I get so many questions regarding the P90X and Insanity Meal Plans that I thought I would just create a post about it and try to answer all of your questions here.
First, I assume that you read the entire food guide book that you received with your program. Here are the main points from the food guide that you need to understand:
1. The percentage of calories that should come from the three food categories for the different phases of the program.
2. How many calories you should consume on a daily basis (for your body size).
3. The foods you should consume during your diet, (all listed by category in the guides).
4. How many grams of fat, carbs and protein you should take in each day.
Here is an example of what I did during the Fat Shredder Phase of P90X
1,400 calories x 50% = 700 cals protein. Protein is 4 calories per gram, (divide 700/4)
= 175 grams of protein/day.
1,400 calories x 30% carbs = 420 cals of carbs. Carbs are 4 calories per gram (divide 420/4)
= 105 grams of carbs/day.
1,400 calories x 20% fat = 280 cals of fat. Fat is 9 cals per gram (divide 280/9)
= 31 grams of fat/day.
Here are my tips to maximize the nutrition plan:
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 guide is what you’ll want. However, if you want to lose body fat quickly, you MUST run a calorie deficit.
For more information on how to lose weight read my article, A Simple Approach to Weight Loss
Second, stay in “fat shredder” mode until you have reached your ideal weight. THen transition into Phase 2 for long-term maintenance.
Third, you don’t have to follow the meal plan in the nutrition guide. I didn’t because most of the meals required a lot of preparation and I didn’t want to spend too much time preparing my meals and a separate meal for my family. You will need to break down each meal in to fat, protein and carbs in order to accurately track everything. You will need to track every calorie. Every gram of protein. Every gram of carb. And every gram of fat.
Fit Tip: I really like the free fitness and nutrition tools on Team Beach Body. (check out the meal plans, workout sheets and accountability tools)
Fourth, eat often! The goal 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). (for common protein counts read, Protein the Magic Ingredient – I’ll post it tomorrow!)
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 nutrition for the day. I always take healthy snacks with me everywhere I go. Check out my healthy snacks post (coming next week)
Sixth, don’t cheat for more than one meal. It just slows down your progress, and we want fast results, right?
Seventh, stick to it 100%! The nutrition 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 nutrition 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!
Ok, I hope that helps clear up any misinformation you have read in the past about a weight loss plan that delivers results. You are going to have days when you will eat too many calories, get back on track asap and you will feel amazing!
