Vegetarian Archives - Wandering Dawn

Insanity Meal Plan Book

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!

Insanity. Enough said.

Eating healthy in Ipanema, Brazil

This is my second time doing P90X, so I already knew what was in store for me when it came to the nutrition plan…Phase 1 would be my least favorite. Phase 2 would be perfectly manageable. Phase 3 would feel like heaven. As a vegetarian and pescatarian, I worry about getting in enough protein on this plan. While I do eat fish, it’s rarely more than once a week, so I definitely eat more like a true vegetarian, and sometimes, I’ll go vegan for a day or two. I’ve found I can still maintain my dietary preferences while following the P90X Nutrition Plan. The book does a decent job of listing some vegetarian swap-in options for protein and gives a couple of non-dairy sources for dairy, but I’ve tailored the lists to show what I actually eat.

Sample Vegetarian Protein List:
– Beans (black, red, kidney, garbanzo, and more!)
– Egg whites or egg substitutes
– Veggie burgers
– Quorn meat substitute products (soy free)
– Nonfat Greek yogurt
– Tempeh or Tofu
– Protein powder
– Protein bars
– Raw nuts
– Almond butter

Sample Vegan Dairy List:
– Almond milk (also: Soy, Rice, Hemp, Hazelnut)
– Soy yogurt

Phase 1: Fat Shredder – A high-protein-based diet designed to help you strengthen muscle while rapidly shredding fat from your body.

This is the hardest phase for most people, but I feel it is definitely hardest for vegetarians. Depending on your required calorie levels, you will be eating 5, 7, or 9 protein servings per day. I fall into the Level 1 (1,800 calorie) level, and therefore need to find a way to fit 5 vegetarian proteins into my diet which feels like a lot! This is completely different to my normal way of eating, but I manage by having 1 protein at breakfast, 2 at lunch, and 2 at dinner. I recommend spacing it out like this because I find it hard to eat more than 2 servings of protein in one sitting.

A day of vegetarian protein servings could look as follows: protein powder and fruit smoothie for breakfast (1), salad with hard-boiled egg whites and kidney, garbanzo, and/or black beans for lunch (2), and two veggie burgers for dinner (2). I highly recommend finding a protein powder that you enjoy and using it in phase 1. I find that mixing ON Cookies and Cream protein powder with unsweetened vanilla or chocolate almond milk is a quick and easy way to get a protein and dairy serving. It’s also utterly delicious! I’ll even sneak 1 TBSP of almond butter in there occasionally for extra protein. I’ve been reading up on vegan protein powder options but haven’t personally tried them yet. Alternatives to whey are soy, hemp, rice protein. Just be careful not to have too much processed soy in your diet. That is something I actively watch myself. As a general rule of thumb, I will always try for whole foods sources to get my protein (like beans) first before I turn to processed foods (like tofu).

Remember not to stay on phase 1 nutrition longer than necessary. The first time I did P90X, I stayed on it for the standard recommended 4 weeks. I never felt low on energy, but I did get sick of all the protein. Now that I’m doing P90X for a second time and have a lower body fat percentage, I did the phase 1 nutrition phase for 1 week, and then switched to phase 2. I will spend most of my time on phase 2 and then switch to phase 3 once we get to the phase 3 workouts.

Phase 2: Energy Booster – A balanced mix of carbohydrates and protein with a lower amount of fat to supply additional energy for performance.

This is the phase I’m following right now, and I find cutting down to 4 protein servings (for Level 1 plan only) is much more manageable. Egg whites for breakfast (1), sandwich with meat substitute for lunch (1), and vegan burritos for dinner (2) make me a happy girl! I recommend picking up Tony Horton’s new book Bring It! for vegetarian and vegan recipe ideas. Tony supports eating a plant-based diet! (He actually considers himself a “flexitarian” and will eat chicken and seafood too.)

Phase 3: Endurance Maximizer – An athletic diet of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and lower fat with an emphasis on more carbohydrates.

I am the happiest during phase 3 because I love the breakdown of 2 proteins, 1 dairy, 2 fruit, 2 veggies, 1 fat, 3 carbs, and of course all my snacks/recovery drinks/bars. I don’t think much guidance is needed here because getting enough protein in essentially becomes a non-issue. I can’t wait for phase 3 to come so I can enjoy whole grain carbohydrate goodness each meal of the day!

Sources for Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes:
Whole Foods market
Bring It! – Tony Horton
Living Vegan for Dummies
karmachow.com – Chef Melissa Costello
P90X 2 Nutrition Guide

In closing, Tony Horton reminds us that what you eat has a direct effect on how you feel and how you look, so let’s all choose wisely! Please let me know if you have any other healthy, whole foods fuel options for a vegetarian diet.

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!

Insanity Nutrition Plan for the Vegetarian

P90X Nutrition Plan for the Vegetarian