P90X: "Dick's Actual Diet...Does Calorie Counting Work?" Day 42 of 90

I weighed myself for the first time this AM.  When I started this program, I told myself that it didn’t matter if I lost zero pounds…so long as I saw tangible results in the mirror.  I am definitely seeing results.  The new question is, after switching to P90X Classic from the P90X Lean routines, am I getting enough calories?  The Lean routine is much less strenuous from a muscle and muscle building perspective.  The Classic routine incorporates an extra day of Ab Ripper and one more hard muscle building day.

The one big mistake I made, or “thing I should have done,” was weigh myself on day one.  I have a guess that I was at about 220, maybe a little more.  It was the highest I had been at since losing my weight in 2008.  The lowest I have been is 198 when I was running every day.  I know the number because I memorized it as the first time I had been below 200 since I was 21.  198 was the result of staying on the low calorie intake and running like crazy.  Because of the lack of a well-rounded routine, and having just come off of what amounted to a starvation diet, I was very light on muscle mass.

P90X is different.  This is designed to have you lose fat but also build muscle.  While you will lose weight, the goal is not precisely ‘weight loss.’

That said, I weighed myself this morning.  205.  By my count, in forty two days, I have lost about 15 lbs.  It probably seems like a lot.  On the Optifast Diet I lost about 5 lbs per week routinely…but I was obese.  I also was not building muscle, which means I was losing both fat and muscle mass.

I have begun to feel exhausted on the Classic routines.  I have been questioning all week whether or not I am taking in enough calories.  On my Beachbody team, in addition to our Coach/Leader Lisa Barker, we have a Coach who specializes in Nutrition, Melissa Binkley.  She has volunteered to do a nutritional analysis of my diet, in order to answer my concerns.

You may follow along!  This is a curious experiment because, if you have followed my blog, you know by now that I eat an insanely consistent diet.  This makes the diagnosis easier.  If you are doing Beachbody, or are a dietician, or are interested in the math of weight loss, I think you will find this interesting!

Breakfast

½ cup of oatmeal                                        150 cals

½ cup of natural applesauce                          50 cals

Palmful of Raisins                                             ?

Coffee, 4 oz 1% milk                                       ?

One scoop of Protein Powder                    130 cals

Lunch

1 lb of salad greens mostly lettuce.  Green Pepper, Olives    ?

1 Hard Boiled Egg                                             ?

3 oz lean Chicken or Fish                                   ?

1 piece of Fruit                                                    60 cals

Afternoon Snack

1 NutriGrain Bar                                                120 cals

Dinner

Shakeology                                                         150 cals

½ Fruit blended in                                                 40 cals

1 Protein Bar                                                      200 cals

Evening Snack

¾ cup of mixed nuts                                               ?

2 pieces of fruit                                                 150 cals

When I look at the calorie count.  It looks low.  I weigh 205 and work a fairly sedentary daily job on a computer.  I probably burn a normal amount of about 2200 calories per day.  On top of that is P90X and the Treadmill.  With that, I am maybe burning another 800-1000 calories per day.  I can call it an even 3000 calories per day used.  Without knowing the calories for several things on my list, I have counted at least 1080 calories and estimate about 500 calories for the missing items.  I am probably between 1600 and 1700 calories per day.

The calorie deficit would be about 1300 calories per day or 9100 calorie deficit per week.  3500 calories approximately equals one pound of weight.  Divide 9100 by 3500 and that puts me at 2.5 lbs per week of weight loss.  It’s been about 6 weeks now….which totals to…wow…15 lbs.  On the dime.

If you ever wondered if weight loss math works…just reread this.  I didn’t expect it to be that accurate.  But it is!

I am very familiar with diet math after the medical diet program I was on four years ago.

Now, the big nutrition question is, based on this routine, am I taking in enough calories to build muscle and do the physical exertion?  Let’s face it, I can’t run this calorie deficit forever.  When you run the deficit, the energy being depleted comes from carbohydrates first.  When they are used up, and on my diet that happens fast, your body then pulls the calories from your fat and protein stores.  At this point, your body will pull from fat and protein in an uneven ratio but depends on your level of fitness and your exercise regimen.  It gets the fat calories from, well, your fat.  It gets the protein, however from ingested protein and then from the protein stores in your muscles...which defeats the purpose of a muscle building program.  So there is a balance here to be maintained as well as a point where the calorie deficit may be hurting the physical fitness goal.

This is where Melissa comes in.  I want to build the muscle as well as lose the weight and she will tell me whether I have the right formula for this or not.  If I don’t, I will change to whatever she says.  Why?

Go check out her pictures on Facebook.  That’s why.

Many who read my blog and look at the weight loss I have had will listen to my advice because I have actually done it.  If that is the case, then you have to listen to Melissa when you are trying to sculpt a more muscular body…because she has done it.

Thanks for following and I will keep you plugged In to her response!