The p90x Nutritional Levels.....

Options
Laura42012
Laura42012 Posts: 180 Member
in Food and Nutrition
If you've done p90x, did you follow the suggested nutritional levels?

See here for the handout they give you with p90x on it that I was reading: http://www.teambeachbody.com/home/-/dl_get_file/32ea4c06-2287-4660-8adc-8db758929d28

I'm about to start p90x so I am trying to determine the calorie plan to follow. I have my macros figured out and how to adjust my diet by the time I start p90x to stay within the macros....but I'm just a little confused about calories after reading that. I just really want to understand because my calculations brought me to Level II, which at 2400 calories, a 600 calorie workout brings me to about 1800 daily....

Then I read here for the fat shredder (month 1 diet plan):

http://teamripped.com/ladies-fat-shredder-diet/ <---- complete opposite of the above handout coming from a very popular p90x "coach."

He suggested women under 5'6' to eat 1000-1200, which I'm 5'3" so I fall into that category. Now my other question is, since that range is so low, how does that logic apply to when you burn some 600 calories in a p90x workout, as I pre-estimated, is what I will be doing?

Thank you for any insight you can throw my way. I haven't done p90x before and I'm hoping, with the right "nutritional/calorie" plan in place, that I reach my goal.

Replies

  • Laura42012
    Laura42012 Posts: 180 Member
    Options
    bump
  • GoTeamMeaghan
    GoTeamMeaghan Posts: 347 Member
    Options
    I've done 2 rounds of p90x and am doing insanity now. i found the p90x nutrition plan to be confusing to follow and it seemed to be really low in carbs. i'm also vegetarian and it was hard to adapt the menu plans to being vegetarian. that being said, 1,000-1,200 is to low for p90x. i will also say that i never burned 600 calories in any workout-i burned anywhere from 250 (YogaX) to a little over 500 (Plyometrics). I would probably stick closer to 1800ish if i were you. i will also say that i absolutely looooove the insanity nutrition plan, which you may want to try instead of the p90x nutrition plan (if you google it, you should be able to find a pdf of it). yell if you have any questions or check out my diary for ideas.
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    Options
    I don't like the suggested levels, the gap is just too big.
    1800
    2400
    3000
    That's a 600 calorie difference!

    Most people on P90X tend to undereat.

    My advice? Read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
    Set protein to 1g/lb of bodyweight.
    Set fat to 0.5g/lb of bodyweight.
    Fill the remaining calories with carbs.
    Work from there.

    These are generalisations. Of course, it needs to be adjusted for each individual and this is mainly trial and error. My actual maintenance is about 3200 even though I weigh 160lbs and am 172cm tall. I've used a ton of calculators and equations, but the one that's working for me right now is the one here: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ <-- not everyone finds this helpful.

    Best thing to do is use one of these links to find your maintenance and eat 20% less than it.
  • kbutz1
    kbutz1 Posts: 8
    Options
    Yes I was not impressed with the calorie calculations for P90X. I preferred the Insanity method better. I do believe however that the P90X calorie counts are Net, not total. So if they suggest 1200 and you are burning 600 in a workout, you probably need 1800. 1800-600=1200

    I would still keep carbs down since P90X is not necessarily a heavy cardio workout. It is more resistance based with some cardio thrown in for balance.

    As for calorie burn, I burned anywhere from 600-1000 calories per workout with P90X depending on which workouts I was doing. KenpoX was about a 600 calorie workout as it is not overly intense. But the resistance workouts burned a lot more for me..
  • nikkinz
    nikkinz Posts: 30 Member
    Options
    I'm doing round two of P90x ( substituting all cardio for turbo fire though). Getting great results using MFPs formula. I use my hrm and just add calories burned to my base calorie amount and thats how much I eat. I try to keep my macros in check to make sure I get enough protein. fat is melting off and muscles are getting great definition
  • wannabf1t
    wannabf1t Posts: 94 Member
    Options
    I do not have any advice but I do not follow the nutrition plan either. I found it too confusing as well. I did my own calculations and I am following their macros but I was just thinking about changing them. Also, I do not burn nearly as much as they say you burn. My highest burn has been with plyo where I burned close to 400 cal ( that's including the warm ups). With chest and back my burn was 302 which suprised me because you are not doing as much as with plyo!
  • MadMacMom0309
    MadMacMom0309 Posts: 21 Member
    Options
    I don't follow the nutrition plan either but I do use some the recipes that came with P90x. I won't say that I follow the recipe exactly as I do substitute things if I don't have a particular thing on hand. I probably lean more towards the level 3 recipes too. I have never burned 600 either. Check out this site for additional info on P90x calorie burn http://p90xcalories.com/

Categories