Friday, February 12, 2016

Best 20 Diet Tips EVER

The Top 20 Diet Tips of All Time!


How to lose weight and get in shape by following! these 20 simple diet tips that REALLY work!!

Ask 100 people for their top diet tip and you’ll probably get 100
different answers… and most of them will directly conflict with the each other. It seems that everybody thinks they know the secret to losing weight… but have you ever noticed that its always the ‘big boned’ people that think they know the most?

So, how do you know which tips work and which are nothing but crazy old wives tales?!

Despair no more :) you’re about to discover the TOP 20 best
diet tips ’n’ tricks of all time. Period. …you’d better hurry up and order a new wardrobe because you’re about to super slim. Lets go!!

TIP #1 - Don’t cheat on your
calorie count

If you’re counting calories (which you definitely should be if you
want to lose weight!) then make sure you do it honestly! Contrary to a very commonly told lie… the calorific content of ‘food on your partners plate’ is EXACTLY the same as food on your plate! So stealing tidbits of their food still needs to be added to your count.

Similarly, ‘polishing off the scraps’ as you clear away the dishes
 also needs to be added to your count.

Lots of people try to cheat their calorie count but they are only cheating themselves. Be honest. If you want to take a little extra then go for it, but make sure you count it and stick to your limits.

If your calorie count isn’t accurate and honest its worthless. However… as soon as you commit to keeping a truthful honest and accurate calorie count it suddenly becomes and incredibly valuable tool. It can motivate you, guide you, help you and bring you great comfort, especially at times when you need it most.

Allow your calorie count to be your friend and use it to inspire your diet. Its incredibly rewarding when you know that a work out you just did has burned up more calories than the snack you previously indulged put in, but you ONLY get that reward if you’re honest with your count.


TIP #2 - Eat like Traffic Lights!
(Part One!)

Traffic lights are the perfect guide to what you should put on your plate and how you should eat it! First up we’re going to be using traffic lights to determine what you should be eating.

This is very simple.

With EVERY meal include at least one food that is either RED,
ORANGE or GREEN!!

Most red, orange and green foods (We’re talking about fruits and veggies here… NOT deep fried chicken!!!) are very good for you. When they are taking up room on your plate you have less space for the nasty foods that pile on the pounds.

Colourful fruit and veg is great for your skin too, so it’ll not only help you lose weight, but it’ll also make you look younger :) BONUS!!


TIP #3 - Eat like Traffic Lights! (Part Two!)

You know how traffic lights continually stop and start… well thats exactly how your should be eating EVERY meal

Most overweight people just shovel food into their mouths like its going out of fashion. The next fork full is already waiting before the last one has even been swallowed.

STOP this IMMEDIATELY!

When you eat you must take your time. Every time you put food into your mouth STOP focusing on the food on your plate, put your knife and fork down and shift your focus to the wonderful flavours and sensations that are happening inside your mouth. !

Chew your food. Enjoy it. Savour it!

Take your time to completely chew each mouthful and notice all of the flavours and textures before you swallow. Then and ONLY then, shift your focus back to your plate, pick up your knife and fork and prepare your next mouthful.

Just think of those trusty traffic lights. Stop. Start. Stop. Start.
You get the idea ;)!

TIP #4 - Don’t get too hungry!

If you’re hungry you’ll make terrible decisions about food. And you’ll very probably snack on whatever is most readily available (which is very rarely healthy).

So… heres a cool 2 part top tip.

Part 1 - Don’t get too hungry! Its just not good at all. Aside of making you eat things you normally wouldn’t it also sends a message to your body that food is rare so its time to start storing up as much fat as possible!  (You’re body is all about survival, it doesn’t care about looking super slim n sexy. So if it thinks that food is running out it will start to become VERY efficient and turning any food you do eat into fat that it’ll be able to use later when the food has all gone.)!

Part 2 - If you know you’re likely to go hungry, give in and start
snacking then make sure you have some healthy snacks that are ready to go :) A hard boiled egg or some nuts are perfect for this. You can keep some nuts in your car just in case. So the next time you fill up and your tummy rumbles you can avoid buying ‘just one Mars bar and nibble on some healthy nuts instead.

TIP #5 - Drink More Water!

If you feel peckish, drink a glass of water, wait for a few minutes
and then check to see if your peckish feelings have gone. About
80% of the time your body is craving water (very few people actually drink enough water so we all go around in a state of semi-hydration)!

Obviously, water is in pretty much everything we eat, so when
 you feel the urge to eat something its often your body craving water. Its telling you to eat something because thats how you usually get moisture into your body.

So… STOP. Close the fridge, get out of the pantry and go grab
a cool refreshing glass of life giving water. HMMMM!!!

Oh… another interesting thing about water. You are FAR more
likely to carry excess water weight in you don’t drink enough

water, as opposed to if you drink to much. Just like we discover in tip 4, your body is all about survival. If you don’t drink enough water your body assumes their is a water storage so it tried to hold on to some and you put on water weight. If you drink enough (or even a little too much) then your body knows that theres plenty of water and it doesn’t keep any extra back.

TIP #6 - Eat SPICY food!

You know the myth about spicy food speeding up your
metabolism. Its true. But thats not all…

Spicy food has some pretty cool qualities that are very handy when you’re trying to lose weight. Chillies contain capsaicin, which (clever scientists have discovered) causes your brain to release feel good endorphins :) and if that isn’t enough, research by the British Journal of Nutrition suggests that it also help to curb hunger.

Thats 3 ‘cool’ reasons to eat ‘hot’ food :) (I hope you’re enjoying these puns!)!

TIP #7 - Diet drinks ruin your diet!

Diet drinks contain less sugar, which is great. You eat less sugar you lose weight, right? Well yes, thats true but its not the full story. Diet drinks are still sweet because they contain artificial sweeteners to make them taste like their full fat cousins.

Herein lies the problem… and its a BIG FAT problem. Artificial
sweeteners mess with your bodies natural ability to regulate calorie intake in a really BIG way.

Your body is an amazing machine but if you confuse it, it can’t do its job properly. To be on the safe side avoid anything with artificial sweeteners, they’re just not worth it. Instead just drink more water!!

TIP #8 - Calorie counting is NOT
enough

On tip 1 we talked about the importance of counting calories,
but thats not really enough. Its no good just thinking about your diet in terms of numbers in numbers out. If you are eating
crappy calories then you’re going to real struggle to lose weight and you’ll probably be incredibly unhealthy if you do.

So… don’t just count calories, make a solemn commitment to
including a nice variety of nutritious foods in your diet.

You should be including carbs, protein and fat when you eat
(the good fats that is… and all in moderation!)!

TIP #9 - “I’ll have the SOUP please”

Always start your meal with a low calorie vegetable soup.
Research shows that doing this will result in eating 20% less calories from your overall meal.

It makes sense… you’re filling up a little on soup so you’re much less likely to eat so much during your main meal. And (much more importantly) if you’re out for a meal, filling up on soup, followed by a main meal will mean that you are not so likely to order a dessert.


You still eat well, go away satisfied and feel full, but you have taken on 20% less calories. Just because you had the soup:

TIP #10 - STOP when you’re full!

This one goes hand in hand with tip 3. When you eat food it takes a while for your body to process whats just happened.

So, think of eating like this….

At some point you WILL become full. and when you hit that
point you want to stop eating (If you don’t you end up completely ruining your meal and spend the rest of the evening incapacitated on the sofa with you top button undone rubbing your poorly belly)!

Now, heres the tricky part…

How do you know which mouthful is the one that makes you hit your fullness limit? Well… theres only ONE way to find out. Wait. Thats it! Just wait. you don’t have to wait for hours, you just need a little pause after EVERY mouthful to give your body the chance to say ‘Thats enough, I’m happy and satisfied, no more thank you.’

So, eat… STOP… wait, pay attention. Are you full yet? If the
answer is yes then stop eating, you’ve had enough. At this point it doesn’t matter how much food is left on your plate, none of it should be going into your mouth. From this point on you may as well look at the contents of your plate as being lumps of fat that is gonna head straight for your thighs and bum if you are foolish enough to even touch it.

TIP #11 - Cut down on SALT

Salt is a BIG problem when it comes to weight gain because it messes with the signals that your body is giving you about the way your actually feel. It causes you to feel hungry and thirsty, which makes you eat and drink more.

Most people eat roughly double the amount of salt they should be so check the labels of products you buy and look for lower salt content alternatives.

As for the salt you sprinkle on your fries… try using rock salt instead of the stuff you buy at the supermarket. (I use Pink Himalayan Rock Salt, you might want to Google it and see if you feel you’d like to change over to it too).

TIP #12 - Don’t starve yourself at night

Theres a common myth that you shouldn't eat after a certain time, some people say 7pm, others as early as 5!!! The trouble is, if you do that you tend to grind your metabolism down and the next day you’re feeling so hungry that you are very likely to over eat.!

As a simple rule, just make sure you have about 90 minutes after your last meal before you go to bed so that you have plenty of time to digest your meal. !

TIP #13 - Breathe Deeply

When you STOP what you are doing for a minute or two, bring
your focus back to yourself and just take a few nice long relaxing deep breaths your brain starts to release those lovely feel good chemicals that reduce stress and make you smile.

When that happens, you are far less likely to reach for a ‘stress snack’. So, make a solemn vow to yourself right now that at least 2 times every day while you are at work you’ll take a 5 minute break to just relax completely and focus on nothing but your breathing. (If you have to then you can do this in the toilet!) Whatever it takes, just grab yourself 5mins twice a day to do this simple exercise and you can wave goodbye to those pesky cravings. (You’ll also save yourself some cash if you’ve been piling the pennies into the staff vending machine!).

TIP #14 - Eat before you eat!!!

If you are going out to a party where there will be buffet food
then grab yourself a quick light healthy bite to eat BEFORE you leave the house. Research shows that people that starve themselves all day because they know they’ve got an ‘all you can eat banquet later (Yes, we’ve all done it!) on average will consume 47% more calories than people that have a quick light healthy snack before leaving for the party.

Why so high? Its all down to bad decision making. When we are hungry we tend to jump right into the fatty, cheesy, stodgy goodies. But just a light healthy snack can take the edge of the hunger enough to have you in the right mindset to make right decisions. As a result you end up with much more nutritious food on your buffet plate a far far fewer calories.

TIP #15 - Use chopsticks!!

Chopsticks force good eating habits, especially if you’re not very good with them! They automatically reduce the size of each mouthful and force you to focus on what you are putting into your mouth. When you use chopsticks you become a more conscious eater.

Think of a traditional knife and fork (or even a spoon) as a scoop on a digger, blindly shovelling food into your mouth. when I dine out I like to watch peoples eating habits (discreetly of course) and I cant believe how much some people manage to get onto a fork, it seems as though they feel like they’ve failed if the entire length of each fork tine isn’t covered with food!

Thinking about what you eat, eating it consciously and putting smaller portions of food into your mouth are all very good ways of controlling over eating. Chopsticks make this much much easer.

TIP #16 - Eat treats VERY SLOWLY

Whatever it is that you treat yourself with, thats fine. Even if it is something you really know you shouldn’t. I’m not going to tell you to give up on your favourite treats. BUT… and this is very important. I AM going to suggest that you change the WAY that you eat it.

If you want a treat then STOP what you are doing and take a
full 10 minutes to eat it. Start VERY VERY slowly. Take one bite. Notice the texture, flavour and smell. Really try to notice the
way it tastes as you move it around in you mouth. Notice how it tastes differently in different places of your mouth.

Now take you time to chew it slowly. Enjoy it. Savour the experience!

You should chew whatever it is you are eating 20 times and
notice every sensation as you do (Oh… as you're doing this you should have your next mouthful waiting! Put down your eating

tools, or your food if you’re just using your hands. Make your

ENTIRE focus be on the food in your mouth)!
Once you’re swallowed it ask yourself if you enjoyed it. Did you
enjoy the taste? Do you feel satisfied? Notice EXACTLY how you feel now that you have swallowed it.

If you feel full. STOP EATING. Even if you have only had one bite. If you want another bite then go for it. But make sure you eat it in exactly the same slow and deliberately conscious way.

Continue in this way until you feel full and stop or you finish the snack.

TIP #17 - Don’t ‘Exercise to Eat!’

Most people totally over estimate the number of calories that they burn when they exercise, then they over eat because they think that their ‘post work out treat’ has been ‘paid for’.

Exercise requires effort, but it gives you amazing rewards if you don’t steal them away after you’ve done the work. Allow the feeling that ‘YOU DID IT!’ be your reward. And when the pounds start dropping off because you’re not destroying all of your good work with snacks that will only make you feel guilty later anyway, then you can start to feel REALLY good!!

If you do want to replace the calories you just burned at the  gym then talk to the gym staff and have them tell you exactly how many calories you really burned. Its very very easy to be tempted to eat something you shouldn’t if you think you’ve burned more calories than you have.

Don’t let your hard work go to waste!!

TIP #18 - Eat EVERY 3 hours!

Theres a sneaky hormone in your body called ghrelin. This hormone controls hunger and makes you crave food. It usually kicks in after 3 or 4 hours of fasting and if you are low on carbs it really spikes.

When ghrelin strikes it causes us to crave sugar and makes it really difficult to stick to a healthy diet plan. Its also responsible for emotional hunger and comfort eating.

Because it usually doesn’t kick in until you’ve been fasting for over 3 hours, having a small, balanced and nutritious snack every 3 hours can stop it in its tracks.

It may sound counterintuitive but eating more often can really stop you from piling on the pounds. And starving yourself for 3 hours or more makes it very difficult to resist the temptation of binging on sugary snacks.

TIP #19 - Track your food intake

When you track your food with an accurate food diary it brings your eating habits into your conscious awareness… which does some pretty special things to you. It changes the way you think about food and effects the way that you eat.

Its also essential if you want to count calories. !

However… you MUST be honest and accurate. Record what you eat, how much you eat and if you dollop on lots of sauce!!!

Research has shown that people that keep an accurate food diary lose TWICE as much weight as those that don’t! TWICE AS MUCH!!! I know its crazy, but we can’t argue with science!

Keeping a food diary works. for lots of reasons, so if you want to be TWICE as successful at losing weight, go grab your journal now and write down EVERYTHING you had for breakfast. Well go on then!! Chop chop!!!

TIP #20 - Sleep yourself slim!

Recent research by the University of Pennsylvania shows that sleep deprivation will often lead to immediate weight gain. During a study participants slept for 10 hours for 2 nights, then
5 nights of restricted sleep and 4 nights of recovery. Compared to a control group that had normal sleep without any deprivation the participants gained an average of 3 pounds!!

So if you want a nice easy way to lose weight, go to bed early!!

What next?

We really hope that this book has helped you and that you have enjoyed reading it.

So where do you go from here? !

There are so many different diets, exercise programs, pills, wraps, creams and potions that its almost impossible to know what really works… and what to avoid!!

We are here to help you :)!

We keep a very close eye on the health and fitness market. If lots of people are getting amazing results from the same diet or fitness program then its definitely worth taking a look!!

We hand pick the very best programs based on the following
strict criteria…


1.   Every product we hand pick is tried and tested. These products are working for other people and they will work for you too!

2.  We only hand pick products that come with an unconditional
60 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. (This gives you plenty of time to try everything 100% risk free.)



Thursday, February 11, 2016

How Food affects your body and your performance

Nutrition   Simplified


Until now, you've probably looked at numbers to understand   what to eat. You've used protein, fat, and carbohydrate   percentages, calorie calculators and maximum   and minimum   deficits.  These are all excellent tools when it comes to educating yourself on how food affects your body and your performance.   But they can only go so far. In truth, your metabolism   is relentlessly complex.  If you
really wanted  to learn your  exact daily  calorie  burn,  you'd  need to be hooked  up to a machine  2417

or you'd  need to come up with  a calculator  featuring   thousands   of factors  including  age, race, heritage,  upbringing,   altitude,  how much you've  slept, how many steps you're  going  to walk, your mood,  etc. Same with the food you put into your body.

A calorie  calculator  will tell you that  an apple  has 100 calories,  but the honest  truth  is that  it might be 87 calories,  or 112, depending  on volume,  how long it ripened,  and how much water  it absorbed.   P90X3 strips down the calculations   to their minimum   and replaces them with the tools used by intuitive eaters like Tony. His diet is designed to offer him maximum   performances   and it works on three tenets.


1.) Simplicity


Eating should be easy. If you love to cook, great, but if you're on the go, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to eat right  and take care of business.


2.)  Variety


This is the key tenet  of all the  P90X3 workouts,   and  it extends  to food  as well:  Having a wide range  of foods  in your  diet assures  that  you get all the  nutrients   you need. It also makes eating delicious.


3.)  Flexibility


There's no perfect diet for everyone-even your needs will shift as you change.  It's important   to change things up as needed.  The P90X3 Nutrition   Plan uses these three precepts to offer you a variety of food options, and maximum   flexibility   for your individual   needs. Think of them as your New Nutritional   Tools.


Whats   New in the  P90X3  Diet?


As if you have not already  figured  it out  Simplicity.  There are three  food  lists: carbohydrates, protein,  and fats. How do you make sure you're  getting  all the nutrition   you need? Again, it's simple.  There  is a hierarchy  within  each list. The higher  up the  lists you eat, the healthier  you eat.

Next, so a simple  calculation  to determine   your  meal plan. It may not  be as exact as the  Harris

Benedict  Equation,  but  it's still very accurate  and, more  importantly,   flexible.


Finally, you'll  notice  that  the plans lack macronutrient    percentage  information,    Instead they focus on  the quality  and the volume  of the fresh foods  you'll  be eating.  This includes a diet  packed with high-quality   fresh fruits  and veggies, raw nuts and seeds, whoa  grains,  and lean protein  sources. Those foods, combined with your approximate   calorie level, makes the magic happen.  However, if it eases your mind, these plans are roughly 40% (arbs, 30% proteins,   and 30% fat.


How the P90X3 Diet Plan Works


Tony doesn't use calculators.  He doesn't tick portions   off of a chart.  He doesn't ponder what his caloric needs are.

What's Tony's Nutrition Plan?


It's amazingly impel, and it's what you're going to be shown in detail on this website.  You get hungry.  You put food in your mouth.  You chew it up. You swallow it. You work out. You feel awesome.  Simple as that.

When you get to a certain  point  in fitness,  after years of eating  clean, healthy  foods  and
watching  your  body react to those  foods,  you become  an "intuitive   eater."  Sure, you might experiment   with  different   dietary  systems,  check in with  a nutritionist    occasionally,  or try new foods  that  you read about,  but your  primary   indicator,  the thing  that  tells you what  to eat when,
and how much,  is you You listen  to your  body and work  from  there.  It's as though  you literally  ate a

P90X3 Nutrition   Guide and your  digestive  system  absorbed  the  information.


So the goal with  the P90X3 Nutrition   Plan is to help you get to a place where  your  body just  knows what  you need and when  you need it. You're going  to learn to eat a clean, simple  diet that  will  help you achieve your  goals, whether   it's a fitness,  weight  management,   or general  wellness.


What  is Intuitive    Eating?


"Intuitive      Eating" is the ability  to listen  to your  body's cues so that  you make the right  decisions nutritionally.    Think of it as the  healthy,  fit  cousin  of "impulse  eating."  Cravings should  be good
things.  An intuitive  eater  uses them  to understand   what's  lacking in their  diet, whether  that's  carbs, protein,  fats, or even a micronutrient    like iron  or sodium.  On the other  hand, an impulse  eater misreads  these signals, eating  for comfort   rather  than  performance.

As an intuitive  eater,  you set those  cravings straight.  A lack of fat  in your  diet  might  trigger  a craving for  raw nuts or avocado.  A lack of carbs might  have you thinking  of fresh fruit  instead  of soda.

Achieving  this can take a little  time and determination,    but the ~~gI~IjLJ~!~itl()~ (JLJi~~should  make it  much  easier. Here's a little  three-step   cheat sheet to help you along the way.


Step 1

 Eat whole,  healthy  foods


Step 2

 Exercise often


Step 3

 Listen to your  body unless  it tells you to eat something   unhealthy,  then  return  to Step 1!


Water


Despite studies  downplaying   the importance   of H20, we highly  recommend   it. Just because you can survive  on tea alone doesnt  mean it's a good idea. While those  studies  are fine  for John Q Publis, they don;t  account  for the massive  resources  an athlete  burns  through.  You're sweating.
your  maintaining   body temperature,   you're  building  new muscle. You need water.


What's  more,  most  people  overeat  because their  thirsty,  not hungry.  We walk around  in a state of constant  dehydration.   Water  promotes   satiety,  so if you drink  it before  a meal, you're  likely to eat less ( up to 90 calories  less, according  to one study). And when  you're  drinking  water,  you're  less likely to quench  your  thirst  with  other  sugary  drinks  like soda or juice,  which  tend  to make you want  to drink  more  water.

The following  water  consumption   guidelines   relate specifically  to your  P90X3 workout.


X3 Hydration  Schedule


 8-12 oz of water  15 to 30 minutes  prior  to exercise

 4-8 oz of water  every 15 minutes  during  exercise

Beyond  that, we recomment   you drink  your  body weight,  divided  by 2. in ounces.  So if you weight
172 pounds,  that  would  be 86 ounces  of water.  Every day. this may sound  like a lot, but you'd  be amazed  how quickly  a day of consistent  sipping  can add up.


The  BeachBody  Water   Bar


Mixers


 FlatWater

 Sparkling  Water  ( make sure it has no calories)


Mix Ins


Choose any combination   of min-ins  from  the  lists below  for a delicious  water  cocktail.


Fruits/ Veggies


 Lemon  Wedge

 Lime Wedge

 Orange  Slice

 Strawberry  Slices

 Kiwi Slices

 Cucumber  Slices

 Frozen Grapes

 Watermelon   Cubes

 Splash of fruit  juice:  Cranberry,  Orange,  Grapefruit


Herbs


 Mint  Leaves

 Basil

 Grated  Ginger

 Rosemary


Extras


 Crushed  Ice

 Ice Cubes

 Raspberry  Mint  Ice (fill  an ice cube tray with  water,  fresh  raspberries,   and mint  leaves)



















In the sports  nutrition   world,  there's  been a lot of talk about  intermittent    fasting  and other deprivation=based    eating  strategies.  If you want  to experiment   with  this  type  of eating, go for  it. We can discuss your  results  over lunch!  Oh wait, you  don't  eat lunch!  Or is it dinner?

Instead of treating your  meal  plan  like a complex  military  strategy,  keep it simple.  have three square  meals  a day and augment  those  means with  two  healthy  snacks to help  make  up for the nutrients   you  might  miss. For example, if lunch was a little protein-heavy   you can have some fruit for your  afternoon  snack to balance  things  out. This strategy keep your blood sugar stable instead of peaking  and crashing which can lead to overeating   and a generally  poor  feeling.

Of course, it's a busy world,  so sometimes   those  midday  snacks might  not be doable.  If this  is the case, three  square  meals add will work,  but still try to get those  snacks  in there  to keep you from showing  up at meal feeling  famished.   That's partly what a snack is for- to SPOilyour  appetite!

Timing


Try to finish  eating  eating  approximately    three  hours  before  you  hit the sack. Digestion  interferes with  your  sleep cycles-and  a good  nights  sleep is crucial  to proper  fitness.  If you  do need to break this  rule, a small  protein-based   snack would  be the snack of choice  before  bed. A least it'll help recovery  during  sleep.

As for  nutrition   timing  around  your  workout,   provided  you're  eating  enough  you should  be able to blat  through   each 30 minute  X3 workout   without   issue. Generally  speaking,  the  human  body  has the glycogen  stores  and blood  sugar to get through   an hour  workout,   so you  shouldn't   need to "load"  preworkout.   And exercising  on an empty  stomach  isideal  anyway,  becuase  digestion competes  for your  body's  resources.  Blood  flow  is split  between  pumping   through   your  muscles and around  your  stomach,  so you  do neither  well.


Vices  to  Avoid


Caffeine  and Alcohol


Should you drink  them?  In excess, they'll  both  kill you. But in moderation,   studies  have shown drinking  one or two 4-ounces  of wine  a day has an assortment   of benefits,  from  heart  health  to stress reduction  to general  longevity,  and two or three  8 ounce  cups of coffee  a day can potentially increase your  metabolism.   boost  performance,   and  help with  mental  faculty.   And they both  taste so good!

Ultimately,  the choice  is yours.  While some alcoholic  beverages  have some long-term   merits, they're  still empty  calories  that  aren't  going  to help your  immediate   results.

Caffeine,  on the other  hand, might  help performance   marginally,  it's not the actual  coffee that's problematic,   it's the  sugars and weird  creamers  you  put in it. Drink  your  coffee  black or with  a splash  of low fat  milk.  But keep in mind  that  these next 90 days with  X3 are an opportunity    to really clean up your  act. So push yourself  out of your  comfort   zone. you don;t  really  need coffee to function,   do you?

Other Cheat Foods


In the  real world,  the  occasional  cheat meal helps keep you sane. Life is too short  not to eat a little pie sometimes.   The problem   is that  people  have lost sight of what"   a little"  means.  So to get back to clean, healthy  basics for  the next 90 days.

Toss The Junk


If you haven't  done this yet, do it now.  Place your  garbage  can in an open  space, open  up the cabinet  and start  throwing  out  the lawbreakers.   Snacks with  saturated   and trans fats, sodium,  and sugar should  be the first  to be thrown   out ( r.e. cookies,  pastries,  candy, processed  meats,  potato
chips, soda, high-sodium   frozen  foods,  caned soups,  etc) It's junk  fuel-  empty  calories-and  you won't  get anywhere  powered  by them.  Throw  them  away, and don't  let anyone  give you more.
Don't be nice, don't  take a bite. Say:"Thanks,  but  I am not eating  that  kind of stuff  anymore.  lead  by

example.


How do I Measure   My Food?


Intuitive   eaters  can "eyeball" their  servings.  They look at their  plate  and  know  if it's enough  or too much.  Of course,  it takes a little  practice  to get to the point.  so here are a couple  systems  of measurement    to get you  started.

On the Food Lists, you'll find  these two  systems  to the  right  of each food  item.  The first  involves  a number   and a traditional   unit  of measurement   (cup, ounce, etc). The second  involves  a part  of your  hand. They're  designed  to give you varying  degrees  of control.  You can use one or the  other or a combination   of both.  Here's how they work:

The P90X3 Micromanagement    System


This is the system  for you  if you  really, really want  to know  exactly  how  much  you're  eating.  If you travel  with  a kitchen  scale and use a calculator  watch  to give an exact 20% tip  in restaurants,   this  is the system  for you.  It's the  best system  for  hitting  (roughly)  exact caloric goals.

Also on this site, we've provided  a list of exact calories  as well as exact carbohydrate,   fat, and protein  grams  for each of the food  plans. You'll probably  want  to use that  too.


The Way of The Hand


If you can't be bothered with  all that  measuring,  this plan is a great  way to take the pressure  off with   more  of an educated  guesstimate   approach.   The Way of The Hand uses, you guessed  it, your hand to measure  foods.  Here's a great  chart that  provides  a quick system  of measurement.




















You'll notice  a "+" after  some  of these  measurements   on the  Food Lists section.  As great  as this system  is, there  are a few items  that  didn't  quite  fit, so when  you see that  "+" just  add a little  bit more.

The chief criticism  of this method   is that  everyone  has different   sized hands. This may be true,  but bigger  people  also tend  to have hands  and generally  bigger  people  can get away with  slightly  more calories,  because, you know, they're  bigger.  But frankly,  hand size doesn't  mater  all that  much. Caloric differences   due to hand size are minor  and inconsequential    considering   the fact  that  the P90X3 Food Lists are packed with  healthy  foods,  which  are exactly the kinds  of foods  you want  to get your  hands  on.


P90X3 Nutrition-    What  Should  I Eat?


Ultimately, the answer to this is simple: healthy food. If that's ali you want to know, ship over to the food lists here. But if you want to learn a little more about what you're putting  in your mouth, read on.

Carbs, Fat and  Protein


Carbohydrates

Your body's primary fuel  source,  carbs are also important   to ushering  other  nutrients,   including some vitamins   and protein,  into your  system  efficiently.   Carbs also contain  fiber,  which  you  need to keep your  digestive  tract  working   and the flora  in your  intestines   strong.

A lot of people  mistakenly   avoid carbs when  what  they  need to avoid  are refined  carbs, including "white"  breads, and  rice as well as added  sugars.  Granted,  there  are times  when  an athlete  can use these things  as targeted  nutrition,   but  most  experts  agree that  their  over consumption    is the
primary   reason for the obesity  epidemic,   not to mention   type  2 diabetes  and heart  issues. If you limit  your  carb  intake to fresh  fruits  and veggies, whole  grains,  ans targeted   supplemental    nutrition such as Shakeology,  you'll  be good  as gold.

Fat

Contrary to what  many fad  diets have told  you, humans  need to eat fat to survive.   Among  other things,  it serbes as an energy  source.  It acts as a transport   for fat-soluble   nutrients   such as vitamin A, 0 and  K. It adds structure   to cell membranes   and acts as a regulator  for several  hormones. There's considerable   debate  over the  benefits  of saturated  fat,  but your  best bet is to eat saturated fat in moderation    and to look healthy,  whole  food  sources  such as coconut  oil and free  range, organiC meats.

Protein

You are made, mostly  of protein.  Protein can be broken down  into  amino  acids, which  are your body's  building   blocks.  eight of which  you  can't create  internally,   so you  need to get them  from food.  Animal  proteins  contain  these "essential  amino  acids," but you  can also get all those  amino acids from  a few  plants  sources  including  soy, quinoa,  and  hemp,  as well  as a combination   of legumes  and grains.  That's why beans and rice is a staple  meal  in so many  cultures!

There  are a lot of misconceptions    about  the  role of protein.  First thing  you  should  know  is that piling  on protein  isn't going to give you  big muscles.  Your body  an only  process  so much  protein into  "building   blocks"  at a time.  For most  people,  that's  about  .8 grams  a day per kilogram  of body weight.  That number   climbs  for  intense  exercisers,  so you're  going  to use 1 gram  to 1.5 grams  per kilogram  of body  weight.

Another   misconception    is that  we, "pass" the excess protein  we eat. This is not true.  It's converted to glucose(fuel)  which  can either  be used or it will  be stored  as fat.


How Foods Work With P90X3

The P90X3 Nutrition
Plan breaks these three macro-nutrients    down into three simple, hierarchical lists. Each list includes all the relevant foods in that category in order of how much you should eat. 
The (arb  List  for  example, starts  with  green,  leafy veggies like kale and spinach,  then  to other  veggies, fruits,  starchy veggies, whole  grains,  and finally  processed  whole-grain products   such as bread  and pasta. The Fat List starts with healthy, monounsaturated     fats shown to promote   heart health


and longevity,  and works  its way down  to cheese, which  is a questionable   food  in many  nutritional    circles, but  life's to short  not to eat cheese sometimes,   right? And The Protein   List  starts  with  lean sources  or sources  rich in essential  fatty  acids, working   down to foods  with  more  controversial   fats  in them.


Macronutrient     Mix  and  Match


More  astute  readers  may have noticed  that  the  Protein  food  list is based on the facts  in the foods. Confused?  Don't worry,  that's  not a bad thing.  As stated  implicitly   throughout    the guide, very little is black and white  when  it comes to nutrition.   While  the three  lists are named,  "Carbohydrates," "Fat," and "Protein,"  that  doesn't  mean  that  the foods  within  are made  100% of those macronutirents.    Most things  you eat are a mishmash   of all three,  so P90x3 grouped   them  by their primary   macronutrient.    For example,  avocados  are, technically,  a fruit,  but they're  also primarily made  out of fat, so we put them  in the  Fat List.

This is another   reason  why your  don't  have to get too  stressed  out about  hitting  numbers.   Quality is king with  the P90X3 plan. Just fill your  portions  with  these foods,  steering  towards  the top  of the top  of the  lists, and  let the  magic happen.

Don't  Forget  the  Variety!


Of course, that  doesn't  mean you  should  eat nothing  but  kale, avocados,  and anchovies.  Firstly, your  romantic  life would  vanish,  unless you want  to marry  a cat. Secondly, as Tony likes to say, "Variety  is the spice of life." Most  of what you  eat should  be from  the top  of the  lists, but everything on all the  lists is good  for you so mix it up a little.  Variety  assures that  you'll get a wife variety  of nutrients.   It also assures that  eating  is fun,  interesting,   and delicious-  and that'll  keep you
motivated   to stay on course.