P90xers....To use the meal plan or not?

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bsoxluvr
bsoxluvr Posts: 183 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm going to be starting P90X next week and am wondering how many people follow their meal plans? Seems like a LOT of work, and it would give me 1000 more calories than I eat now. How do those that know the program think it works best?

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  • bsoxluvr
    bsoxluvr Posts: 183 Member
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    P.s. I'm also no where near being able to do a pull up :sad: I can just about everything else in the fitness test...I think! Will this hold me back much?
  • barbosa22
    barbosa22 Posts: 178 Member
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    I do not follow thier meal plan and I am lossing weight. You can use resistance bands in place of a pull up bar
  • ChancyW
    ChancyW Posts: 437 Member
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    I've done P90X 4 times completely through and in several hybrids. As a vegetarian I follow my own diet which involves a lot more work.

    LOTS of people have EXCELLENT results with the eating plan though.

    What's MOST important is if you can stick with it!! If you can...go for it!!!

    -Chancy
  • Goal_Seeker_1988
    Goal_Seeker_1988 Posts: 1,619 Member
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    The diet program is basically high protein low carbs. If you can stick to that you should be fine. And as for the pull ups just do modified ones. Get a chair and put on foot on top of it to help you pull yourself up. I do the same thing at the gym, I modifie my pull ups.
  • jram70
    jram70 Posts: 91 Member
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    I didn't follow it at all because it seems like an awful lot of calories (I would be at 3000 a day). Part of the problem is that they calculate it on 600 per workout which in my experience is not accurate. The other is that 3000 a day would probably be correct if I were in shape like Tony Horton. I use this site. I have lost about 1 lb a week (10 lbs total). Most of my weight came off in the 1st month but I have lost inches and definitely have gained some muscle mass (am a guy) so probably have actually lost more weight than that. Probably if i did the plan would have lost more, but am losing weight, looking better and not killing myself to stick to a diet plan I couldn't realistically follow. If you can follow it then I would, but you should see results even if you don't.
  • Stefani74
    Stefani74 Posts: 448 Member
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    P.s. I'm also no where near being able to do a pull up :sad: I can just about everything else in the fitness test...I think! Will this hold me back much?

    I cannot do a pull-up either...but I use the resistance bands and hopefully someday I will! My husband and I are doing this together and are using the meal plan. We just completed week 2 and it's going great so far for us!
  • Buckeyt
    Buckeyt Posts: 473 Member
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    P90X is disigned for relatively fit people who are already close to their ideal body weight. This means no caloric deficit is built into the program.

    When I started the plan suggested I eat 3,000 calories, I started out at 2,200 and lost 32 pounds over two rounds going from 214 to 182.

    For women, I'd suggest about 1,600 to 1,800 calories. The workouts are intense and you'll burn tons of calories, I hit over 700 easily according to my HR monitor.

    You are shown how to modify every single exercise in the program. Just work hard and trust the program and you'll see results.
  • byHISstrength
    byHISstrength Posts: 984 Member
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    I have just started day 1 of week 6 today, and I have not followed the meal plan. Honestly, having a family of 5, I cannot afford to feed everyone if I follow the meal plan.

    What I did when I first started was adjust my percentages in MFP and did my best to stick with that. I haven't had any real problems doing it this way. FYI, I only last about a week with the phase 1 carb/protein/fat percentages they recommended.

    As far as the pull up bar, we have BowFlex at home, so I just do pull downs...kind of like what they do with the resistance bands, and that works fine.

    Well, good luck on your P90X journey.

    Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like.
  • rhodges48
    rhodges48 Posts: 16
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    I don't use the P90X diet plan. I tried it for the first month or so, was working hard and losing NO weight at all. Not saying it would work for everyone but, for me, just sticking with 1200 calories a day and a carb/fat/protein ratio of 50/20/30 has worked MUCH better. I seem to have plenty of energy for the workouts, feel great, and have been losing weight fairly steadily since I started doing P90X last June.
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
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    The diet program is basically high protein low carbs. If you can stick to that you should be fine. And as for the pull ups just do modified ones. Get a chair and put on foot on top of it to help you pull yourself up. I do the same thing at the gym, I modifie my pull ups.

    That's not true. Phase I is the only lower carb part of the plan. 30% carbs in Phase I isn't exactly low carb either.
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    I shoot for 35% protein and try to keep my calories between 1700-1900 calories. The calorie suggestions for women is over the top.
  • TheBrandonEspinosa
    TheBrandonEspinosa Posts: 14
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    When it comes to the pull-ups, they show how to modify the workout so that you can do it to your fullest potiental.
    With the meal plan, I have never followed it. I showed some results by just staying with the my daily calorie intake I got from mfp, maybe would have shown a little more if I had stuck to theirs.
    Overall, the program is amazing! I am restarting tonight
  • ChancyW
    ChancyW Posts: 437 Member
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    P.s. I'm also no where near being able to do a pull up :sad: I can just about everything else in the fitness test...I think! Will this hold me back much?

    Give it 90 days and you will be amazed at what you can do! I've never been able to do more than one in my life (even as a child at a normal weight)!
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    P.s. I'm also no where near being able to do a pull up :sad: I can just about everything else in the fitness test...I think! Will this hold me back much?

    I cannot do a pull-up either...but I use the resistance bands and hopefully someday I will! My husband and I are doing this together and are using the meal plan. We just completed week 2 and it's going great so far for us!

    Use the resistance bands for now. They sell additional bands at Sports Authority.

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