Focus T25 questions - trying to get leaner

Ok, so I'm well qualified to talk about this, I think. I have been doing Focus T25 for about a year, multiple rounds of Alpha and multiple rounds of the Beta phase (since mid-October 2014). I've had a few breaks (around Christmas when we all got ill - wife, me and the three kids) and for a couple of weeks in June when my father died, but even without those breaks I can tell you that without your diet in-check you're not going to see much fat or weight loss.

I have been pushing hard on these workouts but until the last six or seven weeks I have not been controlling my diet consistently. Consequently, I have put on and lost the same 10-14 lbs over and over in the last year. However, I have benefitted from a better resting heart rate and obviously my improvements in fitness are measurable, for a start, I can do T25 better (i.e less modification) and more speed whilst maintaining good form.

The old adage "you can't outrun/outwork a bad diet" is always true and now that I have been tracking consistently and applying the brakes on my consumption consistently, I've lost 11lbs in the last 9 weeks. This is all the forward momentum I need to keep me motivated.

T25 as a programme is a good one and I particularly love the Beta phase because of the strength training aspect, but the nutrition is key to reach your goals. The recent weight loss has enabled me to hit the workouts harder and my calorie burn (as accurate as that is - Polar WM42 with chest strap) has increased to all-time highs for me recently. Last week I managed 780 calories in 50 minutes on doubles day (Week 4 beta, Speed 2.0 and Upper Focus). We've even started subbing in Alpha's Total Body Death Cardio to replace a week's repeated workout and we have been getting better at that - possibly the hardest workout in T25.

We're going on to Gamma after our holiday this month (primarily because it needs weights for almost all the workouts and I won't have them on holiday) and I'm hoping that with my diet in check and good luck (i.e no silly injuries) to ramp up the progress.

Good luck!

I completed 3 rounds of T25 (Alpha, Beta, and Gamma) in the spring and lost 13.5 lbs in 14 weeks. I ate an average deficit of 500 calories per day to achieve 1 lb a week weight loss (except my birthday week when I ate to maintenance). I believe it was my diet that directly caused the weight loss. However, my muscle tone and cardio abilities really improved over the course of the program and I love it. I still turn back to my favorites from Beta and Gamma once in a while, but I try to mix up my workouts a bit more now.

You really don't burn a whole lot of calories using the videos (I have a Fitbit Charge HR to track calories burned) which I think is why you have to be so careful with your diet. If you track your calories using MFP and follow the workout program I think you will still get great results.

I found T25 to be poor compared to Insanity - too much dancing clapping rosemary connelly type stuff not enough hardcore calorie burning. Insanity max 30 is better in a similar timeframe per workout.