Having trouble classifying some foods...

[Chrittyg]

I am a vegetarian so I am substituting meat with some vegetarian protein. I am having a hard time figuring out how to categorize some of these substitutions. For example, would I classify cottage cheese as a protein, carb, or dairy? I am having trouble with some other foods, as well. For example, hummus, yogurt, beans (carb or protein?), banana (carb or fruit?), nuts (fat or protein?), Naked protein drink (protein or fruit?). How many total grams of protein should I be getting per day in Phase 1? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm afraid I'm doing this all wrong.

Also, I am using Cliff builder bars for protein, but they have a lot of sugar. Is this okay? Seems that all protein bars have that same problem. I don't really have the extra cash to purchase all of the supplements and bars and shakes that Beachbody sells, so I am trying to find alterrnatives and use whatever my husband uses after his non-Beachbody workouts.

Thanks in advance for your help!!

[JimNAZ]

Hi Christy!

I have the same challenge. I am doing the Primal diet so do not eat any grain carbs. Which is just about everything listed under carbs in the book. What I did is just figure out my calorie needs and ratios (protein/fat/carb) per day and keep track of my food intake with an online program. This shows me my individual macronutrient intake and ratios. Many of my meals are the same (at least during the week) so I do not have to spend a lot of time entering the foods every day.
Not sure if this would help or be more confusing (sorry if it is) but I just wanted to throw it out there as an option.

Jim

[Chrittyg]

That's a great option. Do you have the link to the program you use?

It's so hard to figure all this out. Being a veggie, some of the items that the P90X workout book lists as a dairy (or carb), would be my protein serving so not quite sure how to track it.

Thanks for your reply!

[JimNAZ]

Mine is dailyburn.com but there are others that are just as good. Just find one that you like because it might get overwhelming at first trying to track everything. If you do not like this one do a search for "calorie tracker".

Jim

[csnyde01]

[QUOTE=Chrittyg;3684]I am a vegetarian so I am substituting meat with some vegetarian protein. I am having a hard time figuring out how to categorize some of these substitutions. For example, would I classify cottage cheese as a protein, carb, or dairy? I am having trouble with some other foods, as well. For example, hummus, yogurt, beans (carb or protein?), banana (carb or fruit?), nuts (fat or protein?), Naked protein drink (protein or fruit?). How many total grams of protein should I be getting per day in Phase 1? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm afraid I'm doing this all wrong.


I had the same problem when I started. Some of the foods could technically fall into 2 categories. So cottage cheese, definitely a dairy. I would also buy some Protein powder. You can get it cheap online or at Wal-mart for like $12. That's going to be the best way to get the protein in since you're a vegetarian. Banana would be a fruit, nuts are fats, naked protein I would stay away from. The last time I checked the nutrition label, it was full of sugars. You REALLY want to avoid sugars during Phase 1. Yogurt would be dairy, beans would probably be a carb. If you have the nutrition guide with your package, that's got some ideas for vegetarians and ways to get in your protein.

I went through and calculated my lean body mass to ensure that I eat enough protein to supplement it, at least. I get around 250 grams of protein per day, mostly from foods. I've been playing around with cutting carbs past the 30% and upping the healthy fat and it's seemed to work.

Hope this helps!

[Chrittyg]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will take this and continue to tweak my diet until I get it right. I appreciate the help!

[Dave]

Here are my thoughts on the Clif Builders Bars: http://www.thefitclubnetwork.com/community/showthread.php/350-Clif-Builder-Bars

If you download the word documents here: http://www.thefitclubnetwork.com/2009/01/p90x-nutrition-plan-made-easy/, they will help you classify foods. If you can't put it in any given box, then it is really a snack. Shakeology for example is just too diverse to put anywhere else. Hummus is a good example as well. It is pretty well balanced. If you have hummus and veggies, then that's probably a snack, or maybe a snack and some veggies.

My belief is that you shouldn't try to over think this one. If you know it is good, eat it.

[Chrittyg]

Thanks Dave. I am having real difficulties with this, so I have started focusing more on getting the correct ratios of protein/carbs/fat, rather than the numbers of servings in the portion approach. I used Jim's suggestion above and log my food on dailyburn.com. Seems a lot easier. Would doing this also work okay?

[Dave]

Thanks Dave. I am having real difficulties with this, so I have started focusing more on getting the correct ratios of protein/carbs/fat, rather than the numbers of servings in the portion approach. I used Jim's suggestion above and log my food on dailyburn.com. Seems a lot easier. Would doing this also work okay?

Absolutely. It is probably better than following the spreadsheets we've created. You'll have a more precise calculation for sure. We tend to believe that the spreadsheets are a little easier to follow and when things are easy, they tend to be sustainable. Our main concern is that people stick to what they are doing for the long haul. After a while, this should become somewhat automatic for you, so commit to entering your foods for 90 days. Once you do that, you'll know what is in your foods and you can operate pretty easily within a good calorie range without too much effort.

Dave

[Chrittyg]

Thanks, this is really helpful!