a little scared.

Hello, I'm 5 ft 3 in, 17 years old, girl and 127 pounds and the cc calculator says I could eat 1700 calories jsut to maintain. Is this true, cause I guess I'm jsut a bit afraid to eat that much and not gain ay weight. I also live in the icty for college and walk anywhere from 1-2 miles a day. Any adivice would be great, thanks!

I like to look at the targets as a guideline.  If you eat 1700 healthy balanced calories you would technically maintain your weight.   But if those calories were empty ones from sodas and junk food I'm willing to bet you'd gain.  So it's not only how many but what the makeup in the calories is.  Doing 1-2 miles a day in walking is good and will burn excess but if you're full knowing you ate 1200 calories then there's no need to force another 500.

I could be dead wrong since I'm not a health professional but this is just how I look at things.  I know when I'm getting in calories that are empty vs ones that are healthy I do tend to gain.

I am 5'5" and I can lose weight on 1700.  At your age, you probably can too because you are under 18 and actually need more than the cc calculator says.  The only way to know for sure it to try it because everyone is different.  Keep in mind that you are still growing and maturing inside and that eating too little can have negative effects that will last a long time.  If you have been eating a lot less than that, you could have slowed down your metabolism and then you will gain on that many calories at first.  Eventually you should be fine.  Like ladydeuce said, it is a guideline, but it is pretty close

I would say that the calculator is pretty much right on target.  As others have said someone your age burns more calories than older adults.  Also, you get regular exercise from walking.  Try it for a couple of weeks, but make sure you count the calories very carefully. 

Original Post by ladyduece:

I like to look at the targets as a guideline.  If you eat 1700 healthy balanced calories you would technically maintain your weight.   But if those calories were empty ones from sodas and junk food I'm willing to bet you'd gain. 

 If there is only one thing to learn from CC it is that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie!  Your body does not know the difference between a snickers and a grape.

That said, the calorie density of junk food is so much higher that it is easier to overeat and thus gain weight.  Of those extra calories, there is an argument that sugar/ HFCS'S are more easily stored as belly fat than extra calories from a carrot.

Eat healthy at 1700 if that's what you should to maintain, eating under that (1200) will only encourage your body to be more efficient and it will learn to live at 1200.  If you stay at 1200 at too long, yes you will gain when you start upping the calories however that will adjust when you meatabalism restarts.

1700 is only 200 OVER the minimum for teen-aged girls; how much have you been eating?