I wanted to share this recipe that was posted on the site’s forum from a fellow P90Xer (drisc)…

1/4 cup reduced fat peanut butter
3 TBL fat-free chocolate syrup
3 scoops chocolate protein powder (I used whey protein)
1 – 1 1/2 TBL water  (you may need more…I think probably closer to 3 TBL)

In small bowl, combine peanut butter and chocolate syrup. Add the protein and enough water to moisten slightly. Place mixture on waxed paper or plastic wrap, and knead by hand for a few seconds to blend ingredients. Form into four bars of small rectangles either by hand or rolling mixture with a rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper. Wrap each bar in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator to preserve freshness.  I put in freezer for 30 minutes before eating and it came out great.

Makes 4 bars

Per Bar: Calories  170 / Protein 17 grams / Carbs 13grams / Fat 6grams

Seeing that I already have the ingredients, my plan is to make a batch tonight.

Thanks for sharing Drisc!

Whether you are a health nut or a rookie on nutrition, I highly recommend counting your calories for the first two weeks or so (longer if possible) of P90X. In most cases, people consume a lot more calories than they think and counting every single calorie that enters your mouth helps you realize that. The days of counting calories manually are over, you no longer have to write down the nutrition facts from the nutrition label and then add them up at the end of the day. There are many FREE calorie counter programs out there and the one I use is “My Plate” at http://www.livestrong.com/. This is a free program that pretty much has every food in its database…even the Beachbody nutrition supplements. Not only does it give you your total calorie count, it breaks it down by carbohydrates, protein, and fat…as well as gives you the protein/carbs/fat ratio in a graphical display.

Seeing that my focus is on building muscle mass in round 2 of P90X, I am going to try to at least consume my body weight in protein. I currently weigh 193 pounds so I am going to shoot for at least 200 grams a day. I also want to maintain my body fat percentage so even though I am going to consume more calories (when compared to round 1 of P90X), I am not going to overdo it. There is a fine line between eating enough to build muscle and eating too much to not only build muscle but to add fat as well. Unfortunately, this “fine line” is different for everyone and is hard to determine.

Speaking from experience (round 1), it’s a lot easier to maintain a healthy eating regimen when you plan your meals ahead of time. Below is pretty much what I will be eating during my second round of P90X. I will be eating something different for dinner every night but for the most part, the food I eat during the day will remain the same.

The times are not exact but I do try to eat every couple of hours or so.

5:00am                 -Whey protein mixed with skim milk
5:30am                 -P90X Workout
6:45am                 -P90X Recovery Drink
8:00am                 -FiberOne Bar
                                    -Casein protein mixed with skim milk
10:00am               -Banana or Apple
12:00am               -Seasoned grilled chicken breast (6-8oz) over lettuce (about 2 cups) with lite Italian dressing
                                    -Chobani Nonfat Plain Yogurt           
3:00pm                 -Low Fat Mozzarella String Cheese
5:30pm                 -Mainly Turkey Products (ground turkey, turkey sausage, turkey burger, turkey meatballs etc…).
                                    If not turkey, it would be pasta, fish, or chicken.
                                    -2-3 servings of fresh vegetables (spinach, asparagus, broccoli, green beans)
                                    -Sweet potato / white potato on occasion
6:00pm                 -I eat salad if I am still hungry
8:00pm                 -Low Calorie Snack (mini rice cakes, fat free popcorn, etc…)
10:00pm              -Casein protein mixed with water
                                   -Sleep

Total Calories – 1,956        
Total Carbs – 184g              
Total Protein – 219g          
Total Fat – 34g

The calorie total is based on having a turkey burger on a 100 calorie english muffin with spinach and asparagus for dinner and mini rice cakes for a small snack in the evening. Now, in order to build muscle I will need to consume a lot more calories than this so I am going to allow myself a cheat meal once a week. This cheat meal will fall on either a Friday or Saturday night. This will allow me to enjoy my weekends a bit more as well as increase my weekly calorie intake.

*Casein protein is a slow digestive protein that helps balance your protein intake throughout the day/night. Unlike whey protein which enters your bloodstream in 15 minutes and peaks within an hour, casein peaks between 3 to 4 hours and can stay in your bloodstream for up to 7 hours. The best time to take casein protein is right before bedtime. Sleep is primetime when it comes to the muscle building process so you can enhance this process by letting your muscles feed off casein protein all night long. Don’t be confused, whey protein is the protein of choice to take right before and/or after an intense workout.

Click on the following supplement for more information…

Whey Protein

P90X Recover Drink

Casein Protein

Wow, this stuff must work. As most of you already know, I went for a 4.3 mile jog this past Sunday (did not take the P90X recovery drink after). My legs were a little sore on Monday but Tuesday they were ridiculously sore. I am doing “doubles” in phase 3 which is four extra cardio-x workouts a week on top of my primary P90X routine. I have not completed one cardio-x session this week so yesterday I decided to run another 4 miles during my lunch break. Not only were my legs feeling normal again, I figure a 4 mile run could count as 1 or 2 cardio-x sessions. I was a bit concerned about how my legs would feel today, especially knowing that I had the “legs & back” workout to do. To my surprise, they were completely fine…maybe felt a smidgen of soreness.

The fact that I took the P90X recovery drink right after my jog yesterday definitely played a role in my recovery. Now, did I expect to feel like I did on Tuesday after yesterday’s run…no, I did not. Prior to Sunday, the last time I went for a jog was about 7 months ago so I pretty much got the leg muscles that are used for jogging out of retirement. However, I am SHOCKED that my legs were not sore this morning.

Thank you P90X Recovery Drink!

Plyometrics – Finally! I not only finished every exercise but my intensity level was high throughout. This is the first time I felt like I controlled this workout rather than fighting to finish it. I did not double up on the high-knee tucks and/or the rock-star jumps but I did complete these routines. I always focus on soft landings  and I am unable to do these exercises fast enough to double them up. Overall, I  was very happy on how I felt during and after this workout.

Cardio-X– In my effort to neutralize any holiday cheating (which has already started),  I am doubling up with cardio-x three times a week during phase 2 (started last week). I did complete cardio-x last night so two more to go this week.

Nutrition – I know I did not want to hear this so I will assume others do not either, the nutrition piece makes up over 60% of the P90X program. You will still see pretty good results if you just do the workouts but if you really want to see fantastic results, you 100% have to follow some sort of nutrition plan. Think about it, working out is the easy part as it only consumes about an hour of your day. The nutrition piece is much harder as you need to focus on it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am not saying you can’t cheat but in order to see crazy results in only 90 days, cheating should be limited. The P90X nutrition plan was designed so at the end of 90 days, your old lifestyle has transitioned into your new healthy one and eating well becomes second nature…and it will no longer be considered hard work as it was at the beginning of the 90 day program. I was never a vegetable person and now I can’t get enough of spinach and asparagus…my family is still in shock over my new eating habits. The first couple of weeks of the program I was forced to eat healthier foods and now I really appreciate these foods and look forward to having them. Ultimately, my plan is to be real strict until I reach my goals and then incorporate a weekly cheat day. I figure maintaining your body is much easier than transforming it for the better so this will allow you to cheat more…aka “live a little” (more…)

I just made my first grocery run and picked up some healthy food for week 1 starting tomorrow. I am pretty much going to eat chicken and vegetables all week. I will get a bit more creative with my meals the following week. The P90X nutrition plan is a 13 week program broken up into 3 different phases. The first phase is the “Fat Shredder” phase, then the “Energy Booster” phase, and the last being the “Endurance Maximizer” phase.

Fat Shredder - Limiting your carbohydrate intake and eating foods high in protein to build muscle and lose fat.

 Energy Booster - Increasing your carbohydrate intake from the ”fat shredder” phase to increase your energy level. You will continue to eat foods high in protein.

 Endurance Maximizer  - Focus is on complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and low calorie fats to give you the stamina needed  to do the P90X workouts.

There are no strict rules on what phase to follow or when to start them. All 3 phases were develop so you could maintain a healthy eating regimen for the rest of your life . I plan on following the “Fat Shredder” phase for at least 2 months. I have enough extra fat on my body that I think I should be fine. The only problem I forsee is the potential lack of energy I may have due to the low carbohydrates consumption during this phase.