P90X3 Meal Plan Examples

The other day, one of my P90X3 test group participants messaged me on Facebook. He said "Hey coach - I just can't get this eating thing down. The nutrition guide looks like a foreign language. Is there any way you can help me?". 

My response - OF COURSE I will help! That's one of the things that I LOVE about my job (both of them actually)! I love teaching people how to do something for themselves and seeing the light bulb come on!

I knew this plan would be a little different than plans I usually make. I'm a 155 pound woman. My test group participant is a 255 pound man. That's a 100 pound difference and he's a guy!

With P90X3, there are 6 different eating plans to choose from. Tony and his team give you a formula to figure out what plan you need to follow. 


Here's the formula:

1. What is your gender? 

• Female - add one
• Male - add two
• My score is 1 so far and my test group participants score is 2.

2. What's your weight?

• 130 lbs or less - add 1
• 131-160 lbs - add 2
• 161-180 lbs - add 3
• 181-200 lbs - add 4
• 201 - 220 lbs - add 5
• 221lbs and up - add 6
• My score is now 3 and my test group participant is 8.

3. What's your activity level (outside of X3)?

• Slacker (desk job) - subtract 1
• Moderate (server at a resturant) - add 0
• Hardcore (construction worker) - add 1
• I'm a teacher who sits and plays instruments most of the day. I subtracted 1. I'm not sure what my test group participant is, so I scored him as a slacker by subtracting 1. My score is now 2 and his score is 7.

4. Modifiers...

• Wanna lose weight - add 0
• Wanna maintain weight - add 1
• Wanna gain weight - add 2
• We both want to lose some weight, so I added 0 to both of our scores. I ended up at 2 and he ended up at 7.

Disclaimer:

I am a nursing mom. My score is a 2 and that equates to 1,500 calories a day or plan A. That's not enough so I upped my score to a 3. That put me right at 1,800 calories a day, plan B, and I'm comfortable with that. My test group participant ended up in group F, which is roughly around 3,000 calories a day.

For each group, Tony recommends 5 meals a day. Breakfast, AM snack, lunch, PM snack, and dinner. This follows the clean eating lifestyle very nicely. It's not too much of a reach for me - BONUS!

The beauty of this meal plan is its simplicity. In the guide book, Tony gives you lists of carbs, proteins and fats. They are listed in hierarchy form. the ones at the top of the list are the healthiest and the ones at the bottom of the list, while still healthy, they shouldn't be eaten as often.

In the guide book, Tony gives you two ways to measure your food:

1. Get a food scale and weight it out. I tend to use this way. It just works for me.
2. Measure out your food by being an intuitive eater. This takes some time and practice but once you get it - you've got it! The way an intuitive eater measures their food is based on their hand. A few examples: 1 palm, 1/2 palm, fist, fingertip, thumb. It's very easy to do if you are out of the house and without your food scale!

So, based on the meal plan allowed and the foods that Tony suggests in the guide book (which by the way are all clean foods), here's what I came up with for MY (plan B) meal plan for the week. I don't mind variety so I usually eat the same breakfast, lunch, and snacks all week. I will cook 2-3 dinners in mass quantity and have them to reheat. It's just easier that way with two little kids, a full time job AND a part time job!

My P90X3 meal plan (Plan B):

Breakfast: 

• 2 scoops R&R, 1 scoop vanilla shakeology, 8 oz water, 4 oz unsweetened almond milk, ice to taste (2p, 2c, 1f)
• 1 small gala apple (1c)

AM Snack:

• 1 large gala or honeycrisp apple (2c0
• 12 dry roasted almonds (2f) - I roast my own almonds each week.

Lunch:

• 2 oz ground turkey breast (cooked) (1p)
• 2/3 cup cooked Quinoa (2c)
• 1/3 black beans (1c)
• 2T fresh parmesan cheese (1f)

PM Snack:

• 3/4 cup plain 0% Greek yogurt (1p)
• 1 1/4 cup raw blackberries (1c)
• 1/2 large banana (1c)

Dinner:

• 4 oz diced grilled chicken breast (2p)
• Unlimited lettuce (1c)
• 2 cups diced veggies (carrots, squash, mushrooms, radishes, cauliflower, etc) (2c)
• 1/8 medium avocado, diced (1f)
• 1 Tbsp X3 dressing (1f)

If I get hungry in the evenings, I have been having a cup or two of Yogi Green Tea infused with Blueberries. It's WONDERFUL!

Now for my test group participant's meal plan. He's on plan F, which is roughly 3,000 calories a day. I only had a few minutes so I made him one day's worth to get him started. Here's what it looks like:

P90X3 Plan F:

Breakfast:

• An omelet made with 5 egg whites, 2 egg yolks, 1 cup spinach and two medium sweet peppers, diced (1p, 2f, 1 1/2 c)
• 1 cup cooked oatmeal (the real stuff, not the minute oats) topped with 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (3c) 
• 1 scoop shakeology, 8-12 ounces of water, 8 frozen strawberries, ice to taste (2p, 1/2c)

AM Snack:

• 1 large apple (2c)
• 3 tsp natural, no salt added Peanut Butter (2f)
• 8 small whole grain crackers (1c)

Lunch:

• 1 large whole grain hamburger bun (3c)
• 4oz ground turkey breast + 2 oz 95% lean beef made into a burger (3p)
• 1oz slice cheddar cheese (1f)
• Stone ground mustard, yellow mustard, hotsauce to top the cheeseburger as needed (free foods)
• Unlimited lettuce (1c)
• 3 cups diced cukes, mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers (1c)
• 1 Tbsp X3 dressing (1f)

PM Snack:

• 4 Tbsp plain hummus (2c)
• 2 fist fulls of baby carrots (1c)
• 2 Sargento low fat string cheese sticks (1p) - around 100 calories combined

Dinner:

• 6 oz boneless, skinless cooked chicken breast (3p)
• 1 1/3 cup cooked whole wheat pasta (4c)
• 4 medium tomatoes, diced mushrooms and onions, Italian herbs, 1 tsp EVOO (1c, 1f)  - sautee all the ingredients and then puree to make a clean, no sugar added, spaghetti sauce
• 4T fresh grated parm cheese to top the pasta (2f)

PHEW - that's a lot of food! Most people think that if they eat that much, they won't lose weight. The problem is that most people don't eat ENOUGH to lose weight!

If you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode and hangs onto each and every ounce you eat. When you eat enough good, clean, healthy food, your body stops holding onto everything and starts clearing the junk out!

So trust me - FOLLOW THE PLAN! It works!

If you need help with your meal plan for P90X3, PLEASE don't hesitate to shoot me an email or comment here. I'm NOT a nutritionist but I do know how to follow these meal guides pretty well. I can take some of the guess work out for you!

I hope this helps you on your journey of healthy eating and fitness with P90X3!

<3,

Kell