious effort to have only healthy snack around. I generally go for skinny pop or air popped popcorn, veggie sticks, almonds, celery or baby carrots, or yogurt. On the rare occasion, I will still eat meat but it is few and far between. Even when I traveled internationally, I was able to stick to a healthy diet. My diary is open to anyone who wants to take a look. There are some days from last week that are only partially filled out but you can get the gist of what I am saying here.

In theory, this all sounds like I was doing the right thing; however, I got minimal results from one of the most intense workouts I have ever done. I had tried P90x many times in the past and never made it past the first 2 weeks. This time I had a great MFP friend to help motivate me and I actually made it through the entire workout and I am left to wonder why did I even bother. I am incredibly frustrated and am willing to answer questions and take suggestions on how this could happen.

Azuriaz

Well you did get some results. Just not what you expected and hoped for. Maybe you don't respond to exercise as well as some or maybe you would respond better to a different form of exercise. It's also much harder to lose weight when you have less to lose (judging by your profile pic?) and gaining muscle is no easy feat either. If you like doing these exercises and especially if they make you feel good (energetic, happy, etc.) maybe give it more time?

SingRunTing

You were eating too many calories to lose at a faster rate. That's the only answer.

It either could be too high of a calorie goal or inaccurate logging.

sunandmoons

You answered you're own question. Fast food not staying consistent. Maybe not enough protein or calories or too many calories.. there are days with no food log at all..Not logging correctly. Im betting most people dont do this just once and think thats all its going to take.

kristen6350

Goes to show you can't exercise off a calorie surplus. You want to lose weight, eat at a defiecent consistantly.

kshama2001

@Brenda_1129 - while you didn't get the weight loss benefits you wanted, how do you feel physically? Do you have more stamina, energy, tighter body?

What percentage of the calories you earned from exercise were you eating?

It doesn't look like you are weighing all your solid foods on a digital food scale. @PinkPixiexox can testify what a difference this made for her.

Now that the stress of moving is behind you, try tightening up your logging, not eating back more than 50% of your exercise calories, and see what happens.

I_Will_End_You

I looked through your diary. You're using generic entries and estimating portions (like half a tablespoon of peanut butter, half a cup of this or that, etc...), so your deficit probably just isn't as big as you think.

RobynLB83

You also could easily not have been burning as many calories as you thought in your workouts. I've done the same workout next to other people for years and yet, with everyone going at their own intensity level, we have entirely different fitness levels as a result.

coachRichie

Congrats on completing P90X it is a very challenging workout.
You did lose 5 pounds and that is great but how do your clothes feel on you.
Sometimes people just put too much emphasis on the scale .. you most likely got more toned and you most likely gained muscle weight as well. So losing only 5 pounds is not so bad as you think. It is great!
Also remember you were going thru a move and that is very stressful and the stress does effect your body in many ways.
I would most certainly do another round of P90X...

dhimaan

As someone already mentioned you ate more than you burned thus your weight loss rate was slower. You cannot out exercise your diet.

Brenda_1129

Thank you everyone for your feed back. It seems that even though I thought I was on the right path, maybe I wasn't. You make good points about not being able to out exercise a bad diet.


@kshama2001 - Physically, I generally feel tired most of the time but I am able to function. I have noticed that some of my clothes fit better and I have more strength, especially in my upper body. As far as a tighter body, my arms and calves are tighter, my "bat wings" have gotten a bit smaller (1 inch according to the tape measure), my abs feel stronger but are still pretty squishy. I am not sure what percentage of earned calories I would eat back but I can say that I some days I would not eat back any and others I would eat back some. I weigh and measure most things. I like that the app has the UPC reader and I can just scan things to get the most accurate readings. Sticking with the 50% rule that you mentioned may be my best option moving forward.

dolliesdaughter

I love P90x even though I lost only 8 lbs I went from a tight 16 to a loose 12. I was following WW at that point in time. INCHES LOSS is always a positive in my book.