- Breakfast -

• Mixed Berry Smoothie w/Protein (16 oz): 390

- Lunch -

• Claim Jumper – Tri-tip (1 Serving): ~771
• Claim Jumper – Mashed Potatoes (1 Serving): ~330

- Dinner -

• Trader Joe’s Southwest Chicken Quesadilla (1 Quesadilla): 390

- Snacks -

• Chocolate Banana Protein Shake (1 Shake): 671

- Breakfast -

• Clif Bar – Oatmeal Raisin Walnut (1 Bar): 240

- Lunch -

• Melodies – Chicken Quesadilla (1 Quesadilla): ~1500
• Melodies – Rice (1 Serving): ~220

- Dinner -

• Chocolate Banana Protein Shake (1 Shake): 409

- Snacks -

• None

- Breakfast -

• None

- Lunch -

• Armenian Deli – Roast Beef Wrap (1 Wrap): ~737
• Cranberry Juice (1 Bottle): 280

- Dinner -

• Cheeseburger (1 Burger): ~600
• Potato Salad (1 Side): ~215
• Potato Chips (2 Servings): ~300
• Mixed Fruit (1 Serving): ~150

- Snacks -

• Chocolate Banana Protein Shake (1 Shake): 664

One of the big selling points they use to push P90X is the claim that, if followed properly, you’ll never plateau. The idea is that by confusing the muscles with different exercises and routines, they never have the opportunity to become to accustomed to what you’re doing and are always incentivized to continue improving.

For me, that means that yesterday was my last ‘Chest & Back’ day for a while because starting next week the whole routine gets shaken up. That strikes me as a perfect opportunity to share some of the numbers the program encourages you to record:

So on day one I did a total of 12 full push-ups, and an additional 36 on my knees and then, exactly two weeks later, I did 45 full push-ups and 46 from my knees. That’s an increase of 33 & (10)! The numbers on my back exercises are less impressive, because at the start I couldn’t do a single pull-up and I currently still can’t do one, but I’m not letting that discourage me. I’m seeing real results on this – results I couldn’t have imagined when I started. I actually can’t wait to see what the new routines hold for me next week.

- Breakfast -

• None

- Lunch -

• Orange Chicken (1 Bowl): 456

- Dinner -

• Fab Hotdogs – Philly Cheesesteak Dog (1 Hot Dog): ~741
• Fab Hotdogs – Tater Tots (1 Side): ~370

- Snacks -

• Chocolate Banana Protein Shake (1 Shake): 379

- Breakfast -

• Vanilla Almond Crunch Cereal (1.5 Cups): 495
• 2% Milk (1 Cups): 140

- Lunch -

• Chocolate Banana Protein Shake (1 Shake): 639

- Dinner -

• Salsa & Beer – Steak (1 Steak): ~550
• Salsa & Beer – Shrimp (5 Shrimp): ~45
• Salsa & Beer – Rice (1 Serving): ~300
• Salsa & Beer – Corn Tortillas (2 Tortillas): ~200

- Snacks -

• String Cheese (1 Stick): 80

- Breakfast -

• Chocolate Banana Shake (1 Shake): 385

- Lunch -

• Lampost – Pepperoni Pizza (1 Slice): ~325
• Lampost – BBQ Chicken Pizza (1 Slice): ~340
• Lampost – Salad w/ Blue Cheese on the side (1 Plate): ~175

- Dinner -

• Trader Joe’s Southwest Chicken Quesadilla w/butter (1 Quesadilla): 390

- Snacks -

• Chicken Enchiladas (2 Enchiladas): 330
• Chocolate Banana Shake (1 Shake): 365

- Breakfast -

• Strawberry Banana Smoothie (18 oz): 350

- Lunch -

• Mongolian Barbecue – Beef, Broccoli, Mushroom, Onions (1 Plate): ~900
• Mongolian Barbecue – White Rice (1 Cup): ~169
• Mongolian Barbecue – Bread (2 Pieces): ~200

- Dinner -

• Trader Joe’s Southwest Chicken Quesadilla (1 Quesadilla): 320

- Snacks -

• Protein Shake w/Milk, Banana & Peanut Butter (1 Shake): 768
• Protein Shake w/Water (1 Shake): 105

I am now 9 days into p90x, and I stand by my original statements – this thing is hard. It definitely wasn’t intended for people at my current fitness level. However, even struggling to do half of what the program requests, I’m seeing real results in only a week. In fact, I nearly doubled my reps on every single chest and back exercise from last week and I made it all the way through the plyometrics video without throwing up. So even if it wasn’t intended for me, if I keep sticking with it, I’ll be able to make it work for me. Only 81 more days to go.

Also, a friend mentioned that I sounded a bit hypocritical talking about Daris’ struggles the other day. I didn’t mean to sound like I was harping on him, or coming from a place of superiority; I only meant to convey sympathy and understanding. This last week I’ve been working out as hard, if not harder, than I ever have in my life. If my calorie intake were on point, I’d have easily seen a 2-3 pound loss. So while I’m definitely getting fitter and stronger, I’m not getting all the benefits I could be out of this effort.

It’s terribly tempting to say “Well, I’m putting on muscle” or “I’m still working on maintaining the changes I made to my diet previously” but those are exactly the sort of justifications I’m talking about. What I should be saying is exactly what I took offense at all those years ago – “Don’t kid yourself, you’re overeating.”

I don’t watch much reality TV, but I’m really hooked on The Biggest Loser. It’s about an hour too long, so I fast forward through a lot of the junk (thank god for DVR’s), but the core of the show strikes me as genuine and seems to come from a really good place.

When I was in high school, I had a subscription to Muscle and Fitness in order to learn new weight training techniques. There were always structured diet plans for X goal, or for X number of weeks, and although I read through them all, I never followed them. When outlining the benefits of the diet plans, there was one phrase the magazine always used: “When you’ve reached this point, if you haven’t seen X result, don’t kid yourself, you’re overeating.”

I remember how much that statement used to upset me, and in my mind I would make excuses and justifications for other people who might be following that diet. I imagined them being diligent and working hard, and then not seeing results due to stress or illness. I envisioned some villainous meat-head, cackling away as he wrote that line, knowing it was going to crush the spirit of some innocent person, trying to lose weight or look good. I was so dependent on food as an emotional crutch, I had to make excuses for other people, just to help support my own.

I heard that same sort of excuse from Daris this week when he said “It’s hard to train for a Marathon and lose weight.” He knew he was eating too much, and he knew it was bad, and he was trying to rationalize it away because he didn’t know what else to do. Seeing him break down into tears while petitioning for “America’s Vote” was heart wrenching.

I really felt for Daris this week, mainly because I know exactly how he feels. Those late nights alone, where you feel compulsively driven to eat, even when you know you shouldn’t, even when you are telling yourself out loud you shouldn’t, are absolutely terrible. The mixed feeling of satisfaction you get from the food, and loathing you feel towards yourself for eating it, is something I would never wish upon anyone.