Snacking Well
Most of us aren’t used to eating multiple small meals every day. Before our commitment to get healthy, our diets may have looked a lot like this:
Morning — skip breakfast.
AM snack — none or some junk food.
Lunch — PIG OUT on high fat, high carb food.
PM Snack — no need (too lethargic from the monster lunch we had at the mexican restaurant!)
Dinner — whatever is on the menu at home that night.
Late night snack — Oh yeah, break open the cupboard and freezer!
That was my routine prior to the X. Look familiar?
But now we are talking about Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, PLUS 3 other snacks. What does that even look like? What should we do for these snacks while we are likely at work and not able to spend much time fueling up?
We need quick, on-the-go fuel that will give our body what it needs to keep firing on all cylindars. It can’t be M&M’s or a 5-hour energy. It needs to be GOOD STUFF! What are HEALTHY, wise choices that are P90X approved? If you are tracking your calories each day, you will know what snack choices you should go with to keep your % in the proper range of protein, carbs, and fat. Below are some of my favorites:
- Turkey Jerky (you can get this at Walmart — very high in protein and low in carbs and fat)
- Almonds (protein and “good fats”) (get the kind that aren’t cooked in oil. I get a big bag that are roasted with sea salt from Walmart)
- Protein bars (Pure protein, also from Walmart, have the best ratio of protein to sugar with 20g of protein and only 2g of sugar in the Chocolate Deluxe version). I also like the P90X Peak Performance protein bars (Chocolate Fudge and Chocolate Peanut Butter are my favs).
- Sugar Free Jello (only 10 calories and gives you a little something sweet with no sugar) (no real nutritional value — just yummy!)
- Fat free / No sugar added yogurt (good protein and carb source). Greek yogurt really packs the protein, but you need to be careful about the yogurts that use a lot of sugary syrup for flavoring. You are better off getting the plain flavor and then adding some fruit.
- Low fat string cheese (good source of protein but will have some fat and carbs as well)
- Fruit! I love apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and bananas. (note = bananas spike the insulin levels more than the others so don’t eat those too often — one per day or less in my opinion)
- Veggies! I love baby carrots. I eat a ton of those! Cherry tomatoes are great too.
- Flavoring packets for water (for those of us who don’t like drinking plain water, these can help us resist pop or other drinks we should be avoiding).
- Cheerios. I’ve found that I like taking a ziploc bag of dry Cheerios with me to munch on in the car on my way to work. They are plain tasting, but have nearly no sugar and are whole wheat. They have become part of my morning routine, along with a bottle of water with an ”orange early rise” (aka tang) flavor packet.
- GoLean. This cereal has some extra protein in it, and although it looks like twigs and sticks, the taste grows on you! I’ve come to really like it!
There are many other snack options available in the P90X nutrition guide, but the above list comprises basically all of the snacks I consume. They are easy, nutritious, relatively affordable, quick, and keep my body fueled. Pick snacks that work for you, but make sure that you know what’s in them and how they will affect your total calories and percentages. Remember, nutrition is 80% of your results. This is important!!
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Hey Patty, thanks for sharing. It looks eco friendly from your bullet points! The sugar and fat content are high in relation to the protein though (but that’s a tradeoff everyone has to decide on).
Exactly, everyone has to decide what they prefer. Just another option out there! :)
Hey Coach, is there any reason you prefer the GoLean to GoLean Crunch?
Less sugar Jim (at least that’s what I remember when I compared nutritional info on them at the store back when I was choosing the healthiest of the GoLean cereals).
What about the nature vally crunchy granola bars?
I haven’t used those Matt. Most granola bars have a lot of carbs in them, and sugar as well, so check that to be sure. I don’t know how the nature valley stack up since I don’t eat them.
I’m trying to lock down a few more things on my nutrition plan. Now I’m wondering about sugars and the grams I should be targeting on the different Phases. A lot of yogurts have 12-14g and the Cliff Builder bars I have been eating are like 20g each. Can I eat those and adjust somewhere else on my meal plan or should I avoid certain grams of sugar all together?
Hey coach, what do you think about the Whey Crisp Bars from Optimum Nutrition? I bought a box, but I see you consume Pure Protein. What’s better?
Hey Denver, there is no set amount of sugar we should be shooting for, but the rule of thumb I’ve always followed is to minimize all sugar other than natural sugars. Natural sugars are found in fruits and dairy (like plain yogurt). Avoid yogurts that have syrupy flavoring (instead get plain greek yogurt and add fresh fruit). And for protein bars, go with something like a Pure Protein bar that has only 2g of sugar rather than the cliff bars that have much more sugar in them. Hope that helps!
Hey Alex, I’ve never heard of (or tried) those. You’ll just have to look at the nutritional info. Pure protein bars are great because the sugar content is very low, and most bars have a lot more sugar in them than I want to eat.
Hey Coach, so for future reference for you or anyone else who wants to compare, the Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Crisp Bar has 250 cal 50 cal from fat, 2.5g fat, 35mg chol, 34g carbs, 7g sugar, 26g protein. What do you think?
Hey Alex, that looks pretty good but I haven’t studied it closely, and I haven’t tried it.
Is whole wheat spegetti okay to eat every night? Same with baked potatos at lunch. I’ve heard that sweet potatoes are better for you. And you might want to watch the flavor packets, they contain aspartame which is a deadly chemically processed sugar!
Hey Luke, whole wheat spaghetti is okay every day if you have the carbs budgeted into your plan. And you are right, sweet potatoes are better than baked potatoes. The 2 worst veggies are white potatoes and corn (read my article “good carbs/bad carbs” to learn more about why).
And yes, I agree that you want to avoid flavor packs that contain artificial sweetners. The one I was using actually didn’t use it, but nearly every other flavor did. And I tried to use it sparingly because of the processing.
Wayne,
What was the peanut butter powder you used in your smoothies?
Congrats on the x2, it looks scary for the over 40 crowd (me)
Hey Scott, it’s called PB2 from Bell plantation. You can order it online. Good stuff!
It isnt that hard to look at the back of the package and write down and keep track of the nutritional information. If we want to get in shape we have to do stuff ourselves. Its not that difficult!!
Coach what kind of turkey jerky is good because i never had it and was wondering?
I just get the Jack Links brand from Walmart. It’s the only one I’ve used.
Hey Wayne, I need a good high protein, low GI, on-the-go snack to eat everyday. My walmart doesn’t carry turkey jerky. And I don’t like eating protein bars because of all the added ingredients. Any ideas?
Hey Robert, just carry a shaker cup and baggie of whey protein. Then all you need to do is add some water and you are set with an entirely protein snack.
Hey coach, I just came back from walmart, and guess what I saw? Popcorn…I haven’t had any in the longest time and I was wondering if I could eat some. I saw some popcorn saying it’s 94% fat free, the nutrition facts are: Serving Size- 1 bag (serves about 6 cups), 120 cals, 2g fat, 380mg sodium, 26g carbs, 4g protein. I looked at the ingredients and there was no sign of high fructose corn syrup. What do you think?
Hey Alex, yes that’s okay. What you might consider, though, if you like popcorn is to get a whirly pop thing like I talk about in my most recent YouTube video to make your own.
Hi Coach, it’s me again lol. I have a silly but serious question. Is it ok to eat the popcorn around 9 or 10 pm? It’ll fit into my calories and carbs just fine. Would it be bad since they’re late night carbs? The whole bag has 19g
That’s okay Alex on occasion, but don’t do it every day. Make your daily habit to only have some protein after dinner. But every once in a while is fine.
Yeah this is just for tonight because me and my lady are going to watch the Hunger Games LOL. Every night I have my scoop of Casein.
By the way, I’m drinking the bodybuilding.com Casein and it’s much tastier and cheaper than the ON. It has twice the servings for about 6 bucks more.
I used to eat Pure Protein bars but started developing stomach and intestinal problems because of the alcohol sugar that’s in it.
Do you have any other recommendations for a healthy protein bar?
I’m currently eating a protein bar that has 14g protein and is 210 cal, 7g fat, 24g carb and that has 15g sugar.
Hey Brittany, the other protein bar I’d suggest is the Quest bars. They are good, and I’ve used them in the past. You have to order them online though.
Can this same nutrition guide that you’ve done for p90x work for Insanity as well? I’ll be starting Insanity as soon as I get my dvds next week and have already started planning out my food choices. I’m 5’11 and sitting at a plump 220lbs of fat. I’ve lost over 30 lbs in the last three months by just eating better and have recently starting running to get in shape before Insanity.
I have a spare tire gut that I want to get rid of completely. I don’t really care about bulk but would rather just have lean muscle mass.
My calorie intake will be around 1650 per day and I was thinking the fat shredder 50/30/20 would probably be best for me, but I didn’t know whether the two nutrition guides would overlap.
I’ve watched all your videos and am definitely pumped to do insanity and may try p90x after I’m done!
Yes Tyler, in fact the P90X nutrition guide is superior to the Insanity one, so I’d recommend going with the concepts of the P90X guide even while doing the other workout programs (like doing the fat shredder diet to lose body fat, etc.). You can learn all about that and more in the “nutrition tips/sample diets” tab.
Hey coach, just wondering if we should limit ourselves on the water favoring packets, I just tried the Orange early rise you mention and I love it!…also can we use things like splenda?…I know artificial sweetners aren’t very good for you, that’s why I’m asking
Hey Tyler, if you need to use flavoring packets for a while to help yourself ween towards water, that’s fine. But the goal should be to use them less and less over time until you get used to plain water. They are a good way to transition from pop and stuff toward water.
hi coach W,
I started my P90X last week Monday so going into week 2 now and have followed a 2100 cal fat-shredder diet based off your 1900. I have however retained my same weight and have really been sticking to the diet(you can see my diary on MFP – cobrettee) and exercise. I just wanted to know if this is to be expected – should I not have seen some weight loss already or should I go down to 1900???
Hey Ed, how tall are you? Have you looked at my “dialing it in” article in the nutrition tips section? It is only 1 week in so don’t jump to any conclusions, but if shedding fat is your primary goal you should consider following the guidelines in that “dialing it in” article.
Thanks Coach – late reply as my Internet was down for 2 days :(
I am 6’1 and amazingly the scale is reading 2 pounds lighter :) BUT I did go down to 1900 cal for the past 4 days
Hey Wayne, my friend said that jerky is unhealthy and the meat is fake. Is that true?
Hey Rick, it depends on the type and brand of jerky LOL! Don’t get the processed meat sticks that are all ground up and pressed. If you use jerky, get the 100% beef or 100% turkey versions that are in big pieces. They have a lot of sodium so you can’t have a ton, but they are just as “real” as they were before they got dried out (jerky is just dried out meat).