The Official P90x Nutrition Plan is Now Available for Download!!
Breaking news, folks! For those of you who have lost your P90x nutrition plan and have been asking me for the details of the nutrition as outlined in the guide, Beachbody has made the official P90x nutrition guide available for free in PDF form! Woohoo!!!
I’m so happy, because I have been feeling so bad for those of you who have either lost your guide or bought your program second-hand and ended up without one. I’ve really wished I could provide it to you, because the official P90x nutrition plan is so important, but I didn’t want to violate Beachbody’s copyright.
**Update** Since posting this, P90xer Cliff has pointed out that my excitement here is rather unfounded, as this is NOT in fact the full document – several key pages are missing.  Ultra-lame bummer. On the plus side, the download below does include the info on how to figure out your Level along with the menus and recipes for the P90x meal plan approach. See Cliff’s comment below and my response regarding where on this site you can find some of the missing info from the missing pages. **
Here is the official P90x nutrition guide download: |
P.S. Many thanks to Beachbody coach Chris R. who discovered where this was published on the Teambeachbody website.
I’ve seen it before, but it’s missing pages that are in the print version. Such as the part telling you how many portions you can have of each item under each category. That’s the only thing I really want from the book, so I can keep it with me out-and-about.
Well, shucks!! I hadn’t noticed the missing pages. =(
- How many portions you can have at each level are in my P90x food journal.
- How many calories per portion are in my post about figuring out the calories in my new P90x recipes.
- I’ve decided that I can in good conscience provide general guidelines for the servings, without providing the specific list given by Beachbody:
# Protein: Fat-free, lean meats and soy equivalents, and egg whites. 3 oz of any protein source, or 6 egg whites = 1 protein serving
# Dairy: Low-fat and fat free milk and cheeses. 1 oz. of any cheese, or 1 cup milk, yogurt, cottage cheese = 1 dairy.
# Fruits : Organic or unprocessed. 1 piece of fruit = 1 fruit serving
# Vegetables: Organic or unprocessed. 2 cups of raw leafy vegetables or 1 cup cooked vegis = 1 vegi serving.
# Carbohydrates: Complex whole grains. Avoid simple carbohydrates – refined sugars, fruit juices, etc.
# Snacks: Low-carb and fat, and protein bars.
# Condiments: Low-fat sauces, fat-free dressings, pure honey and jam. 2 Tb. of any nonfat condiment = 1 condiment.
- If you’re not sure about a particular item, look up the number of calories online, then compare that to the list of target calories for each portion.
- Regarding a specific list of what foods count for what portions, I suppose you could look at the Categories on my site for each type of Portion and compile a list from the recipes. I know that’s not ideal, but if you wanted to spend a little time you could get a good list to work from.
What a bummer. I was so excited there for a minute! lol
- CJ =)
WOW! What an awesome blog! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi! This is great you’ve posted this, thank you so much!
I have received my P90X secondhand and haven’t tried it yet. Very excited about the exercise…
but just a question, what do you know about vegan/vegetarian options? Do you know if there is a meal plan with vegan/veggie options out there?
Hey Megan!
Yes, there is a vegan version of the P90x nutrition that Beachbody is working on at the following location: http://www.beachbody.com/product/p90x-online/newsletters/p90xnl_058.do
I have yet to alter my journals for the vegan version of things, but in the meantime I hope this helps!
- CJ =)
Hi CJ
I am wondering if you can help me out on the levels. I did the converstion as it is listed in the PDF. After reading the example of the male 6 ft 180 = level II. I freaked out when I saw that I am a level III I am 5 10 209lbs = level III.
So my energy amount is 3108…This is the amount of energy I need per day, not the amount of calories I need Does your level change as you lose weight?
Thanks for the help! I just a bit overwhemled with all the info.
Christina
Hey Christina!
Have you checked out my theory on how to choose your P90x level on my P90x Nutrition Basics page? That kind of outlines my take on it, which does differ from the nutrition guide. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably start out at Level II not Level III.
Let me know if that helps!
- CJ =)
CJ — so, sooo helpful! I am currently on a fitness plan with a trainer but will be starting p90x workouts next month. I want to get familiar with the meal plan, though, and wanted to make sure I could do it vegan.
I only have the fitness dvds, though, no fitness plan, so I’m kind of trying to piece it all together. Your website has REALLY helped (! Thank you!!) , though gotta admit I’m still pretty confused (single snack / double snack / bar???), and attempting to navigate and piece it all together. But slowly I”m getting there.
Hey by the way, just to plug a product that is great, this workshop mentions Brandon Brazier’s THRIVE diet (vegan triathalon), he’s from Vancouver (where I live), so it’s very popular here, but he has a great vegan protein powder called Vega. They have loads of flavours, as well as smoothie infusions, that I drink religiously. I’m sure you can order online: http://myvega.com/ if you’re interested!
Yep…we can join the ranks of ‘too good to be true”. Bought ours today for $60 0 craigslist. Ours has the capital “N” on the nutrition guide book, however it is full of typo’s. Not sure what to trust on portions and so forth. After reading this blog we put in the plyometrics dvd and it did indeed work, wheew! Box is white with black print. Page 15- Portion approach Phase 1, level one has 2 fat servings. I’m going to keep reading and comparing in hopes of making all the corrections. Thank you so much for including the corrections you have made.
Jax & John
CJ- I have a question I purchased the P90x and I am a very picky eater. I was wondering if you have any advice for me on how I can loose weight even though I am a picky eater.
Hey Victoria!
My biggest advice is to make sure that you do the P90x portion approach, NOT the meal plan approach. With the portion approach you can pick and choose which items off of the list you are going to use to satisfy each portion. The portion approach is more easily adaptable and therefore much better suited to those who are picky, have allergies, or have other dietary concerns. Figure out your level using the P90x nutrition guide above, then try out my P90x nutrition plan food journal if you need help keeping track of your portions. If you would like to see example menus and examples of how I fit the meals on this site into a typical day’s meal plan, check out my P90x example menus post.
If there are entire categories in the portion plan that you don’t like (for example vegetables or fruit), you may need to resign yourself to the fact that for this 90 days, you’re going to be eating some things that you don’t like the taste of. But you can do it – you can eat anything for 90 days! Check out my article on how to do P90x if you don’t like vegetables, maybe that will help!
I hope this gives you a starting point!
- CJ =)
Do all the phases in terms of calorie amount fit everyone? im a 5′3″ female about 130
Hey Katie!
You need to figure out which Level you are, Level I, II, or III. The Phases take you through the three months of the program – Phase 1 is low carb, Phase 2 is more balanced, Phase 3 is a higher carb “athlete’s diet.” Your Level determines how many calories you intake daily throughout the three Phases. Level I – 1800 calories, Level II – 2300 calories, Level III – 3000 calories. Your daily calorie intake does not change over the three Phases, just the proportion of the calories that come from carbs.
Go ahead and do the calculations using the formula provided in the Nutrition Guide, above, which should tell you your level. You can also check out my P90x Nutrition Basics page for more information on my theory of how to determine your P90x level.
Hope that helps!
- CJ =)
Thank you so much for getting back to me!! Its very nice to know people are here
. One more question, What does single snack and double snack mean? also if i dont have a specific bar or drink what should the calories or macro nutrients be in a substitute? Thanks so much!!!
Katie
You are welcome! Happy to help.
Single Snack Serving: 100 calories
Double Snack Serving: 200 calories
Check out my Calories in P90x Recipes post. =)
Recovery Drink: 4:1 carb to protein ratio. Beachbody’s recovery drink has 220 calories – 39g carbs, 10g protein, and 2g fat. Check out my P90x Recovery Drink Alternatives post.
Protein Bar: Beachbody’s protein bar has 260 calories – 31g carbs, 23g protein, 7g fat. Check out my P90x Protein Bar alternative recipe.
Hope this helps!
- CJ =)
So then on the paper, those snacks and bars and drinks are eating ALONG with the snack section on the left side? because a typical snack for me is some salmon and veggies and i cross off 1protein and one veggie. So i need to be eating another 100 cal snack with that right?
Hey Katie!
In the nutrition plan one food item counts for one portion only. So for example, cottage cheese can be eaten as a dairy portion or as a snack, but never both at the same time. So theoretically you could eat cottage cheese once as your snack, and then again later in the day as a dairy portion. So when you’re eating salmon and veggies, you’re eating 1 protein and 1 vegi serving, and have not yet eaten your snack portion for the day.
Hope that helps!
- CJ =)
yes that makes perfect sense!!! Thank you so much!!!
Thank you so much, your site is so helpful. My husband and I started p90x three days ago.
Hi
We just got this and are going to start tonight, would you happen to know if I’ve selected the right level. My fiance and I are a bit over weight but it says to start at level 3 which seems to be for those that are pro atheletes. Is this right?!
Hey Courtney!!
It’s not as much that Level III is for pro athletes, it’s that the calorie intake for all three P90x levels are designed around a “moderately fit” person who weighs that amount. P90x was designed to push the graduates of Tony’s P90 program to the next level. So this workout and the diet are based on someone who has already been actively exercising for 90 days! This is not to say that you can’t jump into P90x right away if you are overweight, but in my opinion, that does change how you choose your P90x level. A “moderately fit” 230 lb person is going to have less fat and more muscle than an overweight, sedentary 230 lb person – and the rule is that you feed muscle, not fat. So my opinion is that if you are significantly overweight and don’t consider yourself “moderately fit,” you choose your level based on your goal weight, NOT based on your current weight.
My hubby started significantly overweight, and technically would have been a Level III. We started him at Level II, and as his energy didn’t flag and he was successfully completing the workouts, we never looked back.
Does that help?
- CJ =)
Hi CJ,
Great site! I bought my P90X second hand, so only have the DVD’s. This nutrition guide is great but I am wondering if I missed something. I am a big girl (275 lbs), yet when I do the calculations to determine which meal plan I should be using, it turns out I should be on Level 3. Can you tell me if I have miscalculated or am missing crucial information?
Hey Brandil!
If you asked me, I’d go down a level and see how you feel before adding calories on. Check out my rationale for this and my opinion on how to choose your P90x level.
I hope that helps!
- CJ =)
HI,
Do you REALLY need to do the diet exactly as they recommend, or could you simply follow a good nutritional diet? I haven’t ever used protein shakes / supplements etc., and they make me nervous. I’m more of a ‘natural’ food person so I am not sure about the ‘amended’ food in the form of all the bars, shakes, etc.
thanks, and what a GREAT site!
Hey Helen!
It’s kind of up to you whether you follow the P90x nutrition plan to a T or do your own variation of it. There are, of course, instances of people who have had success with both routes. One thing I should mention is that the P90x Nutrition Plan calls for much more protein than a typical “healthy” diet, so you’ll want to think about how you want to handle the protein issue.
I totally understand your aversion to supplementation, and I want to encourage you that you CAN do the P90x nutrition plan WITHOUT using any supplements, powders, bars, or shakes.
- Recovery Drink – You can make this at home (check out my post about homemade P90x recovery drink alternatives), and the only criterion is a 4:1 carb to protein ratio – you can get this in natural foods too!
- Protein Bars – If you are in one of the Levels where “BAR” is one of the boxes in your plan, this is just the same as a Double Snack portion. (In P90x, a full protein bar counts as 1 Double Snack portion, and half a bar counts as 1 Single snack portion. A protein bar does NOT count for a protein serving in P90x!) So you could substitute with any of the items in the Double snack column – cottage cheese, nuts, etc., or two of the items in the Single snack column, and get the same result.
- Protein Shakes – These make it EASIER to pack in the high level of protein that the nutrition plan calls for, especially in the first Phase of the program, but they are not required – you can just get all of your protein servings from natural sources.
Does this help you?
- CJ =)
Hello CJ
What is your opinion on extra caloric intake if I am breastfeeding? I am trying to get back in shape after having baby #5 (my hubby and I are on week 3 of P90X) but I am a little worried the intensity of the workout might affect my milk supply. Have you had any experience with this, or know others experiencing this? Any info you have would be helpful. Thank you!
Hi Crystal!
My research indicates that you should add anywhere between 200-500 calories per day to the P90x calorie requirements to account for breastfeeding. Check out my comments conversation with fellow P90xer Amber regarding a bit of additional information about breastfeeding while doing P90x.
This is a subject close to my heart because my last child is due this summer, and then I plan to start P90x myself while I’m breastfeeding. =)
I hope that helps!
- CJ =)
Hi just got the p90x and plan to put it to the test I’m 23 over weaght but I’ve always been active in sports and just can’t keep the weaght off
just did day 1….wow what a workout
I received P90X second hand and it was only used once. I completed day 1 yesterday and WOW! that is “X”. I was 1 minfrom buying the nutrition plan guide for $21 online. I just saved the PDF and printed it for my kitchen! I am going to look it over tonight and see what it is about. I hope this works! Thanks for the BLOG and the PDF.
You’re welcome, Tony! Where were you going to purchase it online? Beachbody definitely doesn’t sell their nutrition guide online, so be wary of any sale offers you see out there, they’re most likely not legit!
- CJ =)
I saw some of the guides from sellers on EBAY and AMAZON from as low as $21 to $35
hey cj thanks for the PDF….but i cannot afford all of this stuff…..should i use supplements to replace those ? or anything alternative? thanks
Hey H Wali!
You’re very welcome. Yes, there are alternatives – check out the P90x Protein Bar Alternative recipe on my site, which comes out to $.40 a bar (along with the tweaks in the comments that make nutritionally very comparable to the real thing), and my post on P90x Recovery Drink Alternatives!
Hope this helps.
- CJ =)
Hi CJ,
Just discovered your website.
I’m amazed. You did such a great job.
thanks!!!!
Filippo
The pdf is missing pages 3-4, 6-19, 52-58 and 77-82. Really need them ! THANKS!
I purchased P90x and never used it. Ive since miss placed the paperwork. Do you know if theres a way to get that info again? My husband wants to start the program. Im currantly at home on bedrest waiting for our last child to be born then i want to start the program. Any info will be greatly appreciated, Thank you
hi cj lovin the program been at it since monday but nt sure about what level to start im 5ft 9″ and 185lbs iv been going gym for 5 months and lost weight and gain a little muscle mass. so nt sure where to start on the levels. thanks…..
Do you have any advice for college students trying to do this? at my school, they don’t have meal plans so i have to buy everything thing myself… however, they also do not have a stove here for us to cook with, only a oven and microwave. i may be able to buy a George Foreman grill.. but what advice could you give for someone in my situation? thanks!
Trying to find or understand the “Tag cloud” you speak of in the lower right hand side to sort recipes to see if there are specific ingredients that can be used more than once during the week. I have clicked in the Recipe ingredient box and it pulls up recipes randomly, but not sure how to sort according to a certain ingredient I already have or will buy at the store to line up with other recipes. Please help!
>>CJ’s Reponse (having problems replying in Wordpress): Hey Erin, I’m referring to the section titled “recipe ingredients” in the bottom right corner of the site. If you click on one of those ingredients, it will pull up all recipes that use that ingredient (whether or not it is in the title) – so those aren’t random. Another option is that you can put the recipe ingredient in the search box at the top right and it will show you recipes that include that ingredient. Hope this helps! – CJ =)
I downloaded the nutrition plan from this website. Thank you so much. Now, can you tell me where I can find the workout guide for free also???
I love the p90x workouts, however, I am confused by the amount of caloric intake ithe nutrition plan recommends. I am a female, and recently had my good friend who is a nutrionist calculate how many calories I should consume. She took into account the intensiy of the workouts. She said 1300 – 1350 per day to lose 2ibs a week. So, I am confused as to why the program says I should consume 1800 calories a day. Does it have something to do with the amount of protein? Can you explain it to me?
Hey!
I weigh about 150lbs which gets right at 2400 kcal per day. Should i use level 1 or 2? I dont want to get too skinny by eating too little.
[...] your P90x Nutrition Guide? 6 [...]
Hello,
I am new to this whole workout thing, so I decided that I will begin Power 90 in the new year. Do you think I could follow your portions in your food journal for Power 90 as well? I know the program comes with a food guide, but I am a really picky eater, and would prefer something like your food journal.
Thanks,
Christa