Diet Review: P90X

So, as I mentioned, I had my sister's wedding to attend last weekend.  In preparation for the big day, I decided to try to lose a little extra weight.  In the only time in our married lives, Emily and I decided to go to the gym, together.  It was kind of nice, and I was able to help her out with a few things.  About two-thirds into our workouts, some lady comes up out of no-where and starts correcting us on our form.  Now, I am usually pretty patient with strangers, but it REALLY rubs me the wrong way when someone who looks no better than me walks up and tries to give me pointers (which is probably why, during our workout, Emily kept rolling her eyes at me--as if a guy as big as me has any right to tell her what to do to look better!).  Anyway, this lady starts telling us what to do, so after about a minute, I tell Emily I have to go to the other side of the gym for something.  Having been abandoned by me, this lady strikes up a conversation with Emily and tells Emily that she has lost 70 pounds on P90X and that it is great. 

On the way home, Emily tells me about the conversation and suggests maybe we try P90X.  I say I think it is a good idea.  I mean, why not do what the random lady who has no problem going up to strangers and telling them that they are doing something wrong at the gym suggests? 

For those of you who don't know, P90X is an exercise program you can order from an infomercial on television.  The "secret" to its success is something its purveyors call "muscle confusion," where you are constantly changing exercises so your muscles grow faster and burn more fat than they would under a "regular" exercise regimen. 

I have no idea if the science behind P90X works, but let me be clear:  I LOVE THIS DIET AND EXERCISE PROGRAM.  It is 13 weeks long, and comes with some good exercise routines and dieting recipes (real-life recipes that you would make if friends were coming over).  I love my wife, but sadly, she was only able to make it about a month (to be honest, she doesn't really need the program anyway, she was just supporting me).  I was fully on board with the eating plan for about six weeks, and that dropped off as the workouts increased in intensity.  I did do the full workout regimen. I did the whole thing, starting in March.  In all, I lost almost 34 pounds doing P90X, and gained quite a bit of muscle.  As a result of P90X, I have a lean, chiseled body, covered by only a medium-sized layer of fat. 

Just to put into perspective what this diet does to you, consider the following, which I did on a weekly basis:

• Approximately 130 pull-ups and chin-ups (assisted, though now I can at least do a couple on my own, which, given my weight, is saying something)
• Approximately 200 push-ups (not standard push ups either, we are talking all sorts of crazy kinds of push-ups, including "Dive-Bombers," "Diamonds," "Plange," "One-Armed," and "Clap" push-ups)
• Approximately 975 abdominal exercises, including various forms of sit-ups and core exercises
• Approximately 1.5 hours of intense yoga (this is NOT your mother's yoga class, folks--I sweat more doing this than I do running 3 miles)

Now, for those of you who are fitness freaks, this may not seem too bad, but to someone like me, who has at times in his life found it difficult to bend over and tie my own shoes, this stuff was tough.  It was also awesome.  So awesome that I am going to do it again.  I would recommend this very difficult, but very effective, program to anyone who wants to be in the best shape in their lives.