Sample Daily Menu

As I mentioned in the inagural post on this blog, the meal plan that comes with Insanity requires you to eat 5 small meals (300 - 500 calories depending on your goals) at regular intervals throughout the day to keep your metabolism and energy steady so you don't keel over during the workout. The foods are high in protein, low in fat, and include whole grains and fruits and vegetables.

The biggest hardship for me is going to be the no full-fat cheese. I love cheese! At any given point there are usually at least 5, if not 7, different types of cheese in my fridge. I'm also supposed to give up drinking.

Sorry, Shaun. I'll give up cheese for you, but you can't take my red wine, too! At least the latter is good for my heart.

Below you'll find my menu for yesterday. For the most part, I adhered to it, except that I made some fruit and vegetable substitutions using the section of the plan book called "subsitutions lists", which includes a table that shows you how to switch things out on an on-par basis. For example, if a menu asks for tuna, you can sub shrimp: 1.5 oz. of shrimp for every 1 oz of tuna or salmon the recipe calls far. Or 1 cup of berries = 1 med. apple = 1/2 med. banana. I'll indicate where I made substitutions. I'll also include the nutrition breakdown given in the book, but be aware that any substitutions I make will alter these and I won't be able to give you the updated stats. I'm not making drastic changes to anything, so it shouldn't change the nutrition or calories that much.

Meal 1: Proatmeal 7:30 am
2/3 cups cooked oatmeal, prepared with water
1 scoop of protein powder
1/2 cup of fresh or frozen berries
1-1/2 Tbsp. chopped walnuts (I skipped the walnuts)
1/4 cup skim, almond, rice, or soy milk (I used skim)
*Nutrition breakdown (assuming use of walnuts)
Calories = 307
Protein = 26g
Carbs = 34g
Fat = 9g
Fiber = 9g

Meal 2: Mexican Style Eggs 10:30 am
2 Large eggs, scrambled
Whole grain tortilla
1/4 low fat cheddar (I used part skim mozzarella)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries (I used 1/2 a very small banana)
*Nutrition breakdown
Calories = 301
Protein = 23g
Carbs = 28g
Fat = 12g
Fiber = 6g

Meal 3: Roast Beef Sandwich 1:30 pm
4 oz lean roast beef (I used 3 oz. turkey and added 1 tbsp whipped cream cheese)
1/2 6-inch whole wheat pita
Sliced Cherry Tomatoes
Dark Salad Greens (I used spinach)
Sliced Bell pepper (skipped, I don't like them raw)
Sliced Mushrooms (skipped, I don't like them raw)
Sliced Cucumber
(I made the salad stuff into a salad with very low-cal spray on dressing, and warmed the pita with turkey and cream cheese in the microwave)
*Nutrition breakdown
Calories = 292
Protein = 20g
Carbs = 41g
Fat = 6g
Fiber = 12g

Meal 4: Insanity Nut Butter and Jelly Sandwich 4:30 pm
1 slice whole grain bread
1 tbsp. all natural peanut or almond butter (I used peanut)
1 tbsp. all-fruit preserves or 1/4 sliced banana (I used banana)
1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1% fat (I ate an apple instead)
*Nutrition Breakdown:
Calories = 289
Protein = 22g
Carbs = 29g
Fat = 11g
Fiber = 4g

Meal 5: Steak with Broccoli 8:00 pm
3 to 4 oz flank steak, filet mignon or sirloin, grilled or broiled (I used sirloin)
Olive Oil (I used Worcesteshire)
Seat Salt and pepper to taste (I used garlic salt)
1 small baked potato (I used a red potato and mashed it)
Dijon Mustard (for the potato, I also added 1/2 tbsp lite cream cheese and some skim milk to bind the mashers)
1 cup steamed broccoli w/ fresh lemon juice to taste
*Nutrition breakdown
Calories = 304
Protein = 30g
Carbs = 33g
Fat = 6g
Fiber = 7.5g


Daily Totals:
Calories = 1493 (add another 200 or so for wine and coffee)
Protein = 121g
Carbs = 165g (not including the wine)
Fat = 44g
Fiber = 38.5g