Dialing it in!
What phase of the nutrition should I start with? When should I switch to the next phase? At 30 days? After 1 round? How many calories should I aim for?
There are so many questions that come to a person’s mind when going through P90X about the nutrition, and they are GREAT questions. As you know, nutrition is 80% of the results. When you are busting your tail on these workouts, you need to have a nutrition plan that is dialed in to help your body produce the results you are working to achieve. Workouts alone won’t do it. You need a dialed in nutrition plan! And it will be different for every one of us because at any point, we are different people with different goals and our bodies are different.
So is it hopeless to figure out how to dial it in? Of course not! I’m going to give you the basic rules of thumb for where you want to be on your nutrition based on your height, your gender, and your goals (shed body fat, maintain weight but get stronger, or build mass). These rules of thumb will need to be experimented with and tweaked for each of you based on how your body responds, but this will get you very close to where you need to be.
Here’s my rules of thumb:
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FAT SHREDDER
If you are MORE than 2% away from your body fat goal, you need to be on a fat shredder diet. That means 50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat. Let’s say your goal is 8% body fat — as long as you are over 10% body fat you will stay on fat shredder (whether that takes 1 month or 6 months). We want to shed fat fast until we get very close to our goal before switching to an energy booster phase 2 diet. You also need to be running a good deficit of calories (taking in less than you burn in a day). As for the total number of calories, these are my recommendations:
MEN=
6′ and above = 1900-2200 cals per day.
5’6 – 5’11″ = 1700-1900 cals per day.
less than 5’6″ = 1500 cals per day.
WOMEN =
5’6 and above = 1200-1400 per day.
less than 5’6″ = 1000-1200 per day.
Running the fat shredder at these calorie totals will result in rapid body fat loss, which is what we are after in this stage.
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ENERGY BOOSTER
If you are within 2% of your ideal body fat, you need to be on a phase 2 diet (40/40/20) that is close to your maintenance calorie level. During this type of diet, the main goal is a slow reduction of body fat but a lot of energy for getting stronger and building muscle. This is where you see fine tuning of your results like I did in my round 2. I was 8% body fat at the end of round 1 and 5.5% at the end of round 2 while staying the same weight. My recommendations for those needing a phase 2 energy booster diet are:
MEN =
6′ and above = 3,000 cals per day.
5’6″ – 5’11″ = 2600-2800 cals per day.
less than 5’6″ = 2200 – 2400 cals per day.
WOMEN =
5’6 and above = 1400 – 1600 per day.
less than 5’6″ = 1200 – 1400 per day.
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ENDURANCE MAXIMIZER
If you are already shredded (whether that’s muscular and shredded, or just plain skinny LOL), then it’s time to build MUSCLE!! (But NO, you can’t start bulking if you still have body fat to lose! You must first get the body fat where you want it using the fat shredder diet or energy booster diet before you start bulking up). For a muscle building diet, you need a lot of carbs to give you tons of energy and fuel the muscles to the max. You should shoot for 50-60% carbs, 20-30% protein, and 20% fat. But make sure those carbs are GOOD carbs! Fruits, veggies, grains, wheats, oats, etc. And you need to take in a calorie SURPLUS to help you gain weight, but you want to monitor your weight closely to be sure you are at a steady pace of about 1 lb per week. If you are gaining more than that, it will be body fat which you don’t want. In a round of the X, you should be able to put on 13 lbs of muscle without increasing your body fat much at all if you do it 1 lb per week. Here’s my guidelines for total calories on a bulking diet (but you’ll need to adjust based on how fast you are / aren’t gaining weight each week):
MEN =
6′ and above = 3,600 cals per day.
5’6″ – 5’11″ = 3000 – 3200 cals per day.
less than 5’6″ = 2800 – 3000 cals per day.
WOMEN =
5’6 and above = 1800 – 2000 per day.
less than 5’6″ = 1600 – 1800 per day.
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NUTRITION TRACKING =
As part of dialing in the diet, it’s important to learn to track what you eat. I’ve written about Nutrition Tracking several times (how to determine the % of protein / carbs/ fat you are eating each day). I’ve also got my sample diets in the “nutrition zone” tab for each of the above phases of the diet. Feel free to follow them exactly, make substitutions that still get you to the proper %, or make your own diet. As long as you are hitting the correct %, with the correct total calories, and eating HEALTHY foods, you will see AWESOME results!
Here’s some links to articles I’ve written about my diets and how to track:
“The Nutrition Guide” = http://teamripped.com/p90x-nutrition-guide
“Nutrition Tracking” = http://teamripped.com/nutrition-tracking
“Round 1 Diet” = http://teamripped.com/p90x-round-1-nutrition
“1900 Cal Fat Shredder Diet” = http://teamripped.com/my-nutritionsupplements/my-sample-diet
“3000 Cal Phase 2 Energy Booster Diet” = http://teamripped.com/my-nutritionsupplements/my-3200-calorie-diet
“Bulking Phase 3 Diet” = http://teamripped.com/my-nutritionsupplements/my-bulking-diet
Some ideas for “Fat Shredder Foods” = http://teamripped.com/fat-shredder-foods
Some ideas for “Healthy Snacks” = http://teamripped.com/snacking-well
Tips for “Eating Out” = http://teamripped.com/how-to-eat-out
How to eat often by “Timing Meals” = http://teamripped.com/timing-meals
Why “Cheat Meals” will kill your progress = http://teamripped.com/cheat-meal-or-not-p90x
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These are the guidelines. Everyone will need to fine tune it for their own bodies a bit, but this will give you a GREAT place to start. It takes effort, but hey, so do the workouts. And you would be foolish to work so hard on the workouts and then neglect proper nutrition to allow your body to transform!!
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131 Responses to “Dialing it in!”
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Hey Mike, you should measure body fat either weekly or monthly. Here’s how = http://teamripped.com/how-to-measure-b-f
Hi Coach,
I appreciate all of your ongoing help. I am curious if you have ever read the following article/post:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/357577-calculating-calorie-needs-and-macronutrients?hl=macronutrient#posts-4842632
I have read this on several websites, and it provides an extremely detailed guide for calculating macronutrient needs.
What are your thoughts on this approach — namely figuring out the proper protein grams per pound of bodyweight and fat grams per pound of bodyweight and then filling in carbs with whatever is remaining in your calorie budget?
Hey J, those are good guidelines as “rules of thumb”, but everyone will differ. And it also depends largely on your goals. That is why the different phases of the P90X nutrition guide (as well as my dialing it in guidelines) will have very different macronutrient levels depending on where you are at and what you are trying to accomplish.
Hi Coach,
I have a question for you about the fat shredder diet. I am currently on the fat shredder plan and I was wondering if its ok to eat oatmeal and whole grain foods, or should I cut them out until I hit my goal BF%? Thanks, Todd
Hey Todd, oatmeal and whole grains are excellent sources of complex carbs. They are fine to eat. But the key is to keep your total carbs at 30% or less, so you’ll find that you can’t have very many of those (since you obviously want to get a good variety of veggies which also count toward your carb total).
Thanks Coach, That helps out tremendously. Todd
Coach,
Your above guidelines seem at variance with those of the P90X Nutrition Plan. Per the Nutrition Plan, I am a Level III, which means 3,000 daily calories. Frankly, I’ve come closer to your guidelines in my 2 days of the X than to the Plan. Thanks.
Exactly Agent225! Read my articles “round 1 nutrition” and “the nutrition guide” to learn why my way is different (and better!!) than the guidebook.
http://teamripped.com/nutrition-all-in-one
Hey coach. I absolutely love your site. I’d like to get your thoughts on something. I am currently on the fat shredder plan at 1700 cals per day. I have my standard issue breakfast, lunch and snacks just about every day. However, based on the number of calories in these meals, on most days I find that I need to take in a higher number of calories at dinner in order to get at or near 1700. I also tweak my portions at dinner to get my ratios dialed in, if necessary. Is that okay or is it better to try to keep each of the three meals at about the same calories and ratios? I’m only three weeks into the program so I haven’t measured myself since I started, but I can tell I’m burning fat. I just want to make sure I’m maximizing the results. Thanks.
Hey Eric, what you are doing is okay, but it would be better to plan ahead in order to get more calories throughout your day so that you don’t have to “overeat” at dinner to catch up. Just a little adjusting should fix that.
Thanks for referring me to that collection of articles. One of the articles made the point that the 3,000 calories is a maintenance diet (I’m looking to lose 25 lbs) and that Level 3 hippos like myself should be at 2,000 or so to shed weight rapidly. I’ll keep trying to reach 50% protein in order to maintain muscle with total calories in the 2,000 range. Thanks for the help.
Hey coach,
I am 16 yrs old and 155 lbs. Also my body fat is already pretty low (the calipers say 3.11% but I have a feeling it’s more towards the 5-10% range). Right now I’m currently doing asylum and trying to follow the nutrition plan at a recommended 1800 calories. My goal right now is to get my lower abs to show by getting my body fat low enough. However, I am starting to get the munchies alot towards the end of the day and end up eating more. Any tips on how to control this? Should I increase my calories? I was also wondering what my ratios should be; either more like the fat shredder, energy booster, or endurance maximizer to lower bf% without losing muscle.
Hey Dylan, munchies are not so much a problem with the plan. It’s a problem with bad habits that you simply have to work to overcome. I had the “munchies” if that’s what you want to call it every evening of every day of my first round. But I refused to give in cuz getting results mattered more to me than caving in.
Stick to the plan until you are happy with your body fat and ab definition. There’s no easy way around it.
And as for how to lose the body fat without losing muscle, the higher protein of the fat shredder % is the key. Get 50% of your cals from protein.
Hey Coach,
Just wanted to ask you or anyone about Intermittent Fasting and how and if I would be able to do that with doing p90x?
From what I’ve read, it seems like something that I’d really enjoy doing, but I wanted to get some other opinions before I jumped on it
Hey Mike, I fast every day from about 7:30 pm until about 6:30 am. :-)
Other than that, I think fasting is horrendously foolish. Your body needs fuel. Fuel it with the RIGHT foods and you don’t need to do these dumb gimmick diets where you starve yourself in the name of insulin resistance blah blah blah. That’s just my 2 cents.
I’ve studied a lot about fasting, keto diets, and other gimmicks. People make convincing arguments for why they are good, but the bottom line is they are a gimmick. We know that. Get a good nutrition plan like the balanced whole food plan that P90X advocates, and you can eat healthy and be in top shape for life.
hahaha.
Thanks Coach, really appreciate that. Yeah I’ve read a TON on it as well, and I feel that it is a good thing to do once in awhile, for “detoxing” purposes etc. But I agree with you totally. I’m gearing up to hit my first round of p90x on Monday. Hitting the X-Stretch for the next few days, and going to kill this. Will be posting pics and progress updates weekly. Thanks for all the info Coach, you’re the best.!!
Would you say that the Harris Benedict equation is accurate on caloric needs? The insanity nutrition guide uses it and it says for me I need about 2100 calories. That seems a little high but that was only for a moderately active lifestyle. I am more active than that. Should I eat the amount it says if I am not trying to lose weight just get rid I a little fat and tone up a bit?
Hey Spencer, you can try that, but these guidelines in the dialing it in are more accurate than the Insanity nutrition guide in my opinion.
Coach what exactly is happening to our muscles that are sore after working out on a fat shredder diet? They can not grow due to the calorie deficit they can maintain but what about strength is that affected?
Hey Dante, it’s not that muscles can’t get stronger or actually hypertrophy, but on a calorie deficit fat shredder you won’t gain “mass” (ie weight). You will lose mass (but it will be almost entirely body fat).
You SHOULD get stronger from doing the workouts, even if you are on a fat shredder diet. You should see weights and reps steadily improve.
Hi coach Wayne, I’ve got a quick question about calorie surplusses and ratios. What would a calorie surplus and the fat shredder ratios do in comparisson with a calorie surplus and the endurance maximizer ratios?
Hey Tony, there is no need to do a calorie surplus on the fat shredder. If you are trying to lose body fat, you need to do a calorie DEFICIT on the fat shredder. And if you are trying to build muscle, your muscles need the carbs of an endurance maximizer for fuel.
Going with a surplus, and yet staying low on carbs, accomplishes nothing. It makes it hard to lose fat or build muscle.
What is your goal? To gain mass or to lose weight? What is your body fat? Choose a nutrition plan that will get you to that goal, rather than a nutrition plan that won’t (like doing a fat shredder and yet overeating on it).
So, if I am going on the 1900 calorie intake..50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat. That means 50% of 1900? 30% of 1900? 20% of 1900?
Exactly Terrell.
Ok, that means 950 calories of protein? 597 calories of carbs? 398 calories of fat? I don’t how I would find 950 calories of protein in one day (i just think of meat)…carbs and fats are easier to find. Myfitnesspal doesn’t have it set up in that way…it actually has me having more carbs than protein.
Hey Terrell, read my protein review in the “nutrition tips” tab, as well as the “fat shredder foods” for some ideas. You’ve done the math right. And like I talk about in the myfitnesspal article, you need to customize the default settings it comes with to suit your goals and %.
Alright thanks Coach Wayne! I’m actually on the energy booster right now, planning to switch to endurance maximizer at the end of the month, so I was just curious.
haha ok im understanding it now…so stay on the fat shredder til i get to my goal of 6-7% BF then move to the energy booster or endurance maximizer to put more mass on and ignore that scale lol!!:)
That is perfect Chris! Go for it!
Hey coach,
You recommend 1700-1900 calories for men who are 5’11″. I’m 5’11″, 20 years old and 192lbs. Myfitnesspal recommends I eat about 1350 calories. Would you recommend eating that amount of calories or should I stick to 1700?
Hey Ivan, don’t go with the default #’s from MFP. It isn’t accounting for the specifics of the workouts and your goals. Stick with the cals and percentages like I outline above and you will be way better off.