This post was originally written in 2011 when I changed my life with P90X but I am still a Beachbody Coach! I host challenge groups monthly and am growing my team – please reach out if you’d like to join an accountability group or learn more about this incredible career opportunity. www.beachbodycoach.com/nicoledobransky or email me at fitnessfataleblog at gmail.com.
We made it! After so much talk and anticipation about starting our P90X journey, it’s hard to believe that it is over. Well, our first “round” is over. P90X is definitely going to continue to be a big part of our workout routines each week even though we are now “P90X Graduates.”
How I Got My P90X Results
First, in order for everyone to understand exactly how I got where I am now, I want to list some of the nuances of how we followed the P90X fitness and nutrition program. The main factor that will be different from most people’s P90X experience is that we were training for a marathon during P90X. Here is how I got my results:
P90X Phase 1
- Completed every P90X workout
- Starting Week 2, ran twice a week, no more than 12 miles/week (double day blog post here)
- Followed the P90X nutrition plan portions very closely (i.e. only 1 carbohydrate/day!)
- Ate 1,800-2,000 calories/day
- Only one cheat meal
- Cut out completely: soda, coffee, caffeine, fried food, chocolate and alcohol
- See more about how we tackled Phase 1 on my blog post here
P90X Phase 2
- Completed every P90X workout, except Kenpo (replaced with long run on Saturdays)
- Ran 2-3 times a week, from 17-22 miles/week
- Followed Phase 2 P90X nutrition plan closely, but with more exceptions (more carbohydrates and fruit on double workout days or long run days)
- Aimed to eat between 1,800-2,000 calories on single workout days and 2,000-2,200 calories on double workout days (i.e. P90X in the morning, 6 mile run in the evening)
- Had at least one cheat meal/week
- Drank alcohol on three occasions (2-5 drinks at each)
- See more on Phase 2 results at my blog post here
P90X Phase 3
- Completed every P90X workout, except Kenpo (replaced with long run on Saturdays)
- Ran 2-3 times a week, from 22-27 miles/week
- Followed Phase 3 P90X nutrition plan closely, but with more exceptions (more carbohydrates and fruit on double workout days or long run days)
- Aimed to eat between 1,800-2,000 calories on single workout days and 2,000-2,200 calories on double workout days (i.e. P90X in the morning, 6 mile run in the evening)
- Had about 1-2 cheat meals/week
- Drank alcohol on three occasions (1-3 drinks at each)
- More on Phase 3 nutrition plan here
P90X Results
Ok now on to the good stuff. Where did all this working out and dieting get me? To a GREAT place. My boyfriend Mike also followed the plan with me and is training for the marathon as well. Check out our measurement changes (mine are in pink, his are in blue):
P90X Before and After Measurements (Day 1 to Day 90)
Weight Change from Day 1: –10.8 lbs; -5.6 lbs
Waist Change from Day 1: -2.25 inches; -3.5 inches
Hips Change from Day 1: -1.5 inches; -1.75 inches
Chest Change from Day 1: -1.75 inches; +0.75 inches
Legs Change from Day 1: -1.5 inches; +0.25 inches
Bicep Change from Day 1: -.05 inches (apparently overall my arms shrank!);+1.25 inches
I was so pleased with our measurements. I was definitely not expecting to lose nearly 11 lbs during this program and over 2 inches off my waist! Mike’s waist shrank by 3.5 inches – incredible! It’s interesting to look back at my before pictures. At the time, I was pretty content with my body. I knew that I could make improvements, but I was happy enough with the fact that I could eat whatever I wanted on weekends, indulge a few times throughout the week and still be considered in fairly good shape. My clothes all still fit (I would always cut back when they got too tight), and I had just achieved my half marathon goal time of less than 2 hours. I felt that I was fairly healthy and that my weight just seemed to want to stay where it was, as it had for the last several years. My current weight is less than I can remember seeing on the scale. It’s just a little more than the weight as I was when I was 19 years old (and I didn’t have a 4 pack then!).
P90X Before and After Photos
We’re planning to take the Fit Test within the next week so stay tuned for a post on that. But now let’s get to what you really want to see – before and after pictures!
I plan to write an entire blog entry on my thoughts on P90X as a whole, but to sum it up – I LOVE this program. As I’ve mentioned before, prior to P90X I had run 3 half marathons and consistently worked out 5 times a week for the last year and a half (and probably 4-5 times a week for years prior to that). However, I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. I hopped from workout fad to fad diet, trying to find something that worked, and ultimately I think I wasn’t really focusing on anything. The biggest change for me with P90X was the diet – cutting way back on frozen yogurt, alcohol, sugary coffee drinks, diet soda and big meals on the weekend really made the difference. Another huge change was going from strength training possibly 1-2 times a week to consistently 3 times a week, with less focus on full-body strength training and more focus on specific body parts.
I am SO pleased with my results. I can’t wait to see how we look after the next 90 days! No, we aren’t starting P90X over from day 1, but we do plan to incorporate it into our marathon and triathlon training (marathon June 5 and triathlon July 24). Another blog post to come on my post P90X workout plan! Stay tuned for even more changes!
I’m a Beachbody Coach! Join me and get in the best shape of your life. I can provide you with as much or little support as you’d like on your journey. Email me at fitnessfataleblog@gmail.com.