Think you might be mixing up the Phases and the Levels. There are three Phases (Fat Shredder, Energy Booster, and Endurance Maximizer) and three Levels (I, II, III). The Levels really just have to do with caloric needs. A Level III person needs more calories than a Level I person. The diet changes through the Phases. It starts with a focus on lean protein and shifts to more carbs. As your metabolism kicks in you can use those carbs more efficiently. I’m on Phase III now and I have endless energy via food. I’ve also lost a fair amount of fat, while gaining lean muscle.

Hi. We have a few things up, but have not really tackled putting up all the recipies that we would like to. We are both following the portion approach, so we basically eat what we want as long as it has the appropriate portions of carbs/protein/fat. Keep checking back for more info.

Dave

I would not cut your calories by more than about 400 per day. You’ll see results if you do that. If you cut it too much, you will under fuel your body. You will crash during workouts and your body will think you are trying to starve it. When that happens the body can start to store all food as fat, which is counterproductive to your goals.

Thanks Dustin. You’ll want to enter your actual weight, but you’ll also want to re-enter it over time. As your body weight changes, so too must your caloric intake. You could use your goal weight, but if you have a lot to drop, then I would not advise that. You have to think of your body’s metabolism like a fire. You have to feed a fire wood to get it to burn. The metabolism is the same way. When you feed it fuel it can use on a regular basis, then it will burn it efficiently and you’ll see great results.

The answer depends on your caloric needs. Look over the video for a discussion of how to tweak the plan. The design is that a snack and a protein are separate, so then you would not check both. If you need to adjust the plan you may find that you can have your snack count as a protein. You just need to determine how many calories you need and then do the math with the calories per serving of protein and snacks. Make sense? If not email me at dave@thefitclubnetwork.com.

The answer probably depends on how active you are. If the only exercise you are getting is P90X, and otherwise you are sitting at a desk, then you can cut the calories a bit. Level I might be too much. You don’t want to go too far under your caloric needs. You’ll bonk on your workouts and your body will start to deplete your muscle stores. You are better off feeding yourself small meals regularly. The only way I can get in all that protein in Phase I is with shakes and bars. Are you using those?

Cool. Let me know how that works out. I’m always interested. We can only learn so much from our own experiences. It is good to hear what other people do so we can pass on that info.

Yes, you adjust the calories for your daily intake. At that many calories, you would be on Phase I – Fat Shredder – Level III calories. You can cut the calories, but not by too much. You have to keep in mind that you will be burning about 600 calories a day doing P90X. If you under fuel your body a couple of things could happen all of which are counterproductive: (1) you will “bonk” and have no energy to workout; (2) your body will look to your muscle stores for fuel rather than feeding on fat; and/or (3) your body will go into starvation mode and store as many calories as it can as fat because it thinks you are starving. The last really only happens when you really cut calories. Drop your calories by about 400 and you should be fine. Also, weigh yourself once a week and adjust your calories with the spreadsheet. You’ll find you need less as your weight drops. With all the protein you will be taking in, you will lose weight fairly quickly and then level off as your body starts to replace fat with muscle.

My email is dave@thefitclubnetwork.com if you have more questions.

Katie,

Probably normal. You may be gaining muscle and losing fat. This may explain.

http://www.thefitclubnetwork.com/2009/01/one-pound-of-fat-vs-one-pound-of-muscle/

How are your measurements? If you didn’t take them, then how are your clothes fitting? If that has not changed, then email me at dave@thefitclubnetwork.com and I’ll help you dial in the nutrition aspect.

Dave

Hi there sqeebol. You have to keep your calories up to do P90X. Keep in mind that this is not a calorie deficient diet, so it is not designed for weight loss. You should cut about 400 calories out of your diet to accomplish that. Also keep in mind that you will likely lose weight fairly quickly with the program, if you follow the nutrition plan. Weigh yourself once a week and then recalculate your calories. When you drop 20 pounds, you won’t need as many calories. A lot of people forget to redo their calories and end up eating more than they really need after they have lost weight. Hope that makes sense and helps.

Dave

Liz,

I think that’s a question better directed to your doctor. This is a really delicate time. I would hate to provide you with some advice about caloric intake and have it cause problems for nursing. Monica may be of more assistance. Her email address is monica@ward5000.com.

Dave

Piper,

I have two things to check. The first is your measurments. The scale is a real liar. Since muscle is more dense than fat, what often happens is that people lose fat and gain muscle. It takes up less space, but weighs the same. Monica only lost about 15 pounds when we did Power 90 the first time, but she went from a size 12 to a size 6. So, take the measurments. The second thing is the soy. Soy is not something we typically recommend. I used to use soy milk, but was speaking with Tony’s chef Missy Costello one evening and she explained that soy is very high in fat content and it also has some hormones that are difficult for the body to deal with. That may be something you want to think a little about.

So, start with measurements. The scale really does tell lies. Measurments and body composition testing are really the best way to judge what is really going on. If you are following the program, then you should be getting results. Let us know.

Dave

Good question. The answer is that you might. If you are running that large of a deficiency, you are going to have problems. Your body may think you are trying to starve it and will then start storing up reserves as fat. Those are hard to tap into when you need them, so you may bonk when you do your workouts. All bad things. Try to think of your metabolism like a fire. If you wanted to build a roaring fire, you would start with a few pieces of nice thick dry wood. Once you got it going, you’d add the same pieces of wood to keep it going. You’d realize that if you dumped a bunch of leaves on it, then it would burn hot for a few minutes, but it would go out afterwards. You also wouldn’t let it get too far down before you put some more wood on. Your body is the same way. If you feed it good fuel (protein) regularly, it will start to burn a fire. Just keep the fire going and it will burn off the fat. You shouldn’t run more than a 500 calorie deficit. Give it a try and let me know how it feels.

Kendra,

I already responded via email, but this is important. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is bad! I would recommend that everyone avoid it if that is possible. Excessive sugars are not good either. You are right and a lot of these types of dressings are laiden with both. I recommend that people use olive oil and lemon juice on their salads. Now, that may not be something that works for everyone. I’d rather see people choose a low fat dressing over a very fatty dressing to be sure. But there are better choices to be made. Give the oil and lemon juice a try. It is really good and very healthy.

Dave

Thanks so much for the comment. This is a really excellent point. Each individual is going to be different. It can take some time to find your ideal caloric intake and it is important to understand that it will change as your weight changes and as your activity level demands. For example, I usually stay around 2,000 calories per day. I then burn between 500 and 700 per workout. I like to ride with a group on Saturdays that goes between 45 and 60 miles. A 60 mile ride works out to about 3 hours and 3,000 calories burned. If I only take in 2,000 on that day, then I’m toast. I eat a big meal on Friday night and then wake up early and start gobbling down calories. I still probably fall short, but the point is that I’ve learned that I need to do that. It just takes time to find that balance and to find what works for you. I’m glad you’ve found the balance! Keep up the good work and keep bringing it.

Hi Amanda and thanks for the question. We formulated the portion approach tracker just for this reason. I’d love to eat all of those meals (most of them anyway), but I just don’t have the time. But I can check the boxes when I eat food and understand what additional portions of any given group I need throughout the day.

Here is how I would use the supplements you have. I find the Meal Replacement Shake works well for breakfast. I now use Shakeology to replace my breakfast, but I’ve used the shake too. I eat the bar as a snack. That happens either at 10:00 am or at 3:00 pm as I’m trying to bridge meals. I eat oatmeal, nuts, or maybe a shake as my other snack. I can keep all that stuff in my desk so it is easy to get to and mix up. The vitamins (Health Formula), you’ll want to take after you eat an actual meal. There are a lot of vitamins in each pack and I don’t advise taking them on an empty stomach.

I don’t think you can replace every meal, and I don’t think you should. Your body needs whole foods. Supplements are just that “supplements”. They are not intended to replace all your meals. You’ll want to significantly increase your intake of whole foods. Early in the diet that usually means chicken, beef, legumes, and other proteins (look over the word documents). As you move away from protein into more of a balance you’ll want to get a lot of fruits and veggies. They can also be a great source of carbs that your body can process very easily.

Hope this helps. If you have other questions let me know. I think you are wise to plan ahead. That is one of the main keys to success.

Thanks for the comment. I think the more specific you can get with this the better. I’ve done something similar using http://www.fitday.com, but I found that it was just not sustainable for me. We came up with this format to try and keep things as simple as possible because most people will stick with what is easy and effective. With that said, if you can track every bit, and that works for you, I’d track it. In that case, I’m not sure the spreadsheet is going to be that useful, because it would assume that protein shake is primarily protein and you’d check that box. It is less than a precise science to be sure.

I will recommend Fit Day. I did that for about 2 months and it allowed me to gain a very good understanding of what was in the foods I was taking in and what it felt like to eat 1,900 calories a day or up to 3,000 on days where I would ride my bike for 3 hours. I have a real feel for that now and pretty much stay in Phase III of the P90X Nutrition Plan. I don’t track my daily intake on paper anymore because I can just about do it in my head within a few hundred calories. I’ve found that generally that is close enough for me to meet my goals. When I get back into endurance training, I’ll have to do it again to rethink my intake and what it feels like to be eating more like 2,500 a day.

Let me know what works for you after you’ve had a chance to experiment a bit.

Can you download the spreadsheet? If so, then you just need to enter your weight and it will give you the caloric intake needed for P90X. The spreadsheet also has daily trackers with it that will help you with accountability. If you can’t get to it, let me know. I’ll see if I can get you a PDF.

Keep in mind that P90X and the P90X Nutrition plan were really not designed for weight loss. The program is really designed for people that are already in good shape and now want to completely take it to the next level. With that said, you can cut out about 300 calories and run a deficit, which will help you lose weight. I recommend that you use the daily tracker sheets and a service like http://www.fitday.com or the “Lose It” iPhone app to track the calories in the foods you eat. If you do this for about a month, you’ll have a good idea of what 1,700 calories looks like.

Also, you need to very carefully monitor your energy level and make sure you have enough fuel in your tank. Consider that you’ll burn about 600 calories on average per day doing P90X. If you cut down to 1,700 that will leave you with about 1,100 to process your daily bodily functions. That’s really not very much. You risk underfueling your body which can lead to fatigue and leave you “bonking” during workouts. That’s really counter productive. So just keep an eye on your energy level if you choose to drop below 2,000. This is somewhat individual, but I generally recommend no more than a 300 calorie deficit.

Hi Amy,

A brief speech first. Alcohol is basically empty calories. Your body can’t really use alcohol for anything and typically processes it like sugar. Now with that said, I also drink on occasion, but I understand what I’m doing to my body and I try to account for it with the rest of my diet. You can track alcohol, particular beer as a carb. So if you know you are going to a party or something, don’t load up on pasta or bread before you go (note that beer is a gateway drug to pizza too). Track it as a carb and limit it when you can.

Dave

Peter,

You’ve got it right. The numbers indicate the number of servings and then you just check off the boxes. Make sure to watch the videos too about adjusting your caloric needs to suit you. We are always here to help if you need anything. Thanks for the kind words. We get a lot of satisfaction out of helping people through the program, but it is always nice to know we are doing the right thing. My email address is dave@thefitclubnetwork.com if you want to email me.

Dave

According to Spark People, an 8 oz cup of coffee has 2 calories. 8 oz of bourbon has a lot more than that (LOL). I don’t think it is the calories that create that feeling. Likely it is the caffeine. Your system may not be able to process it very efficiently and I know the feeling you are talking about. I try to stick to one cup of coffee per day. I use skim milk, or almond milk and stevia to sweeten it.

I don’t have it on me, but I believe those are 8 ounce servings. Honestly, I think that’s a little bit light for someone doing something like P90X. You have really got to get a lot of water in your system. I probably drink 12 to 15, 8 oz servings per day. Granted, I live in Arizona and the dry and hot weather tends to make me need more water, but I think that the more water you can get in your system the better off you are going to be. Hope this helps.

Jeff,

Phase I of the diet is a weight loss/metabolism jump starter to be sure. The rest of the diet is not really designed for dramatic weight loss. P90X wasn’t designed to be a mass builder or a super weight loss program. It is designed to get you in great shape. What you eat controls the results you get. I’m trying to add mass now in preparation for the upcoming triathlon season, which always has me lose a lot. I follow Phase III of the diet, but I have added in two whey protein shakes a day at about 250 calories each. I’m going to play around with the extra 500 calories and see how that goes. I’m thinking I may need more. I think for someone looking to bulk up there are two steps: (1) calculate your caloric need using the excel spreadsheet and then add at least 500 calories; and (2) try to stay in Phase II. I like Phase III because it gives me a lot of carbs, and I’m still doing two days a week where my workouts are over 2 hrs and 30 mins long. I need the carbs for that. But I’m adding in the extra calories as protein to try and build some muscle.

Hope that helps. If not, let me know. I can help you get in contact with Steve Edwards, who is Beachbody’s nutrition expert. He’s a great resource.

Dave

I think it depends on how you eat. If you prepare you own food, it should be pretty inexpensive to do this diet, because it incorporates a lot of whole foods. If you follow the menu plan, I think it can get expensive, but if you use the portion approach you should be able to follow the plan without too much cash outlay. You might be talking about the bars/shakes listed in the plan. These are optional items. They are things that I incorporate in my diet because I have a hard time getting in all the calories through food. I’m just not hungry enough to eat the 2,500 calories I’m shooting for.