P90X Nutrition – Guidelines

I found this on another blog and wanted to post it here. This is a real good advice to follow along with and in support of Michi's ladder.

Get plenty of lean protein with every meal
Lean sources include fish, poultry, beans and vegetarian alternatives. Protein should be the building block of every meal. It gives you the stamina you need to “bring it” to your P90X workout and make it to the next meal.

Eat five to eight fresh fruits and vegetables every day
The P90X philosophy is: Don’t ever hold yourself back from enjoying all the fresh fruits and veggies you want!

Enjoy whole-grain carbs
Ditch white breads, bagels, doughnuts, cookies and the like. Tear into a hunk of all-natural whole-grain bread instead with gusto! You don’t have to eat carbs at every meal, but you should have at least one serving of carbs every day. That’s because your brain relies solely on carbs for its energy source. Sure, you’ll be trim if you don’t eat any carbs, but you’ll come across as a ditz! Your protein serving should always be larger than your carb serving to prevent your blood sugar from spiking, then plummeting. The last thing you want is to feel weak and shaky during your P90X workout!

Enjoy good fats
Good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated; some sources include avocados, olive oil, fish and nuts. The P90X fitness system recommends fish as the most lean source of protein and as the best source of omega 3 oils. Wild Alaskan salmon is best. Saturated and trans fats are bad; some sources include meat, dairy products and hydrogenated oils.

Drink at least six to ten 8oz glasses of water every day.
Water flushes away excess fat. That’s a good thing, because you’re going to crave tons of water after your P90X Cardio X, Plyometrics and Kenpo X workouts!

Avoid these items at all costs:
fast food burgers and fries; hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup. When you follow the P90X fitness mindset, you don’t even regard them as food. Think of them as poisonous artery-clogging and liver-taxing toxins.

Never, ever skip meals or starve yourself.
This will only slow down your metabolism anyway. You are going to need plenty of energy for your P90X workouts! Never leave the table hungry, and never leave the table miserably stuffed. Eat until you are full, but not overloaded.