Insanity Nutrition Guide

It seems as though a lot of people come here looking for information on the Insanity nutrition guide, so I thought I would do my best to create a useful resource for the nutrition guide here. I would love to scan the actual guide and put a .pdf file up here but I am not really sure of the copyright implications at the moment. I will look into this and update this page to include the full guide if I think I can without running into any legal problems.

Overview #

Food is a vital part of any diet-and-exercise plan. At its most basic, food is your body’s source of energy and nutrients. But for many people, food is also a source of enjoyment. For a diet to be successful, you have to be able to eat foods that are healthy enough to accomplish your goals but also delicious enough to keep you satisfied. The Insanity nutrition guide provides guidelines for a diet that do just that.

The basic philosophy provided by this guide consists of three parts:

1. Learn which foods are healthy and which foods are not (which can go against many common assumptions of a healthy diet).
2. Learn how to calculate your body’s minimum dietary requirements and, in turn, learn how to adjust your eating habits to accomplish your goals of bulking up or losing fat.
3. Learn how to eat in a way that provides a properly balanced nutritional makeup.

In addition, the plan requires that you meet your body’s daily nutritional requirements by eating 5 similarly sized meals spaced throughout the day in order to keep your metabolism burning steadily.

This plan is divided in two parts: one for the first month and one for the second. There are five meal lists in the guide, one for each meal you should be eating through the course of the day. There are 10 meals per list and each one is roughly 300 calories with suggested modifications to increase them up to 500 calories depending on your body’s caloric needs. For the first month, you first have to calculate your caloric needs, adjust for your goals of weight loss, maintenance or gain, and then choose from the 50 meals in the guide to meet this number of calories. The second month requires a re-evaluation of your body’s caloric needs because your body composition will have changed, requiring more calories. On top of that, the workouts get more intense. Otherwise, the same principles apply.

The Insanity Nutrition Guide In Action #

To begin, I calculate my caloric needs using the Harris Benedict Equation provided in the guide. For men that is: 66 +  (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years). So for me the formula looks like: 66 + (6.23 x 190) + (12.7 x 72) – (6.8 x 26) = 1987. Next, I determine my activity level factor based on the table provided. For me this is 1.55. Multiplied by 1987 I get 3080. This is my daily caloric requirement for weight maintenance while doing Insanity. But… I want to lose weight so I subtract 500 calories and am left with a daily requirement of 2580 calories.

At a requirement of just over 2500 calories per day, I am going to have to modify each of the 300 calorie meals with 2 x 100 calorie food blocks or 1 x 200 calorie food block so that I am eating 5 meals a day at 500 calories each. Easy, right?

Example Day With The Insanity Meal Plan (Including My Favorite Meals) #

This plan is surprisingly easy to follow, and just as surprisingly, can be very inexpensive. And the best part? The food is delicious! I have been purchasing common ingredients (eggs, rotisserie chicken, yogurt, frozen berries, etc.) in bulk in advance in order to make it even easier on myself.

The meals listed below are some of my favorites so far. They have been modified with the appropriate food blocks to bring them up to the 500 calorie requirement calculated earlier.

Meal 1: Veggie Omelet

Omelet made up of 2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites, mushrooms, onions and low fat cheese served with whole grain toast, fruit preserves and an orange.

Meal 2: Yogurt Bowl

A large cup of greek yogurt blended with protein powder. Mix with diced apple, walnuts, raisins and honey.

Meal 3: Whole Wheat Pasta With Vegetable And Feta

A small bowl of whole wheat pasta topped with grilled chicken, a cup of steamed vegetables and feta cheese (I LOVE FETA!). Include a pear (for dessert).

Meal 4: Roast Beef Wrap

Roast beef, avocado and tomato wrapped in a small, whole grain tortilla. Served with a cup of yogurt, berries and walnuts on the side.

Meal 5: Grilled Salmon With Asparagus

Grilled salmon filet coated in honey mustard, served with steamed asparagus and whole grain pasta. Add a cup of grapes for dessert (I know good salmon can be a bit expensive but it is one of my favorites, not to mention incredibly good for you).

What do you think? Sounds like a delicious day of eating, no? The only tough part is that this is a lot of food and the first couple of days I stuffed, but I have since adjusted.

One Last Note #

The Insanity nutrition guide ends with some guidelines, ‘food blocks’ and a foods list called Michi’s Ladder to help you design your own meals. Personally, I will be sticking with the recipes provided in the first portion of the guide. It is much simpler, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, I am kind of lazy :)

As I mentioned earlier, I will look into the possibility of posting the full guide in .pdf form on this page at a later date, so check back soon! And as always, if you have any questions, please contact me using this form and I will be glad to provide answers to the best of my ability.

Cheers!