A little Confused

Hey,

Ive just decided to give this a go and i dont quite understand.

I worked out the thing which says how many calories im meant to have and it days 1950... and i added up what ive eaten and ive eat 637cals..

How can i eat more, when i dont need too..

Does this make sense?

To save you a LOT of posts bashing you, a teenager isnot supposed to eat less than 1,500 calories, and that's pretty much only if you're bedridden and/or in a coma.

so, 'how can [you] eat more, when [you] don't need to' statement is just going to have people tell you to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day of calorie dense foods, stuff like peanut butter, nuts, whole-grain breat, lean meats, beans/lentils, et cetra et cetra.

wish you luck, andget the cals up. i know it's easier said than done though. But just do your best.

Also make sure you are measuring and logging your portions correctly.  You may actually be eating more than you think you are.  (When I first started on this site it scared me, I was actually eating between 3500 and 4000 calories a day!  No wonder I'm fat.)

WElcome to c-c.

Although you might think that consuming less calories is better for your weight loss journey, there is a lot of studies that prove that consuming more is better for you in the long run. 

It is recommended to never go below 1200 calories if you are a female, because your body will go into starvation mode and it is possible that you might gain weight, besides doing serious damage to your body. (1500 calories if you are male).

Your body needs at least 1200 calories per day to survive. Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a  5' 2", 19 year old female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing:


-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

Reference: http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/3178 .html#6

If you are under 19 you need to add 300 calories for a total of 1500 per day.  If you exercise you need to eat back at least half of the calories that you expend.  So if you burn 400 calories in a day you need to eat back 200 calories. 

 So if you are over 19, you need to eat 1200 calories + half of what you burn exercising.

If you are under 19 you need to consume 1500 + half of what you burn exercising.



You need to consume at least
3-5 servings of fruit,
3-8 servings of veggies,
3-6 servings of carbs,
3-5 servings of proteins,
3 servings of dairy 
3 servings of  good fats
every day.