Even my skinny mini toothpick of a daughter (she's 7 and weighs all of 43 lbs) has a tiny little pooch in this area. She's built like Mowgli from The Jungle Book, nothing but arms and legs :D So I figure nothing short of liposuction is going to get rid of it completely, and that just ain't worth it. That's her artwork in my avatar : )

Hey, Zaldabus. Okay, I'm thinking of taking on one of the Beachbody programs. Have you done any other than Insanity? Did Insanity really have an impact in 60 days? Of course I can look up testimonials until my eyes fuzz over, but being able to speak with a real person is better! Did you follow the nutritional guide, or just eat healthily?

Also thinking of the P90X program as it is something my partner can do with me (his back plays up sometimes and I understand that might not be conducive to effective Insanity-ing). Have you tried that one out?

I'd really love to hear your experiences using the Beachbody programs before I go spending all his hard-earned dollars! :D

Lizzy, you may just be right. It's just that I've had the stomach ever since I was around 10 and I've always wanted to get rid of it. I want my abs!


behaze, I can't really speak for the Insanity program just yet as I'm only about two weeks into it, but I did a full round of p90x I can definitely vouch for the effectiveness of the program.

Through the program, I lost about 30 pounds and 6 inches off my waist. I also had significant size losses all over, particularly around the legs area. Plus, add all the muscles I gained from the exercise and it's literally like looking at two different people. I have before/after p90x pictures which I'd be happy to upload If I can ever figure out how to do so on this site.

In terms of all out intensity, p90x is much more friendly towards someone worried about that. I consider myself in pretty decent shape now (an online calculator has me pegged at about 11% body fat, though the reliability of such methods is doubtful) but even I feel sore in the back and knee area after some of the Insanity exercises. P90X also shows ways you can do each exercise if it's too intense for you.

The biggest downside to p90x is that you need some equipment in order to do it. At a minimum, you're going to need dumbbells and a pull-up bar. This makes it kind of hard to exercise when you're away from the house/gym for the day. This is where Insanity really shines, as you can drop down and do the exercises pretty much anywhere you have a little space.

With all that being said, which one is better really depends on what your goals are. I feel p90x is a much more balanced out program, while Insanity is more targeted towards weight loss. After I finished p90x I still had a little fat I wanted to burn off, which is why I decided to go with Insanity. After Insanity I'm thinking I'll change to p90x+.

If you want more opinions, Beachbody has their own forum which has a huge number of enthusiastic users who would be happy to tell you why there program is the best.

Oh, and I didn't follow the nutrition guide. Even before I started p90x I had been doing extensive research on nutrition and had already developed my own diet, which I continued throughout the program.

The dumbbells aren't a problem, but the chin-up bar is. We have only two doors that would hold the bar; one is the door to my 10mo's bedroom (he is usually asleep while I'm exercising) and the other is to my 8yo's bedroom. They're both a bit of a distance from the loungeroom. Aside from that, we're in a rental house, so I don't think they'd be too happy if we started putting holes in doorways. Having seen the DVDs, can you tell me if there is some other exercise alternative for the pull-ups? If not, I might have to look into some type of small, cheap free-standing one.

It would be great to see some photos once you've figured out how to upload them. :)

Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program is a solid program for anybody looking to build some muscle alongside a decent strength base, regardless of weight room experience. It's the program I'm planning on doing after I finish my current mass phase and diet down for the summer/beach (... so I'll be starting around July-ish).

From a dietary stand-point, I generally eat a lot of protein and fat, but I structure simple carbs around a workout session (I do a lot of heavy lifting which drains glycogen, which if left under-supplied, slows down recovery) as well as complex carbs at the meals following my workout to help replenish glycogen. If it was a particularly grueling session I eat some complex carbs the following day as well. Controlling my carb intake helps me control fat accumulation.

You'll probably have to increase your calories by a bit over basal burn rate to build muscle. Shoot for 1g/lb lean mass of protein per day, consume the majority of your daily carbs around your workout session and don't skimp on the fat (though the obvious exception is the trans kind - stay away from this stuff - duh).

Good luck!

Alright, you've convinced me to upload some pictures. After all, a big part of my success has come from this site. Note, I'm not intentionally covering my face in the first picture, I just didn't know how to take a good shot at the time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/Pre-P90X.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...RoundIP90X.jpg

The post shot is a few weeks ago right after I finished P90X, you can see the stomach I'm talking about.


You can also use resistance bands to do the pull-up moves. I think you have to attach it to the ceiling somehow, I'm not sure. I have a workout bench with a pull-up bar on it that I use for those exercises. People over at Beachbody might be able to give better advice as I'm sure you're situation isn't uncommon.


Tandoorichicken, your dietary plan sounds similar to what I follow. I started adding more carbs post-exercise towards the end of my P90X circuit for resistance days, and I noticed huge jumps in muscle growth. Do you think 1g/lb of lean mass of protein per day is sufficient though? I've just started reading up on muscle hypertrophy training so I definitely don't feel qualified to give my own opinion yet, but what I've read so far suggests more towards 1.5g/lb

I'll look into Jim Wendler's Program. My biggest limit for muscle training so far has been that there is no gym where I live (currently living in the countryside out in Japan) so I have to do it all from my home. I have a workout bench with about 150kg of adjustable weights, which I've been able to make decent use of so far.

That's 1g/lb minimum. Ideally you would go higher (especially when doing a powerlifting-inspired program like 5/3/1 which rips your muscles to shreds), but at the lower limit you'd still be spared muscle breakdown and potential metabolic damage. Some fudge is okay, like .75g/lb one day, then back up the next day, but if you go any lower you will really start to feel burned out.

I'd also recommend what's known in bodybuilding circles as the "clean bulk." Muscle gain may be slower but fitness in terms of general health and vitality are improved. Powerlifting training is hard on the nervous system and can leave your immune system open to infection for a couple hours after training (although it strengthens both in the long run). Add junk food to that and you're looking at fairly frequent common cold infections. On the other hand if you stick to natural foods (by which I mean food in its original form, like salad, stew, chili, meat, veggies, etc., stuff cooked with whole ingredients), it will modulate your immunity to minimize down-time. Down-time is the enemy of progress!

You could try rows. Attach a rope to something at shoulder height, then pull it taut, lean back so your arms are straight then pull yourself back up. The more of an angle you make when you lean back, the harder the exercise.

Zaldabus, you look great! Fit. Well done. Particularly with your 'hehehe, I'm sexy now, look at me' expression :p. Actually, it looks like you've lost more than 30lbs. I would be interested in seeing a post-Insanity photo, too. So you're saying the weight loss evident is purely due to a healthy diet and that particular program? I'm really quite looking forward to getting it, now, though I'm a little daunted at the prospect of consuming 2000 calories a day. Now I'm eating healthily and have a lose-weight mindset, I'm pushing to reach 1000. Nutritious food is so much more filling. What's with that? :D And living in the Japanese countryside . . . is it as beautiful as the movies say it is? :p By the way, you look familiar . . .

Geoffers, that's a good idea, and easy to rig up on the verandah or something. Thanks for the tip.

Hey guys, just got back from a great snowboarding trip in Gifu this weekend. Had lots of fun, but it seems like I've lost my voice. Well luckily you don't need a voice to type!

Tandoorichicken, that's what I was thinking. Right now I try and maintain at least 1g/lb on a daily basis, though sometimes it can be hard with the cost of meat out here. I always make sure to have a nice breakfast with lots of eggs, both to cut costs and because it's the healthiest, easiest things to cook ever. I actually did a test run day last week where I got in 1.5g/lb of protein. Some sort of meat with every meal, plus a protein shake, and I just managed to get there. I can't remember the last time I ever ate that much meat in my life! There's gotta be a better way to go about increasing protein intake, otherwise I'm going to get sick of meat real fast.

And I completely agree with you on the "clean-bulk". That's the first time I've ever heard it being given a name, but it just seems like common sense to me. Why would you spend all that time burning off fat only to bulk it on again? Fat? no thanks. Solid muscles, yes please :D


Geoffers, yeah that's pretty much how they do the alternative for P90X. The only difference is they use resistance bands, which you don't need to attach a weight to in order to get exercise from it.


Behaze, haha, thank you. I actually wasn't doing that face on purpose, I was concentrating more on taking a good picture while making it seem like I wasn't staring at the camera. I actually meant 30kg, which is more like 60lbs. Sorry, don't use the American system out here very often.

I would be lieing if I said it was only due to that program, though the biggest body changes happened while I was doing P90X. Last year I made it my number one priority to get in shape, and so I started doing things here and there to improve my fitness and lifestyle. Did research on nutrition, looked up new recipes, put up motivational posters and made it very easy to exercise and eat healthy. I joined two dance teams and also have begun dancing competitevly on my own, during the warmer months I enjoy hiking, which is more moutain climbing here in Japan, and this winter season I have been going snowboarding pretty much every weekend. At this point it's so ingrained in me to be physically active that I get restless when I'm at home and have nothing to do.

It is hard to eat 2000+ calories a day of healthy food. Even with all the knowledge of quick and easy healthy meals to make that I've learned, I find that if I don't do some planning it's very easy to go under my caloric requirement. And it's very important to not eat too little food. I've found that occassionally going under your caloric requirements is fine and a good way to keep your metabolism in a flexible state, but if I do it for any sustained period of time it makes me look gaunt and like I'm dieing. Two weeks ago I had a terrible stomach virus and I couldn't eat anything for 5 days. I ended up losing 6 pounds during that time, and the next day at work people kept saying I should go to the hospital because I looked like skin and bones.

Japan is a very beautiful place, especially during the spring and fall. I actually live close to where they filmed parts of the movie "The Last Samurai" which is an amazing place to visit when it's warmer. When you say familiar do you mean like in a we've met before kind of way, or a you look like a celebrity kind of way? I get the latter occassionally, though it seems like people can't agree on which celebrity it is these days.