P90X Calorie Guidlines

1FitMomof4Girls

I have a question about P90x. I figured out how many calories I should be eating while on the program.(according to the nutrition guide) It comes out to 2916. Should I stick to their recommendations or follow the MFP guidlines? I still would like to lose 18- 20 lbs. Thanks in advance

Erindipitous

Personally, I eat my 1200, upped my protein, and eat back whatever I burn from my workouts (according to my HRM). So far so good for me. I tend to go over more days than not, but it doesn't seem to be affecting me in a negative way.

fitaliciag

WOW!! that's a lot of calories. when i did p90x for 4 months, i follwed MFP and ONLY ate 1200 cals a day. lost 30 pounds. i did not eat back my calories.....and my results are below

SpaceMarkus

Follow the P90X Guideline. It was designed to work. If you eat less you may lose more weight, but you also are a lot less likely to get the results you're after. 1200 is a bare min. you should eat during the day. P90X is an INTENSE workout. You need to fuel those new muscles.

Kryssy7786

I NEED P90x!!!! Is there a way to get the benefits without purchasing it!!! Im a single mom with limited income atm.

jlembry

I follow MFP guidelines and eat around 300 workout calories a day (while burning 300-800 calories per workout). I think the P90X nutrition guide greatly overestimates how many calories their workouts burn.

MarybethAltizer

Listen to your body. I find that if I try to eat just 1200 not adding back exercise, I feel like I'm famished. Eat ALOT of protein because your body will be repairing and building alot of muscle. Like a previous poster said, you won't lose as much weight if you eat more, but you WILL tone your body. I haven't lost much weight at all, but alot of inches. I would go for somewhere between 1600 and 1800 because it's so hard to eat that many cals from good sources for me.

Mike523

I have a question about P90x. I figured out how many calories I should be eating while on the program.(according to the nutrition guide) It comes out to 2916. Should I stick to their recommendations or follow the MFP guidlines? I still would like to lose 18- 20 lbs. Thanks in advance

Two things...

First, I don't think you have that quite right. If you calculated with the nutrition guide and it gave you an energy amount of 2916, that puts your nutrition level at Level 2. That means, according to the guide, that you should eat 2400 calories, not 2916.

Second, the recommendations in the nutrition guide are not really for weight loss, they are more for cutting and muscle support/building. If you want to lose weight with the program, I would suggest eating maybe a little less. Not A LOT less, but a little less.

Since you say you have about 20 pounds to lose, I would suggest you set your goals here on MFP to lose 1 pound per week and use that number as your base. Then, I would make sure you eat back your exercise calories. You'll probably find that the final number on most days will be not too far from the number recommended in the P90X nutrition guide, probably a little bit under it.

Don't set your goals to lose 2 pounds per week. P90X is intense and you need to feed your body with enough food to get you through the program.

Good luck!

1FitMomof4Girls

Thanks Mike523! I was figuring this late at night after a super long day..... I kept thinking it was wrong, then gave up.
I know common sense goes a loooong way in health and fitness. I appreciate it.

Mike523

You're welcome!

deanie0515

Good info Mike. I'm doing the 1200 and trying to eat back most of the workout calories. And according to my HRM, I burn some serious calories with these workouts so it has been tough getting those cals back. I've been loading up on protein, shake in a.m. and one after workout, also trying to eat protein packed foods during the day. I'm averaging between 1.5-2 lbs a week so far. I've only been at it for a couple of weeks though. So hopefully this is a good pace for me. If I start to stall I'm going to try harder on getting more cals back because I know my body needs fuel for these workouts. So far I AM LOVING IT. Good luck :bigsmile:

liftingbro

I agree with Mike. P90X isn't a pure weightloss program. It's mean to be a fitness program. The intake levels are meant to allow for some weight loss but also support building muscle. You will likely be at maintenance or slightly below maintenance with their guidelines. This works fine for those who are not obese because the increased muscularity along with some weght loss will make for more noticeable changes.

I think obese people should decrease suggest calories more for sure and many non-obese people will need to cut calories some as well to get the results they are after.

RDPMTL

Hi all, just a few comments;
1- I've found it critically important to get clarity around ones true goal: body comp, health, fitness level, etc..
2- Discussing "weight" loss is slippery slope, focussing exclusively on FAT loss will force better choices in both nutrition and training protocols.
3- my experience has been that everyone's calorie requirements DEE /RMR/ BMR are different principally based on the individual's sex & height and peripherally on age and hormone profiles, which makes it nearly impossible to give a valuable opinion on how many calories someone we know so little about might need or not need.
4- as mentioned by another poster, a trainee could not lose a single pound on a scale yet completely transform the way they look, move and feel.
5-and my most frustrating conclusion regarding my journey to health and some fitness is that fundamentally the answers come individually rom trial and error at the expense of personal experimentation, other than the basic fundamentals like "eat clean" "stay active" "sleep well" "relax and enjoy life" ....the rest is all personal experimentation funnily enough what worked a certain way at 23 doesn't work the same at 33 or again at 43.

Aaron_K123

I agree with Mike. P90X isn't a pure weightloss program. It's mean to be a fitness program. The intake levels are meant to allow for some weight loss but also support building muscle. You will likely be at maintenance or slightly below maintenance with their guidelines. This works fine for those who are not obese because the increased muscularity along with some weght loss will make for more noticeable changes.

I think obese people should decrease suggest calories more for sure and many non-obese people will need to cut calories some as well to get the results they are after.

This. Although if weight loss is your goal just cut calories to be a little under their guidelines, do NOT eat 1200 calories only as some have recommended. That is just nuts and is not healthy at all.

Aaron_K123

Thanks Mike523! I was figuring this late at night after a super long day..... I kept thinking it was wrong, then gave up.
I know common sense goes a loooong way in health and fitness. I appreciate it.

Hi OP I just wanted to agree with and secong what Mike said. Also wanted to emphasis do NOT try to eat only 1200 calories doing P90X unless your goal is to break down and lose your muscle.