A few questions on longer term goals... (lots of text)

tectactoe

Hello there. I will try to be somewhat brief as to not bore everyone here.

I am a 24-year old male, 6' 2" tall. Due to lack of exercise & a love for craft beer, I used to be kind of chubby, weighing in around ~205 lb or so. I looked very "loose", especially my ab area.

I started doing P90X to get some exercise in, every single day. I did it for 90+ days... I noticed muscle growth in my back, chest, legs, arms, & I got down to about ~195 lb. The thing is, I didn't alter my previous diet at all. I ate whatever I wanted, all day, every day.

Though I lost 10 lb & gained some muscle, I still looked "loose" in my abs with no definition & some mild "pudge". So I decided it was time to start dieting hardcore. Their suggested diet plan for my size to lose weight was 2400 calories with a 40/30/30 split (240gC/180gP/80gF). This seemed high to be, plus I wanted accelerated loss, so I actually aimed for closer to 1900 calories a day, trying to follow a similar split.

After almost 90 days of that, I am down to ~178-180 lb & finally have ab definition. I continue to do P90x everyday & that's about it.

So here's what I'm looking for now. I'm tired of the hardcore diet... & I know my weight has changed so much that I need to re-evaluate my goals. I don't necessarily want to lose anymore weight (if I shed a little more fat, so be it) but I don't want to gain weight either. I am happy where I'm at... I just want to maintain this physique & stay looking fit without getting pudgy again. I don't want to keep going at 1900 calories, though, as I don't want to start losing too much muscle mass. I have decided to try & use IIFYM.com

My first question is, approx what activity level should be used for doing P90x everyday when caluculating TDEE? This makes a big difference in maintenance calories.... Based on the IIFYM calculator, @ 178 lb now, I get 2243 cal for "no exercise". But P90x has to count for something, right? I do P90x everyday... but selecting "every day" gives 3060 calories!!! That seems like way too much. Perhaps P90x isn't as "intense" as the exercise assumed here. Even selecting the minimum "3 days/week" gives 2570 cal, which seems kind of high. What do you guys think?

Assuming I go with 2570 cal & the IIFYM plan, I'm allowed 304g carbs, 178g protein, & 71g fat per day. This seems high for carbs, yes? Seeing as how I was losing weight on ~130-180g before... moving up to 304g makes me feel as though I will put weight back on.

Again, what do you guys think? If I want to maintain weight/physique & continue to do P90x everyday, how should I fit my calories/macros to achieve this without having to constantly change/cycle things??

Thank you so much. Below are some pictures to show you the progress... I have a 'mini-question' about these, too... Maybe it's just me, but do I appear "less cut" or 'fatter' in the 120 day picture than the 90 day picture? I see great improvement from each picture to the next, except for the very last one. But maybe it's just me... Following the same diet all along, but perhaps my eyes are just playing tricks on me.

Sorry, no "before" picture!
After 90 days of P90X with NO diet restrictions (pizza, lots of beer, fast food, etc...) - http://i.imgur.com/NmhhVYo.jpg
After ~30 days of following the diet plan above - http://i.imgur.com/YG7ZXiN.jpg
After ~60 days - http://i.imgur.com/jfTqS4k.jpg
After ~90 days - http://i.imgur.com/QJ2pjcC.jpg
Today, around 120 days - http://i.imgur.com/3Et1NVp.jpg

And FINALLY - my last question. I'm still a craft beer enthusiast - it's a part of my life that I will never cut out. But I certainly have cut back. However, during this "cut" of mine, I still enjoyed plenty of beer... just in more moderation. If I wanted to have a couple beers in a night, I would make sure to eat fewer carbs throughout the day, and track the beer as I would any other food. It seems to have worked.

Every now & again, my buddies & I get together for big "tastings" where we all bring a few beers & snacks, basically pigging out. Pizza, 20+ beers (3-4 oz of each, or so), chips & dips, etc... As you can see, a total calorie blow-out fest. As much as I'd love to, sometimes I just CAN'T say no to these events. I have to enjoy life occasionally, right? Thing is, it's easy for calories to grow as high as 4000-5000 during nights like this, I'm sure.

If I have, say, two nights like this per month, how bad will that hurt my physique, long term? I'm thinking as long as the other 28-29 days of the month, I'm sticking to my calorie/macro goals, then these nights will not have much of a factor. Perhaps there is something I can do to help "offset" these days further (i.e., dropping calories way low on the day before or after, like 1200-1400 range)? Or should I not even bother because 2 days/month will not have any real effect if I stick with my goals the rest of the time?

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL COMMENTS/HELP/SUPPORT!

Cheers!!

tectactoe

TR0berts

If you're doing P90X every day, or 6 days (including yoga X plus maybe stretching on day 7), then 3060 Cals per day sounds about right. That is, of course, assuming your workouts are as intense as they are intended to be. The macros you have listed sound about right for 2570 Cals, which you posted. No - that's not a lot of carbs, considering how intense your P90X workouts are supposed to be. You'll need the carbs to be able to keep up the intensity.

Normally, I'd say to try the 3060 Cals first, as that seems right. But, in your case, I'd say to try the 2570 Cals first - this should help with your nights out with your buddies. While a night or two per month shouldn't really hurt you, having fewer Cals on a regular basis will allow you to splurge, on occasion. You may lose a slight bit of weight/fat, but you might gain a little. After a few weeks, re-assess how you look in the mirror and how you feel. Adjust, if necessary.

Regarding the pictures, I don't see a big difference. Of course, your pose and angle is different in both, but they look about the same.

steve_mfp

I totally understand the love of craft beer.

You'll definitely want to introduce some more calories with your activity level.

Upping your protein will help maintain your lean muscle mass.

Introduce your calories by a couple hundred every 2 weeks and monitor.

Also cheat days once or twice a month normally do not affect you at all. The body will not absorb all the calories, it's not used to that volume. Do it every day and the body will quickly adapt and start storing it all.

tectactoe

Thanks for the replies... I definitely do the workouts to my full potential... Even after 120+ days of doing it, I see gains in reps & weight. Occasionally, I'll wake up feeling like crap & half-*kitten* a workout. But on these days, I'll stop early - then re-do the workout (or a different one) after work when I'm feeling more "into it".

Just recently bought a HRM & I'm burning anywhere from 350-600 cals depending on the workout. Even the last "lifting" workout I did (chest, shoulders, triceps) says I burned around 410 calories during the 50 minutes.

I guess my weight loss was kind of quick, because I was doing p90x & trying to hover around 2000 calories, some days going over, some days coming under, but always staying between 1800-2400.

Now that I've seen such progression, I'm (possibly irrationally) struck with the fear that upping my calories (to get out of such a large deficit) will make me gain weight & look fat again... I just want to remain the same & stay toned.

Considering starting to lift in the gym in my work on MWF as well, looking at Starting Strength for a program, while keeping P90x cardio work outs on Tu/Th....

steve_mfp

If you switch to weight training then you'll definitely want to up the calories and ensure the protein levels are high.

Also you will gain weight. Do not worry about this. Some will be fat, some will be muscle. Slowly add the calories making sure you have enough for energy and recovery. Put a little mass on, you can always go back to more intense cardio to trim the fat if you need to.

Roadie2000

If you keep doing p90x it will be tough to gain any weight. If you do it will be mostly muscle, especially if you start lifting weights.

tectactoe

Thanks for the replies! Looking into a few different lifting programs now... Not sure which one to choose yet. Still want to work p90x exercises into my weekly routine, though, as I love the calorie burn on off-days.