Nutrition All-in-One
Some of you may be sick of hearing me talk about Nutrition by now, but it really is the most critical part to getting the results we are after. If you want average results, put in average effort on the nutrition. If you want AMAZING results, commit to the nutrition. Want to build muscle? You need the right nutrition to make it happen. Want to lose body fat? You need the right nutrition to make that happen too! The workouts are set for you. You just push play! But what about the other 23 hours of the day? You have to take those 23 hours just as seriously!
The purpose of this page is just to provide a “HUB” where I will link all the info you need to become a MASTER of your nutrition. I want all of teamRIPPED dialed in for success — “X”treme success!! While every workout system comes with a diet guide, I have found the P90X guide to be far superior. For those of you who have both Insanity and P90X, use the P90X guide as the basis for your nutrition. It is more comprehensive and detailed, plus it serves as the best method for developing a long-term nutrition strategy that can last you the rest of your life.
So here’s the goods! What you need to succeed! ……
First, here’s the P90X Excel Spreadsheet, which includes the Nutrition information you need to determine your starting point, calories, phase, and foods that fit into the categories:
Excel P90X Spreadsheet (with Nutrition and Workout sheets)
Next, you have to know how to really understand the approach to the Nutrition Guide (this is where we take what P90X has given us and we take it to the next level for Maximum results!). To do that, you need to read a couple articles I’ve written on the topic:
Once you understand these aspects of the nutrition and have your mind set on success, you need some sample diets to use as a template for creating your own personal diet that suits your tastes and your calorie and percentage goals. After doing multiple rounds, I’ve developed a few different diets that are great for a variety of goals. So use them as a launching point for your own plan:
And once you think you’ve got your nutrition figured out, it’s also critical to get a plan for your supplements to help you maximize your results, fat loss, and muscle building. That’s where my reviews of my FAVORITE supplements comes in:
I also have a whole section of this site dedicated to a Whole Food Plant Based Diet (Vegan):
You’ll also need to know if the plan you start off with is meeting your energy needs and helping you reach your goals:
Oh, and what about cheat meals and healthy snack options? I’ve got you covered there as well!
To Cheat or Not (Cheat Meals)?
And what about timing your meals in relation to your workouts? When should you take protein powder? Do you need to eat before workouts? Here’s your answers:
Wow, all this healthy food must end up costing a ton of money, right? Read this!
And then, finally, as you work on dialing in your nutrition over the course of your transformation, you may run into some obstacles, like a plateau. That’s when it’s time to switch things up a bit to keep your metabolism moving and to push toward the results you want. To research more about breaking out of plateaus, and what terms like “starvation mode” are, read these articles:
Maximizing Metabolism (Starvation Mode)
And then there are always some other nutrition-related topics you might be curious about:
Road Warrior (traveling a lot)
Shift Work (irregular sleep and work schedule)
Body Fat vs. Bulking Up (Big Ripped / Small Ripped)
And just when you start to feel overwhelmed, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
I hope this all-inclusive, one-stop-shop for your nutrition needs is helpful! When you aren’t sure where to find some of my nutrition tips, remember that I’ve got them all linked here at the “Nutrition All-In-One” page!
72 Responses to “Nutrition All-in-One”
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Thanks man!! I love this sight. Looks like you covered everything!
Tell me its gets easier coach! haha I am dying felt like was gonna throw up or just die haha. I was wondering about working out in the morning. Should I eat something before or can I get through it without? I am working on dialing in my diet and I felt a bit like I was running out of energy. I think it was the protein shake I had before which had diary in it and I normally use water and kinda sat in my stomach. Thanks Coach!
Hey CW! Yes it gets better :-).
Read my articles “on an empty stomach” and “fuel during workouts” for some tips.
Right after I posted I found the article on working out on an empty stomach. Thanks for the help and motivation! 89 days left!!
Hey coach,
Just wondering if you know how to go into the teambeachbody meal planner and customize it for the phases of p90x/p90x2? It says when you’re choosing your meal plan that you can customize but I can’t seem to find where to click to actually do it?
Hey Dylan, I haven’t used the TBB meal planner (I’ve just checked it out and I know you can adjust it for your goals, etc.). I would assume that as you shift to the next phase, you would go back in and adjust the settings for the goals. You can definitely call coach relations at 1-800-240-0913 cuz I’m probably not understanding what you want it to do for you since I haven’t based my own nutrition on it.
Hey Coach, I was just curious, the P90X2 book says not to stay on fat shredder for more than 6 weeks at a time. I know people that did the original and stayed on it nearly the whole time. Is it ok to stay on it a little longer than 6 weeks?
Hey David, yes you can stay on it longer than 6 weeks. It advises that because it assumes you are already close to your goal weight and that it shouldn’t take longer than 6 weeks of fat shredder to tone up. But that’s just their assumption so of course do what meets your goals. And anytime you stay on a high protein diet for an extended period of time, get routine checkups at the doc because high protein diets for long periods of time (several months) can be hard on your kidneys and liver.
Hey Coach, Just finished the first week of x2 and am using the fat shred plan. When determining the macronutrient ratio’s, does the “net carb” thing (carbs – fiber = net carbs) factor in here? Is the net carb thing really accurate or useful? To me if you eat 30% carbs with 28gm of fiber, you still ate 30% carbs.
Hey Ed! I ignore the “net carb” rule. I count all carbs, just like you are. Net carbs is a fancy way to package things to make them sound better.
Hey Coach,
Love the site, I’ve been following the 1900 calorie plan for two weeks. I’m going to take my 2 week measurements on Sunday and hope to see some body fat loss.
My wife also started with me and she is doing a 1400 calorie plan and is struggling because of the limited food choices. I keep telling her its just a matter of us finding things that taste good and are health which is trial and error. She is frustrated and decided to go to a Weight Watchers meeting to see what its like and to use that as the diet while using P90x workouts.
What are you thoughts on WW and P90x?
Hey Matt, WW just has points and limits portions, but it isn’t healthy. You can still eat total junk on WW, which defeats the purpose of changing your body composition (more muscle and less fat). All it does is limit your calories so that you lose weight. I’d much more recommend a truly healthy approach with healthy food choices like the nutrition guides that come with BB programs advocate.
Thanks Coach. I am trying to get her to stick with it for 30 days before switching. I’m hoping the results will make her see that its worth it.
I can sympathize with her on the healthy eating. I’m missing some of the things we we eat but I have goals. (at 19% BF and I want to get to 10%) I just keep looking for healthy meals that we can both enjoy.
Thanks for the advice!
hey coach i did a complete round of p90x and lost 30lbs, when i did that i decided to take a vacation BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER cause i went back up 10lbs. So i started doind p90x a month ago trying to get back inot it the problem is that ive been doing it for a month on friday of this weak and i havent lost any weight or seen results. im doing the same thing i did the first time 1500cl fat shreder 50/30/20. My question is if i should stay there or should i do something different in my nutrition to get my metabolism going? i think i might of hit a platoe but i didnt do it for almost a month so i think i should see some kind of results what do u think? im also takind oxy elite pro and also took if the first time for the last 2 months but this time its not doing anything. please let me know what u think.
Thanks coach
Hey Victor, are you sure that you aren’t cheating on the diet at all? If you lost 30 lbs the first time, you know how to do it. And if you are truly giving the same effort to the workouts and truly sticking to 1500 cals of all clean foods at the proper %, it should work. Your metabolism shouldn’t have changed much from taking 1 month off. Keep pushing play, and stick to the diet 100%, and you should see the results come back.
hey coach i was wondering if im on the fat shredder plan doing insanity in my second month. can i eat trai mix as snack or with plain greek yogur? will it effect my results?
Hey Geo, trail mix isn’t very healthy. I’d choose a more healthy snack if I were you. Greek yogurt is good if you get the kind without syrupy sugary flavoring in it.
oh okai. thanks alot again coach.
Hey coach i drink a whey protein shake in the morning and do my P90X workout at around 3. Should i drink another shake after working out?
Hey Jackson, read my “protein review” link above. It totally depends on what else you are eating in your daily diet and when.
hey coach. Do you know of anybody starting on sunday ,Feb. 19.2012…I am doing p90x. or has recently started.?
Hey Rick, the best way to know is to post it on our FB page or in the forum and find out who else is starting at or near the same time as you. Bring it!