My daily calorie needs can't be right - not losing weight?

I am 5'3", 16 years old. I used to always hover around 110. Then it crept up to 115. The final straw hit one day when I was 120. Since then I've been trying to get back to 110 and if I'm really good, 108.

According to all these calorie counters, I should be eating 1400 or so to lose weight. I've been sticking to that and nothing has changed! Why am I not losing weight? How long do you think it'll take?

I don't know how long you've been trying to lose weight, but try to keep in mind that even if you do everything the calculators say you should, you're only really going to lose about 1 pound per week.

If you're retaining water, or exercising and building muscle, you really may not see pounds dropping from the scale, but that doesn't mean you're not still making progress.

They design those recommendations so that people lose weight very slowly, because the common wisdom is that if you lose weight too quickly, you're likely to gain it back once you're no longer cutting calories so drastically.

Just hang in there

At 16 your body is still growing.  You could easily end up an inch or two taller before you're done.  And women's bodies are different to girls' bodies.  You're heavier now than when you were 10, 12 or 15... that's what you'd expect.  120lbs (8st 8lbs) is a perfectly healthy weight for someone 5'3 and you can check that on this site... http://www.kidsnutrition.org/bodycomp/bmiz2.h tml  CC's calorie recommendations are not meant for under-21s and the minimum a sedentary teen should get is 1500 cals.

If your body wants to grow and develop it can be counter-productive, not to say unhealthy, to cut back on calories and try to stunt that growth.  Instead, it's better for someone in your situation (i.e. very young and already very slim) to increase their exercise level and to focus on getting a healthy diet of about 2000 - 2200 cals.  That will tone up your body without negatively affecting your health.

A slight word of warning... people who start dieting when they're a) very young and b) not overweight can often go on to have real weight-problems in their twenties and thirties.  Don't be one of those people.

You are young and still growing and should be gaining. You will  not weigh what you did when you were 14. Don't compare until you are an adult and completely done growing. Teens require more calories.

Im one inch shorter than you and I was always between 120 and 130 when I was your age. Those were the days that Id be able to eat 2 double bacon cheese burgers and a medium fry and not feel guilty afterwards. Id love to get back down to at least 130. Im only 10lbs away. Do you play sports? or do you walk home from school? you probably need at least 1800 cals. your body may not be getting enough. say you are in sports and your only eating 1400 cals your probably burning off 400 of that durning practice. You need more food.

My little sister was always a little pudgy.  Definitely not fat, just some baby fat.  Then when she hit 17, she grew three inches and all of that pudginess went away.

I'm thinking that your body might be storing some extra cals becuase you are probably going to be growing again soon.

At 16, 5' 3" and 120 lbs, I wouldn't be worried about your weight at all.  I wouldn't worry about it until you are done growing because your body is going to change a lot between now and until your early 20s.

However, now is a great time to start eating sensibly.  Eating plenty of vegetables and getting some excerise everyday is something you can do at any age.  Just make sure you are giving your body the fuel it needs to grow and develop.

Guys, thanks for your responses.

I know I can't expect necessarily to weigh the same as I did in middle school or as a freshman. But it's not just that the number has gone up. My thighs are really big and I'm starting to get a bit of a belly. For the first time ever, I have a little muffin top. It's really frustrating to see all this fat on my body... I even have stretch marks around my waist and inner thighs.

I'm pretty sure this change is completely due to my poor eating habits, and not to natural development. I used to have a fast metabolism - I'd have a pastry for breakfast, the school lunch, candy and pizza, and a big bowl of spaghetti for dinner. I also love to bake, and I'd make and eat a bunch of cookies. I have a tendency to overeat at meals, snack too much, and eat when I'm not even hungry. Those are all things I'm working to change.

I would be perfectly happy with being 120 pounds if I looked slimmer. Does anyone have suggestions for toning up my body and losing the fat? I know that spot reduction doesn't exist. If I'm not supposed to cut too many calories, how much should I be exercising?

Also, for the person who suggested I might be about ready to grow a little more... I wish! Unfortunately 5'3" is already my predicted height. Those Asian genes won't let me get much taller.

Original Post by orianastars:

Guys, thanks for your responses.

I know I can't expect necessarily to weigh the same as I did in middle school or as a freshman. But it's not just that the number has gone up. My thighs are really big and I'm starting to get a bit of a belly. For the first time ever, I have a little muffin top. It's really frustrating to see all this fat on my body... I even have stretch marks around my waist and inner thighs.

I'm pretty sure this change is completely due to my poor eating habits, and not to natural development. I used to have a fast metabolism - I'd have a pastry for breakfast, the school lunch, candy and pizza, and a big bowl of spaghetti for dinner. I also love to bake, and I'd make and eat a bunch of cookies. I have a tendency to overeat at meals, snack too much, and eat when I'm not even hungry. Those are all things I'm working to change.

I would be perfectly happy with being 120 pounds if I looked slimmer. Does anyone have suggestions for toning up my body and losing the fat? I know that spot reduction doesn't exist. If I'm not supposed to cut too many calories, how much should I be exercising?

Also, for the person who suggested I might be about ready to grow a little more... I wish! Unfortunately 5'3" is already my predicted height. Those Asian genes won't let me get much taller.

Hmmm, I think you might have found the problem!  ;)  Keep working on developing healthy eating habits, keep moving, and I think you'll be just fine!  

its so hard being short! im 5'2 110 and seriously i feel like i could afford to lose another 10lbs! and i do work out, an hour to sometimes 2 hours of cardio and strength training about 6 days a week. i look toned but i still have cellulite! its awful. im 20 btw. anyway, enough about me haha i can totally sympathize with you. growing up, ther summer before freshmen year, i went to the dr and he said i was 116. my jeans were tight, and i was angry. so i just would cut out little things, like extra snacks, and some of the junk foods. over about half a year, i went down to 110. i was pretty happy with this accomplishment at the time, but was really into sports and got heavily into exercising. for the next 2 and half years i weighed between 102-110. then i stopped all the soccer and just exercised lightly (30-60 min running about 5 days a week) and gained until i was 114 and mad again b/c like you said, its not necessary the weight, i looked flabby. my dad would tell me to weight train and i argued and argued. anyway came to college, gained a little more, got madder and decided to give weight training a try. im back to 110 and look MUCH better than when i didnt lift. so maybe you should try to just do some light lifting, i only lift 3-4 days a week for like 15-20 minutes and i am big on exercises that involve holding up your own body strength like push-ups and planks. maybe this will help a little!

Rikaj, thanks so much for your reply! I've never done weight training before. Can you give me some advice/specifics?

me too! What EXACTLY do you do when you lift, rikaj?