Hi -

I am not one of those people who get on here and wonder why the program is not working while their are not following the workouts or eating regiment. I have been on the P90X program solid for one months with no cheating on the diet (2400 cals) and never missed a workout. I am in bad shape 6’2” 225 - 25% BF trying to get to 185 10 - 12 % BF so there is plenty to lose. I have not lost one pound? Any suggestions? Is this normal? I am not giving up but admit I am a little concerned. I am starting the second phase on Monday...

Hang in there. I just talked to my doc today and she said that it will take 6 weeks for things to kick into gear. Be cool...Rome wasn't built in a day.

a few things might help.

Remember to eat 5-6 times a day....this includes your protein drink or bar.

Drink a LOT of water!!!!

You might try, if you can afford it, buying some Casein protein and taking it at night right before you go to sleep. Take a tablespoon of flaxseed oil with it to slow the digestion down. This will help keep your metabolism cranking and will help you burn fat. It has to be Casein. Not Whey, not soy, not egg, not whatever....

Drinking lots of water might not seem like something that would help....but it does. I'd drink at least a gallon or close to it.

Thanks - I will keep going. I am eating the 5 per day and drinking 2 3/4 gal of water. I will try the trick at night. Anyone else get a big "0" the first month?

Listen, my wife is in the same boat.

My advice is ignore the scale. In fact, I only weigh myself a couple times a month.

I'm willing to bet you feel a ton better right? Clothes fit a lot better?

Weight is a deceiving number. If I weigh myself first thing in the morning, lunch, and after my workout I will likely find about a 5-6 lb difference from lowest to highest. Especially if I drink as much water as I should.

Keep pushin play and forget about the scale for a few weeks.

I am not going to weigh myself till day 90.

I am solely going on looks, not weight (muscle weighs more, remember)

yeah the weight scale isnt that significant....what you should really be more into checking is your body fat % and your measurements.

I don't weigh! When I hit 40 I was so depressed about my weight that my doctor actually told me to throw away the scales and find what he called the perfect pair of pants and let them be my scales. Best advice I ever got. The only reason I even know how much I weigh is because I had to go for a doctor's visit right before I started P90X.

And remember, you didn't get into the shape you are in now in only 30 days, it will take some time to get back into shape. Just keep going.

did you take other measurements before you started? waist? gut? hips? etc? THOSE are your true measures of if its working, and of course body fat %.

30 days really isnt a lot of time for a lot to happen. you may argue that others on here have lost significant amounts of weight in the first 30 days, etc. but also remember that people's bodies are different and respond to different things. and you said you're not cheating and list the calories, but are your carb/proteins/fats in balance as well? i mean, i can eat 12 donuts and have it equal 2400 for the day.

i'm with sean about the water. people dont realize it, but its huge. it helps all of your body's functions. i personally start feeling like crap if i dont get enough water.

all in all, dont be concerned. its ONLY 30 days. did it take you 30 days to get to 225 and 25% body fat? i highly doubt it.

Aloha T90X, I'm like you, but heavier. I started this past Wednesday at 252 lbs, and I'm 6'1". I think I'm going to be a slow developer, like you. I have to believe that the work we're doing is causing change that we can't see.

I read in another post that had a really good analogy. Imagine this. If a pound of fat is a softball, then a pound of muscle is a golf ball, still the same weight, just much denser than fat. If that's the case, you and I will still weigh the same, however some parts of our body that have large accumulations of fat will start to disappear, while areas like our shoulders and arms will continue to get definition.

More experienced P90X users, please correct me if I'm wrong! My gut is similar to a keg, where I have my weight on my stomach. I'm a size 40 pants right now, I'd I hope to get to a 36, but I have to be realistic. I suppose it's a good thing to be a pessimist but to keep pushing play.

T90X, stick with it, there's only one way to find out where you'll be after 90 days!

mahbles, my waist started at a 40 (in january tho). i'm currently at 35. its SO doable. and my diet isnt the greatest.

That's awesome, thanks for the note, I'm working hard at it, just finished legs and back today, day 5. Tomorrow is Kempo. How did you find Kempo?

Like Mahbles was saying, muscle weighs more than fat. If you haven't been as active prior to starting P90X you're going to be developing alot of muscles WHILE losing just as much if not more fat. I started at 215 and I'm at about 208 now almost a month into my second round of P90X. I'm not losing weight because I'm packing on muscle.

Listen to everyone else and judge your weightloss based on your clothes. I track it with belt notches. I'm actually almost out of notches and need to but a new belt.

Here is a perfect example.

I started at 208 lbs and dropped 10 lbs in the first month. Then in the second block, I finally got new dumbells to push up to the 8-12 reps instead of being at the 15reps with my old ones.

The next week? I gained weight. I worked even harder in plyo, kenpo, etc, and even ate perfectly, but still gained weight. Why is that? I gained muscle because of the weight increase on my workouts.

Word to the wise. You can use the scale if you want, but don't let it get to you if it shows something you aren't expecting. There has always been the huge topic of fat vs muscle weight, but the biggest thing to watch in that regard is the bodyfat%. You can be burning off pounds of fat left and right, but not lose any "net weight" on the scale because you countered it with musclegain.

You will has Coco mentioned, notice a change in the inches around your legs, arms, gut, hips, etc start changing. In all honesty, the only time a person will really see a huge weight loss, is if they have a LOT more fat than muscle, which doesn't usually happen since they have to carry around the fat which builds muscle.

I know several people who started P90X and are actually heavier now than when they started. You can bet your ass that you couldn't tell what they weighed either because they look so good.

My buddy and I are perfect examples of what I am trying to say here. We were in diving together. He was about 5'9 and 185 lbs. I was 6' and 190 lbs. He had about 10% bodyfat while I had around 19% bodyfat. We weighed almost the same....yet I had almost 10% more bodyfat than him. Muscle weighs more per unit volume.

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If you didn't want to read all of that here is the short version.

Don't mind the scale because it doesn't tell you anything about your muscle/fat ratio. To see results look at your body measurements (ie hips, waist, bodyfat%, arms, chest, etc.)

I hope everyone had a good weekend and was able to stick with it. I ran through Yoga X, Legs and back, and Kempo this morning.

I purchased a scale when I started P90X and I know that the weight's not going to drip off me like sweat, and I know that body weight fluctuates through out the day, but I am curious to see the change. However, after reading this post, I think I'm going to let the scale gather some dust. I feel like I'm getting stronger, and I have to believe that all this muscle soreness is a doorway to larger muscles, and fat burning to make those muscles. I have to believe that all this effort, is going towards something, and while outwardly, it may not be a noticeable change, but change is happening. Keep up the good work and keep pushing play!