Confession

GregPh67

For the past month I have lost a decent amount of weight (20 lbs) while doing p90x and I was so proud of myself. But I was only eating 700-800 calories a day... As you know that's rediculous, but it hurt so much in the beginning I kind of forced through it and created a wall in my mind so that I eventually got used to it. Well now after learning that in the long run I probably won't keep the weight off, and that I could (or probably already have) damage my metabolism I've decided to try and eat a healthy amount of calories each day now... If I jump back up in weight it's my fault, I don't want to gain the 20 lbs back but the only thing I would hate less is to gain 80 lbs back. (Currently 250 lbs 5'10, 19 year old male.

jcow84

Good on you for recognizing that you were eating a dangerously low amount of food - track your meals and eat within your MFP range, and you'll be okay. You won't lose weight as rapidly, but it will be healthy and sustainable. And keep doing the P90X! I heard it's really tough.

juggernaut1974

Agree...good on you for recognizing your habits were dangerous and not healthy.

It's unlikely you significantly affected your metabolism after only a month.

I suggest setting a more reasonable goal...something you can stick to long term. And yes, you'll probably add a few pounds back initially...but don't freak out about it. It's going to be primarily weight from additional water your body will retain to help with the increased caloric intake

AliceDark

If you stick to a moderate deficit, you won't gain all of it back. You may see a little jump on the scale, but it's water weight and will resolve itself soon enough. The most important thing is going to be consistency -- pick your moderate deficit and stay at that target for 4-6 weeks. Give your body time to adjust. You'll continue to lose (a little more slowly, but that's okay) and will probably have a lot more energy than you've had lately, which will help your workouts.

Since you were so low for a relatively short period of time, it's unlikely that you significantly affected your metabolism. You probably lost a little more muscle than is ideal, but young men are resilient as hell. You'll be fine.

Carlos_421

What they said ^^^