P90X

Been doing P90X since January1 - Love it, Love it, LOVE it. I don't follow their nutrition plan though, I follow my own... Have dropped 35 Lbs since I started. Tony Horton rules.

"Do your best and forget the rest"...

I heard that you should stay on the phase 1 of the diet till you lose all extra weight. It is a hardcore workout... extreme.

I felt their calorie recommendations were too high. I ate between 1800-2000 per day when they were suggesting 2400. Just finished the program, I dropped 34lbs and 6 pants sizes. I gained strength throughout.....I had one short stretch where I was bonking but just added some carbs and that seemed to do the trick.

Oh lord - the word "bonking" and the word "dogging" both in one thread. *giggle* I am such a child.


Anyway - I'm planning on starting the programme in a week, though switching out the cardio videos for running.

I'm not bothered about the calorie levels but rather the macros. Is it really 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat in the first phase? I just don't know how I'd do that and have any energy. I'd also probably never have a bowel movement!

Does following these percentages make a real difference?

I have done a few rounds of P90X and to lose weight quickly you should do a 40% carb 40% protein and 20% fat diet with a calories restriction that will melt away a ton of body fat

OK, that isn't what the nutrition guide says but it does sound more manageable. I think 30% carbs would kill me.

I don't really have much body fat to lose - probably only 7lbs realistically.

I have used the P90X workouts, but not the food plan. I also have not done the workouts as often as suggested. I interspersed them with my cardio training and other activities. 6 days in a row of intensive weight training might result in some overuse injuries (I know people who have injured themselves by "Bringing it" too often without enough days for the body to recover. It is very intense, but great! If you are starting from a baseline of only a little bit of exercise every now and then, you might want to consider taking it slowly. Even 3 P90X sessions a week will give you some results!

As for the food/nutrition plan, I didn't really consider it. I know what my body needs to eat to feel strong and healthy. (protein/fat/carb ratio, amount of calories, etc) And this might be different for each person.

One thing I have noticed among people who tend to diet often (people who use significant calorie restriction to lose weight) is that they are often uncomfortable with eating enough calories to fuel their bodies for intense exercise. Look up a BMR calculator online and figure out how many calories you burn if you slept all day. Then multiply that by 1.2 or 1.3 or so to get how many calories you burn on a lightly active day. And then add in the number of calories burned in an exercise session (500 or more? - I'll have to check out that calculator!). That should be clsoe to the number of calories you burn on a day of doing P90X.

A calorie deficit is good for losing weight. But if you eat too low uder what you need, your body will not like it. You'll feel bad, weak, and may injure yourself with all the extra strength training. And if your body is in deficit too long, it will start breaking down muscle to prevent you from burning as many calories. Not what we want!

Ah, well i'm subbing the running as I have a 10K on 15 September and I can't even run a 5K yet. Heh. i might throw some of the kenpo in though. :-)

The plyo might be too noisy for my downstairs neighbours...

I did P90X (finished Memorial Day) and it told me to eat level III too but that is way too much food. I ate somewhere between 1700-2000 and lost weight. Lost more inches than weight though, so don't be discouraged by the scale. Tony makes you do lots of stuff so nutrition is key.

Well said! Agree. I lost inches every week for 2 months straight before I saw a movement on the scale! Inches are more important to me than what the scale says.