So my question is really, how much should I be eating to lose weight in a safe way? According to most calorie calculators I need 1600-1800 calories a day when sedentary. So I figure, if I want to lose about 1 pound a week (or 3500 cals) I need to eat, say, 1200 a day. But since that seems a little low I prefer to burn some extra by exercising instead. I exercise every other day and burn at least 300-400 per workout (I run for anything from 45 minutes to 2 hours, but usually around 1 hour). On the days where I exercise I eat 1500 cals and on the days where I don't I eat 1400. However, anytime I exercise for more than an hour I make sure to eat all or most of the "extra" calories burned (by extra I mean those burnt in addition to my regular/planned 300-400).
I just want to know - am I eating too little? Will eating and exercising the way I do lead to my metabolism ruining itself (cause its already reeeeaaally slow... at least compared to my siblings, who can eat anything without it showing - so annoying!)? Because I don't want that and I for sure don't want to develop any kind of scary ED!
Oh yeah and I should probably add that since my metabolism and body is really similar to my mum's and she knows quite a lot about healthy eating I discuss this stuff with her. She agrees that I could without trouble lose 5-10 pounds but not more, so that's what I'm aiming for :)
By the way, I'm really new on here (I've been using the food registration tools for a couple of weeks, but this is my first time doing something even slightly social) and I would really appreciate it if someone could go through the basics for me on how connecting with people on here works :)
You are eating too little. The minimum recommended for overweight, sedentary teen females is 1500; for overweight ACTIVE teens, it is 1800. You are not clinically overweight and you are clearly not sedentary.
If your main concern is lack of muscle, under-eating certainly will do nothing but make that worse. Eat 1800-2000 calories and work out -- preferably by lifting heavy weights. You won't get big, you may develop muscle, you will burn calories more effectively, and you will reshape your body so that it looks smaller than it weighs. If you're going to switch up, eat 1800 when you don't exercise, and 2000 on the days you do.
The calorie and bmi tools on this site were designed for those 21 and older. As you are not overweight, the best deficit is around 250 -- it leads to slower weight loss, but it will also stick with you.
Just because your doctor thinks you won't grow taller (I really don't know why they ever tell people that) doesn't mean you are done growing. We continue to develop (including our brain) up through 21 or even 25. You aren't done at 15.
To add to the height thing -- I was the same height I am now at 14. However, I could eat at least twice as much as what I do now, and not gain any weight back then. Your body is definitely still growing, just not always in ways you can see. I think the first comment was spot on with her calorie recommendations, though I will say that at 5'2" and 125 I ate more like 3000 calories a day (with 2 hours of exercise) and didn't gain a single pound for years. Granted, my body fat percentage was extremely low for a female. (that was ages 14-18)
And if you under eat at that age, you will really mess with your system and you most certainly won't lose weight in a way that will help you tone up and slim down.
Good luck and try eating at 1800-2000 for a few weeks and if you gain then I would talk to a doctor because you may have a thyroid problem or something else going on. You most certainly shouldn't gain weight being active and only having 1800-2000. Hope it all works out!
I meant to add that I am 22 now. I don't know why I didn't.
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