Nutrition Overview

I am amazed at what difference I am seeing with my change in nutrition. I completed the first round of P90x using their nutrition guide. They calculated me as needing Level II, or 2400 calories daily. This was great! I ate a lot of good food... but it was too much food to really drop my body fat. Here is a quick overview of what I am doing this time around.

P90x Calculations
RMR = Weight x 10               (So, 160 x 10 = 1600)
Add
Daily Burn of 20% of RMR    (1600 x 0.2 = 320) Total now, 1920.
Add
600 calories for the approximate P90x workout.  TOTAL 2520!  That put me square in the level II range.

That is what I stayed at for the entire first round. On the advice of my coach, I decided to run a deficit. I landed on a 900 calorie deficit for the first 30 days. I wanted to hit roughly 1600 calories. You won't drop fat quickly without a healthy deficit... don't worry about going too low, males above 1200 is still safe and females 800... after that you will lose muscle.

P90x is broken into 3 phases for workouts and nutrition. Phase I of nutrition is called the fat shredder phase. It has your calories coming 50% from protein, 30% from carbs, and 20% from fats. You can stay in this as long as you want. Moving to the next phases will slow fat loss. In order to know if I have hit these percentages, I have tracked everything that eat (I mean everything!). I use a free online program called fitday.com. Other programs exist and there are apps as well for you tech people.

I have now bumped to 1800 to 1900 calories as I have lost a fair bit of fat and need the extra calories to sustain my energy levels during my workouts and day (with less fat to pull on for energy you will slow muscle growth if you stay too low). I am about to move to the second phase of the nutrition program as well. My percentages will change to 40/40/20 (P/C/F). Phase III is 20/60/20.... crazy carbs, but your body is a million dollar sports car by then and burns everything you put in it!

Lastly, I eat every 2.5 - 3 hours. This keeps your metabolism rocking all day long. I am also not cheating. I only eat items from the P90x nutrition plan. I use whey to hit my protein needs and eat extremely clean! No beer, no cookies, no sweet, no soda... (a little diet as a treat once and while). You really need to decide, commit, and then you can succeed with this program.

I know this is a little rushed and brief... but it gives a good overview of what goes into the nutrition aspect of P90x.