Water, what a simple liquid. Two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. It seems simple, however we need it to survive.  You can make it almost a week without food, however you will only make it a few days without water. The great thing about water is it is everywhere. Water coolers, Brita jugs, and most refredigerators have water dispensors built into them now. So if water is everywhere, why is it so important to drink it?

Benefits of Water

There are a lot of benefits for drinking water, like:

• Acts as a lubricant
• Fights off dehydration
• Helps keep your internal body temperature regulated
• Water forms the fluids that surrounds joints (like in your back)
• It engages the metabolism
• Helps flush out toxins in your body
• Reduce chance of kidney stones
• IT’S FAT FREE!

This is a small list of benefits, however you get the point. Water has so many benefits, why are you not drinking more? This leads to the next question.

How Much Water Should I Drink

I have read a lot of different rules for the amount of water you need to drink daily. Some say Take your weight and divide your weigh in half and that is how many ounces of water you should be drinking in the summer. Divide by 4 and that is how many ounce you should drink in the winter. There are also some intense calculations that take into account the amout of exercise, etc. I like to keep it simple. I take my weight and divide by 2 and that is the amount in ounce I drink. So, I weigh 192 pounds. I strive for at least 100 ounces of water through out the day.

Like everything, you want to make sure you practice moderation when drinking water. If you should be drinking 100 ounces of water everyday, there is no reason to drink 200+ ounces. There is such a thing as water intoxication and water poisoning. These are rare cases and I just want to make sure you are aware of potential issues.

Now I am sure you are saying “I hate drinking water.” Well, I hate  not drinking beer anymore, I also don’t like waking up two hours earlier everyday to work my butt off. Face it, P90X is all about you doing things you don’t like doing. Stop making excuses and start drinking more water. Trust me,  your body will thank you and it will help you achieve your fitness goals.

During the research phases of the P90X program a lot of people get sticker shock when they start adding up the start-up costs. There is the equipment, the supplements and don’t forget about paying for the DVDs. Additionally, there is the cost of changing your diet and the new foods you will have to be buy in order to start eating healthier and follow the P90X diet.

Please understand, in order to see the ‘P90X Results’ they advertise on the commercials, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE DIET! Just so everyone understands, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE DIET! No workout in the world is going work off junk food, sodas, doughnuts, etc. If you want to succeed at P90X, then the Nutrition Plan is a must. A lot of people insist that the diet is more important than the workouts.

Since the diet is vital to success in P90X, people often ask “how much is the P90X Diet going to cost?” It is a good question, because you will see an increase in your grocery bill up front. Especially as you are experimenting with what foods you like and don’t like. If you do not buy fruit regularly, you may be surprised at how much a few bananas, apples and oranges cost.

Secret Coupon for P90X Diet

I am going to share with you a very secret coupon I found for the P90X Diet. It is going to require a little bit of homework on your part, but the savings are amazing. Here is what you need to do to take advantage of this secret coupon:

1. Write down how much you spend on going out for breakfast, lunch and dinner in one month. This includes Starbucks, fast food, and sit down dinners.
2. Write down how much you spend on alcoholic drinks, bad foods like cookies, ice cream, chips, pretzels, dips, basically everything I used to eat and drink in one month. Don’t forget about sodas and candy
3. Now add that all up. You will be shocked at how much you spend in one month on all the foods and drinks that are not good for you.

Odds are you are not going to spend that much buying healthier foods. You may also find that you are eating in more because it is hard to follow a diet when you eat out a lot. Most restaurants are not interested in cooking healthy meals. I struggle finding a 100% healthy dish. Sure the fish may be grilled, however the veggies are covered in butter…..

Here is what I used to spend a month before the P90X diet:

1. Mc Donald’s breakfast – $2.75 x 18 days a month
2. Starbucks – $4.95 x 6 days a month
3. Fast food – $7.00 x 12 days a month
4. Soda – $25.00
5. Junk food – $75.00
6. Alcohol – $50.00
7. Eating out – $20.00 x 8 days a month

GRAND TOTAL – $473.20

There is a good chance you are not going to spend this much on a new diet. I know I don’t.  If you have run the numbers, and it turns out you are spending more on the new diet I have one more thought.

Imagine if you were going to buy a brand new Lamborghini and the dealer told you that the vehicle only took Premium Unleaded. You wouldn’t give it a second thought because you know a high end vehicle like this deserves the best. Apply that same mindset to your body. You have been giving your body the cheapest fuel on the market for too long. Time to upgrade to some high test. Even if it does end up costing you a few more dollars a month, it is worth it for the results you will get.

I have never been one to read nutritional information on anything. When my wife and I first started dating (10 years ago!), I thought it was funny how she would always read the info on the sides or backs of products. At the time, I figured I would always be fit, active and able to eat and drink  anything. Well fast forward to now and clearly that did not hold up. To achieve the best results with P90X, I am working hard not only during the exercise, but also at my diet.

P90x Foods

Since starting P90X I have become a hard core nutrition label reader! So much so that my wife is starting to get annoyed! The first round of the P90X diet is called “Fat Shredder”. The goal is to work hard, cut back on the bad stuff, and loose those extra pounds. Your target breakdown is 20% fat, 30% carbs, and 50% protein. So, here are some of the foods I am eating to hit those numbers:

1. Cheerios
2. Skim Milk
3. Bananas
4. Strawberries
5. Blueberries
6. Nature’s Own Whole Grain bread
7. Whey Protein
8. 100% fruit juice
9. Hard boiled eggs (egg whites only)
10. Peppers
11. Mushrooms
12. Carrots
13. Omelets
14. ISS Protein bars
15. Pure Protein bars
16. Beef Jerky
17. Salad
18. Low fat dressing
19. Albacore Tuna
20. Cottage Cheese (I really have to force myself to eat this)
21. Low fat String cheese
22. Cheese slices
23. Chocolate skim milk
24. Sprite Zero
25. Low sodium and low fat deli meats
26. Hormel Bacon bits
27. Low Fat shredded cheese
28. Chicken Breasts
29. Salmon
30. Tuna
31. Hummas
32. Soy Crisps
33. Target brand fruit snacks
34. Lots of Water!

Based on all my research, these foods are healthy, good for me, and will allow to meet my diet goals for P90X. Let me know what you think and please add suggestions.

Another convenient feature is the easy to read pie chart that breaks down the foods in your diet between Fat, carbs, and protein. For round 1 of the P90X diet, my goal is a breakdown of 20/30/50. As you can see, I have a little tweaking to do.

If you are serious about sticking with your fitness diet, check out FitDay.com. It is easy to use, intuitive and its free!

The P90X nutrition guide is a great place to start when trying to find a healthy diet for you.  I basically took their recommendations for the amount of protein needed, fruits, etc and modified it for my tastes.  The biggest thing I have learned is you need enough protein in your diet to support muscle and muscle tissue healing after workouts.  Also having both simple and complex carbs are crucial for muscle building.