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How many calories should I be eating?

I am 18, 61kg, 168 cm, and have lost 25kg since jan. I eat approx 700 cals a day. Is this enough? I bike 13 km a day. How many cals should i be eating to maintain my weight?

In a word, NO!  Putting in your stats at moderate activity level and adding 300 cal for your age, you should be eating about 2600 calories a day.  Even a sedentary short female should never go below 1200 calories.   

Wow you bike 13km a day on only 700 calories? That is definately not enough to keep you going....Try using the tools cc has to offer..

What you are doing is incredibly dangerous. A sedentary teenage girl should have a minimum of 1500 calories, and you're eating less than half that amount, plus exercising. The results of your dangerous crash diet can be incredibly serious: you are likely losing muscle and lean tissue, you're almost certainly malnourished, and thus you're putting all your internal organs (heart, brain, etc.) in extreme danger. You need to up your calories immediately and visit a doctor as soon as possible to check your health.

Then again, you were told the EXACT SAME THING in your post a few weeks ago, so clearly you aren't going to listen to reason.

Maybe a more scientific explanation will help you understand how your body works.  The following is from the Advice section, Ask Mary Q&A.  As you can see, you are causing changes in your body and burning up your muscle mass.  Keep in mind that the heart is a muscle and you could eventually die from heart failure.

Why does the body burn muscle when it could burn fat?
Asked by anonymous on Feb 05, 2009 in Weight Loss

 I am well over 100 lbs overweight. I workout 50 minutes a day and eat 1200-1800 calories. I was doing okay, or so I thought until I read about "starvation mode". Why would my body consume lean muscle mass for energy when I have more than enough juicy fat morsels to feed on.  Surely, it must be different for me. 

Answer

The body burns muscle to meet the needs of the central nervous system.  That system, which accounts for at least 20% of calories burned, can only burn glucose, a carbohydrate  The body doesn't really store glucose, but protein, from the muscles, organs tissues, and cells, can turn into glucose, while fat cannot.  Protein breakdown continues until the metabolic rate shifts to burn fewer calories from all sources.  That shift is familiarly called "starvation mode" and it is a life-sustaining adaptation. To forestall starvation mode, lose weight slowly, do muscle building exercise to offset muscle loss, and eat about 20% of your calories from protein.

http://caloriecount.about.com/body-burn-muscl e-fat-q4856#ixzz0HrK1leGb&D

700? is that a joke, are you mis calculating or are you serious? If you are only eating 700 calories a day you have a problem. Do you have an eating disorder?

May I suggest reading my post from today -

http://caloriecount.about.com/lesson-learned- ft141528

I am about the same size as you: 5'6" and 145 lbs, and 27 years old. Until yesterday, I had been eating about 1200 calories a day (proteins, fruits veggies), and certainly not exercising as much as you, and I almost fainted (a sign of insufficient nutrition). You should increase your calorie intake, because your body is feeding off of muscle, not fat at this point - it is in starvation mode. If you have been on this diet since January, your body will most definitely be reacting poorly - your internal organs may be suffering, even if outwardly you feel fine. You are not helping yourself by consuming so few calories. Do some research specific to your body type, body composition, and activity level - At this point, you should probably consult a nutritionist or doctor to help get your calorie intake in balance, and make sure that your diet has not caused any ill-effects to your body.

It's concerning that you may have already received advice weeks ago from CC users, and done nothing - I truly hope you take caution and change the course you are on before its too late. Good luck.

Original Post by cosmographer:

Then again, you were told the EXACT SAME THING in your post a few weeks ago, so clearly you aren't going to listen to reason.

 Funny, we remember these things, don't we?  I thought it sounded familiar, and thank you for pointing it out to those that didn't know, cosmo........

Original Post by ecum:

I am 18, 61kg, 168 cm, and have lost 25kg since jan. I eat approx 700 cals a day. Is this enough? I bike 13 km a day. How many cals should i be eating to maintain my weight?

I seriously doubt that you are biking that much every day, on only 700 calories.

My guess is you don't really have a clue how much you are eating.  Why are you asking anyway?  If you've lost 55 pounds since January, that's about 10 pounds a month, and a good healthy rate of loss.  If you are feeling good and sleeping well, then you are probably fine.  But I would suggest journaling your food - and actually looking up the values - I suspect you'll be surprised to find out the actual number is much higher.

I have a feeling that a lot of these comments are not at all helping you. I obviously don't know your situation, but from what I gather it sounds like you are struggling. You probably are asking for advice on here because you know that what you are eating is not enough. You may just be miscalculating your calories, but if this is accurate it sounds to me like an ED. I've had one before and am still in the process of recovery, so I know what it's like. I also know that I was in denial for a long time about it. It's understandable that you are posting the same thing again. As much as someone with an ED understands knows what they need to do, they still have trouble doing it. If you are struggling, I would really suggest seeing a counselor or therapist. I know that it may not be what you want to hear, but you deserve to take care of your body. And eating 700 cals a day and biking 13 km is not taking care of your body, it'll eventually destroy it. Even though I don't know you, I sincerely hope you get some help and I'm sorry if the comments on here were harsh. I know how it is....people just don't understand. And if you really don't have an ED, I apologize for assuming so. I just want you to get help.