So I'm getting ready to start a cycle of P90X and I want to try to follow it to the letter. Based on my information, their nutrition plan calls for an intake of around 2400 calories to provide enough energy to complete the workout program. Currently, I am limiting myself to about 1250-1400 calories a day, depending on my exercise.

Has anyone done P90X and kept your low caloric intake, and if so, were you able to have enough energy to complete the program ?

I think we all know that once you are banded and don't eat crap, 2400 calories seems like a lot to get in during a day...

Okay, I'm not a dietician or personal trainer or anything, just a regular schmo, so take any advice from me with a grain of salt...

But I am a HUGE advocate of finding your OWN calorie setpoint. Don't go by P90X. Don't go by the United States food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and the dumb food pyramid. Don't go by a dumb chart on your doctor's wall. Not a single one of those charts knows YOU, your medical history, your genetic pre-dispositions, your metabolic rate, and so on.

Instead, find your calorie setpoint based on your own individual body. You're going to have to play with it a little bit to truly learn what works for you. I personally recommend playing around with 150 calorie increments. For example:

So if you're currently eating 1400 calories a day, plus exercising, and not losing weight, try lowering your calories to 1250 calories per day for a week and see how that goes.

If you are still not losing weight, try raising your calories to 1650 per day, for a week, and see how that goes.

If that still doesn't work, try lowering your calories to 1100 calories. And so forth. You get the point.

By the way, don't be afraid of going lower. Medical studies have shown that people who have restricted their calorie intake much below national averages typically get sick less, live longer, sleep better, have less risk of cancer, have healthier lives, etc. (Google the CRON movement sometime if you're interested in reading more.) The idea that you have to consume massive amounts of calories every day is based on the USDA trying to create perfect "ideals" for the average human (which is really just dumb) and is influenced by heavy lobbying by all kinds of agricultural departments (bread, dairy, meat, processed food, corn syrup industries, for example).

So take those calorie recommendations with a HUGE grain of salt. Instead, find what works for your own body.

Weight loss is simple math. Calories In - Calories Out. An athlete who works out every day may indeed need 2,400-7,000 calories a day to maintain or lose weight while gaining muscle because their metabolism is much higher all the time. You don't function like that - yet. So, since you're currently still overweight your goal should be to use some of your built in calories - your fat - to burn rather than eating additional calories.

Keep your intake the same that it is now. Monitor how hungry you are during the days you work out. Monitor your measurements and weight loss. If you're losing more than 4 lbs a week, eat more calories. Losing that much is nice but will cause issues (skin, organs, hair etc.). Aim for 1-3 lbs per week. Your weight loss rate will tell you what you need.

I started p90x Monday. I actually love it. For now I'm sticking to 1000-1200 a day and we will see how that goes. Let me know how you're doing. I would love to have an accountability buddy through this 90 days.

I started p90x Monday. I actually love it. For now I'm sticking to 1000-1200 a day and we will see how that goes. Let me know how you're doing. I would love to have an accountability buddy through this 90 days.