Too little?

Recently, I've been eating 1250-1350 calories a day and burning 350-450 calories 5 days a week. I eat alott, I just eat low cal versions of alot of stuff, but I still get all the vitamins, minerals, protein and such that I need. My average defecit everyday is about 1000 in order to lose 2 pounds per week but I'm just afraid that because I compensate during the week for the time on the weekend when I don't exercise that I'll go into starvation mode. I just want to make sure that it won't begin slowing down my metabolism.

Thanks.

Stats:

5'6, 17 years old, 169ish lbs (down from 199 lbs, since January)

Anyone? Haha, oh well.

you are only 17.  You need to eat WAY more.

~H~

I lost 25 pounds eating 1250 calories through jan, feb and the beginning of march, and then increased to 1400 for a month and my weightloss stopped, that's why I'm back at 1250 calories a day.

Also, I've checked various websites (teen oriented) and they all say I only burn 1900- 2000 calories a day.

Again, you are 17 yrs old.

You need to eat way more.

That's how I got fat, thanks though.

isnt that the advice you wanted?!?!

 

I agree...with your excersize level and age...your eating too little.

How am I eating too little if I have a defecit of 1000 a day and that's within reccomendations, I don't understand. Everyone keeps telling me to eat more but I don't understand if I'm burning 2000 a day and have a 1000 calorie defecit aren't I doing the right thing?

I just don't understand I suppose.

im sure youve seen the breakout of how many calories each organ/body function needs daily?!

well since your a teen you need more than the guidelines....

Have you used calorie count's burn meter to see where it puts you for calorie amounts per day? Your age (17) and height (5'6'') along with your weight (169) would still put you quite a bit over 2000 calories burned per day. By putting in your stats on this website's tools, and guesstimating your activity level at moderate, judging by your exercise routine, the numbers for calories burned in a typical day for you was 2500.

A teenager needs 1800 calories minimum. You're still technically growing and your body needs the extra energy. The typical adult female needs 1200 in order for their organs to get the proper nutrition. Teenagers need more because, like I said, they're growing. Their organs are not fully 100% mature yet.

It's pretty obvious that you've ALREADY slowed down your metabolism. What are you going to do when you get closer to your goal weight? You can't cut anymore calories out of your diet; there's already too few of them as it is. Weight-training may help, as gaining lean muscle mass will help boost your metabolism somewhat. I would also up your calories; if you're wary about what it would do to your weight loss, increase it by a little bit each week until you're at a reasonable amount of calories consumed. This way your body will adjust to the increased amount over time. If you want, fluctuate your calories so that you're not eating the same amount of calories every day. It keeps your body on its toes and may help you to increase the amount of calories you consume.

The reason why you're losing at 1250-1350 now is that you've already slowed your metabolism; it can't handle higher calorie amounts without maintaining or gaining, when it's those higher calorie amounts you should be consuming a day. I hope this helped some.

I agree with armandleg, your weight loss might have stalled because your body was trying to adjust to all of a sudden having enough food. Your body was still in starvation mode. If you slowly increase your caloric intake you may plateau for a few weeks, you may even gain a pound or two but after 1,2 or 3 weeks the weight should start coming off again. You'll be healthier for it all around.

It says I burn 1900 calories on sedentary and I log my exercise bringing it to 2250 with exercise, then I eat 1250 which means I have a defecit of 1000....

I think you're doing the right thing. If you eat more than 1200 then that's ok.

Well, to be honest, EVERY diet slows metabolism, so it's pretty possible that the diet you had recently did the same. Unfortunately for those on a diet, our bodies always try to adapt to the different circumstances.

I think it would be helpful for you to start adding extra 100 kcal to your daily diet goals every week, so you can boost your BMR slowly without storing fat. And then, after a few weeks, as you'll eat daily a few hundreds of kcal more and keep your present weight, you can turn back to your 1250 diet to lose another pounds.

I can tell you that I've NEVER gained my weight back because of that system after dieting. I always add 10 kcal daily to my calorie intake and I forget about yo-yo effects.

Hope that helped.

1-2lbs is where the weight loss rate barrier usually lies for most people, it doesn't mean 2lbs/week is the magic number. Really, you shouldn't try to lose more than 1% of your body weight each week. That's 1.7lbs MAXIMUM, every week, for you. If you're gaining on 1400 calories, when you know you burn at least 1900 calories a day, there's obviously something wrong with your metabolism. You should have been losing 1lbs/week, but you weren't, so what does that tell you? You either:

A) Calculated your calories wrong.

B) Have a medical condition that is keeping you from losing. Or,

C) You've been undereating for so long your body has started holding onto every meager calorie you give it, refusing to let go of fat when it has any choice, and devouring muscle to fuel you.

Did you know that you have a very limited period (it stops in your early 20's) to develop all the bone mass you'll get for your life? If you're not eating enough, then your body will stop producing it, and may even lose some to help keep you healthy in the now, which can lead to a drastically increased risk of osteoporosis later on. Read about the other effects of undereating on adolescents HERE.

If you haven't already, I recommend you read through the entirety (yeah, I know it's long ><) of The Calorie-Count.com Diet, located HERE.

This is a BMI calculator, graph, and calorie-expenditure chart for children and teens from a reputable government source.

This is the Mayo Clinic's basic recommendations for teens' nutrition, which is different than that of adults.

Good luck. :]

Original Post by halcyonlies:

It says I burn 1900 calories on sedentary and I log my exercise bringing it to 2250 with exercise, then I eat 1250 which means I have a defecit of 1000....

That may be where your problem lies. I don't think you are actually sedentary. Your general activity level throughout the week sounds at least like it's "light" activity level. For me, I sit on my ass most of the day, but I work 5 days out of the week where I'm on my feet/running around/lifting 20+ lbs for at least 5 hours and usually no more than 9 hours. Other than work I rarely exercise, but I still put myself as light activity because of how some days at work I can bust my ass. There was a 500 cal difference from when I put myself as sedentary and when I put myself as light. I don't add in my work activities at all to my burn log. This 500 cal difference for me was screwing me over, because initially I was eating too few calories for my actual activity level, even though I thought I was eating just enough for the 2lbs weight loss a week.

I wasn't. I figured out I was eating too few calories (even at 1600 I'm borderline too few calories for today), and upped it. The weight started moving again. Judging that you work out 5 times a week for around 400 calories each time, you are at the very least functioning at a light activity level. There's no way you're sedentary. You may actually have to up your calories because of your activity level. Otherwise, if you're activity level was right, you WOULD be losing weight because the calorie numbers would be okay (but as a teen, you really should be eating around 1800, not 1250).

I dont think that 1200-1350 is HORRIBLE.. however it may (more than likely) make it difficult for you to lose weight/maintain as you get older.. Since you're still young and your metabolism is thriving- its good for your body to become adjusted to a higher amount of cals.. say 1500-1700?? Besides, you dont necessarily need a deficit of 1000.. 500cal deficit is just as good, and probably healthier (long-term).. Give it a try- like others said.. you may see a lb or 2 the first week or so- but your body will definitly become adjusted and you will soon see the lbs shed on a higher caloric intake.

Hope this helps,

Tara

At your height and weight your BMR is at least 1600 cals and because you are still a teenager it is probably a little higher like many other posters said.  1250-1300 is too little.  At this point your body had slowed it's metabolism down to compensate for the amount of food you are giving it.  Now if you eat over that 1300 your body is going to want to store it (regardless if you have a deficit) Your body is sending out fat storing enzymes that tells it to store what ever you eat that is over that 1300 amount because it is anticipating you dropping your cals again.  The reason you didn't lose when you upped your cals to 1400 is because your body is still in this preservation mode.  You need to increase your cals to at least 1600 (at least!) Like someone said before you burn about 2500 cals/day being moderalty active (that's at 900 cal deficit right there) At first your weight loss will stall and you may even gain a few pounds because you still have that enzyme working against you.  Once your body realizes it is getting enough food to run itself it will stop storing at let you start burning.  My BMR is 1400 cals and I burn about 2200/day.  For two months I ate 1100-1200 and gained 15 lbs! As soon as I upped my cals to 1500 I lost those 10 lbs in about 3 months (would have been faster but it was a time when I could not get to the gym often)

Also, a 1000 cal deficit is probably to much for you.  The less body fat you have to lose, the lower deficit you can sustain without losing muscle and harming your metabolism.  For example: I am 22, 5'5 and 133 lbs.  I have 20 % bodyfat (about 26lbs of fat and 107 lbs lean tissue)  The highest deficit my body can handle to lose fat without sacrificing my muscle is 800 cals.  If I hade a 1000 cal deficit i would be losing muscle and harming my metabolism.

Because I do not know your bf % this is a very rough estimate, but your safe deficit is about 845 cals/day. 

Here's my question for everyone...and I don't fall into this area, but at what point does everyone feel someone is "adult" vs. "Teenager".  I am not a doctor, but I have had my share of medical discussions due to issues I have had as a child and from general experience.  I quit growing at age 15...I had open heart surgery at age 17 because as my doctor pointed out...I quit growing. 

So I guess for all the advice that everyone gives to teenagers, at what point is someone able to diet as an adult vs as a teenager?

Original Post by divergirl:

Here's my question for everyone...and I don't fall into this area, but at what point does everyone feel someone is "adult" vs. "Teenager".  I am not a doctor, but I have had my share of medical discussions due to issues I have had as a child and from general experience.  I quit growing at age 15...I had open heart surgery at age 17 because as my doctor pointed out...I quit growing. 

So I guess for all the advice that everyone gives to teenagers, at what point is someone able to diet as an adult vs as a teenager?

 Yeah I know, I'm 18 and am alternating 1500 and 1300 each day, I'm sure I've stopped growing but all this talk of 1800 minimum for teenagers has got me worried.. because technically I'm both?

I guess you can be considered an adult when you've gone through all your growth spurts because even if you're still growing it'd be at a pretty slow rate.

First of all I was done growing when I was in middle school.  Your brain however continues to develop into your young 20's.  So you want to make sure you are getting all of the proper nutrients in the 1300 calories.  What I would do is go ahead and continue, and make sure you allow yourself some slide room.  Like on the weekends and when you go out with your friends.  I agree that over eating is what made you 199 lbs to start with, start allowing yourself a little extra on workout days and see if you get the same results.  Just gradually incorporate more healthy foods (high in fiber/protein) and see what happens.  You might be shocked that you lose more weight.

Just don't eat more junk or just eat to eat.  Eat healthy foods when you are hungry.  Also if you go out don't worry so much about calories, you're young and need to live a little, just don't get really full.

Oh and you look great, congrats so far!  We have similar stats and starting weights.  I up and lower my calories for days at a time (1300 then up to 1600)and notice the same loss month to month.