How many calories? 13 yr old boy.

Hi,

I'm a 13 yr old boy (14 in November) and I wonder how many calories I need!

My stats:

Waist (at navel): 25.6 inches (65cm)
Waist (at narrowest point): 24.5 inches (62cm)

Weight: 113.5 pounds (51.5 kg)
Height: 5' 5.3" (166cm)

I train strenght training 3 times a week, and I walk for 30 minutes 3 times a week. I have a normal lifestyle with school, freinds ++.

How many calories do I need a day?

http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html

Enter your stats into this website and read off the 'Daily Energy Requirement' that matches your level of activity.  Assuming you move around quite a lot during the day as well as your strength training then you need plenty to eat if you're to develop and grow into a healthy young man. 

Rather than counting calories, I would suggest you have a look at this site http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/teens /  which gives you plenty of good ideas on how to eat & live healthily.   Calorie-counting is only necessary if you're very overweight or underweight and need to fix the problem.  When you're a healthy weight you don't need to do it.

Thank you, gi-jane!

What do you think I should say my activity level is from what I've wrote?

I'm not going to count calories like crazy, but I want to know so I don't eat to much or to little for progressing the strenght training. ;)

I'd say you were at least 'moderate' but young people, especially when they're growing, often need a lot more than the text-book quantity so really don't get too concerned about numbers.... eat well, eat regularly, eat plenty and stop eating when you're full.  That's all you should be worried about at this age.

 Is someone supervising your strength trainng?  I ask because you have to be quite careful how you treat a body that is still developing.  If you put too much strain on yourself too early you can cause problems.

Yes. I'm getting help by someone at the gym I'm training at. I'm extremely careful with my body, so no worries there. ;)

Moderate activity gives me almost 3000 kcal a day, so do you think 3500 is to much for putting on some weight?

You're not underweight at the moment.   A lot of boys find that they grow taller, end up very skinny for a while but then fill out naturally.   Start with 2500-3000 and see how you go &, of course, choose good, nourishing foods rather than junk or things like protein shakes.

I know I'm not underweight, but I want to add on some muscles. I was diagnosed with anorexia some months ago when my weight was down at 80 pounds with the same height as now. Therefor I don't got any musclemass left, and want to get some.

And I'm very hungry all the time, so I want to eat much!

For adding muscle mass you don't really need a ton of excess calories, but you DO need to get as much protein as you can! Protein is essential for building and maintaining muscle mass. It's best to get it from real food like chicken, eggs, fish, dairy, steak.

Also, as long as you are lifting with proper form and using a weight that is challenging but not so heavy you can't control it (in which case you most likely would not be able to keep proper form...) you won't hurt your body. There's a myth out there that young people can stunt their growth from lifting too heavy, but as long as your form is good and you're being sensible, you don't need to worry about it.

I'm getting lots of protein, almost too much, lol.

Do you think 3200 calories a day would be to much? I want some excess calories, so if I'm burning 3000 and eating 3200 there will be 200 excess calories. 

3200 wouldn't be too much.   But please, if you have any history of disordered eating you focus principally on eating regularly, eating well and enjoying what you eat rather than worrying about counting calories or how much protein you're getting.   You have to be very, very careful not to have too many little targets to hit or it can very quickly become an obsession.

Also be very careful about people telling you  you need lots of protein.  Yes you need protein in your diet but weight-gain and muscle-gain comes from all kinds of foods... the bigger the range of foods you eat the better... vegetables, meat, fish, wholegrain foods, oils, chocolate, ice-cream, fruit, nuts, potato crisps, oatmeal, everything.  Combine& nbsp;eating a wide variety of good foods with your work in the gym and other activity and you'll build muscle.

Your a 13 year old boy so if your body says "feed me!" then feed it, it's not like your going to get fat! Although I agree with all of above, getting your calories from sweets and juck food is bad, but if you had anorexia your mum will probably prepare whatever food you want just so she can see you eating!!

But mentally I don't think counting calories at 13 (nearly 14) is good 'cos you will easily get obsessed, and as your not massively over/under weight I would just chill dude! (yeah I know, I sound old and uncool and I'm only 18 lol)

Right, you are 14 in November so you aren't a "child" and if you would like to start paying attention to food, health, etc at your age then it is probably a good thing.  There are loads of kids who are fat and will be for the rest of their lives because they don't pay attention and get into bad habits that stick with them.  This is the time to form good habits that you'll take forward so it is good to see you doing your research and taking it seriously.  Are you in the US?  You might want to see if your local junior college does a nutrition course that they'll let you sign up for.  This would answers your questions so much for fully than here and would give you much more indepth information about vitamins that help growing muscles, etc., etc.   

Good luck.

Moderate active or very active at the calulator? (http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html)

Monday: 60min weight lifting (Stronglifts), bicycling 30min (moderate to hard)
Tuesday: 60 minutes walking (moderate speed, forest)
Wednesday: 60min weight lifting (Stronglifts), bicycling 30min (moderate to hard)
Thursday: 60min walking (moderate speed, forest)
Friday: 60min weight lifting (Stronglifts), bicycling 30min (moderate to hard)
Saturday: 60min walking (moderate speed, forest)
Sunday: 60min walking (moderate speed, forest)

+ a normal lifestyle (freinds, school++)

The walking is not daily life walking, it's exercise walking, so I walk at school, at home, with freinds ++ too. :P
The weight lifting is hard. It's Stronglifts 5x5 and not some other crap.


(I'm sorry for my bad language. I'm actually norwegian.)

'Very active'.... you're getting an average of an hour a day vigorous exercise plus you're normally active on top of that. 

Online calculators can only tell you so much, however.   For example, if you were to take the number from the chart, add on a bit extra because you're trying to gain and then find that you're either still hungry or you're not filling out then you probably need more to eat....  

Thank you! Soo.. 3350 calories. I'm eating around 3000 now and I'm hungry like hell, so maybe it's correct? Idk really.. I'm kinda afraid of putting on too much fat. 

3350 definitely sounds like a good number for your lifestyle. You're very active, whether you believe it or not. If you already are eating 3000, I highly doubt you'll see a gain by increasing 350 cals. Plus, if you still feel hungry on 3000, then it's entirely possible it isn't enough.

Original Post by dwx:

I'm kinda afraid of putting on too much fat. 

You're too active to gain very much in the way of fat and you need lots and lots of energy to see you though the day.  Rather than counting calories (as I've said before) simply eat until you're satisfied.  And choose all kinds of foods.... that's what normal, active, healthy young people do.   Enjoy your food, eat regularly. If you're hungry again a little later, eat something else.  

Calorie-counting is only there as a guide.  Listen to your body and trust yourself more.

Time for a little update.

I'm eating 3400-3500 calories a day now, and I feel hungy like ****. Seriously, I feel extremely hungry, not cravings or anyting, but real hunger.

Is it possible that I may need even more calories than I'm eating right now? Of course I should eat when I'm hungry, but now that I'm already eating so many calories I don't know.

I'm sorry if it seems like a don't care what you say about eating til I'm satisfied, don't count calories ++ but I feel kinda chubby, and therfor I'm not sure if I should eat as much as I do..

Sooo.. What should I do?

If your 3400-3500 cals are coming from a good selection of nourishing foods, if you're eating regularly (not skipping meals) and you're still hungry then eat.  If your 3400-3500 cals are coming from a poor diet then talk to whoever is preparing your food and see if you can include more things like vegetables

Young boys' bodies can need a lot of energy in order to function, develop and grow.  Yours has also been subjected to a period of disordered eating (presumably with calorie-restriction?) and it's trying to gain back lost ground at the same time. 

As for feeling 'kinda chubby'.... Boys' bodies often fill out right before they grow.  That's normal.  You're destined to keep growing until you're 21...  so you should expect to get taller, heavier, broader and more muscular as you go from being a boy to a man.   What shape are the men in your family typically?... That's kind of your 'blueprint'.

If you feel unsure about your body and whether what you're experiencing is normal or not, talk to the people close to you.  Puberty can be an unsettling experience for a lot of people because everything about you changes and your old familiar body sometimes feels rather strange.   Talk to your mother, perhaps.... I'm sure she'd put your mind at rest.

I'm eating healthy, not any junk or candy.

This is a typical day:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with milk, almonds and a fruit. Water.
Snack: Cottage cheese with some walnuts.
Lunch: Chicken, rice and veggies. Water.
After school: A omelette with ham and veggies. Some oatmeal with milk. Water.
Dinner: Salmon, potatoes and veggies. Water.
Before bed: Tuna, rice and veggies.

And I'm still hungry. So I should increase my intake and see what happens?

If you're hungry, you should absolutely eat more.  When people are recovering from anorexia, they frequently need 4000+ calories to gain weight. Although you're at a safe weight now, you're still quite thin and VERY active.  Additionally, 13/14 yr old boys are growing and generally need to eat a lot.

When I was in the beginning of high school, my male friends (age 14-15) ate an astonishing amount of food - teenage boys are pretty legendary for their appetites. I wouldn't be surprised if the average teenage boy (not active, not trying to build muscle) eats 3000+ calories, maybe more during growth spurts.

Also, I just plugged your stats into the calculator gi-jane linked to - it says that you'd need (roughly) 3300-3400 calories to maintain - not to gain. 

so yes - eat more!