P90X is one the best fitness programs we have found that will tone and strengthen your body, and increase your flexibility and cardiovascular endurance. A key element of the program is the P90X diet plan. When you buy into the P90X system, you are given a nutrition guide, which not only explains the diet, but also teaches a lot about what your body needs as fuel and why it needs it. Even more, it gives you hundreds of ideas about specific meal plans. It’s a great guide, is easy to read and follow, and explains a few different plans based on your goals, and on your nutrient and calorie needs. One of the P90X claims that impressed me the most was this, “P90X is not a fast-track weight loss solution like other programs. It’s an unprecedented fitness solution designed to give you a stronger, healthier body that will become leaner and perform better over time.” As we’ve said before, we believe weight loss is not a fast-track thing for most people. This, as well as other things about this diet, sold me on it. We’ll take a deeper looker at the P90X diet plan, explain what it has to offer, give you some pros and cons, and hopefully help you learn if this is the right plan for you.

The first thing the P90X nutrition guide does for you is it walks you through how to calculate your calorie needs. The amount of calories you need per day is determined by your age, height and weight,  your activity, and your personal goals. I just used this guide to help a friend figure out how much he needs to eat. This is how easy it was.

1. Calculate your RMR or resting metabolic rate (the energy required to run the body while at rest).

Weight (275) lbs. X 10 = 2750 calories

1. Calculate the calories used for daily activity(like walking, eating, etc.).

RMR(2750) X 20% = 550 calories

1. Add the calories spent during your exercise (each P90X workout burns around 600).

2750 + 550 + 600 = 3900 calories

Now, you might be saying I’m crazy, and wondering why this overweight friend on mine is going to be able to eat 3,000+ calories per day while on a diet. P90X makes the point that not eating enough while doing their program will most likely lead to a decrease in overall workload.  The guide says, “If someone used a 600- calorie deficit during P90X, they might see weight loss initially, but, over time, their performance would get worse and worse”(iii, P90X nutrition plan- Eating for power and performance). Remember, this is a long term fitness solution, not a quick fix.

Our P90X Diet Plan Review

The diet is divided into three phases: “fat shredder”, “energy booster”, and “endurance maximizer”.

Fat Shredder: This phase is designed to kick start burning fat. 50% of calorie needs come from protein, 30%from carbohydrates, and 20% from fat. Notice that this phase does NOT cut out carbohydrates from the diet. However, they do make up a smaller percentage of overall calories, and P90X encourages you to move to the next phase if you feel you are lacking energy during your workouts. Those who do not have much fat to burn can almost entirely skip this phase.

Energy Booster: During this phase 40% of calorie needs come from carbohydrates, 40% from protein, and 20% from fat. Again, the program encourages you to move on from this phase if you’re lacking energy. But because of the increased amount of carbohydrates, this is more of a long term, sustainable phase. Most people find that they stay in this phase for most of the program.

Endurance Maximizer: During this phase 60% of calories come from carbohydrates, 20% from protein, and 20% from fat. This is a more carbohydrate rich phase, and a diet that is catered to athletes. The P90X program is designed to pretty much transform you into an athlete, thus this phase of the diet. Some are hesitant to start eating more carbs, but an athletic body needs a lot of carbohydrates for fuel. This phase of the diet provides that.

Though the diet plan has three phases, participants in the P90X program do not have to strictly follow the design. The creators of the diet actually encourage you to listen to your body and adjust your diet accordingly, but at the same time applying the principles of the diet plan.

Recommended Foods:

Whole grains (bread, rice, pasta), lean meats like fish and pork, egg whites, nuts, low fat dairy, fresh fruit and vegetables, especially dark leafy greens, protein shakes, and vitamin supplements.

Sample Day Menu:

• Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins, protein powder, skim milk
• Snack: Protein bar
• Lunch: Shrimp pasta pomodoro
• Snack: Low-fat cottage cheese
• Extra lean burger patty, Low-fat cheese, leafy greens with cucumber and tomatoes, salad dressing, fresh berries

Pros:

• Can be a long term diet plan, not just a 90 day plan
• Gives good ideas about a weeks menu, including many easy-to-fix recipes
• Does not cut out entire food groups
• Less expensive than a membership to a diet website
• No pre-made meals delivered to your door

Cons:

• Requires time with meal planning and shopping
• Some may feel fatigue at the beginning because of the decreased carbs
• Though flexible, may not be the best for people haven’t exercised in years
• Protein shakes and vitamins can be expensive
• Calorie counting can be tedious

Diet Plan Review – Conclusion

P90X is a great program for those serious about changing their life and their body. This is not an easy fitness program, just like any other legitimate and successful fitness program. This is also not an easy diet. However, with discipline and time this diet can become a way of life, providing your body with the nutrients and calories it needs, and help you lose weight at a healthy rate.

Have you ever tracked your diet and for a few days, or even for a week? I just did, and it was terrible! Calorie counting is annoying, time consuming, and brutally eye opening. BUT, it helped me immensely! You might think you know what you eat, and how much, but until you really sit down and write everything down, you’ll be surprised at how much of the ‘what’ and the ‘how much’ you overlook. Trust me. Now, I’m not a big fan of calorie counting constantly. No way! I repeat. DO NOT CALORIE COUNT DAILY! I think that’s a waste of time. But I do think it’s helpful to do so only for 3-4 days. Doing so will give you an idea of your overall diet, telling you how much fat, protein, and carbs you consume, how nutrient dense your food is, how much fiber you’re getting, etc. It’s truly eye opening, and there are a ton of programs and apps out there that help keep things organized and easy to understand. In fact, some of the best calorie counting software programs often give you a free week trial. That’s perfect, because all you need is a week. Now, here is my basic reasoning for the 55-30-15 calorie counting guide:

Percentage of calories from carbohydrates- 55%. (1 gram of carbs gives your body 4 calories of energy.) This is the main fuel source for your body, especially your brain, which is the most energy consuming organ in the body. So, being the main fuel source, it should also be the main portion of your plate at every meal. Try to eat whole grains like whole wheat bread and pasta, and low glycemic index foods because they are more nutrient dense and keep your blood sugar from spiking to high.

Percentage of calories from fat- 30%. (1 gram of fat gives your body 9 calories of energy.) A fat gram provides the body with more than twice the energy of a gram of carbs. That’s why the percentage of fat is higher than you would think. Try to limit the amount of saturated fats and trans fats. Excessive amounts of these increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. On the other hand, there are good fats that your body needs, like omega-3 fatty acids. These fats are part of every cell membrane in your body, and actually help decrease your chance of heart disease and stroke. 2-3 servings of fish per week can provide you with an adequate amount of this type of fat. Also, flaxseed is a great source.

Percentage of calories from protein- 15%. (1 gram of protein gives your body 4 calories of energy.) Protein is essential for bone, skin, immune system, and muscle health, and also provides about 5% of your energy while you exercise. There are a lot of amino acids your body can make from scratch, but there are some that our bodies just can make and that have to come from our diet. These complete proteins come mostly from animal sources like meat, fish, dairy, etc. Soybeans are also a complete protein. Dark leafy greens, beans, oats, and many other non-meat foods have a lot of protein in them, however these are considered incomplete proteins and don’t offer all of the 9 essential amino acids that the body cannot make on its own.

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So, analyze your diet. Even though it’s a pain in the butt, calorie count for a few days up to a week. Figure out what you’re eating so you an make changes to help you accomplish your fitness goals. These percentages can be tweaked a little to meet your needs, but stay fairly close to them so you’ll have a well-balanced diet. Good luck!

First, there is no such thing about spot reduction weight loss. A lot of people aren’t happy with a certain area of their body and start a diet or exercise program or buy an exercise machine to target that area for weight loss. How often have you heard that by working certain muscles the fat surrounding those muscles will be the first to disappear? This is completely false. Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, says this about spot reduction: “This is a myth, pure and simple. No matter how much exercise you do for a specific region of the body, it’s physiologically impossible to lose body fat in a targeted area. Fat is lost or gained throughout the entire the body. But the last area where people tend to lose it from is the areas where they gain it first. So for most men, the abdominal region is the most difficult area to trim, while in women, the hips, buttocks, and thighs are the trouble spots.” So if you’ve got some extra flab on your stomach, don’t go thinking that doing 100 sit-ups a day is going to make that fat go away.

Second, stay away from the weight loss pills. There’s a difference between losing weight and being healthy. Two things can happen if you take these pills- nothing and/or diarrhea. A lot of weight loss pills make it so your small intestine doesn’t absorb fat as well as normal. So, if you take the pills and remain on a high fat diet, that extra fat is going to make your stool very, very soft and thin, making you feel very bloated and have diarrhea. Remember, having a low amount of fat on your body is only a part of being fit. These pills don’t build muscle, cardiovascular endurance, or flexibility, which are the three keys of fitness.

Third, healthy fat loss for those who aren’t extremely obese is one pound per week. REMEMBER that!!! 1 LB. PER WEEK!!! Don’t freak out if you don’t lose 10-15 pounds the first month. That’s normal and healthy. A classic marketing point of an extreme weight loss diet is “lose 15-20 pounds the first two weeks!” This is a myth. If you lose too much fat too soon your body will think it is getting starved and start breaking down lean body tissue and storing as much energy as possible when it is given nutrients. As the great Tony Horton, creator of P90X says, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was your body.” If it took you ten years to be 50 pounds overweight, then it might take a couple years to get it off. But, if you’re diligent with a good diet and exercise program for just a year, one year, you’ll lose over 50 pounds. That’s awesome, and really a year is not that much time. Don’t get caught up in the quick fix with extreme fast weight loss.

So once you’ve lost the pounds, what are you going to do to keep them off? Answer: just keep doing what you did to get the pounds off. It’s a lifestyle change, yes, but you feel better, are stronger, can run faster, jump higher, eat more, sleep better, and the list goes on. Why stop doing what you’ve been doing? Just keep going at it! Ultimately weight loss takes time, dedication, and mental toughness.

To sum things up here are my extreme weight loss tips:

1. There’s no such things as spot reduction
2. Stay away from the weight loss pills.
3. Healthy fat loss for those who aren’t extremely obese is 1 lb. per week
4. Finally, weight loss and maintaining weight isn’t just about dieting- you’ve gotta have exercise as an adjunct.