P90X Diet

I have done the program off and on for the last couple of years. I have really been slacking lately, so my wife and I have decided to push ourselves in the program this time around. We have never followed the diet in the past and this time want to. My question is how hard is it really to follow the diet? The problem is my wife and both have fulltime jobs and are concerned about preparing meals. Also I don't like salad or tuna. Is that gonna cause a big problem. I don't mind vegitables just not salad. Am I gonna be able to stick to the diet? Which approach do you guys use to the diet and how far ahead of time do you plan meals? I thinking about planning my meals every sunday for the following week. Thanks Mike

mike i think the best advice is to just eat sensibly, you know what is good for you and what isnt and how much is ok to eat and how much is excessive. ive done p90x 3 times and have always had great sucess(just started my 4th cycle yesterday). your diet accounts for more than anything when trying to lose weight. work out all you want but if you stuff your face then youre not going to lose much weight. you have to count your calories too. its a simple formula, eat less than you burn and youll drop lbs. it isnt easy but if you wanna drop lbs its what you have to do. heres a pic of me last summer. i had just finished a cycle.

I am just finishing up my first cycle of P90X ( in my last recovery week) I think it depends on what you want to do. Are you wanting to drop weight or add muscle?? If it's drop weight then forsure follow the diet plan and you'll shed pounds. (i lost 20... my goal was 18) If you are looking to bulk up then exactly what alan said.... eat sensible.

you don't need to eat salad... you can get your veggy calories without it no problem... i ate lots of salad int he first month and burnt out on it.... i haven't had any since then.

good luck it's a great program...

I have done it before. Just never the diet. I would consider myself in above average shape. I don't need to lose any weight (5'9 160) just trying to push it.

Mike, I think you may have said it best in your post.. following the P90x diet to a "t" will take lots of preparation and planning.

Mike, I am on round 9 week 2. I have gone through the program both ways (following a strict diet vs. eating well but cheating a bit). Following a strict diet has given me the best results by far. It does take some planning. I had built a menu maker in Excel. You needed to type in protein, carb, calorie of each food, but it would add all of the components up and let you know if you were getting the right mixture of elements. I have had a computer change since I built it and can't seem to find it. If I do, I will send it to you. It really helped me plan in relation to what the program wants you to eat. After the first round, I understood enough about the diet to not need it anymore. Also, after a week or two, I listened to my body and increased my caloric intake to fit my metabolism. Don't just suffer through feelings of energy loss. You need the calories, so eat them. Hope that helps somewhat.
keep pushing play!
Oh! A new P90X is due out in April. Beachbody has the prototype out now in the latest version of one on one with Tony. If you buy that set now, you can buy the new P90X half price later
www.beachbodycoach.com/bgtdude

Yeah any help would be great if you find that excel. I was gonna build an excel. I saw this guys diet and he had great results thinking of maybe trying it. Pretty repeititve but I can do repetitive.

http://www.weightloss-hq.biz/weight-...-of-meals.html

Alan, I don't think it's working. That spare tire of yours is embarrassing!!

If you have an iphone there is also a free app that tracks calories, fat, exercise etc. and also has a decent data base of store bought and restaurant items. http://www.apptism.com/apps/lose-it

My diet is probably similar to alan's; I eat sensibly all the time, so a "diet" is just what I eat on a daily basis. I focus most on my protien/fat ( healthy) intake and let everythiing else fall into place. I try and watch the sugar as well as salt. My go to food when I'm hungry or feel a lack of energy is typically all-natural PB.

Alan has the right idea. Just eat smart. You can use the P90X as a guide for the type of meals you should be eating, and the timing. Select foods that are similar. Salmon for Tuna, other greens for salad.

I'd suggest just paying attention to the basics. Cut out sugar and alcohol as much as possible. try to stay away from processed foods. Your biggest meals should be early in the day, and small meals toward the end. Big dinners are the progress killer.

The Law of Thermodynamics, or the rule that suggests that as long as you burn more calories than you eat, you will loose weight, won't work for everyone. Hormones rule everthing.

When I went through p90x I didn't follow the diet but changed the way I eat.

before I started I would eat one monster meal a day, and then a before bed snack.... as far as I know theeeee worst way to eat.... and I was drinking like ~2 liters of soda a day.... and those super meals I would eat were terrible stuff .... I had a bad enough diet to get gout at 21.

once I started I tried eating 3 small meals a day with a fruit/veggie snack or two a day.... I also cut out soda. My diet before was bad that just cutting out the monster meal, soda, and eating somewhat healthy was enough to see results

Cliff,
I have a question since you followed the diet. Did you notice a difference in performance with the strict diet or just looks and feeling better? When I did P90X the first time I definately got results but I definately hit a plateu. I got to right around 110 pull ups on the legs and back and that was about it. I was wondering how much the diet will help with performance. THanks, Mike

On a strict diet where you are ending your day on a caloric deficit, you WILL hit a strength plateau. You won't have any spare calories to aid with new tissue/muscle development, therefore, you will only get so strong. Also, since you're talking about a high number of reps, as far as the central nervous system is concerned, it is successfully meeting your demand.

If you want to add strength, you need to add muscle. To add muscle, you need excess calories, and you need to fail at a much lower rep. Failing between 4-8 reps makes the body think that there is not enough muscle to complete the imposed demand, and the body will therefore create new muscle tissue to meet the increased demand. Very hard to do with short calories though.

Mike, I agree with J-rod. When I do follow the diet plan, I always up the calories. I never want to feel depleted or weak because of lack of calories. That being said, I also found it difficult to really "bring it" in the morning. My schedule allows for a mid afternoon workout.. By then, I have eaten 2 full meals plus a snack. I also never go to bed hungry. I drink a protein drink for an extra snack after 8 or 9 at night. It works for me, but I am a night owl and sometimes work until midnight.

It is funny that there is a thread for the P90X here in wake world! I am just getting started on my second run at it. I am going to post a pic of me now and then post another in a couple weeks!

Brett - There are like 8 P90X threads.

I followed the nutrition plan to a T for the first 2 phases and in the 3rd phase i slacked off a little bit due to it being xmas and new years.... i am very happy with the resulfts i ended up with and i think i was under eating a bit because in phase 3 once i started eater a little more i dropped some more weight and broke through a plateau as well. An Excellent resource off the beachbody website is "michi's ladder" that is basically all you need for direction.... try to eat foods in the top 2 levels as much as possible and you can't help but change for the better!!!

Wife and I are about try out P90x. I'm going to start Triathlon training at the same time and she is training for a marathon too. Going to make things interesting regarding training (over training) and diet.

Just ate a big juicy burger and a milk shake. Come monday morning, no more of that. Excited for the diet. I know what to expect from the workout and enjoy them but I think diet will make a big difference.

Originally Posted by BCPMike0663

Just ate a big juicy burger and a milk shake. Come monday morning, no more of that. Excited for the diet. I know what to expect from the workout and enjoy them but I think diet will make a big difference.

Six packs start in the kitchen!

ive been preaching this for years. all about caloric intake.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08...sor/index.html


in summary professor reduces daily intake to 1800 calories and only eats twinkies and junk food. loses 27 lbs and reduces cholesterol by 20 percent.

mike i dont know if my dietary habits hurt my performance during previous cycles nor if i realized my maximum potential. on the legs and back day i did 217 pull ups which i was happy with. perhaps i could have done more had i been eating more. i dunno.

i think you need to eat according to your goals.

if you are looking to gain muscle and size then eat tons of protein and calories. while i was deployed to afghanistan the past few months i boosted my protein and overall caloric intake and i gained 20 lbs and my bench press went up about 100 lbs. no way would this be possible with out eating the way i did. also if you are looking to gain muscle i dont know that p90x is the program you would want to use. there is not enough weight training and is too cardio intensive for big muscle gains imo. i do think p90x is great for toning and getting ripped up provided you dont eat like crap.

Well made it through day one of the diet no problem. I don't think eating the food is hard. The food is actually pretty darn good. The problem I think most people would have is planning out the meals. I planned everything on sunday so it makes it pretty easy to follow. I put everything in little plastic containers for each day. The workout was tough but like I said I have done the program before so I know what to expect with that. I would recommend the livestrong website for making sure your ratios are in order.
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/users/myplate/

Awsome website very helpful.

If you want to get big with P90X. Hit the pause button between excersices and rest 90 second. This gives your ATP-CP time to recover so that you can be as strong as possible for your next exercise. For pullups, you might consider pinching a dumbell between your feet to ad weight. I often set a 35 pound plate on my back, or use tension bands to weight my pushups.

Great post Jarrod. You answered my question anyways. I was going to start P90 but my goal was to bulk up as im pretty slim right now. Im 6'4" and weigh a good 187 lbs. I was reading about the diet and it seems as though i should not follow it but maybe just try and eat some of the foods. I dont really want to lose any weight. I would like to gain weight! I have been trying to eat sensibly but i will have to look at the program once i get it.

If any one has any other tips for someone in my situation that would be great.

jarrod...I'm trying to envision placing a plate on your back by yourself...lol. That in and of itself seems tricky. I tpically do the P90 ( non-cardio) routines at my local gym about once a month. For all the push up exercises I place my hands on medicine bals--not really bulking , but makes it much more difficult.

try placing your feet on a ball too.

Putting the plate on my back is easy. Great way to weight your pushups. I used to have a lot of fun coming up with new and interesting exercises.

How do these exercises in P90x compare with Insanity? After my second blown knee and a cervical fusion I am deciding to get serious about getting back in shape. Over 40 and have not done any serious training since football in college. I have always just played my sport and been in good enough shape to not have to worry about it but I am committed to making a change now. Mainly because I am tired of surgeries and the rehab process!

I notice that when I start working out (been 2 weeks now) that I wakeup ravenous in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep. I am not following any diet but geenrally eat decent now and usually get enough to fuel myself sufficiantly. Is an hour and a half workout 4 times a week to much?

Gene, IMO the insanity workouts are much tougher ( froma cardio/stamina perspective) They are very high impact. 1.5 hour is traditionaly a bit long, but all depnds on your goals, what your trying to accomplish, ect.

Fro the middle of the nite hunger....try drinking a casein protien shake before bed, or a tablespoon of all nat. peanut butter

Gene, Insanity is tough. There is no real rest day during the week, so it's high impact everyday. that can be hard on someone over 40. it was for me at first.

J-Rod, great advice, cool routine in the pi. I love your wood floor! Is that at the house?

Hijack here. I consider myself to be in decent shape, and I just started P90 today (my wife bought it a year ago, but we have a gym membership so I never started it). I struggled with many of the exercises, particularly the last round of the dive-bomb push-ups, I could only do 2. And the Ab-x at the end kicked my ass. Some of you guys that have completed the program, do I need to be in better shape before continuing, or is this "normal"?

Thanks guys..... FYI I am so damn sore right now I won't be able to workout for a day or 2 ! lol

Jeremy, I would say that's normal. Remember do you best forget the rest. Just started another round of P90X after taking some time off and it kicked my A$$ and I am sore, just have to push through it an make improvements each day.

Gene - Nice Dude! I started it once and didn't make it very long. P90X is good but it's pretty hard core. It's not really a sustainable thing and I guess people just have to decide if it is for them or not. A lot of people quit because trying to do it straight off the couch is touch and can be over-kill.

I've taken 6 months off and now I'm paying for it getting back in the gym. I wasn't doing enough on the cardio side which was also a problem. Time to get back at it a little smarter this time!

Jeremy,
I would just stick with it. Maybe do the AB ripper before the workout or at a different time in the day if you can. I will tell you I am on day four right now and am in severe pain. And I am doing around 20-25 push ups and 10 pull ups on the excercises. But I will always be sore because as I get stronger I will push harder. Also we are following the diet perfectly and I think that is gonna be a big key to success. As I completed the program in the past and got in really good shape, but not amazing shape.

I am in my second round. Did one this time last year. Got great results and yes DIET IS KEY! I lost around 30#. Didnt get recognized in some pictures by a friend...
In my second week of this years round and I forgot what it is like to be that sore! Great feeling overall. I found that I will do AB RipperX better if I do it before I start the normal workout. Its mainly mental for me, but I can push a lot harder in the main workout knowing that the countdown is my actual countdown. I switched halfway through my first round because I noticed all too often I would either quite halfway from exhaustion (mind and body) or just not even do the ARX. I also feel my core is getting worked better throughout the entire workout.

Well I made it through week one of the diet perfectly other then my calories being a little low. I am taking in between 1900 and 2000 calories a day. But my ratios are almost perfect. 50% Protien 30% Carb and 20% fat. The most I have been off by so far is like 3% on Protein and carb. My fat has been pretty consistant. One thing I find interesting is that I must have not been eating enough before in my regular diet, because you are supposed to feel a little more sluggish with this diet, but I feel great. Way more energy to BRING IT!

Through week two of the diet. I just wanted to encourage anyone who has not tried the diet to try it. Use the livestrong site and keep your ratios in check. I have silent reflux a form of acid reflux. Because of this in the past I don't think I was taking in enough calories. Now that I am on the diet, even in the fat burner stage I have 2 times the energy that I had before the diet. I must have just been eating like crap (not enough calories and too many carbs). This weekend we even cooked some recipes from the nutrition guide and they were pretty simple and really good.
I if you feel a little off give this a shot. I am feeling so much better and the foods I am eating actually taste better.

Ok, I started the diet yesterday and I hope I'm doing it right because it seems to want me to eat an awful lot of food! I'm shooting for 3,000 calories, but I only got to 2,500 yesterday. I just couldn't eat any more, especially in the protein category where they want me to down 9 servings a day. I'm using LiveStrong to keep track of it all, which is pretty damn cool. I even put in the piece of gum I had last night!

My ratios are a little jacked up, so I need to work on that. I'm finding that to be the most difficult part. Without LiveStrong.com, I don't know how you would do it!

Dave,
Good to hear you are taking a shot at the diet. Have you started the workout program as well? I am sure there will be others here with good advice. Most of the info for the diet I am following come from this link.

http://www.weightloss-hq.biz/weight-...-of-meals.html

If you look at his before and after this guy got amazing results and he is the moderator on that site. I think you want to be up there in calories. But the book says I should be at 2400 calories a day but I am consuming between 1800 and 1900 hundred a day. As long as you feel good I think you should be OK calorie wise. I would really concentrate on the pie chart on the right side of the live strong site and try and keep your ratios 50 30 20. The ratios, with calorie intake are the two most important things.

Some tips that I have found that work for me. Prepare your meals ahead of time. This is a big deal. Second get some canned chicken, it might not be the best for you because of the sodium but it makes lunches much easier. Especially if you work a 9-5 kind of job. Another thing is to get some La Tortilla lo carb tortillas. These are awsome. You can make burritos with the chicken and some vegies and it doesn't even taste like you are eating heathly. Finally a key for me has been fresh salsa. It is good for you and you can lube everything up so what you are eating isn't so dry.

I am sure there are others that have a better nutrition background can give you better advice. But this is what has helped me keep my ratios in check. I will post my daily diet later and you can take a look at it.

The livestrong site is such a savior. We even went to Chipolte last night and I was still able to keep my ratios within range.

Yes, I'm doing the workouts. Started yesterday and I guess now that I've announced it on here, I'm REALLY committed! I was really bummed after the first day (Chest and Back) because I was wasted half way through the workout and actually recorded some zeros in the reps column. However, I did much better today (Plyometrics) and pretty much kept up, so I'm feeling better. Soooooo sore!!

Wow, I'm dumb. I didn't even see that pie chart on LiveStrong. I guess my ratios are a little jacked up (44:32:24). I thought the diet would be easier to dial in because I'm a bland eater and I can eat the same thing every day forever and still be happy. I just want to find one day's worth of food that gets me the right ratios and I have no problem riding out the same meals until I get to the next phase. I guess I need to find some more foods that are high in protein but low in fat. Oops, I just ate some peanut butter. That's not gonna help! I also need to get some protein powder. That might fix me up!

Dave,
Your ratios don't look too bad. Some minor tweeks and you should be good to go. YOU NEED TO GET SOME PROTEIN POWDER!!!

Here is my daily diet right now I am pretty close to 50 30 20 everyday.

7AM 1 cup of egg whites
half a tomato
1 ounce mushooms
.5 ounce of mozzarella skim cheese
4 ounces of coffee with non fat coffee mate (my wife and I split a cup)

10AM GNC Whey Protein Powder vanilla
half a banana or frozen berries
1 honey crisp apple

12PM La Tortilla Lo Carb wheat Tortilla
6 ounces canned chicken
1.5 ounces mushrooms
1 ounce spinach
2 table spoon fresh salsa
1 Can Diet Pepsi (Guilty Pleasure!)

2PM GNC Whey Protien Powder Vanilla
Half a banana or frozen berries
1 carrot

4PM 4 Ounces canned chicken
1 Ounce red onion
1 ounce mushroom

5PM Power Bar Protein pluse reduced sugar Chocolate and Peanut Butter

7PM 10 Ounces turkey or Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 Cup of Broccoli with 1 ounce mozarrella skim cheese or 1 cup Aspargus

Lots of water!! On the weekends I ditch the canned chicken. And I BBQ boneless skinless chicken breasts for lunch. And then for dinner we pick something out of the nurtition guide which turns out to be pretty good. Dave you are a bigger guy so you will probably need more food but this is kind of a basic structure that has worked for me. Like I said earlier I actually like a lot of the food better then what I was eating before and I feel 10 times better.

With the videos just make through week one and things will feel much better week 2

Hey, I have a few questions. I'll start out with a little background info and then ask the questions...

I just started P90 here at the beginning of the week. I'm trying to eat healthy, but it's difficult when you're a broke college student... I'm 22, 6'6" and 230 lbs. Last year I got down to 205 from 250 in 3.5 months just between diet, biking everywhere and wakeboarding every day over the summer, and then put 25 lbs back on when I got back to school and got mono 2 months in, which meant that I wasn't really moving much at all for 3 months (but my appetite unfortunately hung around, i was just really really tired). When my energy came back I started lifting/running/biking again and got thinner but kept the weight.

Now, my real question is, when I'm way way way below the suggested caloric intake for a day to just maintain my current weight, can I make up for that by drinking? bahaha... jussssst kidding. In all seriousness, on that point, will drinking on the weekends destroy my attempts to get results? I am in college afterall... So not drinking is just, meh.

Anyways, based on what I told you, do you suggest that I follow the diet? Can I just kinda wing it and try to eat healthy? Or do you honestly believe that it'll be necessary to follow the diet to get good results? I'm concerned that I may crash and not be able to continue like I have the last couple of times that I tried to do p90, because I don't eat enough, but I just don't know...

Also, instead of a recovery drink, I just do a 12 ounce glass of 2% chocolate milk after each workout... And I only drink water besides that. never soda or anything. I have coffee a few times a day on two days a week because I'm in class for 10 hours.

That's pretty much everything. Any tips on this eating thing?

Dave one last thing I forgot to mention. Buy a food scale! That thing is so important. Sometimes I think I am eating enough but the scale does not lie. Buy one of those bad boys!

Nick, you can eat whatever you want. But if you want to get ripped you need to follow the diet. I have done the program before without the diet and I had good results. But with the diet, granted I am only in week 3 the way I feel and the results I already see are amazing. I would say the drinking would be a definate no no! Plus the lessons I have learned from livestrong site will stay with me for a long time.
The other thing is do you really like doing plyo? I don't so if I have to eat healthy to make that plyo worth while I am gonna do it.

So basically, if you don't have the money to follow the diet, you're screwed when it comes to the getting ripped part? Tis a bit disappointing, but oh well. Haha. I'm trying to eat healthy, but like I said, a college budget doesn't really work for eating like they are telling you to. I don't eat desserts or sweets, but there's only so much nutritional value I can pull from dining halls and buying budget foods at the grocery store.

And no, I hate Plyo with a passion. Dear lord my hatred for that workout is intense. Once I get better at it, I feel like I may really really like it, but right now, while my legs are still not super awesome, I hate hate hate it.

Nick,

alcohol has an overall negative effect on your body aside from the calories, but IMO, having a few beers a couple times a week, is not going to hamper yor results much at all. It may actually help to keep you sane.lol. strict dieting is mostly physical but there is a mental side to it. I can applaud people for sticking to strict dietary routines to drop weight , but most of them wont' keep it off. It's not something you can maintain long term. Your young...you have that on your side. start implementing good eating habits now, and you'll never be on a "diet" in your life...the term diet will just refer to what you eat. Aside for a couple of years, for the last 16 years I've kept my body fat in the 5-8 % range ( 6'3" 190 ish), and workout on a regular basis. I never "diet". I have and will get more/less strict depending on what my current goals are. And I drink beer, lol. As a side note, my gentics are not good, lol. everyone in my family is overweight or obese.

Originally Posted by wakeworld

Ok, I started the diet yesterday and I hope I'm doing it right because it seems to want me to eat an awful lot of food! I'm shooting for 3,000 calories, but I only got to 2,500 yesterday. I just couldn't eat any more, especially in the protein category where they want me to down 9 servings a day. I'm using LiveStrong to keep track of it all, which is pretty damn cool. I even put in the piece of gum I had last night!

My ratios are a little jacked up, so I need to work on that. I'm finding that to be the most difficult part. Without LiveStrong.com, I don't know how you would do it!

Attachment 11372

What part of the livestrong page are you using? Am I correct to assume it is th "MY Plate" section.
I am going to start my second round and really follow the diet closer this time around and I too feel this type of thing will help. thanx,Kevin

I was up late last night, so I slept in an extra three hours today and that really made it hard to get all the eating in. I never thought I'd have a problem eating enough, but I am. As I finish off the day, my calories are at 1,744. I'd eat more but I hate going to bed feeling like I overstuffed myself. I still feel good and have plenty of energy for the workouts, so I'm just going to roll with it and let my body tell me if I need more calories.

I did get some protein powder today, so that really helped with my ratios. Today I was at 45:33:22 and I should tweak it a little more tomorrow because I'll throw in an extra protein drink.

I am sore as hell. I seriously don't even want to sit down in a chair because it hurts so bad to get out of it!!

Kevin it is the my plate section. Just plug in what you ate and how much. It will give you a pie chart on the side that will tell you your ratios protein carbs fat.

Dave sounds like you are doing good. Just fight through and you will be OK. The first week is the hardest!

Did legs and backs tonight. Made a 118 pull ups. I know it is not Alan quality. But for me I was pretty darn happy with that number!

118 Pullups???? Are you kidding me?? If that's not a misprint, I may be way out of my league!

that's great Mike! David, work through it buddy! By week 5 you will really feel the positive change

Dave,
Remember I have done the program a couple times before just not with the strict diet. The most pull ups I could do before was around 110 so I am already showing good improvement. Look at Alan's post above he said he did 217. To me that is crazy! Just use the chair on the pull ups and keep bustin them out. Like Cliff said give it a couple weeks and stick with the diet and you will see major improvement!

Dave don't worry you'll be less sore next week. Like Mike said just use the chair and keep pushing. I have never approaced pull up numbers like Mike and Alan is in a whole different world. I started up 3 weeks ago after some Insanity and feel the set backs. During my second round of the X a few years ago the most unassisted pullups I got was 70/80 in L&B, 10 per set. I just shoot for 1 more each set each week, sometimes I get it sometimes I don't.

Just keep at it!

My wife and I are starting on Monday. Part of a local gym's 12 week fitness challenge deal. We're getting our body comp tested via dunk tank Monday and then again at the end of the program to measure results. I had the same dunk tank test done last June, so it will be interesting to see where I am today and what I can do in 12 weeks.

Normally I do Ironman triathlon type training (up to 20 hours a week of cardio) and barely worry about diet. This time I'm going to focus on diet and working out equally.

Dave, just stick with it. It's amazing how fast pullups can build. The first time I did the routine my pullups were wasted by the 3rd set - by the end of the program I could still get 7 or 8 by the end of the hour... My struggle was always pushups. Jarrod suggested supplementing with some weights at the gym and that helped a lot in that area.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm going to need it. It's a good thing that Advil doesn't have any calories or I'd be really messing up my diet!! Yoga was rough today, but I still hate the pushups and pullups the most.

Just a little FYI. I started using the my plate so i could really keep track of my numbers. When I looked at my end numbers for the day the fat why higher than i would have thought it would be. I glanced through and found it rated a cliff organic z bar (peanutbutter) at 45g of fat. Now unless I am reading lables wrong or something this is a huge difference from what I thought should only count as 5g of fat. All of the other bars they listed on livestrong seem to match the lable but not the peanutbutter one. I just wanted you to know to keep an eye on what it rates each thing to make sure its accurate.

nick you can have some beers just dont make your drinking days thurs-sunday like most ppl in college do.

dave what are you trying to achieve with your body and diet? im interested why livestrong would suggest you take in 3k calories a day. unless you are trying to make significant muscle gains i would stay away from forcing yourself to eat for the sake of a formula or to reach a number. and if you are trying to make significant muscle gains i would suggest that p90x may not be the best program due to the 4 days a week you are away from weights. imo.

Ok after 45 days off I am back on the horse as they say. Had to have a little medical procedure taken care of you know the one over 40 got enough kids thing..well anyway thats all healed up and now I am out of excuses so back at I go. I am going to do the lean this time around. I am pretty strong over all I just need to shed some of this extra baby fat I have been hanging onto for 40yrs.LOL. I lost 30lbs. on the first round and I am looking for atleast that this time around. I didnt follow the diet but I did try and eat good healthy stuff as much as I could.
Core syn kicked my azz! I still cant do a friggin Dreya role to save my life so I do burpees instead. Also cant do boat to bow. my big azz cant reach my feet behind my back so you guys got any tips for this one or a substitute move. I just keep doing the boat portion and rest during the bow for now.

Kevin,
You are right about the livestrong site. You still have to look at labels a little bit. But once you find the stuff you usually eat and know the info is right then you can just use the frequently used catorgory so that you don't have to search for everything through the main the search. Also since I eat a lot of the same meals. I just make a my meal. Make it much easier to track stuff.

Got another question for you guys. When you guys drink the whey protien do you mix it with water or milk? Do you guys drink milk or do you avoid it all together? It seems alot of diet guides say to avoid milk.Why is this? Is it because your drinking calories or what? Thanx.

Kevin,
I don't use milk and don't drink it. It is because I got some acid reflux problems and that doesn't mix with the milk to well. I am sure milk would be fine as long as you are with in the ratios. I use frozen fruit or a banana in with my protien. Frozen fruit makes it taste like a milk shake. I really enjoy them!

I use milk usually, but I tried it with water this morning and it was still pretty tasty. I just use the milk as two of my four dairy servings for the day.

Loved the Kenpo X today. I hung in there like a champ. Definite confidence booster! I'm much better at the cardio stuff than the strength stuff. My legs are still sore as hell and crouching just kills me. Before I sit down I look to make sure there's an easy way for me to get up!

Why is Ab Ripper X at the end of several of the DVD's? I know it's the topic of week 12, but am I supposed to be doing that extra 15 minutes after these other routines?

@David - depending on the program you are doing e.g. lean, doubles, etc. you'll do the Ab Ripper X a few days a week right after another workout. For lean you do it twice a week; once after Legs and Back and once after Arms and Shoulders if my memory serves me.

T

Oops, I guess I blew that during the first week. I'll have to sneak three extra Ab Rippers in over the next couple of weeks.

David - Its a mental thing for me, but I like doing Ab Ripper X before the main workout. I find it not as straining on my time if I do it before. I think its easier to do the 15 min before and power through the entire hour, where I would just convince myself that, "ehhh, I worked hard, I can do abs next time..." If I am done with the hour and need to start another 15 min workout. I also like that I can tell in moves when my core is engaged and it continues the workout there...

I am on to Phase two today and I am down 12# (down 29 from the first phase) from when I started. 10 more to go and I am at the same weight I was in high-school. 177 here I come baby.

I've done Ab Ripper twice now. It is incredibly painful if you push it. I can't quite keep up with Tony, but I'm getting better. I have no problem doing it after the regular workouts. It actually goes by really fast.

I did Arms and Shoulders today and I feel like I'm starting to really push it. I feel great after that workout, much better than last week.

I'm getting my diet dialed too (I hope). Any suggestions for butter substitutes and/or a good and tasty cereal?

Dave,
Glad to here you can handle the ab ripper. That is a tough one for most people. I do it before the workout like John. Our diet has been pretty perfect and we haven't cheated yet. Just keep pushing play!

Curious when people tend to see results. I have not been good about the diet as far as ratios go, I have been good with overall calories. I am in Phase 1, week 3. I am holding steady at my current weight and lost maybe 1/2 inch on stomach. Seeing the post above of the large weight loss in Phase 1 makes me think I am missing something major. I know the diet kicks it up another notch, but I am not going to cut much at all without the diet? As stated, I am monitoring overall calories, but getting 50% protien has been tough. I tend to hover between 32-40 protein and a like amount for carbs, remainder in fat (typically from eating almonds or healthy items, although I have given into wings once or twice)

The first time I did it, I got most of my results in the last phase, but that was also when I watched what I ate the most. I am not doing the diet, but watching what I eat the most. Here is a typical day:
Breakfast - 1.5 cups WW Cheerios and a Banana with Skim milk (around 1/2 cup or so)
Midmorning snack - Apple or carrots or celery (veggies with a little bit of no-fat ranch)
Lunch - WW wrap with turkey and cheese, a little bit of light mayo and some mustard and lettuce and onions (fridays I splurge on chipotle chicken bowl - no sour cream and light cheese).
Dinner - whatever the wife makes - lots of fish, ww pasta and chicken, chicken stir fry all pretty lean. Biggest part is watching the amount you eat
Workout
night snack - banana and greek yogurt or protein bar to beef up the protein for the day.

All in all I know I am well below the normal ratios and calorie intake. But its working really well for me. I will try to get some pictures of before and after my first round in a little.

About a year or so ago at the age of 40 my wife informed me we were going to have another baby. Although it was a complete suprise as they told my wife she could not have any more children about 3 yrs ago. It most likely saved my life. I was a 40 yr old 6ft 260lb wreck. I lacked any energy to even think about working out. I had to do something. I sought help from a Dr. that specialized in mens health. With help from him I began to feel much better. I had energy to work out and did kettle worx first and then moved on to P90x. I tell you all this for one tip the Dr gave me.. No cereal. It jacks your carbs up and is low in protien for the most part. I was a cereal junky and it was so hard for me to kick the cereal. Once I got the cereal out of my diet my weight loss took off.
I lost most of my weight in the second Phase of my first round. I was really disappointed with the last phase of first round. I got burned out couldnt/didnt go as hard as the first 60 days and lost very little weight. I am doing the lean phase this time.so far so good. I just need to keep the ball rolling the whole 90 days... And beyond! Bring It!

Hey guys I'm starting Insanity next week. Would you recommend the P90X Powerstand Push Up Stands? I heard they did alot of push ups in P90X just not sure if they'd be worth getting for insanity?

Dave,
R you still pushin play? You stayin on that diet? Tommorrow is day 30 for me. We are gonna go out to cheesecake factory tonight to celebrate getting through the first 30 days. Gonna eat beef for only the second time in 30 days. We did 4 weeks of workout because we needed it to fit our schedule for a trip we are taking during the second recovery week. Anyway we have been pretty solid on the diet and the workouts. My pull ups were 127 on legs and back last week which I am happy with for phase one.
We did core synergystics last night. That is tough when you haven't done it for a while. I didn't remember the exercises and it was truly muscle confusion. I am ready for phase 2. Still have more energy and feel great. Ready to bring it for the next 30 days! Hoping for big changes in the next phase.

One last interesting note: My wife has lost 6 pounds on the program. But amazingly enough I have not lost a pound. I started at 5'9 163 and am the same today. I didn't want to lose any weight so I am cool with it. I just think it is interesting that I haven't lost anything. I thought I was going to dip below 160 for sure.

Anybody want to share the P90X diet? Not sure what I did with mine and I am horrible at knowing what is really good to eat and how to divide up your needs between protein, carbs, fat, etc.

eubanks...shoot me an email. I have the pdf. awcurtis@epco.com

it's big so I will have to .zip it.

Well today I am going change the diet. I am going from the 50 protein 30 carbs 20 fat to 40-40-20. Should be easy to get the extra carbs in there. Just some minor tweaking. But my wife and I had it so dialed it will be interesting to change. Also I am interested to see I notice the extra carbs in the work out.

I'm taking an involuntary break right now. On Sunday I did the first workout of week 3 and Monday morning I woke up with a pulled muscle or something like that in my back. I've had back pain before, but nothing like this. I can't even turn over to my right in bed. I didn't work out Monday or Tuesday and, although there was some minor pain, it felt good enough to start working out again yesterday. I got about 40 minutes through Plyo and I re-aggravated it and practically collapsed right on the floor.

I have no idea is this is related to the workouts or just old age, but it looks like I'm going to have to take more than two days off for this to heal. I'm super bummed cuz I was ROLLIN'!! I'm keeping the diet and probably reducing the calorie intake since I won't be active at all during my break. I'll just pick it up again next week. I'm shooting for Tuesday.

I'm very proud that I spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Disneyland, which is usually a great excuse to stuff my face with all the crap they sell there, but the only thing I bought was one Diet Coke. Everything else came out of my packpack and was on the P90X diet plan!! Luckily, my favorite "ride," the Mission Tortilla factory, was making white corn the whole time, so I was able to work all those snacks into my diet!

How come you're not eating beef? One of my favorite meals is lean (4% fat) ground beef! I have it every few days. Can't wait to add more carbs cuz those are all my favorite foods!

Dave,
I hope you feel better take some time off but stay on the diet if you can . I stayed away from the beef because of the fat content. Just pretty much stuck to chicken and turkey for the first 30 days. Had a nice filet the other night which was good but I think I will still keep my beef consumption to maybe once every two weeks or so. Get better and hopefully you can push play soon.