Plyometrics – Finally! I not only finished every exercise but my intensity level was high throughout. This is the first time I felt like I controlled this workout rather than fighting to finish it. I did not double up on the high-knee tucks and/or the rock-star jumps but I did complete these routines. I always focus on soft landings  and I am unable to do these exercises fast enough to double them up. Overall, I  was very happy on how I felt during and after this workout.

Cardio-X– In my effort to neutralize any holiday cheating (which has already started),  I am doubling up with cardio-x three times a week during phase 2 (started last week). I did complete cardio-x last night so two more to go this week.

Nutrition – I know I did not want to hear this so I will assume others do not either, the nutrition piece makes up over 60% of the P90X program. You will still see pretty good results if you just do the workouts but if you really want to see fantastic results, you 100% have to follow some sort of nutrition plan. Think about it, working out is the easy part as it only consumes about an hour of your day. The nutrition piece is much harder as you need to focus on it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am not saying you can’t cheat but in order to see crazy results in only 90 days, cheating should be limited. The P90X nutrition plan was designed so at the end of 90 days, your old lifestyle has transitioned into your new healthy one and eating well becomes second nature…and it will no longer be considered hard work as it was at the beginning of the 90 day program. I was never a vegetable person and now I can’t get enough of spinach and asparagus…my family is still in shock over my new eating habits. The first couple of weeks of the program I was forced to eat healthier foods and now I really appreciate these foods and look forward to having them. Ultimately, my plan is to be real strict until I reach my goals and then incorporate a weekly cheat day. I figure maintaining your body is much easier than transforming it for the better so this will allow you to cheat more…aka “live a little”

Everyone is different and each of our bodies have different requirements so do not necessarily copy my approach in which I am about to explain…

The first two weeks of the program, I documented everything that went into my body and I found out quickly that I was not consuming enough calories…per the P90X nutrition plan. The first day or two, I was forcing myself to eat more. It seemed very strange to me that I was forcing myself to eat to the point I was a bit uncomfortable on day 1 and 2 of this diet?? Seeing that the P90X program has been proven time and time again, I wanted to follow it  to a tee. I really could not understand this logic so I spent hours on weight loss / p90x forums posting questions and researching anything I could find that pertained to this topic. In a nutshell, what I found to be true is that I needed to listen to my body. My body will dictate to me if I need to consume more calories. So on day 3, I no longer forced myself to eat what the P90X program was telling me to eat. Not everyone fits into the P90X cookie cutter nutrition plan, you need to find what works for you…and most importantly, listen to your body!

The P90X program was claiming I should eat 3,240 calories a day (which is nuts), I struggled to eat more than 2,000. The first couple of weeks I was counting my calories and I averaged about 1,800. Today, I no longer count my calories but I am pretty confident that I have about 2,000 calories but it’s most likely under. I can also honestly say that in the last 37 days, I feel great and I have plenty of energy for the intense P90X workouts. The minute I am not happy with my monthly results, I will start counting my calories again. For those that are looking for a great (free) calorie counter program, go to “my plate” at www.livestrong.com

Below is pretty much what I eat everyday…

5:30am – P90X workout

6:30am – P90X recovery drink
8:00am – Whey protein mixed with skim milk
8:00am– FiberOne bar (breakfast bar)
10:00am – Fruit (banana or apple)
12:00pm – 6oz of grilled chicken over lettuce, about 1 oz of feta cheese and lite salad dressing
3:00pm-  Yoplait yogurt
5:30pm– Dinner, this changes nightly. I usually have a piece of chicken or some sort of turkey product (turkey burger, ground turkey, turkey sausage, etc…) with two servings of vegetables (spinache, asparagus, broccoli, diced tomatoes, peppers, etc…)
6:30pm – I always have something after dinner, usually it’s another whey protein shake, a piece of chicken, or a veggie burger.