I'm in Phase 2 of the workouts but just now started trying to adhere to the diet plan. I was following the glycemic index diet and just felt like I was lacking something so I decided the P90X diet would be better. I'm a level 2 but just barely and starting the fat burner stage and I feel like I'm struggling to eat all of this food. Is it necessary? What are the benefits? Should I be a level 2 if I'm just barely over the calorie requirements? Another thing is when it has the bar and drink by the snack does that mean in addition to the snack or in place of it?

I am no expert at all, but I did exactly what you are doing. I started the diet at Phase 2 (wish I had started at Phase 1, but oh well.)

I believe that the calories listed in the diet are necessary in order to have the energy to "bring it" when you work out. Otherwise, you will crash during the workout and not work as hard.

I remember it was waaaaay too much food when I first started. I felt like a stuffed pig! But I think that getting enough calories is much harder when you increase the lean protein and veggies. I have gotten used to the amount of food, though I am still about 200 calories a day under their recommended 2400 a day.

I also skipped the fat shredder phase and went right into Phase 2.

You also asked about being at Level 2 calories when you are on the edge. I have heard that you can choose to eat at the level you are trying to attain rather than where you currently sit. I don't think it would hurt you too badly to drop down to level 1, or do something inbetween level 1 and level 2 calories.

You can also just use a calorie site like fitday.com to count your calories and see your percentages of protein/carbs/fat. I know that for Phase 2, you should be at 40%/40%/20%. I am not sure about the fat shredder phase.

Good luck!

Thanks for the input...I think that I'm just going to try to do the best I can...I definitely think that the added protein is helping with soreness that I was experiencing...so I guess I'll just keep shoveling it in lol

I'm a level II eater myself and right now I'm on my last couple of days of Phase II exercise. I'm 5'10" and when I started the program I was 183 lbs.. On the Fat Burner stage I struggled to eat all of the food at first. It wasn't that 2400 calories is that much, but 2400 healthy calories without much carbs is a lot of eating. Still, I made sure I ate everything. I dropped 10 lbs of weight and gained muscle by day 30.

I switched to the Level II Phase II plan in week 5. I'm almost through week 8 now. Level II is incredibly easy to stick with. I feel like I have a lot more energy with the added carbs and I workout harder. As a result, I'm actually losing less weight this month. Some of that is due to adding muscle from the extra effort I can bring during workout and some is due to the fact that you're going to drop more fat on the high protein level I diet at first.

Their nutrition program does work.