Too many people equate healthy eating with restriction and boredom. Eating healthy foods doesn’t mean eating boring foods.There’s no such thing as a diet, only a lifestyle change. When you take on the P90X way of life you you learn that healthy food is delicious food.

Fats and refined carbs don’t actually have that much flavor—it’s how a meal is prepared with spices and sauces that renders it delicious. Think about it: salsa is low-fat and chocked full of antioxidants, but it has infinitely more flavor than a fast-food french fry.

You should be familiar with the macronutrients. Protein, carbs and fats are the three primary nutrients. You’re probably thinking, “There’s no way I should eat carbs and fats if I’m getting ripped with the P90X home workout!” Ah, but the trick is to eat the right carbs and fats—and in the right amounts.

Here are some guidelines from the P90X nutrition Guide:

• Get plenty of lean protein with every meal. Lean sources include fish, poultry, beans and vegetarian alternatives. Protein should be the building block of every meal. It gives you the stamina you need to “bring it” to your P90X workout and make it to the next meal.

• Eat five to eight fresh fruits and vegetables every day. The P90X philosophy is: Don’t ever hold yourself back from enjoying all the fresh fruits and veggies you want!

• Enjoy whole-grain carbs. Ditch white breads, bagels, doughnuts, cookies and the like. Tear into a hunk of all-natural whole-grain bread instead with gusto! You don’t have to eat carbs at every meal, but you should have at least one serving of carbs every day. That’s because your brain relies solely on carbs for its energy source. Sure, you’ll be trim if you don’t eat any carbs, but you’ll come across as a ditz! Your protein serving should always be larger than your carb serving to prevent your blood sugar from spiking, then plummeting. The last thing you want is to feel weak and shaky during your P90X workout!

• Enjoy good fats. Good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated; some sources include avocados, olive oil, fish and nuts. The P90X fitness system recommends fish as the most lean source of protein and as the best source of omega 3 oils. Wild Alaskan salmon is best. Saturated and trans fats are bad; some sources include meat, dairy products and hydrogenated oils.

• Drink at least six to ten 8oz glasses of water every day. Water flushes away excess fat. That’s a good thing, because you’re going to crave tons of water after your P90X Cardio X, Plyometrics and Kenpo X workouts!

• Avoid these items at all costs: fast food burgers and fries; hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup. When you follow the P90X fitness mindset, you don’t even regard them as food. Think of them as poisonous artery-clogging and liver-taxing toxins.

• Never, ever skip meals or starve yourself. This will only slow down your metabolism anyway. You are going to need plenty of energy for your P90X workouts! Never leave the table hungry, and never leave the table miserably stuffed. Eat until you are full, but not overloaded.

When you enjoy a healthy diet and work out with the P90X system you look and feel great and you have the peace of mind in knowing that you're not only getting the exercise you need but eating the right foods as well.