Although most will try and attain the perfect body through hours at the gym, the best way to guarantee your best body is by putting in work in the kitchen. Diet and exercise will both contribute to a healthier, leaner, stronger you but, in the end, the most important aspect of achieving any type of fitness or weight loss goals is your diet. Your diet can be accredited to helping you achieve your results by 75 to 80%. The remaining 20 to 25% can be attributed to the fitness regimen you choose. When it comes to selecting a fitness program to help you reach your fitness goals, it is important to choose one that includes a balanced nutritional plan that will fuel you adequately enough to endure tough workouts while including clean, whole foods to help you meet your weight loss goals. One plan that has accomplished this is the P90X workout plan. It features a top notch nutrition plan that works in combination with its workouts to improve overall fitness, physical appearance and athletic performance.
The P90X Nutrition Plan
The P90X Nutrition Plan is a three phase plan designed to provide you the right amount of calories, nutrients and fuel to help you endure the tough plan workouts while building lean muscle and burning stored fat. One of the unique features of the P90X nutrition plan is that it allows each individual user to customize the plan according to his or her specific needs and goals. P90X, along with Beachbody and most of its other workout programs, recognize that not everyone is built the same and one size does not fit all.
The P90X nutrition plan offers meal suggestions for each level and each stage of the diet. You can either proceed with suggested recipes or approach meal preparation by counting portions of food types to maintain the proportion called for by any phase of the P90X Diet. The P90X nutrition plan is not your regular quick fix crash diet. It is about the right food choices and the right portions which should be eaten, so that the body has enough fuel to carry on with the P90X exercise routine.
The P90X Nutrition Plan includes three phases. The first phase is the P90X Fat Shredder. The second is the P90X Energy Booster. The third and final phase is referred to as the P90X Endurance Maximizer. During each of the three phases, you will be expected to consume five meals per day. These meals will consist of breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner.
When you begin the P90X workout program, you will be in Phase 1. The amount of time you remain in each phase is generally up to you. Although it is recommended that you make it through all three phases prior to completing the 90 day program, the time you take with each one depends on your daily caloric needs, energy level and previous eating habits. If the first phase seems too strict and you find yourself having difficulty making it through your workouts, you can move onto the second phase as soon as you choose. This may or may not affect the amount of weight you lose on the program but, regardless, the important thing to remember is fueling your body to complete the 90 day process. This is where the P90X Nutrition Plan allows for the diet to be customized according to your needs and desired end results.
Phase 1: Fat Shredder
The Fat Shredder phase was designed to do exactly as the name states. It is designed to help shred the extra fat layer off your body through a diet comprised mostly of protein, minimizing carbohydrate and fat intake. This phase of the P90X Nutrition Plan is very similar to the South Beach low carb diet in that it drastically restricts carb intake. The carbs included in this phase tend to be low glycemic carbs that have minimal effect on blood sugar. The approximate caloric breakdown during this phase is 50% protein, 30% carbohydrates and 20% fats. Most of your meals in this phase will consist of vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats. If you do not have experience with these types of diets, this phase may take a bit of getting used to. In the beginning, you may feel fatigued and experience headaches, bad breath and mood swings. This is just the body getting accustomed to a new way of eating. After a few days, these feelings will pass. The purpose of eating this way is to produce quick weight loss. Limiting carbohydrates will reduce bloat, decrease water retention and burn fat stores. All of these effects will help reveal a leaner, more shredded version of you. The body burns fat stores because its usual source of fuel, glucose obtained from carbohydrates in your diet, are no longer available. The longer you remain in this phase, the more weight you will lose.
Phase 2: Energy Booster
The second phase of the P90X Nutrition Plan will help give you more energy to continue taking on the P90X challenge. This phase increases carbohydrate intake and maintains amounts of fat consumed. During this phase, your caloric breakdown will be 40% protein, 40%carbohydrates and 20% fats. This may slow down weight loss, but it will also help build lean muscle and provide extra energy for enhanced performance
Phase 3: Endurance Maximizer
P90x Meal Plan Phase 1
The final phase is referred to as the Endurance Maximizer and is considered a phase that can be continued beyond the 90 days spent completing the P90X program. Carbohydrate intake is increased once again during this phase and fat consumption will remain the same. The caloric breakdown during this phase will be 20% protein, 60% carbohydrates and 2-% fat. The Endurance Maximizer is an athletic type of diet which includes a well-balanced blend of complex carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fats. This phase was designed to give you that extra push to finish the program strong and in the best shape of your life.
If, at any point during the 90 days on the nutrition plan, you feel fatigued, are not seeing positive results and/or do not seem to be adjusting well to the changes in nutrition, it is important to transition to a phase that will meet your dietary and energy needs. Some individuals can remain in Phase 1 for the first two months and culminate with phase 2 and 3 in the last month, while others will almost skip over phase 1 all together because of how restrictive it is. As previously mentioned, this plan was designed to be customized and it should be. Assess your dietary needs and your measurements on a regular basis to make sure you are progressing adequately through the program. Ideally, you should reassess on a bi-weekly basis and make changes accordingly.
P90X Nutrition Guide PDF
(Click here to download)
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Many times people who start P90X end up either ignoring the nutrition guide or avoiding it because of the “WTF” complexity of the guide. Below you’ll find the easy to use P90X Nutrition Plan calculator and tips to get the BEST results that you deserve with the program.
The Simple P90X Nutrition Plan Calculator
Why do I have this calculator here? Because I love you guys! Also, it’s because I want to help you get the RESULTS you Deserve (that is what Team Sweet Life Fitness is ALL about!). This P90X Nutrition Plan Calculator can help fill the void when it comes to figuring out how to lose the most body fat.
The number that shows up in the “YOUR ENERGY AMOUNT” column is what you need for this below chart. The key is to find which level you have, and round down to the bottom of the level to create a slight calorie deficit.
NEXT, now that you know your Nutrition Calorie Level, it’s time to determine the nutritional proportion phase that fits your goal.
P90x Meal Plan Download
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P90X Nutrition Plan Calculator – The Nutritional Proportions
There are three major nutritional phases to the P90X Nutrition Plan calculator. Know that this does NOT mean you would have to do each Phase of the Nutrition Plan along with each phase of the P90X Schedule. You can stay in these nutritional phases longer than 30 days based on your goals and progression as explained below:
- Phase 1 – Fat Shredder: This is the primary phase for shedding excess body fat while building some muscle. Stay on this phase long enough to experience the benefits; HOWEVER, if you feel like you are lacking energy during the workout, go to Phase 2. In order for body fat to burn off, you have to gain enough energy to push yourself to the max every day (In otherwords, “BRING IT”).
- Phase 2 – Energy Booster: This phase is the long-term sustainable plan that can help continue to burn fat while building lean muscle as you grow with the program. During maintenance periods and in most other fitness programs, this is my “go-to” phase recommendation.
- Phase 3 – Endurance Maximizer: This nutrition proportion must be earned! This is something you get to do once you are ready to take your fitness to the whole next level (and a great partner to the P90X Doubles schedule or Mass schedule).
Below is the chart explaining the macronutrients for each phase. Check the info below the chart for a SUPER Simple way to track all of this (call it the “secrets of the ripped” if you will).
P90x Nutrition
The Next Step for P90X Nutrition Plan Calculator Success
Now that you know your Calories and your Phase Macronutrients to eat each day, what is the next step? Here are a few sources that you can start with:
FIRST: Get a MyFitnessPal.com account and TRACK Daily. I know…sounds sickening, but trust me it works more than you can imagine. See How to Use MyFitnessPal for my walk-through on how to set this up with P90X.
SECOND: Determine your grocery list. I always like to plan ahead to save me from sudden emergencies. You can also check out some great resources such as:
- Good Sources of Protein (especially helpful on the Phase 1 Fat shredder diet).
- My Grocery List (I used this for P90X3, but it works for any of the X programs).
The most important thing is to follow these things consistently and BRING IT daily in your workouts. The combination of both the good P90X Nutrition Plan Calculator and the Workouts will help you get closer to the results you deserve.
Yours in Success,
Coach Bob
P.S. – Love P90X? Why not get paid? I am looking for Leaders who want to work with me in the world of P90X. Click Here if that sounds like you.