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[f-castrillo]

How often do you guys actually work out? I'm thinking about doing the sessions twice a day (once in the morning, once in the evening). Would that be detrimental to the process? I'm pretty thin, quite athletic, and plan to get back into sprinting, I need to shed a tiny bit of fat (1-2%), gain some muscle & fitness.

So, once or twice a day?

You wouldn't want to do any of the workouts (except Cardio X) twice a day, trust me. One session will wipe you out. I wanted the extra calorie burn, so I'm doing the Doubles program.

Phase 1 - same as classic routine
Phase 2 - add Cardio X in the AM 3 times a week, during the resistance workout days
Phase 3 - Cardio X 4 times a week in the AM

Again, I recommend against doing the regular workouts more than once a day, especially the resistance workouts. You need to go into these workouts at 100%, and if you have to do them a second time, I'm pretty sure you'll be going in with less. I'm not judging you, but I can't see anybody recommending anyone a second workout besides Cardio X or a jog.

 

[LCfiner]

man, it sucks that I’ve been sick for around a week now and haven’t been able to keep up with the program since the beginning of the month.

I’ve been making good progress too so it sucks to put it on hold for so long.

I’m hoping I’ll be feeling better enough by tomorrow to get back into it. I have chest/shoulders and tis coming up. gotta Bring It!

also, picked up some much stronger bands for back exercises last week (old ones broke) but I haven’t had a chance to use them yet.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

well I skipped my kenpo ex as the cold ruined me.

then I did it on the rest day and just going to continue into the week. the kenpo x was fine, it's not muscle sore making, just a good sweat, so I think i'm fine with hitting chest and back tomorrow.

I got to ask, is anyone here, a total bitch like me when it comes to pullups?

I've never been in terrible shape, around 180 and 80 kilo but pull ups SLAUGHTER me, it's completely devastating.

reverse grip I'm ok with but wide grip is murder. I literally get 2 at the start of the workout then it's chair time, by the end of the work out i'd say my leg is taking probably half the weight.

I guess it doesn't matter as the muscles there are sore as hell the next day so it's doing something, but the video is discouraging when they're doing 15 and quickly each time :lol

 

[yonder]

Just finished 3 weeks and feeling good except I didn't eat really well this weekend at all. Probably just doing it wrong, but I'm just really really shitty at any pullups exercises. That;s the only portion where I haven't seen any improvement at all. It's my recovery week so I'm not sure if I should do another week of the workouts or just do the recovery week and move into phase 2.

It took me about 40 days before I could do a single unassisted pull-up, so hang in there; it'll come eventually. Now on day 50 I still can't do more than 1 unassisted, but I do plenty more of the assisted ones. I guess all one can do is keep working until it works, heh.

 

[Ultimatum]

You wouldn't want to do any of the workouts (except Cardio X) twice a day, trust me. One session will wipe you out. I wanted the extra calorie burn, so I'm doing the Doubles program.

Phase 1 - same as classic routine
Phase 2 - add Cardio X in the AM 3 times a week, during the resistance workout days
Phase 3 - Cardio X 4 times a week in the AM

Again, I recommend against doing the regular workouts more than once a day, especially the resistance workouts. You need to go into these workouts at 100%, and if you have to do them a second time, I'm pretty sure you'll be going in with less. I'm not judging you, but I can't see anybody recommending anyone a second workout besides Cardio X or a jog.

Ah right, okay. I'll take your word for it. I'll be sticking to the single then, cardio isn't massively important right now. The bigger problem is that I also go to the local athletics track every tuesday and thursday, and as we're approaching the sprinting season, I'll be exerting more and more energy into those sessions. Although the sessions aren't really killer, a lot of the time it's to build technique. Anyway, would it be okay to swap Kenpo X and Rest over? This is just so that they don't get in the way of each other (athletics & P90X).

 

[ocadman]

well I skipped my kenpo ex as the cold ruined me.

then I did it on the rest day and just going to continue into the week. the kenpo x was fine, it's not muscle sore making, just a good sweat, so I think i'm fine with hitting chest and back tomorrow.

I got to ask, is anyone here, a total bitch like me when it comes to pullups?

I've never been in terrible shape, around 180 and 80 kilo but pull ups SLAUGHTER me, it's completely devastating.

reverse grip I'm ok with but wide grip is murder. I literally get 2 at the start of the workout then it's chair time, by the end of the work out i'd say my leg is taking probably half the weight.

I guess it doesn't matter as the muscles there are sore as hell the next day so it's doing something, but the video is discouraging when they're doing 15 and quickly each time :lol

You're not alone. When Tony says certain people are better at certain things, I am definitely not a pull up guy. I know if I go all the way down, I don't think I'm coming back up. Pause. It's really frustrating. Everything else I'm fine with, but the pullups are just death.

 

[Micius]

well I skipped my kenpo ex as the cold ruined me.

then I did it on the rest day and just going to continue into the week. the kenpo x was fine, it's not muscle sore making, just a good sweat, so I think i'm fine with hitting chest and back tomorrow.

I got to ask, is anyone here, a total bitch like me when it comes to pullups?

I've never been in terrible shape, around 180 and 80 kilo but pull ups SLAUGHTER me, it's completely devastating.

reverse grip I'm ok with but wide grip is murder. I literally get 2 at the start of the workout then it's chair time, by the end of the work out i'd say my leg is taking probably half the weight.

I guess it doesn't matter as the muscles there are sore as hell the next day so it's doing something, but the video is discouraging when they're doing 15 and quickly each time :lol

I'm in my first week of P90X (just did Kenpo X today, planning on stretching tomorrow), and I totally get what you are saying about the pull-ups. The chest and back program on day one left me with sore arm muscles for 3-4 days, I couldn't even bend my arms without feeling sharp pains from my triceps and elbows. I have to use a chair for the most part at the moment. I think it's pretty much normal if you haven't specifically worked out your arms/back before, kind of like when you start trying out push-ups for the first time. Being slightly on the heavy side at the beginning of the training doesn't help either (I'm 5'9'' and 185 pounds at the moment).

From what I've read in other people's workout experiences it gets better gradually, and I'm expecting to be able to do at least 10 pull-ups without the chair by day 90. Should be 10-20 pounds lighter too by then and that should help... :lol

 

[mYm|17|]

Just finished 3 weeks and feeling good except I didn't eat really well this weekend at all. Probably just doing it wrong, but I'm just really really shitty at any pullups exercises. That;s the only portion where I haven't seen any improvement at all. It's my recovery week so I'm not sure if I should do another week of the workouts or just do the recovery week and move into phase 2.

I was gonna join this chocolate milk revolution but EviLore has me running scared. I was considering getting the Soy Chocolate Milk which has about half the sugar, so I guess we'll see!

I couldn't do 1 correct pull up when I started but now I can, if i push myself, do 10 without stopping. It takes time for you to build up your back muscles to get used to pulling your weight. I think the first phase, I really needed to use a chair most of the time.
What helped me was I would try and do a few pull ups here and there throughout the night.

Recovery week is there to help you recover.............:lol . You don't want to push your body so much that you will be too sore to workout because the next phase is much harder.

Instead of regular chocolate milk, I drink the McArthur low fat chocolate milk. It isn't as thick as the regular one.

 

[yonder]

So get some more decent carbs in your diet, instead of drinking sugar-milk after workouts to put a bandaid on an apparent nutritional deficiency?

After questioning myself and doing some more research, I've come to the conclusion that 400ml chocolate milk might be a bit extreme for me, especially since my goal is fat loss and building lean muscle. I might drink about 100ml during and after if I feel that I absolutely need it, but it seems like a recovery drink is for people who already are in fairly good shape and want to gain mass or increase endurance (edit: and I guess P90X itself is targeted at these people, explaining why the program recommends a recovery drink). I guess chocolate milk was too good to be true in my case; I don't think I really need a PW drink. Oh well, thanks EviLore!

Here's a good FAQ on post-workout nutrition that seems very comprehensive, it's even got a section on chocolate milk: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/members/faq.php?faq=faq_vb_pwo#faq_faq_vb_products

 

[nubbe]

Did my last workout for this phase and now the second recovery week await.

Overall I definitely notice that my strength and endurance have increased over the past month. I use heavier weights and the load I used during the last phase almost feels like air in my hands now

It will be unbearable to not lift junk… I get totally high on it nowadays

The funny thing is that my body weight is identical as it was at the start of the phase, but my waist is smaller and my muscles are getting firmer and new muscles are starting to appear.

 

[yonder]

Did my last workout for this phase and now the second recovery week await.

Overall I definitely notice that my strength and endurance have increased over the past month. I use heavier weights and the load I used during the last phase almost feels like air in my hands now

It will be unbearable to not lift junk… I get totally high on it nowadays

The funny thing is that my body weight is identical as it was at the start of the phase, but my waist is smaller and my muscles are getting firmer and new muscles are starting to appear.

Same here, I'm pretty happy with my results so far and I love working out now. I'm in my second recovery week right now and did core synergistic today, but that still knocks me on my ass. I'll be getting some time away from school during Phase III so I'll be focusing more than ever on giving it my best during workouts and tightening up my diet, looking forward to it.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

Can anyone recommend chocolate milk for the lactose intolerant? This shit is killing my stomach

 

[mYm|17|]

Can anyone recommend chocolate milk for the lactose intolerant? This shit is killing my stomach

Doesn't lactaid make some chocolate milk. Try Walmart?

 

[Laguna X]

Doesn't lactaid make some chocolate milk. Try Walmart?

Yeah, Lactaid has chocolate milk. I have some in my fridge. <3

 

[Masta_Killah]

After questioning myself and doing some more research, I've come to the conclusion that 400ml chocolate milk might be a bit extreme for me, especially since my goal is fat loss and building lean muscle. I might drink about 100ml during and after if I feel that I absolutely need it, but it seems like a recovery drink is for people who already are in fairly good shape and want to gain mass or increase endurance (edit: and I guess P90X itself is targeted at these people, explaining why the program recommends a recovery drink). I guess chocolate milk was too good to be true in my case; I don't think I really need a PW drink. Oh well, thanks EviLore!

Here's a good FAQ on post-workout nutrition that seems very comprehensive, it's even got a section on chocolate milk: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/members/faq.php?faq=faq_vb_pwo#faq_faq_vb_products

Yeah, I was almost convinced about the choco milk thanks to gaf even though I've read articles stating that you want fast glucose replenishment(something that high fructose corn syrup does not do).Glad Evilore wrote up that post and reinforced my belief.

I've also forgone the dextrose and today was the first time I went without it. Did plyo, felt completely burnt out and out of energy, then drank some milk w/ whey protein and it completely rejuvenated me.

Also, I'm on week 3 of phase 3 and I am so sore. My workouts have progressively gotten longer and now span a minimum of 1 1/2 hours. My resistance workouts take nearly 2 hours now and by the time I'm done, I don't have the willpower to do ab ripper x. :lol

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

Doesn't lactaid make some chocolate milk. Try Walmart?

Thanks, gonna buy some today.

 

[MeshuggahMan]

After doing p90x for many months (a lot of it off and on) I never really got the chance to test out my progress in other activities. I went for a run and played some sport like activities outside with some friends.. Needless to say I'm BLOWN away by my new endurance. What used to exhaust me is a cakewalk now. Thank you plyometrics

 

[ocadman]

Damn, for a recovery week, core synergistics is anything but!

 

[f-castrillo]

I'm also in my recovery week (one day ahead of Yonn!), and it feels good not having to do Cardio X in the morning this week :lol

Core Synergistics got a tad easier for me. I can actually do a handful of Sphinx pushups before starting to struggle (last Core Syn I did a few weeks ago, I struggled from the very start). And I'm more familiar with the exercises this time around, so I don't have to pause or take as many breaks to see them go through the motions.

Oh, and the term "recovery week" is a little miselading. It's a recovery week because it allows your taxed muscles to rest while you work on something else, namely cardiovascular performance. Core Synergistics does work several muscle groups at once, but not to the extent that the dedicated resistance workouts do (e.g. sphinx pushups and prison pushups are NOTHING compared to Pike Press and Plyo Pushups, and Squat Cross X-Press doesn't come close to anything in the Legs & Back routines).

Because there isn't any plyo or intense leg workouts in the recovery week, the Warrior sequences in Yoga X are much easier. And they will only continue to get easier as you do them, because the squats involved in Yoga X aren't as taxing as say.... the several wall squat routines in Legs & Back

General guideline I read somewhere (either online or in the Fitness Guide) is that the more intense your training block was (in our case, the 3 weeks prior to recovery), the more intense your recovery period may be. The exercises in the recovery week aren't going to cause massive damage to your muscles like the other weeks do, so the minimal muscle damage only helps stimulate recovery.

 

[grumble]

You're not alone. When Tony says certain people are better at certain things, I am definitely not a pull up guy. I know if I go all the way down, I don't think I'm coming back up. Pause. It's really frustrating. Everything else I'm fine with, but the pullups are just death.

A good trick is to do the first pullup, then keep everything tight as you head to the hang. You should get a little more bounce out of the bottom due to residual tension and stretch reflex.

 

[kitchenmotors]

I decided to restart P90x and actually follow the nutritional plan, at least as closely as possible. 3 months until summer, I wanna do this thing right and get better results.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

There's no way I can do this stuff in the evening/night. I've got to do it all in the mornings.

 

[f-castrillo]

There's no way I can do this stuff in the evening/night. I've got to do it all in the mornings.

Morning/afternoon is arguably the best time to do P90X IMO. The exercise will rev up your metabolism and heart rate, both of which will slowly drop back to normal during the course of the day. This way, your body can more actively and efficiently process whatever you're eating while in an elevated state. If you exercise at night, the increased heart rate and metabolism may make it difficult to fall asleep. The last thing you need when you're trying to sleep (and subsequently slowing your metabolism, respirations, and heart rate) is for those same vitals to be spiked from exercise.

The only workout that could actually put me to sleep is Yoga X. Corpse Pose FTW :lol

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

I'm on day 6 and I've been half assing the workouts because I didn't want to reinjure myself again. I haven't even finished a total video yet. Im gonna try to go all out from here on out, but the last time I did that it took me a good week or so to recover.

I also realized I have ZERO FUCKING MUSCLES! Doing a super low cal diet just depleted any muscle reserves I had. Hopefully by week 3 or 4 I'll be able to at least see some increase in my strength. I feel like a man girl right now

 

[f-castrillo]

What is "super low cal"? 1200 calories? 1500? Absolute minimum you should be eating, at least starting out, is 1800 calories/day, and that's only if you fall within the Level 1 nutrition range in the Nutrition Guide. I'm a Level 2, so I'm supposed to be eating 2400 cals a day, but lately I've been going as high as 2500 or 2600 cals because of the extra Cardio X the Doubles program calls for.

Plain and simple, if you don't eat enough, you're going to bonk. And the muscles will come in time. 6 days in means you just finished your first week. The first week for me was hell. But in the following weeks, you're body will get used to the punishment of the workouts, and then you'll definitely start to feel the results, if not see them

 

[nomster]

There's no way I can do this stuff in the evening/night. I've got to do it all in the mornings.

The only one I like to do after work is yoga, partially because it's so long and partially because it's easier for me to focus on the exercise after work. Everything else I do right after I wake up, can't imagine trying to do plyo after eating all day.

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

"Hey everyone this is Pam, or as I like to refer to her as BLAM."

"look at you, you have the skin of a 6 year old"

I always started laughing when I heard Tony saying this stuff. I'm sure there's more i am forgetting.


After awhile, P90x just got too routine for me. I ended up going back to weights/cardio on my own terms. This was good though, and some of those guys can do pull ups like machines, WTF.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

What is "super low cal"? 1200 calories? 1500? Absolute minimum you should be eating, at least starting out, is 1800 calories/day, and that's only if you fall within the Level 1 nutrition range in the Nutrition Guide. I'm a Level 2, so I'm supposed to be eating 2400 cals a day, but lately I've been going as high as 2500 or 2600 cals because of the extra Cardio X the Doubles program calls for.

Plain and simple, if you don't eat enough, you're going to bonk. And the muscles will come in time. 6 days in means you just finished your first week. The first week for me was hell. But in the following weeks, you're body will get used to the punishment of the workouts, and then you'll definitely start to feel the results, if not see them

I was eating 1000-1200 cal a day, which resulted in muscle loss. Worked like a charm in losing weight tho, so mission accomplished :lol I lost 20 pounds in the 2 months I did it since I wanted to get below 200lbs.

This is my 2nd go at p90x, so I know how tough it is. The reason I stopped back then was like I said I hurt myself because I pushed my body too far. I literally couldn't move for days. I don't want to make the same mistake so I'm just taking it slow and testing my body's limits right now. The chocolate milk seems to be helping a lot in cutting down on the soreness though. That shit fucking works.
Today is X-stretch and I can do that shit with my eyes clothes, but tomorrow is Kenpo X so it'll definately be a test for me.

EDIT: Today's Kenpo X

 

[lbcyalater]

would any of you guys reccomend good weight training exercises to do while doing p90? I have a gym membership and I dont wanna completly stop going but I dont wanna over work my body either

 

[f-castrillo]

I was eating 1000-1200 cal a day, which resulted in muscle loss. Worked like a charm in losing weight tho, so mission accomplished :lol I lost 20 pounds in the 2 months I did it since I wanted to get below 200lbs.

This is my 2nd go at p90x, so I know how tough it is. The reason I stopped back then was like I said I hurt myself because I pushed my body too far. I literally couldn't move for days. I don't want to make the same mistake so I'm just taking it slow and testing my body's limits right now. The chocolate milk seems to be helping a lot in cutting down on the soreness though. That shit fucking works.
Today is X-stretch and I can do that shit with my eyes clothes, but tomorrow is Kenpo X so it'll definately be a test for me.

EDIT: Today's Kenpo X

I would recommend starting at 2400 calories now that you're at a more desirable weight. It sounds like a lot of calories, but the formula in the Nutrition Guide makes sense.

Body weight * 10 = RMR (resting metabolic rate). For me, that's 1850. Meaning I need 1850 calories just to be alive and function normally.

RMR + 20% of RMR = DAB (daily activity burn). This accounts for all the "normal" stuff I do each day, in addition to my RMR, bringing my total calorie needs to 2220.

P90X is calculated to burn about 600 calories a day, so add that to your RMR + DAB and you have your total caloric needs. For me, that's 2820. Meaning I have to eat 2820 calories in order to maintain the weight that I'm currently at. The P90X Nutrition Guide places me at level 2 (2400 calories), meaning I would be getting a 600 calorie deficit, and a 600 calorie deficit over an extended period of time will result in weight loss.

I say give it a shot. It's a little discouraging when you don't see the scale numbers drop as fast as you'd like (I know, because I feel the sting of sadness now and then), but I'm visually slimming down, and I am beginning to see tone in my body and feel stronger than I did just 4 weeks ago.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

Gaf........I just had a glorious workout i bought a heart monitor and I was at like 85-90% for most of the exercise. It was so good I think my penis grew another 12"

p90x bitches

 

[f-castrillo]

Gaf........I just had a glorious workout:d i bout a heart monitor and I was at like 85-90% most the exercise. It was so good I think my penis grew another 12"

p90x bitches

Hail bdizzle :lol

 

[ismaboof]

I was eating 1000-1200 cal a day, which resulted in muscle loss. Worked like a charm in losing weight tho, so mission accomplished :lol I lost 20 pounds in the 2 months I did it since I wanted to get below 200lbs.

Just to make a comment, you're okay with being under 200 with no muscle, but over 200 with muscle is a nono? I haven't read the entire thread, but I hope to god you're female if you're eating 1200 calories a day.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

I would recommend starting at 2400 calories now that you're at a more desirable weight. It sounds like a lot of calories, but the formula in the Nutrition Guide makes sense.

Body weight * 10 = RMR (resting metabolic rate). For me, that's 1850. Meaning I need 1850 calories just to be alive and function normally.

RMR + 20% of RMR = DAB (daily activity burn). This accounts for all the "normal" stuff I do each day, in addition to my RMR, bringing my total calorie needs to 2220.

P90X is calculated to burn about 600 calories a day, so add that to your RMR + DAB and you have your total caloric needs. For me, that's 2820. Meaning I have to eat 2820 calories in order to maintain the weight that I'm currently at. The P90X Nutrition Guide places me at level 2 (2400 calories), meaning I would be getting a 600 calorie deficit, and a 600 calorie deficit over an extended period of time will result in weight loss.

I say give it a shot. It's a little discouraging when you don't see the scale numbers drop as fast as you'd like (I know, because I feel the sting of sadness now and then), but I'm visually slimming down, and I am beginning to see tone in my body and feel stronger than I did just 4 weeks ago.

I can do the 3000 cal diet (that's what I did 1st time I started this hell of a program), i just have to get used to eating a lot again. My biggest prob is I usually skip breakfast or eat just an apple and a granola bar or some shit. Plus I'm not a morning person so getting up even 5 min earlier for me is like asking me to change my sexual preference :lol that shit's not gonna happen.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

Just to make a comment, you're okay with being under 200 with no muscle, but over 200 with muscle is a nono? I haven't read the entire thread, but I hope to god you're female if you're eating 1200 calories a day.

Sorry to disappoint, Ima big sexy man :lol. i was 225 or so when i first started the low cal diet. Cut my caloric intake down to minimal levels since working out wasn't something I could reasonably do at the time. After 2 months i weighed myself and was about 199lbs. In the process though, instead of losing fat I lost mostly muscle mass since I was technically starving myself.

200+ was too much for me. I never got over 150 pounds until I started working and going to school fun time (and a lot of junk food in between classes/work/home) I gained a lot of weight. Now that the weights down I want to get to about 180-195lbs of muscle.

 

[ismaboof]

Sorry to disappoint, Ima big sexy man :lol. i was 225 or so when i first started the low cal diet. Cut my caloric intake down to minimal levels since working out wasn't something I could reasonably do at the time. After 2 months i weighed myself and was about 199lbs. In the process though, instead of losing fat I lost mostly muscle mass since I was technically starving myself.

200+ was too much for me. I never got over 150 pounds until I started working and going to school fun time (and a lot of junk food in between classes/work/home) I gained a lot of weight. Now that the weights down I want to get to about 180-195lbs of muscle.

Despite the popular saying, fat cannot turn into muscle and vice versa. Muscle also weighs more than fat. If you want muscle, you need to be eating 200+ grams of protein a day. If you want to burn fat, cut your carbohydrates to a maximum of 70g/day. No breads, no sugar, no pasta. Also, healthy fats do not make you fat. Peanut butter, almonds, fish is all amazing stuff.

Another fun fact: starving never works out. I've starved myself (which meant about 2000 calories a day when I was 5'9", 170lbs male) for two months while doing a high intensity interval program. After 6 weeks, I felt like shit - I was always in a bad mood, sluggish. I upped my eating to about 3000 calories and gained the weight back and more double time.

At some point your body is going to throw you a middle finger. You will need to eat more. And since your body is starving, it will take every last calorie and turn it into fat.

I find roughly 3 pounds of weight loss to be a little extreme. Healthy weight loss is about 1-2, and you aren't obese or anyway. Just please don't set a goal like "I will lose 3 pounds every week" because one week you won't be losing 3 pounds anymore and cut your calories even more.

Obviously take this with a grain of salt - this is the internet. I'm just trying to get you to avoid things I did and suffered for.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ah right, okay. I'll take your word for it. I'll be sticking to the single then, cardio isn't massively important right now. The bigger problem is that I also go to the local athletics track every tuesday and thursday, and as we're approaching the sprinting season, I'll be exerting more and more energy into those sessions. Although the sessions aren't really killer, a lot of the time it's to build technique. Anyway, would it be okay to swap Kenpo X and Rest over? This is just so that they don't get in the way of each other (athletics & P90X).

.

 

[Masta_Killah]

would any of you guys reccomend good weight training exercises to do while doing p90? I have a gym membership and I dont wanna completly stop going but I dont wanna over work my body either

I suggest you do the p90x program to completion. What this program does is give you a nice structure on how to work out. Once you finish the program, apply what you learned and go work out at the gym. You'll be glad you did as you won't be randomly working out body parts with no guidance. You'll also understand what body parts you need to do on what days since you've followed a pretty strict regime for the past 90 days. Seriously, I wish I had this type of program 8-9 years ago when I was going to the gym. I had no idea what I was doing back then and I just did the same routine for months on end. I've seen greater results doing p90x then I did during those gym days.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

I really want to restart P90X but I injured my shoulder not too long ago. Its getting better so hopefully I'll be able to cut down on my traditional bench and weight routine and use it to supplement P90X.

 

[Masta_Killah]

.

Its perfectly okay to rearrange your workouts to fit your lifestyle. A couple gaffers here do the same exact thing.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

Despite the popular saying, fat cannot turn into muscle and vice versa. Muscle also weighs more than fat. If you want muscle, you need to be eating 200+ grams of protein a day. If you want to burn fat, cut your carbohydrates to a maximum of 70g/day. No breads, no sugar, no pasta. Also, healthy fats do not make you fat. Peanut butter, almonds, fish is all amazing stuff.

I already know what I had to do in order to lose fat and gain muscle. But at the time working out wasn't an option. So it was either don't exercise and go on a super low cal diet or don't exercise, don't diet, and blow up to 250+ pounds.

Another fun fact: starving never works out. I've starved myself (which meant about 2000 calories a day when I was 5'9", 170lbs male) for two months while doing a high intensity interval program. After 6 weeks, I felt like shit - I was always in a bad mood, sluggish. I upped my eating to about 3000 calories and gained the weight back and more double time.

It worked for me flawlessly. Like I said, after 2 months I lost 20 pounds. Old pants fit me, my girlfriend said she noticed I looked smaller, and the scale never lied. Lowering my caloric intake always worked for me. Breakfast was an apple and a granola bar, lunch was a lean cuisine, and dinner was either a salad or chicken breast. No juice or soda either, just lots and lots of water. My max caloric intake during those times was about 1200 calories. Sometimes I didn't even break 1000 calories for the day, but that was rare. The pounds just flew off.

At some point your body is going to throw you a middle finger. You will need to eat more. And since your body is starving, it will take every last calorie and turn it into fat.

I find roughly 3 pounds of weight loss to be a little extreme. Healthy weight loss is about 1-2, and you aren't obese or anyway. Just please don't set a goal like "I will lose 3 pounds every week" because one week you won't be losing 3 pounds anymore and cut your calories even more.

Obviously take this with a grain of salt - this is the internet. I'm just trying to get you to avoid things I did and suffered for.

I already know this, once I hit ~200 pounds or so, for me to continue to lose the weight at that pace I'd have to go sub 1000 calories, and I wasn't gonna do that, that's damn near suicide. By then though I was ready to start working out again, and that's where I am now. I've upped my cal intake to about 2500 cal per day since I starting doing p90x again, but I really need to be at about 3000 calories doing 50/30/20. My endurance is up from the 1st time I tried the program last year. I'm not sure if it was the 2 weeks I did back then or if it was me having less weight to lug around.

 

[elrechazado]

If you want to burn fat, cut your carbohydrates to a maximum of 70g/day. No breads, no sugar, no pasta. Also, healthy fats do not make you fat. Peanut butter, almonds, fish is all amazing stuff.

Wait, what?

Isn't peanut butter mad sugar?

 

[suffah]

Wait, what?

Isn't peanut butter mad sugar?

Natural dude. Tastes better and it's like 2-3g of sugar per serving. Not exactly "mad sugar".

 

[Valkyr Junkie]

Wait, what?

Isn't peanut butter mad sugar?

Yes if you get a brand of peanut butter that's ingredients are something other than "peanuts" and "salt"

 

[f-castrillo]

It's great that you lost weight so rapidly, but keep in mind that you did lose muscle in the process of doing so, as your body started using itself as a source of energy. Not only is muscle tone compromised with that ultra low calorie diet, but bone mass as well. You may be slimming down now, but broken bones may be closer than you think if you keep that diet up (which I hope you don't).

Just get back on the appropriate nutritional level diet (3000 calories for you) and stick close to the right portions according to each phase if possible. Phase 1 calls for a major cutback on carbs, and a big emphasis on protein. This was hard for me, because being Asian, I love my rice :lol, but once you get to the Phase 2 diet, carbs and protein intake is more balanced. If you can stick to the nutrition plan (especially once you get into phase 2 and 3), the added calories will give you extra energy to push yourself harder in the workouts.

 

[EviLore]

Starvation diet :/

As mentioned, you no doubt lost a lot of lean body mass in the process, and fucked up your metabolism on multiple levels. Come back up to normal daily calories slowly over the course of a few weeks, while increasing your activity levels at the same time (moderate exercise, going higher intensity when you start getting a decent amount of calories per day so you don't pass out from low blood sugar...), and that'll help you avoid rebounding heavily.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

:lol it's like you guys aren't reading my posts. I know I lost muscle mass, I know I need to increase my caloric intake considerably, and I know I need about 50% protein in my diet to shed fat.

lol I'm waiting for the next post to say "dude, you know you need to eat more calories right? :/"

 

[nubbe]

I can't stop myself from doing push ups
When I see a dumbell I need to fight myself to not lift it up...

 

[valparaiso]

:lol it's like you guys aren't reading my posts. I know I lost muscle mass, I know I need to increase my caloric intake considerably, and I know I need about 50% protein in my diet to shed fat.

lol I'm waiting for the next post to say "dude, you know you need to eat more calories right? :/"

well, you do keep on saying stupid shit like this:

It worked for me flawlessly. Like I said, after 2 months I lost 20 pounds.

thing is, it didn't work flawlessly, it just hasn't come back to hit you in the face yet. you're getting good advice, put it to good use.

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

well, you do keep on saying stupid shit like this:



thing is, it didn't work flawlessly, it just hasn't come back to hit you in the face yet. you're getting good advice, put it to good use.

Shit it worked flawlessly for me :lol. The goal was to get below 200 pounds, and that's what it did /shrugs. Once I got down to <200 and I could work out again, I went back to upping my caloric intake so I can do the program again. All the advice that's been given I already knew, eat more, lots of protein, work out.