P90X Nutrition Plan — Overview
I want to revisit the whole topic of the P90X nutrition plan in a single post, because I often get the same questions over and over (which I’ve answered over and over), but people don’t know where to go on the site to get the answers so they just keep asking. So here is a complete (yet brief) overview of what you need to know about FOOD! In other words, the “in a nutshell” version of your P90X nutrition plan!
P90X nutrition plan — what you should already know
First, I assume you all READ your P90X nutrition plan! I’m not here to tell you what’s spelled out for you in the P90X nutrition plan. That’s what you bought the guidebook for. But I’m happy to help you fine tune things and get a lot more out of your P90X nutrition plan. What things can you learn from your P90X nutrition plan that you shouldn’t have to ask me:
1) The % of calories that should come from the 3 food categories for the different phases of the diet.
2) How many calories the P90X nutrition plan suggests you should take in for your body size.
3) What are some good foods to make up the majority of your diet during P90X and Insanity (they are all listed by category in the guide).
4) How many grams of each category of food you should take in each day based on the % of each category you are shooting for. (okay, I’ll give you a pass on this one and do a P90X nutrition plan demo assuming fat shredder and 2,000 calories, but you can do the math yourself after this!):
2,000 cals x 50% protein = 1,000 cals protein. Protein is 4cal per g, so 1,000 cals is 250 g protein
2,000 cals x 30% carbs = 600 cals carbs. Carbs are 4cal per g, so 600 cals is 150 g carbs
2,000 cals x 20% fat = 400 cals fat. Fats are 9cals per g, so 400 cals is 45 g fat
Now, once you get through those basics, let me help you MAXIMIZE the P90X nutrition plan!
P90X nutrition plan — make personal adjustments in calories
First, understand that once you figure out what the nutrition guide suggests for your daily calorie total, you need to ADJUST that depending on your goals. If you want to remain about the same weight, and slowly convert body fat to muscle, the suggested calorie total from the P90X nutrition plan is what you’ll want. However, if you want to lose body fat quickly, you MUST run a calorie deficit.
For example, even though the P90X nutrition plan suggested 3,000 calories for me, I decided on a 1,000 calorie deficit to melt body fat quickly (thus, my 1,900 calorie diet). A 1,000 calorie deficit may be too much for you to handle. That’s okay. Try a 500 calorie deficit then. But the bigger the deficit, the faster the weight loss. However, you also need to remember to fuel your body enough to maintain your muscle mass. If you “crash diet” (less than 1,200 cals for a man or 800 calories for a woman) you WILL lose muscle — that’s not good! So be smart!
And if you want to gain mass, you’ll need to eat more calories than the P90X nutrition plan suggests. When I was trying to add muscle mass, I ate 3,600 calories per day (a 600 calorie surplus). Studies show that when gaining lean muscle mass, you want to gain about 1 lb per week of body weight (more than that will just be fat), and to add 1 lb per week, you need a 3,600 calorie surplus for that week (thus about 500-600 per day). (The math behind that figure is that 1 lb of body weight = 3,600 calories, so if you are at +600 calories per day, you’ll gain 1 lb per week, and if you are at -600 calories, you’ll lose 1 lb per week).
P90X nutrition plan — make personal adjustments in phases
Second, you need to know that you can stay in certain phases of the P90X nutrition plan as long as you want to help you meet your specific goals. If you have a ton of body fat to lose, then stay in fat shredder mode as long as necessary to get to your ideal body weight. Then you can transition into the phase 2 percentages for a more slow and deliberate “fine tuning” of your physique at the weight you are at. And if you are a “hard-gainer”, don’t start in fat shredder mode! Start in the Phase 3 P90X nutrition plan to maximize your energy levels and run a calorie surplus to help you gain mass. Phase 2 nutrition (40/40/20) is a great maintenance level that many people, including myself, stay on for a long long time.
P90X nutrition plan — make personal adjustments in food choices
Third, you don’t have to follow the P90X nutrition plan or portion plan that the guide lays out for you!!! I didn’t!!! Why? Most of the stuff in the meal plan takes a lot of preparation, and you may or may not even like the food choices. So the meal plan approach may not be practical. And the portion plan is VERY inaccurate. For instance, on the “portion plan”, if you make a shake with protein powder, a banana, milk, and peanut butter, does that count as a shake, a protein, a fruit, a dairy, a fat, or all 5?? See, it’s just not accurate. The only way the portion plan can work is if you never eat any foods that are combinations of proteins, carbs, and fats, but most of what we eat is a combination.
So, what then shall we do to decide how much of the different categories to eat when using the P90X nutrition plan?? TRACK IT!! If you want to take the nutrition aspect of this program seriously, you simply MUST put in the effort to track what you eat. Every calorie. Every gram of protein. Every gram of carb. And every gram of fat. Use a program like My Fitness Pal. It takes some effort to get your favorite foods put into the database, but after a couple weeks it becomes a matter of simply clicking on what you ate and it will give you a complete, accurate, breakdown of exactly what % of each category you have eaten on any given day. Hitting your targets for % (or at least getting very close) is the key to maximizing your results. If you don’t want to put in the time or effort, that’s up to you, but don’t expect to see the same level of results. Nutrition is 80% of the results. Learn more about nutrition tracking here.
P90X nutrition plan — keep yourself fueled
Fourth, eat often! The goal of the P90X nutrition plan is to keep the metabolism humming, and if you let yourself run empty on fuel, your metabolism will slow down. You don’t have to eat tons of calories to keep the metabolism high. You are actually better off eating multiple small meals / snacks (about every 2.5 – 3 hours) all day long. Keep the fuel source coming in the form of foods that provide sustained energy (proteins, low-glycemic index carbs like whole wheat, veggies, fruit). And avoid foods that spike your blood sugar quickly and leave you crashed (sugars, white flour, high glycemic index foods).
P90X nutrition plan — plan ahead
Fifth, have a plan! Don’t leave the house for the day without taking healthy snacks or planning your meals. You’ll end up getting hungry, grabbing fast food, and ruining your P90X nutrition plan for the day. I always take healthy snacks with me everywhere I go. These include Cheerios, Kashi ceral, Protein bars (either P90X bars or Pure protein bars, light string cheese, almonds, jerky, yogurt, apples, carrots, etc. There is never an excuse to eat a bunch of junk fast food because you didn’t think ahead. No excuses! I wrote about healthy snack choices
P90X nutrition plan — never cheat!!!!
Sixth, don’t cheat! You’ll hear people say that you can get away with cheat days or cheat meals, but my response is simply to compare their results to those of us I know who never cheated. The P90X nutrition plan is built for success, but you have to stick to it. No cheating!! I guarantee the non-cheaters have the best results …. period! I wrote about cheat meals .
Seventh, stick to it 100%! The P90X nutrition plan is every bit as important (in my opinion, MORE important) as the workouts. Why bust your tail working out if you are going to just cut out the obvious junk food and hope for the best. The P90X nutrition plan takes more effort than that. It takes some studying at first to get a handle on how to measure serving sizes, how to use measuring cups, how to read nutritional labels, and how to plan your diet for the day. But it’s SO WORTH IT when it pays off!
I hope this helps you guys get an overall picture of what it takes to get extreme results with the P90X nutrition plan! It takes extreme attention to detail! And you can do it!
Oh, did I mention … It’s SO WORTH IT!!
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
