nutrition

I really like the Insanity Elite Nutrition Plan. I’ve had positive results with it so far and lost 5 pounds almost immediately!  (I’m sure that was a combination of Insanity workouts as well as following this nutrition plan.)  With 5 meals/day, it’s definitely a change from the way P90X does theirs, but I think it’s pretty easy to modify for a vegetarian diet.   Quite a few meal options are meaty, and I’m a vegetarian / pescatarian, so I decided to provide some guidance in case you also eat like me.  Below is an example of how I create my meal plan each week.  I also have an Excel spreadsheet that I use, so I will post that once I make it more user-friendly.

To see my final Insanity results, click here for that blog post.

For more information on Insanity or Beachbody products in general, please go to my coaching website.

How much should I eat?

First things first. Calculate your total daily calories needed!
Women: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years) = # Calories/Day w/ no exercise
Men: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years) = # Calories/Day w/ no exercise

Then, multiply that amount by 1.55 if you’re “moderately active” which is moderate exercise 3-5 days/wk or 1.7 if you’re “very active” which is hard exercise 6-7 days/wk.  I chose 1.7 since I workout 2 times/day most days.  For weight maintenance, that is your daily calorie allotment.  If you want to lose weight, subtract 500 calories/day from that total.  If you want to gain weight, add 250-300 calories/day.  It doesn’t take much to tip the scales, so make sure you calculate carefully.  Don’t forget to include your recovery drink!

When I started Insanity, I weighed 110lbs and calculated that I need approx 2,200 calories/day to maintain my weight while doing Insanity.  That’s 300 more than I was eating on P90X!  After beginning the program, I could understand that logic.  They workouts make you sweat!  Now I’m around 105lbs but haven’t adjusted my calorie intake.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to reach 2,200 but other days I’m super hungry.

For month 2 you might want to add 100-300 calories/day since the workouts get harder and longer, and your body is burning more calories.  I’m currently in my recovery week and start month 2 next week, so I will know soon if I need to eat more.

The Meals

I won’t bore you or overwhelm you by listing all the meal choices but will share my top vegetarian meals with you instead. I eat 400 calorie meals, but there are also easy 300 and 500 cal options available.  The other 200 calories I need come from my Recovery Drink.

Meal 1: aka Breakfast – The most vegetarian meal options!

I don’t have to substitute anything here because most of the meals are already vegetarian which makes it easy.  If you don’t eat eggs and/or don’t have much time to cook, try one of the following yummy options.  These are my 2 staples that I rotate between each morning:
– Shakeology with 1 TBSP almond butter, almond milk, 1 banana, ice (technically a meal 3 recipe, but I like it in the AM)
– Cereal Bowl with flax seeds, almond milk, banana (I like Kashi Go Lean)

Meal 2: aka Brunch

I’m at work for meals 2-4 so I like to keep them simple. I rotate between the following two easy, vegetarian meals.
– Warm Cereal Bowl/Oatmeal (includes 1 serving of protein powder if you do 400 calories. I like to separate my scoop and have it first thing in the morning with my Insanity workout)
– Yogurt Bowl
There are 2 meat sandwich options which I haven’t yet chosen but could easily substitute regular turkey breast for vegetarian substitute turkey.  I usually save that for meal 3, however, so that I’m not eating too many processed foods.

Meal 3: aka Late Lunch

Now is when it starts to get tricky and creativity is necessary to keep things vegetarian AND simple. My staples are:
– Black bean soup and half sandwich (vegetarian turkey)
– Whole wheat pasta with vegetables (so delicious!!)
– Lean burger (with veggie burgers)

Meal 4: aka Pre-Dinner Snack

I always look forward to a pre-dinner snack. This is also my pre-workout snack in the afternoon. I have a very simple staple because I can easily take it with me anywhere:
– Insanity Special Sandwich Nut Butter and Jelly aka pb&j! I use almond butter.

I also occasionally enjoy chili on a cooler day:
– Vegetarian Chili (make a pot Sunday night and use throughout the week for a cheap and easy option)

Meal 5: aka Dinner

While dinner has just as many calories as breakfast, I still look forward to my final meal of the day because I share it with my boyfriend, friends, and/or family.  Here are my staples:
– SIMPLE: Brown Rice Bowl (recommend Quorn frozen fake chicken in freezer section)
– PESCATARIAN: Grilled Salmon with Asparagus or Pasta with Seafood Marinara
– COMFORT: Dinner Omelet (when I’m craving breakfast for dinner)
– CARNIVORE PLEASER: Steak with Broccoli (veggie burgers instead of steak while my bf has real meat)

Meat Swap Ideas
The back of the Insanity meal plan has a table of different proteins and what you can substitute them with. This is a handy tool for vegetarians!  Read on for some of my favorites as well as new ideas.

– 1 oz. chicken breast or turkey breast
SUBSTITUTE WITH: 1 oz of tofu, 1 egg or 3 egg whites, 1 veggie burger, 1/4 c beans, 1 cup “Quorn” Chik’n Tenders meat-free and soy-free meat substitute (at Whole Foods, Henry’s and other markets…1 cup has 80 calories.)

– 1 oz. red meat:
SUBSTITUTE WITH: 1.5 oz tofu, 1 egg or 3 egg whites, 1 veggie burger, 1/3 cup beans, 1 serving Quorn product (huge variety)

 

Questions?  Need more info?  Let me know!  You can also post your comments here, and I’ll respond.

Update: P90X 2 came out in December 2011 and it has a vegan meal plan!!  I’ll make sure to post on that too, but I am very pleased with those meal options.  It’s about time vegan options were given in workout plans! I eat mostly vegan now, so let me know if you have any questions on that as well.

Thanks for reading!