Breakfast Calories

I had a sandwich for breakfast. I just added the piece of cheese,ham and 2 slices of wheat bread and it gave me 226 calories. Is that too much for breakfast?

It's probably too little.

How many calories a day are you eating? How tall are you? How old are you? 

I'm 5'4 .  I'm 13 and the website says I should eat 2050 cal a day but I think that's way too much so I'm not eating as many.

Original Post by abercrombieboy:

I'm 5'4 .  I'm 13 and the website says I should eat 2050 cal a day but I think that's way too much so I'm not eating as many.

 No. You're 13, you should be eating more like 2500. How much do you weigh? How much do you want to weigh?

I weigh 163 (I'm huge)

I want to weight............ I'm not sure

130?

Ok, here's the problem. 

You're only 13, you can still become a lot taller than 5'4", but if you cut calories, that may not happen.

This site is really meant for adults. If you really want to lose weight safely at 13, you should ask your parents to take you to a nutritionist. Only they can develop a plan that is safe without running the risk of stunting your growth. 

To put it in perspective for you. On my 13th birthday I was 5'6". On my 14th birthday I was 6'1"

Well. I don't really care about my height. So are you saying I shouldn't be here =/

Original Post by abercrombieboy:

Well. I don't really care about my height. So are you saying I shouldn't be here =/

 In a nutshell, yes.

I'm curious as to why you don't care about your height? I don't know too many guys who are content with being 5'4"

You may weigh 160 now, but if you grow another 6" or so, 160 won't seem that bad. 

Hmm, well I can still try to loe weight here now right?

I wouldn't recommend it. The potential long term negatives outweigh the benefits at this point in your life.

Well, thanks for your help. But I'll give it a try, and if I find myself dying then I promise you I will stop. Sounds fair enough?

I agree 100% with dm that if you attempt to diet now by restricting your calories, you Absolutely risk stunting your growth. if you feel like losing weight, maybe try exercising a little more while still keeping at a healthy amount of calories for your age (again, i'd say at least 2200). that way, you can still get all the nutrients you need as a GROWING teenage boy, grow into that tall, hot, abercrombie model that you may want to be (given your username), and get the heart-healthy benefits of a healthy lifestyle. it's a win-win! so log off for an hour, go take a walk, and think it over seriously before you decide to restrict your calories- it could lead to longterm problems later on.

Hon, you dont need to count calories, but if you do think you are overweight, then theres another alternative
Eat healthy.

For breakfast have a big bowl of wholegrain cereal and milk.
Cos if you don't then your body wont develop properly and when you grow up your body wont handle food properly and you wont be able to eat enough. You wont get enough iron and so will have to eat extra and that might mean eating more red meat which wont help with the weight. You will have to get more calcium and if your body is all stuffed up then it wont handle it as well.

Just get a healthy eating plan and try to eat as much fruit and veg as possible. They're low cal anyway. jUst dont stuff your face, have treats as treats (not at snack time, just once or twice a week)

If you stuff yourself now its too late. You might not be bahppy with your body but why starve it? Why not burn the extra calories? What sports/activities do you like. You know instead of cutting calories you can burn them. So join a sport, or go for a morning jog.

honestly if you diet now by restricting calories you're gonna regret it when you're older and still 5'4". You might not care about your height now but in a few years when most girls and guys are taller than you, theres a pretty big chance that you'll wish you weren't as short. why don't you try playing sports instead? i think that's a much better alternative than calorie restriction.

I usually have 500 calories for breakfast..on a 1800 calorie allowance.

If the calorie counter says you should eat at least 2000 calories a day, then that's for a good reason. Your body needs a lot of energy for growth, and at thirteen and 5'3"  you haven't even STARTED your main growth spurt yet. You might even be just about to, so your body is storing up energy to get ready for it. We have a little black cat called Tessie - she's VERY thin and energetic and still growing... every now and then I look at her and think 'she's getting a tummy!' and then a few weeks later the tummy is magically gone and she's an inch longer/taller. Starving her at this age wouldn't do anything except make her miserable and keep her from growing the way she's supposed to. Cats keep growing until they're about two years old. Human teenagers keep growing until they're anywhere between 18-25! 

Crash diets are a Very Bad Idea for anyone, but they're especially bad for someone your age. If you had a plant and you only gave it 1/10 of the fertilizer that it needs every morning, what do you think would happen to it? It would be miserable, scrawny, and sickly. Plants need food, water and sunlight to grow. Bodies need protein, carbohydrates, and exercise. If you eat a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables and meat and dairy and brown rice/bread, your body will thank you for it. A ham and cheese sandwich by itself isn't enough for breakfast - it doesn't have any fruit or vegetables in it. You should have a yoghurt and a piece of fruit as well to balance it out. 

One thing you could do is to make sure that you have fruit and vegetables with every meal... they are low in calories and chock full of vitamins and good nutrition. At your age you can have as much fruit and vegetables as you possibly want, and feel very virtuous about it.  For that matter, you can eat as much as you like of just about any of the healthy foods, especially if you burn some of it off with activity.

Exercise eats fat and builds muscle, and muscle makes your body look great. Do you enjoy sports? Take one up... If you don't like sports, ride your bike or start walking.  Get a skateboard or a pair of rollerblades. Anything that gets your body moving will help eat fat and build your muscles, and it can be fun too... Getting into a healthy pattern of eating and regular exercise now would do more than help you lose weight - it's setting up good habits that will last you a lifetime. 

this is just a reminder from one of your friendly volunteer moderators.  Everyone, over the age of 13, is welcome here at CC.  Teens do, however, need to be aware that the BMI calculator and other tools are geared to adult weights.  Teens need to supplement this website by consulting these excellent resources

Use this BMI calculator for teens 


Here's an additional calculator and calorie information for Teens

Other resources that might help you  

Nutrition, Exercise & Weight Management for Teens

More Nutrition & Health for Teens

Dieting & Metabolism (explains starvation mode and why undereating is counter-productive)

And here's a quote from the CC+ Library, Q&A section

"very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight."

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, its sets you up and gets you ready , and you want to be ready for anything at 13!!!  Give yourself a really good, balanced breakfast - make sure you get some protein.  Then your next big meal is lunch - taper off during the day your smallest meal should be dinner.  Try that for awhile and see how your body responds.  You need 2500 calories a day, of good, whole food.  No junk, watch sugar.  excercise!!!  start with 15 minutes and work up each day. 

Taller hides weight, you will love being taller than 5'4"!!!

We are behind you baby boy, I will check on you from time to time!!!  enjoy the site!!!

One more thing...change the captions on those pictures!  You, my friend, are not ugly. 

You look like a pretty awesome kid to me, and based on what IO see in those pictures I think you're going to grow up to be a pretty handsome dude.

Dude, you need to chill a little.  I agree with the fact that you need to eat more calories.  I would suggest asking for a sit-up bench and some hex head dumbells for Christmas.  Start working out with lighter weights (something that you can get 15-20 reps with)  then start cutting the sugars and adding protein.  Have a banana instead of a pop-tart for breakfast (just an example)  You need to keep the calories for energy, but if you maintain your healthy eating, and work out schedule, you will notice your body type changing.  You need to stick with it.  I was 5'5 until i graduated high school.  I am a hair under 5-11 now.  Your height doesnt matter right now, you can change your body type and still eat the calories.  Do you like any sports?  try out for one of the teams, the practices alone are good excercise.  good luck and stay positive.

Original Post by dm84:

Original Post by abercrombieboy:

I'm 5'4 .  I'm 13 and the website says I should eat 2050 cal a day but I think that's way too much so I'm not eating as many.

 No. You're 13, you should be eating more like 2500. How much do you weigh? How much do you want to weigh?

HOLY ****. how can a person eat over 2000 calories?????