P90X Diet – Endurance Maximizer Review

As you know, I just got back from a two months vacation in Malaysia. My plan was to source as much protein as possible just so I could stay on the P90X Fat Shredder diet plan. For those who are not familiar with the P90X diet plans, check out this article here.

The Original Plan

I had been on the P90X Fat Shredder diet since I started my Beachbody workout journey in October 2012. With the help of this diet, P90X, Insanity as well as supplements like Shakeology, I was able to lose 35 lb and got my body fat down to 8% in just 6 months. I still had a bit fat around my waist that I wanted to lose before I start the mass gain program. The Fat Shredder diet has been working out great for me so I had no plan to switch to a different diet, just yet. My wife even bought me a 5 lb bag of whey protein that I could use while I was there. Things don’t always go the way that we wanted. My luggage were packed and were borderline over the weight limit imposed by the airline. So I had no choice but to leave out the hefty bag of whey protein.

Endurance Maximizer

As I arrived in Malaysia, I started shopping for whey protein. It was much harder than I thought. The ones that I found were pricier and questionable in terms of the protein-calorie ratio. So, I made a decision right there and then to experiment the P90X Endurance Maximizer diet plan. A diet plan that consists of:

60% calories from Carbohydrates
20% calories from Protein
20% calories from fat

This diet plan is an athletic diet of complex carbohydrates, lean protein and lower fat with an emphasis on more carbs. This is diet meant to be a long-term diet AFTER we’ve reached a decent fitness goal. The staple food in Malaysia is “conveniently” carbs like rice and noodles so I had no problem sticking to this plan while I was there.

My only concern was that P90X Endurance Maximizer calls for a complex carbohydrate intake. Rice and noodles generally are not considered complex carbs. I worried how this would impact my muscle and weight.  Just to be absolutely safe, I continued tracking all the food I ate using MyFitnessPal and having a slight calorie deficit through diet and exercise. I went to the gym at least once a week, did cardio exercise 2-3 times a week as well as staying active as much as possible.

The Food

I took pictures of the food I ate especially when I eat out and when there was no WIFI or mobile internet. This was so that I could enter the food I ate into MFP after I get online. An big inconvenience? Yes. But was it worth skipping over and ruining my fitness? Heck no!!

Here are some of the food I ate when I was there:

The Verdict

I was so anxious to see what this had done to me. Pretty much the moment I got home and settled down, I measured my neck, arms, chest, waist, hip and thighs (I didn’t weigh myself until the next morning since I have had something to eat earlier that day).

Here are the new measurements:

Neck: 15.25″ (no change)
Arms: 14.5″ (-0.25″)
Chest: 39.5″ (-1″)
Waist: 32″ (-0.5″)
Hip: 33.5″ (-0.25″)
Thigh: 21″ (no change)

As you see the overall measurements have gone down anywhere from .25 to 1 inch! My weight also has gone down about 2 lb. Is it good? Well not really. I can see that my muscles, especially my biceps, have “shrunk”. Main reason I believe is that I didn’t lift weight as frequently as before (at least 3 times a week vs once a week when I was in Malaysia). In addition, the reduction in good whey protein intake and having a calorie deficit has impacted the muscle maintenance.

The take away is if you want to maintain your hard-earned muscles while having a slight calorie deficit, make sure you lift enough weight and drink your protein shakes!

That’s it folks! As always, if you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below.

Keep pushing play!