Hello all -

I'm currently working through Power 90, on or about my 63rd day. Here is a little background and what I've experienced so far with it:

As an office working 51 year old father of two elementary school aged kids I found myself getting progressively in worse physical shape, just chugging through life, getting the kids to up, fed, to school, after school pick-up, sports, etc...then dinner, homework etc etc. I'm sure every parent out there understands some version of this routine. Getting to a gym on a regular basis didn't fit well into our family's schedule. Nor did bicycling, my 'old' sport. Power 90 has allowed me to exercise regularly again, I see clear and measurable results, and it fits into my schedule (very early morning). I find Tony Horton a bit goofy and funny, but also a very good motivator. I found I needed phase 1-2 just to reacclimate to exercise on a regular basis. I'm also really counting calories and watching what I eat - on the diet plan included with Power 90. So far very very good results. That is how I came to find myfitnesspal. I was writing everything down manually, which was slow and laborious, when my wife suggested I find 'an app for that'. And here I am.

I've had to do some adjustments to my goals here on MFP to get better aligned with my BMR and my weight loss goals, but I think it is working well. My experience has been alot like many others here - using the scale is an iffy measure of progress, and taking measurements really shows the esults. While I have lost a reasonable amount of weight so far (14-15 lbs), the inches lost are more measurable and visible, as is my general fitness and energy level. I'm loving this.

I just do the DVD workout videos. I know there are folks here who mix things up, a little extra cardio here, some-thing-or-other there....I can't do that. As it is I'm pretty tired, and sleeping well each night, due to the regular exercise. When I was in phase 1-2 I probably could have done an additional workout, maybe some light cardio or something, but at least for me, the DVDs are enough.

Right now I'm in phase 3-4 and I wouldn't add anything extra. When I fully apply myself to the workouts (doing, or trying to do, the max's of 15 or 20 reps/set) I'm pretty spent at the end and need the remainder of the day for recovery. Most workouts are good ones - feeling strong and working it...though there are occasional days where I feel tired, out of sync, etc. I just press play, go do it, and then return the next day, usually feeling much better.

My goals are 1st - to feel better and more energetic, 2nd to build muscle mass, and 3rd to lose some weight (maybe a total of 20 lbs). I have no aspirations of being some 'Arnold Schwartzenegger'. I just want to be able to keep up with my kids, have fun, etc.

On the side diet of Power 90 - the guidelines have worked well. It's surprising how many calories I can consume (of healthy foods) and continue to lose weight. I was surprised to find during the mid portion of phase 1-2 that by eating well below the guidelines for calories my weight loss stalling - my body went into 'starvation mode' - which really annoyed me. It took me a couple of weeks to figure that out, and when I added more calories into my diet (but still below the daily guideline) my weight loss resumed. Amazing. I've really cut out most of the junk food in my diet. Every few days I'll have a small ice cream after dinner, but all of the chips, crackers, pretzels, cheese, burgers, cookies, etc. are out. You'll see in the Power 90 nutrition guide something called Michi's ladder, a 5 tiered listing of foods. The top tier is leafy greens, legumes, etc. The bottom tier is super fatty, decadent foods. By and large I've been able to keep myself in the top two tiers. Every so often I'll dip into one of the lower teirs. In the past my wife and I have done WW and the South Beach diet. This diet/nutricional guide + Power 90 has been SO much more effective. I'm losing weight and building muscle mass. I heartily endorse following it.

I use a Timex heart rate monitor/wristwatch so I have a general idea of how many calories I burn during both the cardio workout and the strength workouts.

I'm not certain what fitness program I'll do after Power 90, but I'm sure I'll do one (Power 90 Master Series?). My goal is to do P90X, maybe in the winter/spring of 2014. My time constraints (note the parenting schedule in paragraph 2) will limit the amount of exercise time I can get in on those days I'm taking the kids off to before-school care.

Just press play.