Nutrition Tracking

If you have read any of my nutrition posts then you probably already know that I believe that 80% of results come from proper nutrition and supplementation, with the other 20% coming from intense workouts. This percentage can change depending on your personal goes but for most people looking to get ripped then this is the case. The truth is, we workout for about 1 hour 6 days per week and we bring it 100%, but if we don’t feed ourselves properly the other 23 hours of the day then your results will be minimal. This is exactly where I used to be. Before starting P90X, I was going to the gym, trying to get more cut and gain muscle mass but I wasn’t getting any results. A major reason for this was because I just wasn’t eating enough food. It wasn’t until reading the P90X nutrition guide that I decided to start tracking my nutrition. I discovered that I was WAY under what I should be. All the time I spent at the gym was being wasted on a poor diet.

The best part about the P90X nutrition plan or any of the beachbody fitness programs plans are that they give you the exact foods, and the recipes, to eat. The problem for me was that I couldn’t follow that due to the fact that I was always on the go with my job and I needed to be able to have a more flexible plan. That’s when I was introduced to Nutrition Tracking. This was the best way for me to follow the P90X guide closely but still be able to eat healthy foods that I could find on an everyday basis. I used the P90X nutrition guide to calculate my calories/day for my current height/weight/age/activity levels/goals. I then used the guides ratios of Protein/Carbs/Fat to determine how much of each I should be eating everyday. Each phase of the nutrition plan as different ratios of protein/carbs/fat to follow so you can get the greatest results. For example, the “Fat Shredder” phase has ratios of protein/carbs/fat of 50%/30%/20%, while the Energy Booster phase has ratios of protein/carbs/fat of 40%/40%/20%.   Lastley I used the foods listed in the P90X guide so that I could make sure I was eating the proper Lean Proteins, Complex Carbs, Healthy Fat, Veggies, Low-Fat Dairy, and Fruits. It was an easy solution to make sure I was doing it correctly.

So how do you determine what your currently eating? Simply use a nutrition tracker online to log your food. There are several ones I like but here are my favorite.

• Fitday
• My Fitness Pal
• Daily Burn

The reason I like each of these is because they are customizable, have a wide range of food already in their database, and provide a quick and easy way to log your food with mobil apps.  Each one is slightly different so try each and see which one is the easiest for you.  I have been logging my food since I started P90X 2 years ago.  I find that it keeps me accountable on a daily basis so I know exactly what I am eating and how my body is changing because of it.  I never thought I would have been logging my food for this long but once you start to see results from knowing exactly what your putting into your body its hard to not want to continue that in order to see more results.  Nutrition tracking shows my ratios of protein/carbs/fat and that gives me the ability to know if I am on track with my goals or not.  This doesn’t meant that I recommend logging your food for the rest of your life, because I don’t.  What I do recommend is to log for your food and see where you are.  If you like it, try it for a week or two to make sure your on the right track, until you get the hang of your diet so you can do it easily from your head.   I guarantee you will see better results.

I get a ton of emails from team members wanting to know if their diet is correct or not.  The ones that aren’t seeing results can plug their food into a tracker and I can instantly see what they are doing wrong.  Their eating to many calories/day.  They are not eating enough protein.  Their carbs are all coming from simple sources not complex sources, etc.  It is such a vital tool to get the most out of your fitness program that it would be a shame not to take 10 mins out of your day to log your food.  If you bought an expensive car, would you just throw any oil and gasoline into it?  No you wouldn’t, you would want to put the proper fuel into that car to make sure it lasts a long time and it break down constantly and have to go the shop.  The same thing happens with your body…invest in it now with the proper food and you will not have health problems later down the road.

I hope that this into about nutrition tracking helps you understand the importance of eating well, knowing what your eating and how to get started with it.  If you put a little more effort into your diet then you will see the benefits of it.

Do you currently use Nutrition Tracking?  Will you try Logging your food now?

Related Posts

My Fat Burning Diet

Nutrition 101: How to Eat for Results

Post Workout Nutrition

Protein Powder: Part 1

P90X Foods

Gaining Mass with P90X Part 2: Meal Plan

P90X Nutrition: What Foods Do I Eat?

Food Inc…

New Vanilla Shakeology!

Creatine: What you Need to Know

Beachbody Ultimate Reset

QuestBar Review

Tropical Shakeology Ingredients

Healthy Holiday Tips

Holiday Shakeology Recipes!

Whey Isolate or Concentrate?

How to Get Ripped using P90X…5 Simple Rules

How To Compare Shakeology

New P90X2 Nutrition Info

New Healthy Foods to Try!

prev next