PiYo Meal Planning
Chalene Johnson’s PiYo workout is a blend of pilates (core-firming and muscle-building) and yoga (flexibility and strength). The test group results were AMAZING and I’ve fallen in love with this program! It might have something to do with the fact that I can do it in bare feet—there’s something grounding in that. Today I want to talk about PiYo meal planning so you don’t feel overwhelmed by the PiYo Nutrition Guide.
All of the Beachbody nutrition guides offer lots of choices, which results in some people getting stuck. Simplifying these guides has become one of my specialties—I’ve done it with the P90X Nutrition Guide, as well as P90X2 and P90X3, the Insanity Nutrition Guide, and the 21 Day Fix Meal Plan.
The key to my simplification of the nutrition portion of ALL of the programs is Buffet Style Meal Prep. It’s so important that I’ve created a series of educational posts that teach you how to do it. This is a MUST if you want to significantly boost your chances of success with PiYo meal planning, Portion Fix, any of the other nutrition plans, or just healthy eating. Keep reading and you’ll learn more about it!
The PiYo Nutrition Guide
The PiYo Nutrition Guide divides food into the following groups:
- Primary vegetables
- Secondary vegetables
- Fresh fruits
- Grains
- Lean protein
- Healthy fats (this section alone offers 22 food options!)
You will see that the foods are all healthy whole foods that are nutrient dense. These kinds of foods should be at the heart of ANY eating plan that promotes good health, weight loss or weight gain (through muscle growth).
I encourage people to cut out those items that don’t serve you and your family’s needs in order to make meal planning less confusing and grocery shopping a whole lot easier. After you’ve acclimated to PiYo meal planning, try branching out and trying new foods—it’s fun and you’re sure to discover new and wonderful foods!
Helpful Food Swaps
Mastering food swaps is the way to continue loving food after you transition to a healthy eating plan. I’ve put together a list of 35 healthy food swaps you can use in your PiYo meal planning so you don’t feel deprived whatsoever!
Here you go—Coach Monica’s 35 Healthy Food Swaps
My PiYo Grocery Shopping List
Here is my very own typical PiYo grocery shopping list to help you learn how to choose different foods when following the PiYo Nutrition Guide:
Primary Vegetables
- Lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Add-ons—mushrooms, asparagus and broccoli (bear in mind that these do spoil pretty fast)
Secondary Vegetables
- Yams
- Almond milk
- Pinto beans
Fresh Fruits
- Grapes
- Bananas
- Strawberries
I like that all of these can be easily packed in “to go” lunches.
Grains
- Brown or wild rice
- Whole grain bread
- Whole grain crackers
- Whole grain pasta
- Whole grain tortillas
- Trader Joe’s Mediterranean flat bread (160 calories)
You probably already have many of these in your pantry!
Healthy Fats
- Olive oil
- Hummus
- Avocados
- Mozzarella
- Goat cheese
- Parmesan
- Whole nuts (nuts are super practical because you can store them anywhere for a very long time)
Lean Protein
The lean protein meats listed in the PiYo Nutrition Guide include bison, ground beef and chicken. I eat mostly chicken. To cut back on waste, I suggest that you buy smaller portions two or three times a week.
My PiYo Meal Planning Video
Hopefully, this video will give you some more ideas to help you with your PiYo meal planning:
Buffet Style Meal Prep for PiYo Meal Planning
So, if you know me at all, you know that SIMPLICITY is at the heart of my coaching philosophy—if it’s simple, we’re much more likely to stick with it.
Since I’ve started coaching, I’ve seen a lot of people go nuts with meal planning, searching for hours on Pinterest and Google for recipes, and then burn out. This is what prompted me to create my Buffet Style Meal Prep School.
Click on the link above or the image to the left to start learning how to do this SIMPLE style of meal prep that will TOTALLY help you with PiYo meal planning or ANY weight loss plan you’re using.
Free PiYo Coaching
If you’re not already working with a Beachbody coach, I’d love to coach you through PiYo! Helping you with PiYo meal planning is just one way I will support you on this program. This is FREE thanks to Beachbody (it’s included in the cost of the program, so you should definitely take advantage of it!
