I've gained lost 40 pounds at least 3 times in my life so I'm pretty comfortable with what works and what doesnt. First time I was a senior in HS and conituned to eat whatever had a crapp diet but worked out every single day 1 hour, naturally just lost the weight had a good metabolism as a kid, second time in college was a bit tougher , worked out probably 1 1/2 hours and pretty much went on a subway, quiznos diet, third time I got my diet right before I started and did a month of cardio. I would highly highly suggest for anyone getting involved in getting back in shape get the basics fixed first then move on to the workouts. Trying to do to much to quick can quickly lead to burn out and not retaining your loss like I did the first few times. This time I swam/ran 1 hour a day 5 times a week and kept my diet to 1900 calories, and cheated on saturdays. Once I got my cardio back I hit the p90x and here is the diffierence from day 1 to finish. Last but not least dont cheat yoruself, pause the video and finish each exercise no matter how long it takes good luck.