Ok, I’ll be the first to tell you that I love to sleep!  I wake up some mornings and think to myself, when can I go to sleep again?  And, I love naps!  But, I find that as I age, if I take a nap, my nighttime sleep is affected.  I am able to function at my best if I’ve had a minimum of 7 hours of sleep.  I am ok with 5 or 6 hours, but less than 5…..not good.  I saw this article by Suzy Buglewicz at BeachBody and found it interesting.  I hope you do, too.  

5 Reasons to Sleep Your Way to Better Health
By Suzy Buglewicz

When your mother told you to get your beauty sleep, she may have been on to something. From babies to adults, studies show that the amount of sleep a person gets can directly affect his or her diet and overall health. While individual sleep needs vary, most adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night consistently, while school-aged children need 9 to 12 hours. According to the National Sleep Foundation, about one third of adults regularly get 6 hours or less of sleep a night. How do you know if you’re getting enough sleep? A good way to tell is if you feel alert during the day and feel satisfied with the amount of sleep you are getting. And there are myriad reasons to make sure that happens. Here are five reasons to get enough sleep.

• Reduces the risk of depression. Getting enough sleep is essential for functioning both mentally and physically during the day. Not getting enough can lead to dramatic mood swings, which can increase the risk of depression. Do you have a moody teenager in the house? Pediatricians recommend that teenagers get from 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night. While pulling an occasional all-nighter is not likely to make much of a long-term difference in our health, research shows that consistent sleep deprivation—getting less than 6 hours of sleep on a regular basis—can have lasting effects that can’t be reversed. These effects can include high blood pressure, negative moods, and a decrease in productivity. Good sleep habits lead to better moods at work as well as better moods in our social interactions and personal relationships.

• Helps maintain an optimal weight. In a culture that encourages us to work and play 24/7 and fuel fatigue with caffeine to keep going, it’s easy to see why so many of us are frequently tired. But did you know that getting too little sleep can cause weight gain? Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can lower proteins in the body that suppress our appetites, causing people to want to eat more than they would if they had gotten enough sleep. And when we’re tired from lack of sleep, we tend to overeat to refuel our bodies—to replace the energy we’ve lost. Unfortunately, we’re more likely to reach for our favorite comfort foods or foods that give us a quick burst of energy, and those foods tend to be high in calories and carbohydrates. People who don’t get enough sleep might also feel too tired to keep up a regular exercise routine, making it harder for them to maintain a healthy weight.

• Increases the ability to think clearly. A lack of sleep not only makes us drowsy and unable to concentrate, it can also lead to impaired memory function and job performance. When we’re well rested, we’re likely to be more alert, physically stronger, and better able to perform well at our jobs and at creative problem solving. A lack of sleep in schoolkids can lead to poor concentration and behavior problems in school. Sleep deprivation has also been shown to decrease hand-eye coordination and reaction times, especially when driving. When we do get enough sleep, we’re able to think clearly and react to situations quickly.

• Reduces stress. It’s no coincidence that as a society we’ve cut back on sleep over the past few decades by 1 to 2 hours a night, while studies show that more of us are reporting higher levels of stress than in past years. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 35 percent of adults report that they don’t get enough sleep, with women feeling the effects of sleep deprivation more than men. Unfortunately, many adults accept their lack of sleep as a way of life and turn to caffeine to combat the fatigue they feel during the day. Aiming for at least 7 hours of sleep a night—along with exercise and a balanced diet—will minimize stress.

• It’s good for the heart. When it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, there are significant health benefits for people of all ages. Research has shown that consistently skimping on sleep can weaken our immune systems, making us more vulnerable to sickness and disease. Several studies have shown that a lack of sleep, or getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night regularly, can lead to an irregular heart rate as well as higher blood pressure and increased cholesterol levels, which are both risk factors for heart disease. So the next time you try to short yourself on a good night’s sleep, think about all the health benefits you’re missing by staying awake for that extra hour or two.

Strategies for a Better Night’s Sleep

• Maintain a regular bedtime and wake-up schedule

• Establish a regular bedtime routine that includes such things as reading or taking a bath

• Sleep on a comfortable pillow and mattress

• Avoid activities like paying bills or working (even exercise, for some people) right before bedtime

• Maintain a regular exercise schedule

While teenagers are notorious for their love of junk food and odd eating habits, it is important that they eat a proper diet. A healthy diet for teenagers can help them do better in school and promote optimal physical development as their bodies mature.

Here are the most important aspects of a healthy diet for teenagers:

• A healthy diet for teenagers starts with consuming the proper amount of calories. On average, a teen girl needs between 1,800 and 2,100 calories each day, while a teen boy needs between 2,200 and 2,700 calories to meet his energy needs. Eating too many calories can lead to obesity and associated complications, while eating too few can leave teens lacking energy and facing other health problems. This is meant to be a guideline, and may vary for each individual. Teenagers may need to vary their caloric intake based on their specific needs.

• Ultimately, a healthy diet for teenagers should include fresh fruits and vegetables as a foundation. For optimal nutrition, a teenager should aim for at least 3 to 5 servings of such foods each day. Additionally, variety is important with fruits and vegetables. A good rule to follow is to eat a wide variety of colors. Some great choices include red and orange peppers, broccoli, red, blue, and black berries, and citrus fruits, which are loaded with Vitamin C.

• Also when considering a healthy diet for teenagers, it is important for teens to get enough protein, especially among boys, who may want to build muscle. The best way to get protein is for teenagers to eat roughly two servings of meat, eggs, nuts, soy products, or high-protein dairy each day. Teenagers also need 6 to 11 servings of carbohydrates every day. However, many teens actually eat too many carbohydrates. A serving can be as small as 1 slice of bread or half a cup of cooked pasta.

• While most people think fats are bad, a healthy diet for teenagers actually needs some fats as part of their diet. However, not all fats are created equal. Teens should avoid dangerous trans fats and saturated fat. Instead, they should opt for the healthy fats found in nuts, oils, and fish. These fats promote proper brain function and help keep joints and ligaments healthy.

• When it comes to vitamins and minerals, calcium is one of the most important components of a healthy diet for teenagers. During the teenage years, bones finish growing and reach their final adult form. Calcium promotes strong, dense, healthy bones that are protected from fractures and breaks. In addition to getting calcium from dairy, this important nutrient can also be found in nuts like almonds as well as dark green leafy vegetables. Ideally, 2 to 3 servings daily of such calcium rich foods should be part of a teenager’s diet. In addition to calcium, iron is also important to teens, especially girls. The best sources of iron are red meat, beans, eggs, and certain dried fruit.

Ultimately, teenagers should try to eat as healthy as possible without sacrificing the fun outings they enjoy. It is okay to include some junk food, as long as teens do not go overboard. Also, keep in mind that sometimes efforts to eat healthy turn into eating disorders. So, it is important for parents to be aware of changes in their teenager’s eating habits and behaviors.

I think Insanity was a good choice of names when Beachbody and Shaun T developed this new program, which is now avaialable!  I was fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of the Plyometrics Cardio Circuit.  This is only one workout in the entire series.  But judging from my first experience with the Plyo circuit, this workout program will be on my “must buy” list once its released.  I think there will be many advantages to owning this program.  Let me rattle off a few.  No weights to buy, insane workouts, not for the weak (of mind), and a workout you can excel and grow with.  I say weak of mind because although these workouts will be tough!  The strong minded, strong willed individual will persevere through this program, and will obtain the insane results that you have always wanted!  You have to control your mind and your negative thoughts of “I can’t!” or “It’s too hard!”.  You CAN.  It’s the Battlefield of the MIND.  But it is hard!  Okay, so, I get the sneak preview, and as I always do the night before my workouts, I set out my gym clothes.  I’m already preparing myself for the next days workout.  5:30 AM, the alarm clock goes off to some radio station, but I have no idea what it is, because I hit the OFF switch and am already getting geared up for the workout.  The night before,  I already cued my DVD player to skip past the nonsense, and have it ready, so I can get busy as soon as I’m dressed and ready to go.  Heart rate monitor is on, and we are off.

First thing, Shaun T says something about warming up, but the volume is low, and my kids and wife are still sound asleep.  The clock timer says 41 minutes 30+ seconds.  Next thing I know, we are off doing cardio.  And the pace is fairly quick.  First impression and thoughts…. “Did I miss the warm up?”  I wasn’t going to stop and check or rewind, so I just keep going.  We started off jogging in place, then jumping jacks, Heisman, a 1-2-3 move, butt kicks, high knees, and mummy kicks.  This lasted a little over 3 minutes, but was repeated a total of 3 times, for a total between 10 – 11 minutes.  We then get a 30 second water break.  With each rotation, the speed of the exercises increases, so be ready to pick up the pace each round of each set.  After the water break, I see STRETCH come across the screen, and then the realization HITS me.  THAT WAS THE WARM UP!

And then a slight smile breaks out across my face, and I think, “This is gonna get good”.  And as I realize that I’m smiling, that voice in the back of my head says, “Your wife is right, you are obsessed”.  I guess INSANE is more like it!

So the stretch is just under 7 minutes, and quite thorough.  After the stretch, a water break.  I look at the timer and see 23:20 on the clock.  Don’t let this 23 minutes give you the wrong idea.  There is nothing EASY about the next 23 minutes.  Even the water breaks are too short!

First round of the workout, the timer shows 2 minutes for the upcoming round in the set.  You start doing Suicide drills, power squats, mountain climbers, ski downs.  Then its time for a water break, and I think “I got this, no sweat.”  Then after 30 seconds you repeat, but this time, you go for 3 and a half minutes, and the pace is faster.  A much earned water break follows, and then another round of 3 and a half minutes, and YEP, a faster pace.  But is it really faster?    You feel like you’re moving faster, but you wonder if you are having a “mind is moving faster than my body” moment.  After your last move of ski downs, you catch a curve ball with some added moves…..switch feet, and football wide sprints.  Water break. And just under 15 minutes on the clock remaining.

The next set starts with 2 and a half minutes on the clock and you’re back at it again with basket ball shots, level 1 drills, ski abs, and in-out abs.  Water break.  At this point, I like to think I’m in good cardio shape, but this circuit is TOUGH.  Remember what I said, not for the weak.  But guess what, you do your BEST.  The video shows people taking breaks, collapsing on the floor, exhausted.  Others jump up and aren’t quite as exhausted.  Strive to be those people.  Take breaks, be smart, then get back in the game and get in shape!  If you’re in shape, get in BETTER shape.  Push yourself and your limits, push beyond your comfort zone.  Get ready for the next round of the same thing, but now you are at a 3 minute cycle.  Another water break.  Entirely too short!  Last round of this set is 4 minutes 30 seconds, and will test every part of your being.  You’ll be tired, exhausted, and I’m embarrassed to say how many times my knees hit the floor.  But that’s okay, I’ll grow with this workout, push myself, and work harder!  But it’s not over yet, the last 2 minutes, you do some jabs, cross jacks, uppercuts, and attack.

Finally the cool down and stretch for the remaining 3 minutes or so, and you’re dripping with sweat, thinking, what a great workout, and completely wiped out.  Good times.  It’s insane, it’s called INSANITY.  And I’ll be reviewing this monster as I continue through the program, workout by workout.  Subscribe to my blog to get the Insanity Reviews as they come out.  If you haven’t tried Insanity yet, you really should, let’s tackle this thing together!

It is hard to get kids to eat right!  Our kids, 5 and 3 years old, want to eat anything but healthy most days.  The staples of life in our house: chicken nuggets, hot dogs (I try to buy turkey hot dogs), chips, fruit snacks, etc.  But, there are things that they love that totally surprise me like Special K cereal and tilapia.  They eat some healthy things all the time, but they don’t know the difference because I fed it to them from the start: wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, yogurt.  This article by Chalene Johnson and Denis Faye from BeachBody is a great go-to for help with feeding your kids the right foods.

Chalene’s 10 Tips for Getting Your Kids to Eat Healthily
By Chalene Johnson and Denis Faye

As hard as it is to fight your junk food urges, if you have kids, you probably know that getting Junior to make smart food choices is triple the challenge. It’d be excellent if you could just yell, “Hey, you! Eat your spinach!” But you can’t. As is the case when dealing with most aspects of a child’s life, it takes commitment, patience, and some serious cunning to steer them down the right path.

If you’ve watched the “Healthy Eats” disc of the ChaLEAN Extreme® program, you know that Chalene and her husband Brett made a commitment to teach their son Brock and daughter Sierra the benefits of a solid diet. Here, in Chalene’s words, is a little insight on how they did it.

• Portion control. Digging into the entire box of goldfish crackers, or any other kid’s snack, is a bad idea. So it’s a good idea to empty out that box into smaller ziplock bags, for better portion control. Do this the moment the treats are pulled from the grocery store bags! This helps children understand what a healthy portion looks like. Meals and portion sizes have increased nearly 40 percent over the last decade. As parents, we have to teach our children that it’s not deprivation—it’s proper nutrition.

• Sneak in the whole grains. Use whole-grain pasta and brown rice, but don’t tell your kids. They’ll never know the difference. No one, especially children, likes change when it comes to food. I like to use the “stealth” approach, i.e., fly low under the radar! When I switched my kids from regular pasta to whole-grain, whole wheat pasta, I did it in stages. First, I added just a 1/4 cup of the healthier noodles. Each time I added more, until eventually they were eating the whole-grain stuff and had no idea! They still have no idea! We had spaghetti at a restaurant the other night (the enriched-flour kind), and the kids said the restaurant pasta was “weird . . . kinda slimy!” How fantastic is that? The key is making the changes gradually and not making a big deal about them.

• Lead by example. If you’re giving your kids apples but you’re eating Snickers, it’s never going to work. Following a healthy diet needs to be part of the commitment of good parenting. Never use the “D” ["Diet"] word in front of children. When you do, and they see you eating healthily, they assume that healthy food is something you’re forced to eat as a punishment. Lead by example. Say, “Mommy is eating this for more energy and to be stronger.” Make negative comments about food without nutritional value. For example, when I do have the occasional “treat,” I will often say, “Wow, that piece of cake gave me a sugar crash and a headache. Now I feel so sluggish!” Use positive comments about healthy food without reference to weight. Try, “I feel so much stronger when I eat fruit for a snack!”

• Make food fun. Taste is something that changes over time. Our taste buds actually change as we age; this explains why some children will eat broccoli and green beans and others find the smell and taste worse than starvation! Continually introduce healthy food and find unique ways to introduce the food in stages. For example, your children might try a small amount of broccoli mixed in with their mac and cheese. Once you’ve gotten them to accept that as a regular staple, transition to broccoli with a creamy cheese soup. Eventually, your children may acquire a taste for steamed broccoli! Can you imagine the day? But starting right out of the gates with a big plate of steamed broccoli in front of a child who doesn’t eat green things is asking for a battle! Baby steps!

• Don’t pressure kids to eat. Present the food, but don’t force kids to eat it. Making demands will just polarize your kids, while letting them eat healthy foods on their own terms leads to healthy habits. If your first attempt doesn’t work, don’t take it personally or assume that this is a life-or-death situation. Take a deep breath, let it go, and try it again another day—try serving those healthy foods prepared in new ways. It often takes several times before your child will decide to try something new. Oh, and I don’t know if this works for everyone, but I find that my children will often try new food with their grandparents and at their friends’ houses, foods that they won’t try with me! Ask what new foods they tried and then offer to prepare them, and get excited about their willingness to try new foods.

• Be careful what you say. Everything a woman says about her body is like writing on the slate of her female child’s self-esteem. I volunteer to teach exercise to children of all ages in the public school system. I have personally heard children as young as 6 say, “I’m fat!” Or, “I have a big belly like my mommy.” Or, “My mommy doesn’t want you to see her because she got fat.” Seriously! Not only do kids hear what you’re saying on the phone to your girlfriend, but they are projecting those negative images on themselves. It’s unhealthy for you and your young children to be thinking anything other than positive thoughts about this amazing body that God gave you! Do your best to serve as a positive role model by speaking lovingly about your body and your journey to health!

• Relax! Food shouldn’t be a source of angst for your family. Try to get your kids to eat healthier, but be creative, consistent, and calm. The bigger you make the issue of eating healthy foods, the more resistance you may feel. Play it cool. There are many studies proving that you can place salad on the table 10 to 15 times before a child will decide to try it. Remember that “insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.” If it didn’t work the first time, try a different approach, a new way to prepare and disguise the food, and, again, remember the importance of doing this in slow, small steps.

• Get kids involved. Let them help cook meals and learn to read food labels. Teach them what’s too much sugar and what’s an appropriate amount of fat. Teach your children what purpose carbohydrates serve in moderation and what they turn into when we eat them in excess. Pick one item and just find that on your labels. For example, this week my children have been looking at the sodium content on labels. They get a kick out of trying to find the canned soup with the lowest sodium content or shocking each other by reading a label with an off-the-chart level of sodium. Food shouldn’t be a mystery. I meet adults every day who have no idea how much sodium, carbs, or protein they should be consuming, let alone how many calories. Let’s create a more educated generation when it comes to food!

• Think daily. Young children have shifts when they are hungry. A child will not starve himself or herself. We are so focused on eating huge portions three times a day, but naturally, most children will eat one full meal and graze at other meals. Avoid the bad habit of saying, “One more bite,” or, “Clean your plate.” These phrases teach our children that they are good if they eat more, when what we want to teach our children is to respond to their bodies when they feel full. Young children eat to provide themselves with energy. Eating to soothe sadness, eating to stuff ourselves, or eating because it’s simply that time of the day are all bad habits we pass along to our children.

• Read up on nutrition. Read books about food. Explain where it comes from. I highly recommend Eat This Not That! for Kids!: Be the Leanest, Fittest Family on the Block! It has giant pictures of common kid foods. It’s fun to make a game out of learning which foods are best! Also, check out CalorieKing.com, which lists the calories for most every food you can imagine, not to mention the nutritional information for nearly every restaurant in America!

Download your P90X Advanced Excel Worksheets here.

The P90X Advanced Excel Worksheets are nothing short of AWESOME. Don’t picture a boring spreadsheet with a few cells to type in.  Do yourself a big favor, and download these worksheets.  The P90X Advanced Excel Worksheets are made by Beachbody, for Beachbody’s P90X program.  So that in and of itself, should give you an indication of what you are getting. The P90X Advanced Excel Worksheets come with complete instructions on how to use the worksheets, and is easily customized to YOU.  That’s right, you enter your personal information and then the excel worksheet is ready for your personal schedule and rotation.  That’s right, it acts as your worksheets, and your calendar for which exercise DVD you should do and on what day.

You can further personalize the excel worksheets and have it automatically figure your number of calories and which phase you should be eating at in the nutrition guide.  i.e.  Phase 1, 2 or 3 on the nutrition plan.  It will also allow you to track your food intake.  If you have P90X, then you know on the portion plan, you get so many proteins, carbs, fats, etc per day.  This excel worksheet calculates how many you get and allows you to track that information.

Enter in some personal information and have a calculator determine your Body Fat Percentage.

The P90X Fit Test is also available on this excel worksheet.

One of the absolute best parts of this excel worksheet is that it will graph your workout progress.  For example, when you enter your data, reps and weight for week one, it will automatically graph this information, then week two will show your improvement.

And not quite finally, there is more! But for my rave review, know that this excel worksheet also has the material available for print as well.  So you really have no need for the PDF format below.  However, if you are not the computer type, and want the good ol fashioned standby of pen to paper, it’s available.  Nothing wrong with that, I did the very same thing for my previous 8 rounds of P90X!

It is absolutely amazing what this excel worksheet will do!  I’d really be surprised if you have read this far, and have NOT yet downloaded it. 

Download your P90X PDF Worksheets here.

So now that my rave review for the P90X Advanced Excel Worksheet is over.  I can move forward and tell you why I think tracking your progress is so important!

If you’re working out with P90X, Tony Horton is constantly reminding you to track your progress.  Personally, I feel like there are two reasons to track your progress using either the P90X Advanced Excel Worksheets or the P90X PDF Worksheets.

1. When I first started working out with P90X, I started writing down my weight and my reps for each exercise. It’s encouraging to look back over time and see where you started, to see where you’ve improved. For example, I started P90X only being able to perform 3 wide grip chin ups. Today I can easily perform 15 wide grip chin ups, with good form. To me that’s encouraging. So that’s one important reason to track your progress with the P90X Advanced Excel Worksheets or the P90X PDF Worksheets.
2. To improve with each day, week, and month, you have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Constantly strive to improve your number of reps, or amount of weight each time you do an exercise. For example, let’s say on week 5, you start Back & Biceps of P90X.  If you do the Standard Biceps with 15 lbs, and are able to perform 8 reps, then the following week, your goal should be 8 reps. Once you hit 8 reps, raise your weight to 20 lbs. You see what I mean? How can you challenge and push yourself, if you don’t know what you’ve done the week before? Of course the amount of weight you lift and the number of reps you perform will vary according to your fitness goals, get lean or add some muscle etc.  And now that I think about it, I personally have a third reason for using the P90X Advanced Excel Worksheets or the P90X PDF Worksheets.
   
3. Using the worksheets, whether it be with ChaLEAN Extreme or P90X, prevents me from “bailing out” too early. Going back to the Back & Biceps example. If I lift 15 lbs, and get 8 reps, then I KNOW I can do AT LEAST that amount. So when I’m feeling “tired and run down” I can’t use that as an excuse. I will ALWAYS lift what I did the week before at a MINIMUM, and ALWAYS strive to improve.

So there you have it, 3 reasons to use the P90X Advanced Excel Worksheets or the P90X PDF Worksheets. I have used that phrase throughout this blog post so that you can download your extra copies. Just click a link. Obviously, you can use the workbook that came with the program, but what about round 2? And round 3? Remember, we’re in this together, whether it’s ChaLEAN Extreme or P90X, or whatever program you’re on, just keep pushing play, set goals, try new programs, and stay fit! Contact me anytime for help, encouragement, or questions.

You may think getting in shape just means working out 2 or 3 days a week. However, to really get in great shape quickly, you need to make a complete lifestyle change. This means adding proper nutrition to your exercise plan. This does not mean you have to go on a restrictive diet. Instead, it means making better choices and revamping your food choices to meet your fitness goals. A major problem many people face when they begin working out is not following a proper nutrition plan. Some think their regular diet is just fine and make no changes at all. Others cut out whole food groups and greatly reduce their calories. This may lead to weight loss, but it can also stop you from building muscle. Plus, a low-calorie diet can make you tired and prevent you from doing your best during workouts.

The best way to fuel your body with optimum nutrition is to follow a plan specifically designed to compliment your workout. How can you do this? Ideally, you should choose a workout plan that comes with a nutrition guide. Two of the best programs on the market are P90X and ChaLEAN Extreme. Both of which offer a complete nutritional program, as well as the workout program. The nutritional stages correspond to changes in your exercise routine, which yields faster muscle growth and increases your overall level of fitness.

What you eat all day long is important, but how you replenish your body after a hard workout is especially significant. Actually, you need to quickly consume a combination of carbohydrates and protein. For most people, this means having a shake or energy bar. However, not all of these supplements are the same. The ingredients they use and the ratio of carbohydrates to protein make a huge difference in how well your body responds. The best combination features a 4 to 1 ratio, carbohydrates to protein. My personal favorite is the P90X Recovery drink.

In addition to refueling after a workout, you want to ensure your body is getting the nutrients it needs to build new muscle. Nutrients keep your metabolism revved up, and gives you energy to work out hard. The best way to do this is to add a multivitamin to your daily routine. A vitamin should contain antioxidants, minerals, and essential nutrients combined in a way that works quickly and effectively. Also, you should take a multivitamin during the same time each day with a meal. Consuming a vitamin with food helps your body absorb more of its beneficial ingredients. One such option is the P90X Health Formula, but I also like the Activit Multivitamin.

“Extreme” dieting and working out are not a great combination. It takes food to get fit. However, not just any meals will do. By following a proper nutrition plan that fits your exercise program, you can boost your results exponentially. With a few changes, you will soon be looking and feeling better than ever before.

If you’re doing P90X, you know that to maximize your results, you have to focus on your nutrition, just as much as your workouts.  If you want results, and I know you do!, then you have to watch what you eat.  However, you may have times where you just can’t get home to eat a P90X meal, or aren’t able to pack your food as you go.  It happens to all of us at some time or another.  When it happens to you, be prepared.  Here is an excellent article by Dennis Faye with Beachbody.  So from now on, no excuses.  You can stay on the P90X diet, no matter where you are!

A P90X® Restaurant Guide
By Denis Faye

You’re working late at the office. It’s time for dinner, but there’s a problem. You’re in the middle of your P90X program, and a big, greasy restaurant meal will throw your precision diet into complete chaos.

“But wait,” you think, “aren’t there restaurant meals listed in the back of the handy dandy P90X Nutrition Plan?” Yes, but you open it up and . . . d’oh! It’s all fast food! You’re with a client and you don’t want to slum it!

Relax. You’ll be fine. I’ll talk you through this difficult situation.

The first thing you need to do is use common sense. Here’s a quick list of things that’ll help you survive any restaurant.

1. Go for the chicken or fish.
2. Avoid fried food.
3. Unless it’s veggies, salad, or fruit, skip the side dish.
4. Pasta? Avoid cream sauces and just eat half your portion.
5. No bread, except if you’re having a sandwich. And get whole wheat.
6. Ask for the salad dressing on the side and use it sparingly.

If you do this, you’ll probably find yourself with a remarkably stripped-down meal that’ll be easy to judge. Here’s how to do that.

1. Piece of meat = 2 protein portions.
2. Side of veggies or salad = 1 veggie portion per side dish.
3. Salad dressing can count as 1 condiment portion if you limit the serving to 2 tablespoons.
4. If you ignored my extra side dish advice, count that as 1 carb portion.
5. If there’s any kind of sauce or marinade on your meat, add 1 condiment portion.
6. Add 1 fat portion. Restaurants are notorious for sneaking fat and sodium into food. That’s why it tastes so good.
7. In the event that you are 100 percent, categorically certain that there’s no hidden fat in your meal, skip step 5 and add 1 condiment portion, simply because I don’t trust those restaurant guys. I’m certain they snuck something in there. Trust me. I’m paranoid so that you don’t have to be.

So, for example, let’s take Denny’s Grilled Tilapia. Here’s how they describe it on the menu: a mild, white fish filet seasoned and grilled, then placed on a bed of savory vegetable rice pilaf. Served with your choice of two sides and dinner bread.

We have our fish, so that’s 2 protein portions. The vegetable rice pilaf is 1 carb portion and 1 veggie portion. The corn and tomato slices are 1 veggie portion each. Let’s call that 1 carb portion and 1 veggie portion. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of fat going on here, so we’ll skip the fat portion. However, the pilaf is savory, which implies a sauce, so let’s add 1 condiment portion.

Here’s where we end up.

Fit Fare Grilled Tilapia with Rice Pilaf, Corn, and Tomato Slices 3 veggie portions 2 protein portions 1 carb portion 1 condiment portion Calories: 600 Protein: 58 g Carbs: 66 g Fat Total: 11 g

Of course, don’t limit yourself to major chain restaurants. In fact, they usually cater to the lowest common denominator, so you’ll probably have better luck finding healthier food at an independent restaurant specializing in fresh fare for more selective customers.

Unfortunately, I haven’t spent much time in your neighborhood, so I don’t really know much about your local joints. I do, however, have access to quite a bit of information about several national chains, thanks to the Internet. Here are a few examples to get you started. You’ll note the nutrition information under the portion information. Many restaurants provide that on request. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Chili’s

Fajita Pita Chicken 1 fat portion 1 protein portion 1 veggie portion 0.5 carb portion Calories: 455 Protein: 31 g Carbs: 52 g Fat Total: 13 g

Denny’s

Veggie-Cheese Omelet with Eggbeaters (no sides) 1 fat portion 1 veggie portion 1.5 protein portions 1 condiment portion Calories: 410 Protein: 39 g Carbs: 11 g Fat Total: 22 g

Olive Garden

Linguine Alla Marinara (dinner) 1 protein portion 1 carb portion 2 veggie portions 1 condiment portion Calories: 430 Protein: 18 g Carbs: 76 g Fat Total: 6 g

Red Lobster

Chilled Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail 1 protein portion 1 condiment portion Calories: 120 Protein: 19 g Carbs: 9 g Fat Total: 1 g

Sources: Information taken from the following companies’ Web sites: Chili’s, Denny’s, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster.

Coffee and tea are a huge part of most people’s daily routine.  I used to work for a doctor that said he had to have at least one cup of black coffee so he could feel “compatible with human life.”  It’s funny, but for a lot of people, that is so true.  During the winter months, I enjoy a nice, huge cup of coffee early in the morning.  But, the rest of the year, I’ll take my caffeine in the form of a nice, cold Diet Dr. Pepper.  Steve Edwards has written another article for the BeachBody newsletter about your best friends and mine: coffee, tea, and the always lovely caffeine.

Nutrition 911, Part XI: Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine
By Steve Edwards

Today we discuss the most popular drink in the world: coffee. I don’t actually know where these statistics come from, but since we mainly want to discuss one ingredient, caffeine, I’ll lump coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages into the same discussion so that we’ll be sure to address something that’s pertinent to almost all of you. Coffee and tea have been around for the entirety of recorded history, so no matter what science tells us, we begin this edition with some time-tested knowledge that people don’t go around dropping dead over the stuff, nor will it get you banned for cheating when you win at the Olympics (unless it’s too much).

Coffee and tea are probably the most controversial substances we consume. Unlike, say, soda, candy, chocolate, and fast food—which we know are detrimental to our diets—studies swing both ways over the benefits and dangers of our morning cup of java. But whatever the outcome, we drink the stuff with an almost ritualistic glee. If you drink neither coffee nor tea, you’re an outsider in almost any culture on the planet.

Coffee, tea, and other caffeinated drinks
First off, let’s talk about the difference between tea, coffee, and other drinks laced with caffeine. Coffee and tea are both very simple products made from mixing ground-up plants with hot water. So they’re both 100 percent natural, contain approximately zero calories, and have a few nutrients. What they do contain is caffeine. A lot of it. Coffee has nearly twice as much caffeine as tea, but the amount varies by type and the brewing process. As a general rule, trendy green teas have less caffeine than black teas, which have less than coffee. Figure that for each cup of coffee or tea you consume, you’ll get between 50 milligrams and 200 milligrams of caffeine.

Both have other assorted nutrients, mainly antioxidants, all of which are quite healthy. The downside is that both are acidic to the point that habitual consumption can cause stomach problems in some people. But the main hit or miss with folks when it comes to coffee or tea is the caffeine. After this, their choices are usually made by taste, ritual, or the culture they live in.

Caffeine gives you a jolt of energy, which we’ll discuss later, and because of this, many other beverages now come with a healthy dose of the stuff. Most sodas have some caffeine, but the big trend today is toward turbocharged “energy drinks,” a topic for another day. These are often nasty concoctions of sugar, caffeine, and other assorted legal uppers designed to amp you sky-high and provide the illusion that you’re having a good time. They may work, at least for a short time, but they are basically just time bombs of euphoria. When you crash, you crash hard.

Can coffee or tea make you fat?
There is one place we have a definitive answer on this subject, and it’s that neither of these drinks will make you fat. In fact, they should do the opposite. Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning that it affects your metabolic process at a heightened level. Translation: it makes you go to the bathroom more often. It also elevates brain activity, which, technically, should make you less hungry. This is why caffeine is often added to diet aids.

The only things in coffee or tea that can make you fat are the things you add to them. The menu at your local Starbucks contains stuff that makes coffee merely a side dish, if that. And traditional drinks such as Thai iced tea are only tea in name. Therefore, just because something calls itself “coffee” or “tea” doesn’t mean that’s all there is to the story. Like with most foods, reading labels is important. We’ll talk more about coffee drinks next time.

The latest research
Coffee has been in the headlines a lot recently. You may have caught the headlines a while back stating that it could give you a heart attack. Or maybe you caught the study touting it as a superfood, which came out at the same time! Certainly, you’ve heard that it’s a banned substance by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to its performance-enhancing qualities. But then why, you wonder, did you just see a headline saying you should avoid it prior to a workout? And what about that study stating that if you drank enough coffee, it would stave off the effects of all that alcohol you consume?

Coffee, tea, and caffeine are perhaps the most widely studied things we put into our bodies (over 19,000 recent recorded studies), yet no definitive stance can be found on the stuff. If this seems odd, we must consider the fact that studies need to be funded and a lot of money can skew a study to say this or that—a subject I touch on often in my blog (see “The Straight Dope” below). At any rate, let’s wade into some of the more recent headlines and try to make some sense out of them.

Will coffee give you a heart attack?
Apparently it will—if you’re “at risk for heart attacks,” according to a syndicated article that was all over the Internet a while back. But what does this mean? The article begins with the vague line about how coffee may trigger a heart attack in some people. If you delve deeper, the water becomes muddier, so, tired of sifting through their muck, I went to the source.

For over 4 years, a large Costa Rican study examined the relationship among 503 nonfatal heart attacks. The study found that most of the subjects drank coffee prior to having the heart attack. In the stats, it appeared that light coffee drinkers were at more risk than heavy coffee drinkers. This, as you might suppose, caused some confusion.

Looking deeper into the abstract, we see that the researchers think that the coffee/heart attack relationship stems from a rare gene variation in some people. They also stated that their research was “far from conclusive.” The report on Yahoo!® made no mention of the gene variant and, instead, went with the more alarmist “those at risk” line because “who isn’t, right?” The study also clearly stated that most of the population was at zero risk from drinking coffee.

The bottom line of the study was that most of the population was not at risk, and the few that might be, also may not be. So, for now, I’ll side with Dr. Robert Eckel, former president of the American Heart Association, and remain “unconvinced.”

Furthermore, a study done over 2 decades using 120,000 subjects concluded that there was no relationship between even heavy coffee drinking and heart disease. This study, done in part by the Harvard School of Public Health, showed that there was no link between heart disease and a daily intake of six or more cups of coffee per day. It also stated the risk was the same for those who consumed less than one cup of coffee or tea per month. This study also addressed the Costa Rican findings, stating they were “possible” but “require confirmation.”

Can you lose your gold medal?
Not anymore. In 2004, the IOC removed caffeine from its list of banned items. Prior to that, athletes could be busted for drinking about five or more cups of coffee. Certainly, this means that some highly regarded scientists once thought it was an ergogenic (a performance enhancer). But was it removed because it was found to be ineffective, as there are now better ways of “cheating,” or because the coffee lobby contributed to the IOC? Time may or may not tell, but one thing’s for sure: many people believe caffeine enhances performance.

A recent Swiss study, however, refutes it, at least in one sense. The study of 18 individuals showed that coffee prior to exercise restricted heart blood flow by 22 percent. Obviously, this would be a detriment to performance, but again, the research is far from conclusive. For one, the study used regular coffee drinkers, and participants were not allowed to drink coffee for 36 hours prior to the experiment, so their results may have had to do with a coffee-withdrawal effect. And two, no study of 18 people can be anywhere close to conclusive. But it’s interesting, for sure, and certainly much more will be done. I’d keep an eye out for more on this.

But again, there’s a lot more science showing that it has positive physical effects, even if they stem from better brain function. An Austrian study using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to assess memory skills showed that there was a marked improvement in motor skills and memory after subjects ingested 100 milligrams of caffeine. The study cautioned that the progression was not linear (meaning that more is definitely not better). But the test concluded that caffeine was a a performance enhancer.

According to physiologist Terry Graham, PhD, of the University of Guelph in Canada, “What caffeine likely does is stimulate the brain and nervous system to do things differently. That may include signaling you to ignore fatigue or recruit extra units of muscle for intense athletic performance.” And as to whether this better aids strength or endurance sports he adds, “What’s amazing about it is that unlike some performance-enhancing manipulation athletes do that are specific for strength or endurance, studies show that caffeine positively enhances all of these things.”

Is coffee a superfood?
This would depend, I guess. We’ve seen some downsides, and I’ve yet to mention two others. One, it’s addictive, and two, it’s been linked to insomnia. Performance-wise, sleep is crucial for your body to recover and recharge itself. No matter its benefits, if coffee negatively affects your ability to rest, it’s not going to help you much.

Yet, analyzing data—of 126,000 people and gathered over 18 years—has led to an almost astonishing number of likely health benefits, including lowering your risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and colon cancer; improving mood; appeasing headaches; and even lessening the risk of cavities.

In some cases, even the “all things in moderation” cliché was put to the test. For example, drinking one cup to three cups a day reduced type 2 diabetes risk by single digits, whereas drinking six or more cups per day slashed men’s risk by 54 percent and women’s risk by 30 percent. Maybe it’s just because coffee makes you want to get up and do something; those participants who reduced their risk may have exercised more.

These findings have been routinely backed up by further studies. At least six studies indicate that coffee drinkers are up to 80 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, with three showing the more they drank, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can cut your risk of gallstones in half, provide a 25 percent reduced chance of contracting colon cancer, and offer a whopping 80 percent decline in liver cirrhosis risk. So abundant is this research that caffeine is added to certain medications to treat headaches, mood, asthma, and now Parkinson’s disease.

So is it time to hit Starbucks?
Since, as I’ve said before, this isn’t Politics class, I won’t tell you not to, but I’m certain that your local organic, fair-trade, mom-and-pop coffeehouse with the open mic on Thursdays will have better coffee anyway (wink). Back to the subject, coffee or tea certainly don’t seem to be harmful as a part of your diet. The problem with them, I suspect, is more often what we add to them. So if you enjoy your morning or afternoon (maybe skip the evening) ritual, then by all means indulge. Just keep it traditional, pure, simple, and forget the word Frappuccino was ever invented.

Speaking of Frapps, that’s where we’re headed next time. See you then!

Sources: Harvard study: Esther Lopez-Garcia, DrPH; Rob M. van Dam, PhD; Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPH; Eric B. Rimm, ScD; JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH; Meir J. Stampfer, MD, DrPH; Kathryn M. Rexrode, MD, MPH; Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD. Coffee Consumption and Coronary Heart Disease in Men and Women. Circulation. 2006;113:2045-2053. Costa Rican study: Marilyn C. Cornelis, BSc; Ahmed El-Sohemy, PhD; Edmond K. Kabagambe, PhD; Hannia Campos, PhD. Coffee, CYP1A2 Genotype, and Risk of Myocardial Infarction. JAMA. 2006;295:1135-1141. Swiss study: Mehdi Namdar, MD, Pascal Koepfli, MD, Renate Grathwohl, MD, Patrick T. Siegrist, MD, Michael Klainguti, MD, Tiziano Schepis, MD, Raphael Delaloye, MD, Christophe A. Wyss, MD, Samuel P. Fleischmann, MD, Oliver Gaemperli, MD and Philipp A. Kaufmann, MD. Caffeine Decreases Exercise-Induced Myocardial Flow Reserve. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2006; 47:405-410. Florian Koppelstätter, MD, PhD., Thorsten D. Poeppel, MD, PhD, Christian M. Siedentopf, Ilka Haala, Anja Ischebeck, PhD, Felix M. Mottaghy, MD, PhD, Paul Rhomberg, MD, PhD, Michael Verius, PhD, Stefan M. Golaszewski, MD, PhD, Christian Kolbitsch, MD, PhD, Stephan R. Felber, MD, PhD, and Bernd J. Krause, MD, PhD Coffee Jump-starts Short-term Memory. Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting, Chicago, Nov. 27-Dec. 2, 2005. American Dietetic Association: “Cutting Down on Caffeine.” News release, Radiological Society of North America. Guelph study: Terry E. Graham, PhD. Caffeine and Exercise: Metabolism, Endurance and Performance. Sports Medicine, Volume 31, Number 11, 1 November 2001; 23:785-807.

The P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide is simply one of the absolute best ways to re-shape your body in just 90 days. With the P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide, you have the opportunity to take a 90-day life changing journey, accompanied by world-renowned fitness instructor Tony Horton. Tony Horton’s patented P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide employs a revolutionary fitness concept known as Muscle Confusion. By continually changing your fitness workout routine, the P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide ensures that your muscles are able to maintain high intensity workouts without ever getting fatigued. And you get the added benefit of a fun and exciting workout that avoids the mindless repetition often found in gym-based routines, which results in boredom.

At Extremely-Fit.com, we understand the importance of having a workout regimen that will keep your interest. We pride ourselves on supporting every one of our customers throughout their initial 90 day workout and beyond. If you have any questions about the P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide or if you simply want an expert’s opinion on how best to maximize your results, a member of our staff is always ready to assist you. Never hesitate to contact us with your questions or concerns.

P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide, The 90 Day Workout that Guarantees Results!

Another fantastic aspect of Tony Horton’s 90 Day Workout is that you don’t need a gym membership or any high-priced equipment to enjoy the benefits of a full body workout routine. The P90X workout system only requires resistance bands or dumbbells and a chin up bar. Other than that, all of the necessary workout and nutritional information is provided with the P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide package.

The 90 Day Workout you receive with the P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide is a high-intensity strength training program that is designed to transform your body in only 90 days. For some of you out there, 90 days may seem like a long time. But take it from everyone here at Extremely-Fit.com – a 90 day workout is a very small amount of time to devote to changing your life forever. The P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide system only requires an hour of your time every day. Think of it as one less television show in the evening or getting up an hour earlier in the morning. One 90 day workout is all it takes to get you on the path to a better body, a healthier future and a better life for you and the people who love you.

The Official P90X DVD’s includes 3 Guides to Get You Started:

• P90X 3-Phase Nutrition Plan

• P90X Fitness Guide

• “How to Bring It” video

12 highly intense workouts:

01 Chest & Back The first P90X workout is a targeted strength and definition workout that emphasizes two classic upper-body exercises.	02 Plyometrics Explosive jumping cardio routine proven to dramatically improve athletic performance.	03 Shoulders & Arms Potent combination of pressing, curling, and fly movements, that will leave you stronger.
04 Yoga X Combines strength, balance, flexibility, and breath work to enhance your physique and calm your mind.	05 Legs & Back Get ready to squat, lunge, and pull for a total-body workout like no other.	06 Kenpo X Intense cardiovascular workout with punching and kicking for endurance, balance, and coordination.
07 X Stretch Achieve a higher level of athleticism over a longer period of time, plus prevent injuries and avoid plateaus.	08 Core Synergistics Build and support multiple muscle groups to build and support the core while conditioning your body.	09 Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps Targeted strength and definition workout emphasizes two classic upper-body exercises.
10 Back & Biceps Flex those powerful biceps and focus on toning and tightening these showcase arm muscles.	11 Cardio X Low-impact cardio routine that is a fun fat-burning workout that will leave you feeling lean and mean.	12 Ab Ripper X Sculpt the 6-pack abs of your dreams and benefit your health and physical performance.

Tools to keep you motivated

• P90X Calendar

• FREE Online Support Tools

Are you ready to get Results? Try the P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide today. We have a Money Back Guarantee, and you also get access to a personal fitness coach if needed! Not only that, when you purchase the P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide from Extremely-Fit, you also get a Free Jump Start Guide. You have nothing to lose! If you are ready to get started, click the following link: P90X DVD and Nutrition Guide. If you would like additional information, check our P90X Reviews!

Whether you are a long-time user of P90X or other Beachbody products, or you are totally new, this is a great article by Denis Faye talking about some of the most frequently asked questions Beachbody staff members receive about P90X,  exercise, diet, and more.

Beachbody® Advice Staff: 8 Most Asked Questions
By Denis Faye

“How do I get past this plateau?” “Why do I have to do yoga?” “How on earth can the sweet, orangey goodness of P90X® Results and Recovery Formula be good for you?” As an Advice Staff member on the Beachbody Message Boards, these are the kinds of questions I’ve fielded almost every day for the last 6 years. In that time, I’ve answered over 23,000 posts on the Nutrition or Fitness forums. There’s no longer much that throws me, with the exception of one question: “Is it possible that I’m allergic to water?” But besides that one, the questions online tend to be fairly routine. They’re good questions, mind you, but let me put it this way, you’re not the only one around wondering when his or her six-pack abs are going to show up.

So, for your amusement and, hopefully, your education, here are the top eight questions I get asked on the boards.

1. “I’m eating at a large calorie deficit and exercising really hard, yet the scale isn’t moving. What gives?”

Plateau, huh? Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s one of two things. If you’re not dropping pounds, yet your inches are changing for the positive, odds are you are actually losing fat but also gaining muscle. That’s what’s balancing out the scale.

I know it’s a frustrating situation, but if you’ve been looking in the mirror or putting on clothes, you’ve probably noticed that you’re looking better and your clothes are fitting looser, so it’s not all bad.

When this happens, I’ve found that approximately week 6 is the magic time when the scale starts moving, so hang in there, tiger!

The other probable cause is that you’re undereating, which can force your body into starvation mode.

Back in the days when folks hunted and gathered, there were no 7-Elevens. Because of this, people sometimes had to go for days with little or no food. According to Darwin, people who survived these times of famine were the people who, well, survived these times of famine. And in order to do this, their bodies adapted by slowing down their metabolisms and holding onto emergency fuel supplies (aka “fat”) during lean times. This is starvation mode.

Almost every time I tell someone to eat more to knock out a plateau, I get an argument because people who’ve lost weight by eating less have trouble adjusting their mindsets. But as your body composition changes, you have to eat to support it. If I can finally turn them around, the scale almost always starts moving again.

2.”What’s the deal with Recovery Formula?”

P90X Results and Recovery Formula is a four-parts-carbohydrates-to-one-part-protein powder that speeds muscle recovery. When you exercise anaerobically (weight training, the high end of intervals, etc.), you burn blood sugar and glycogen. If you give it your all for about an hour, you’ll probably deplete both of those resources. The carbs in Recovery Formula rush in to replenish that blood sugar and glycogen. Meanwhile, the protein piggybacks in, getting to muscles for a head start on resynthesis.

This 4:1 recovery drink model was conceived by John Ivy and Robert Portman in a landmark study you can read in the book Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sports Nutrition.

That’s my main answer to this query, but there are sometimes subtle variations on the question. Let’s address a few of those here.

First off, the carb–protein balance should be between 3:1 and 5:1 to work optimally. If you take in more protein than that or you add fat or fiber, it slows the absorption of the carbohydrates and you miss the post-workout window of about 1 hour during which nutrients are absorbed readily.

Secondly, while Recovery Formula primarily works for strength workouts, there’s an anaerobic component to most of our “aerobic,” or cardio, workouts, which you know if you’ve done P90X’s “Plyometrics” workout.

Because not every workout is going to hammer you, you should decide how much Recovery Formula you need on a sliding scale. If you’re so wasted that you’re having difficulty moving the muscle groups you just worked, then a full serving of Recovery Formula is called for. If you feel a little shaky but not trashed, you probably have a little glycogen left over, so drink half a serving.

Another factor in deciding how you use Recovery Formula is how much blood sugar you began your workout with. If your diet is very lean, you may be tapped to begin with, so sipping a little during your workout would be hugely beneficial. There’s no hard and fast rule. If you feel perfectly good post-workout, you likely didn’t train hard enough for Recovery Formula. It’s really up to you to gauge how you feel, and use some common sense.

Finally, Recovery Formula is specially designed for maximum absorption, and it has a lot of extra goodies in it. But if you’re getting fit on the cheap, you can make your own recovery drink with apples or grape juice (the acids in orange juice mess with the absorption process, so don’t use that) and a couple tablespoons of vanilla protein powder.

And no, it doesn’t taste weird. It tastes like a fruit juice float.

Oh, and Beachbody’s Meal Replacement Shake is also a decent replacement.

3. “Why do I have to do yoga?”

When a form of exercise has had over 3,000 years to evolve, it tends to be highly effective. It increases strength, balance, and flexibility in a way that no other exercise can. A lot of people write in to ask if they can replace it with stretching, but it’s just not the same thing. Stretching does little, if anything, for strength and balance.

I know yoga can be hard, but if you stick it out, it’ll pay off. If you don’t believe me, here’s what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar told Time magazine about the longevity of his basketball career: “My friends and teammates think I made a deal with the devil. But it was yoga that made my training complete. There is no way I could have played as long as I did without yoga.”

4. “How long can I do the high-protein first phase of the P90X nutrition plan?”

For most of us, not very long. It’s slated to go a month, but most of you won’t go past week 2, and some won’t make it a week. This phase is designed to teach you how to identify how carbs work with your body for energy and to more efficiently use your body’s fat stores. Sounds cool, but if you do it too long, you’ll hinder your progress, because when you follow a high-protein diet, you’re denying yourself the carbohydrates to do P90X workouts effectively.

The body does use body fat for energy during some activities, such as cardio, but only to a degree. When you deny yourself the carbohydrates it needs and then push beyond the capacity of fat mobilization for energy, your body activates a process called ketosis, which burns additional body fat for use as fuel for the muscles and brain. When ketosis fails, your body will enter a carb-depleted state called “the bonk,” and you won’t be able to exercise effectively.

Continued ketosis wears on your kidneys and can lead to kidney disease. Obese and out-of-shape people may be able to follow a high-protein diet for a while because they have plenty of fat reserves and, frankly, they aren’t yet capable of exercising at a high level. But still, 6 weeks is about as long as anyone should be able to stay in phase one.

How do you know where you fall? If you add some carbs and instantly feel better, you’ll know it’s time for a change. If you add too many carbs, you will start to feel sluggish, which is the lesson phase one is designed to teach.

5. “I’ve injured myself. Should I just work through the pain?”

Never, ever work through injury pain. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if it’s muscle pain or an injury, but if you’re hurt, stop. And if you’re unsure, err on the cautious side. If you can do other workouts that don’t affect the injury, fine, but rest the injury and ice it every day to help with swelling. If it clears up in a week, resume exercising, but make a point of warming up the injured area a little longer before working out, and stretch the area as often as you can, particularly post-workout. Stretching an injury helps prevent scar tissue from forming on the muscles. If it doesn’t clear up, you can try more rest or get to a doctor or a physical therapist ASAP.

If you take care of it, it’ll most likely heal. If not, it will probably become chronic, which means you could be stuck with it for life.

6. “Why don’t I have six-pack abs yet?”

You very well may already have a washboard stomach, but that last bit of chub is covering it. Unfortunately, you can’t spot burn fat. We all have our problem areas—the last places fat wants to leave. Typically, for guys, it’s the gut, and for the ladies, it’s the hips.

So basically, all you can do is keep at it. Eat right and work hard, and eventually, you’ll get those abs. Keep in mind that your body will be super resistant to lose the last of its emergency fuel supply, so you’re going to have to work with a pretty small calorie deficit, or you might go into starvation mode. (See question one.)

7. “My breasts are getting smaller as I lose weight. How can I stop this?”

Breasts are mainly fat. Unlike hips, they often seem to be the first thing to go on women. It’s kind of a bummer, but seriously, the rest of you is thinning out too, and you’re going to look much hotter in a bikini with or without your current cup size. And, for the record, I don’t get this question all that much, but it’s a real crowd-pleaser, so I thought I’d throw it in the mix.

8. “Why can’t I eat less on P90X?”

Because P90X isn’t a weight loss program. Yes, burning fat is a primary component of the program, but it’s only part of the plan.

P90X is designed for people with some degree of fitness. Our other programs, such as Power 90® and Slim in 6®, are designed for people who are less fit. Out-of-shape people generally can’t spend a long time working out above their anaerobic threshold, and therefore, they don’t burn fat for fuel efficiently. Training while eating fewer calories can help improve this.

Typically, as these people work their way up the Beachbody fitness ranks, they need to up their calories to continue to get results. They need to support their increased metabolisms, and they need the fuel to repair their muscles after the more intense workouts. Otherwise, they risk getting injured or getting a chronic illness. Assuming you can do P90X, you should already be in this higher fitness range.

Of course, this can be different for everyone, so it’s up to you to experiment and find a calorie range that’s right for you. Just don’t undereat. If you overeat slightly, your fitness will eventually catch up with your nutrition. But if you undereat and ignore your body’s warning signs, then you will break down sooner or later.