P90X Phase One Diet - Getting through the toughest part

I am a big fan of P90X. I have been through the program following the nutrition plan and not following it. Following it made a significant difference in my results. As if getting used to your new high intensity, hour plus per day workout program isn't hard enough, the Phase One diet is the toughest of the three phases. Hopefully, you'll find some information here to help you get through it and make it to day 90.

The phase one diet is marked by it's high level of protein and low level of carbs. It can be a real challenge to meet the protein requirement. A few things that helped me to do this were: whey protein powder (chocolate & vanilla); Morning Star garden veggie patties (18g protein each); plain, non-fat Greek yogurt (about double the protein of regular yogurt); All Whites egg whites; and water packed tuna.

Be aware that you may need to move to the phase two diet before you are done with the phase one workouts. This is because the low level of carbs in the phase one diet can, over time, be too low to keep your energy levels up. It's usually sometime during week three when I begin to notice that I can barely peel myself off the couch. After two or three days of this it dawns on me that this is not normal and I should move to the phase two diet.

This drop in energy is something you can read about in the P90X literature but, I thought it was worth a mention because this is the kind of thing that might make you want to quit the program. Don't quit! Push through and give the phase two diet a chance before you give up. You will be amazed at the difference a small increase in daily carb intake makes. It will prove to you how critical nutrition truly is to how your body functions.

There are a couple of things I'd like to mention about supplements. I am not big on supplements outside of taking a few vitamin pills but, as I mentioned earlier I did rely on protein powder. Specifically, I used whey protein powder because, from everything I've read, it is the best of the bunch. Make sure you know what you're actually buying. Some of the protein powders out there have Creatine and some other supplements mixed in. It's up to you if you want this extra stuff. Just make sure you're taking these added supplements as a conscious, educated choice rather than by default.

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