My Beef with P90X

First off, let me tell you this: I love P90X. I thinks it’s great if you want to lose 30 pounds, or any weight, for that matter. It has an all-around, excellent approach to weight loss and physical fitness. I especially love the chest and back workout – I think it kicks ass. And Plyometrics? Whew! That’ll empty your gas tank real fast.

Minimal equipment is required. I have a set of 25 lbs. dumb bells and a pull-up bar. It’s the kind of pull-up bar that is easy to set up and take down (actually, I just usually leave it up). What’s even better is that it isn’t screwed into the door frame; it simply fits snugly against it. That’s it – no more equipment.

And the diet plan is awesome. It spells out how much you should be eating at any specific point in the program. The menus focus on delicious, practical dishes, many of which can be whipped up quickly and easily. It’s all about portion control, and tells you what equals what kind of portion size, and what qualifies as a helathy portion.

So what’s the deal? Why does it bother me? Easy. Even though I know that fat loss comes mostly from a reduced calorie/better choices diet, with a good exercise plan to back it up, I can sometimes still fall for the hype. I’ve seen all of the these commercials for P90X – about how it’s hard work, and hard work pays off, and all these exercise that can be done at home, exercises with minimal equipment, with the cool-looking models that all seem pretty fit, or these actual P90Xers performing the seemingly easy-to-perform moves. Oh, and a quick mention of their diet plan.

There it is, the diet plan. Well, when it comes to willpower and food, I have very little – willpower, that is. I wanted to lose 30 pounds, so I ordered the set (over $100), got the box, opened it up, and what’s the first thing I realize with this program? Yeah, I have to stick to their diet plan to see any real results.  They even tell you that in their pamphlets.  You can work out as much as you want, as hard as you want, but you’re gonna have to buckle up and eat X amount of food every day.

Oops, I, did it again, I fell for the hype, got lost in the game…

So there you have it.  If you want to lose 30 pounds and get a ripped bod using P90X, you’re gonna have to work twice as hard due to the strict diet.  If you’re thinking of going that route, just remember that the exercise alone is not going to get you there, even though you might think that from watching their commercial.