For all the teens

I'm kinda new to this eating way, and was wondering if any teens on here actually eat the minimum 1500 and have lost weight sedentary.  I only exercise about 2 days a week because thats all I'm able to do, due to some personal issues.  But just wanting to know if any 5'4-5'5 teens, sedentary lose weight, and how many calories they eat doing so.

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I'm only 5'2, but I hope to be at least 5'4 when I get older.  I am currently 14, weigh 103 lbs, and eat 1100-1400 calories a day.  I used to weigh 120 lbs, and ate 2000-2200 calories a day.  I do a lot of aerobic exercise, as well as being on our high school dance team (about 10 hrs of dance a week).  I always gain weight when I eat 1500 calories.  What are your stats?  I would start out with a calorie deficient of 200-500 calories, and an increase of cardio/aerobic exercise to 3 to 4 days a week.  What kind of exercise are you doing on the 2 days per week?

Well, I'm 5'4", 125 lbs and have been eating 1100 - 1200 cals a day, w/ only 2 exercise days about 45 minutes, powerwalking for a few miles. The thing is, I've been getting really sick.  I've been told many times that a teen should not eat lower than 1500.  Its weird how you gain with 1500.  Maybe your body is used to eating low cals.  But anyways, I was hoping to increase my metabolism, and working out is suppose to do so, so its kind of strange that you only need 1100 - 1400 cals when you do areobic exercise.  But I guess everyone is different. :P

To increase your metabolism, you definitely want at least 1500 calories.  I'm not looking to increase my metabolism because I like where my body is right now =)  I'm just looking to maintain. 

I used to be just about immune to sickness until I lost the first 10 lbs.  My ideal weight is 119 lbs, which is the point in which my body can fight off diseases the best.  Because I'm about 15 lbs less than that, I do get sick more often.  You really just need to eat nutrient-dense foods that will fight off sickness (like green vegetables, salmon, beans, etc.)

I weigh myself everyday with the Wii Fit =)  It really helps because it will monitor your weight goals and tell you you're weight and BMI at the same time.  Do you have any friends/family that want to lose/maintain a health weight?  My mom and dad do theirs everyday, too, and it's something we've bonded over =)

Okay, but now I'm getting a little confused.  :P  So you said to increase my metabolism I need at least 1500 calories?  How can this work if my body is used to 1200 by now.  How did you go down from 120 to 103.  I would deffinitely love to know.  What foods did you eat? , How many calories did you eat?, How much did you exercise? etc.  :)

The thing is I don't have any friends or family that want to maintain or lose weight.  Everyone is skinny, although they eat like 2000 calories or more a day.  So I really don't have much support. :/

I wish a monitor could clear this up.

Original Post by stacytaylor:

I'm only 5'2, but I hope to be at least 5'4 when I get older.  I am currently 14, weigh 103 lbs, and eat 1100-1400 calories a day.  I used to weigh 120 lbs, and ate 2000-2200 calories a day.  I do a lot of aerobic exercise, as well as being on our high school dance team (about 10 hrs of dance a week).  I always gain weight when I eat 1500 calories. 

Do you realise how much it'll suck if you don't make it to 5'4 because you underate as a teen?  If you always gain weight eating 1500 calories, that's because you've damaged your metabolism by undereating and need to eat more to fix it.  It may also mean that the weight you're attempting to maintain is too low for your body.

NOOOOOO dont listen to anyone who says eat less than 1500.

Trust me, there is NO way that you will not lose weight eating 1500 calories a day. If you've been undereating, you may gain a bit at first, but afterwards it'll all come off. And that's only if you're really doing nothing AT ALL all day. 1800 is better if you're lightly active (which doesnt mean regular excersize, it means you do more than just sit on a chair all day. Do you walk anywhere? between classes? thats activity too).

I'm shorter than you, and I maintain at around 1600-1800 usually. This is without any excersise at all. And trust me, Im no "special case" with fast metabolism or anything. this is normal. Most adults dont even need less than 1500 to lose weight.

So unless you have some severe medical problem that causes you to have an immensely slow metabolism (in which case you should be asking a doctor for advice anyway), you should eat more than 1500, even to lose.

OP: Read all the information that's given in the below link. Some of the Young CC'ers don't have a good idea on what they should be eating, IMO. Remeber that CC's calculators are not made for teens and young adults, you automatically need more food cuz you're still growing.

http://caloriecount.about.com/ycc-forum-rules -please-read-posting-ft85353

Original Post by ladydelish4eva:

Okay, but now I'm getting a little confused.  :P  So you said to increase my metabolism I need at least 1500 calories?  How can this work if my body is used to 1200 by now.  How did you go down from 120 to 103.  I would deffinitely love to know.  What foods did you eat? , How many calories did you eat?, How much did you exercise? etc.  :)

The thing is I don't have any friends or family that want to maintain or lose weight.  Everyone is skinny, although they eat like 2000 calories or more a day.  So I really don't have much support. :/

I wish a monitor could clear this up.

 

 You called?

Ok, I'm going to try to put this as simple as possible.  What stacytaylor is doing is totally the wrong thing.  A teen should never naturally be gaining at 1500 calories.  If they are, they've either got something medically wrong, or they've damaged their metabolism due to undereating for long periods of time.  Stacy, I seriously suggest you raise your calories to at least 1500 if you hope to grow any taller.  Undereating is a surefired way of stunting your growth.  I'm telling you, you will thank us later.

ladydelish, when people undereat for long periods of time, their body starts to get smart.  It will slow down the metabolism to meet the new calorie intake.  Which means that a person suddenly finds that they have to keep eating less to maintain their weight.  This is a problem that can be fixed, however.  You need to raise your calories and keep them there.  You might see a bit of weight gain at first while your metabolism re-sets itself, but it is necessary if you hope to get things working the way they should.  And you can always lose the weight again later doing it the healthy way.

Both of you need to read the link that girlfighting posted above.  It has a calculator on there for teens that will tell you how much you should be eating.

Wow. I was really confused.  On the calculator it said I need 1800 so eating 1500 isn't bad at all.

You know, I'm really tired of people saying that teens need a 2,000+ diet.  I'm 16, 5'6'' and my mom is always saying that I need more to "grow". Once you enter highschool you stop growing.  I'm not getting any taller, I've already gotten my monthly, and all my body parts are "situated".  What else in my body is going to change????

*sigh*.dumb. you are still growing internally. and repairing the millions of cells that die off every second.

Seriously.  People already think I'm like 21. oh well

Original Post by kadmarco:

You know, I'm really tired of people saying that teens need a 2,000+ diet.  I'm 16, 5'6'' and my mom is always saying that I need more to "grow". Once you enter highschool you stop growing.  I'm not getting any taller, I've already gotten my monthly, and all my body parts are "situated".  What else in my body is going to change????

Your breasts.  Your hips.  Your brain. 

Most girls notice that their breasts develop significantly in their late teens/early 20s.  I was a B-cup at 15-16.  By 20 or so, I was a C-to-D-cup (depending on the bra).

I lost weight eating 2500 calories a day and eating more frequently!

Really?!  How old are you and how much exercise did you do?

Really?!  How old are you and how much exercise did you do?

it's not really even about the exercise! 

1) eating more speeds up your metabolism

2) eating the same amount in many smaller meals speeds up your metabolism.

YES, TEENS NEED AT LEAST 1800 TO MAINTAIN, SEDENTARY. if you're not getting at least that, should be more anyway, then there is something wrong and you need to get there fast and just wait for your metabolism to kick in. seriously, you're still growing inside and out! 

btw, i used to gain weight on 800-1000 calories with no exercise. seriously messed up metabolism because i ate so little! in about two weeks i was up to 2500 calories, still no exercise, and losing weight fast. i had to eat a lot more than that just to maintain, and even more to gain back the weight i'd lost. 

wow.u increased ur intake by so much in jst 2 weeks?wish my body cud adjust as quickly as urs .im currently increasing my calorie intake to 1500,soon to 1600 but im pretty scared of putting on weight so im doing it slow.

i am 5'4 and i do eat the minimum of 1500 calories per day, usually less than that but no less than 1,000 but this is due to no appetite, and yes i have lost almost 5 pounds now.