I guess I just need some encouragement...

mpitts6027

I need to vent, and Thanks in Advance for reading. I've lost 17 lbs over the last year, which I'm really proud of, but I've decided to step it up and I'm now doing p90x, I'm on week 3. Gained 3 lbs. UGH! I know muscle right? And that's a good thing. But they are telling me to eat LOTS more and that honestly scares me. I've been at 1200 calories (sometimes a little less...to be honest). But all my life I've been told "Cut Calories. Push Away from the Table..." How do I change that mind set? Very frustrating! I can see a change in my body and endurance, but I want to see that weight come off on the scales. And NO! I refuse to get rid of my scales until I loose at least 40 lbs! Yep, another mind thing. Thanks again! I feel a little better now. Ha Ha

Amanda92385

Hello! Great job on losing 17 lbs! You shouldn't eat less than 1200 calories (rather "net" less than 1200) if you're a girl and it's a bit higher for guys but I don't remember what it is. I don't really know much about P90X but my bf who's a trainer doesn't like it so I only know what I know from him. However, you could try eating several smaller meals throughout the day. I try to save about 400 for "dinner" - or when I'm home after work because for me, I tend to want to eat more then. Push away from the table etc., yeah, that's a hard mindset to change but baby steps. I weigh myself daily because I know it can fluctuate so it gives me a better grasp of what's going on with my body and I don't freak if I see the scale jump a pound when I know it could be water etc.

Depending on how much working out you're doing you should be eating more than 1200 because if you're taking in 1200 calories and let's say your burn another 600 through exercise, then your body is only netting 600 calories which isn't enough. You should plan to eat back some or all of your exercise calories so that you at least net as close to 1200 as possible. Does that make sense?

Something that I felt helped me was measuring myself. Calves, thighs, hips, waist, neck etc. That could give you a rounded view of how you're doing since the scale might stay the same (or go up) if you're building muscle but your measurements might drop if you're losing mass...

Sorry for the long post. Just keep doing what you're doing and trust yourself! 17 lbs is a fantastic acheivement, keep going!!

Spanntastic12

Remember how you feel and your measurements are important too so take those into consideration not just weight. Great job losing the 17 pounds so far. But yes as manni said just increase gradually. But you have to fuel your body correctly or your metabolism could actually take a bad turn. So can you go up to 14-15 hundred and try it out to see how you feel?

mpitts6027

Thanks. I have lost some inches since starting the workout. But, dangit, I want to see the scales go down! LOL The exercises are an hour long, although I only get through about 20 - 30 minutes of plyometrics. Not sure how to log those, so I don't.