Sooo confused!!*update.. no one's replying! please help me...*

Ok, so I used phord.com/cc to calculate my calorie needs and at 20 years old, 5'3.5", 130lbs, moderately active, it said 1441 to lose 1.3lbs per week. When I added in my body fat percentage (roughly 28% according to online calculators), it said I needed to eat only 1289 cals to lose 1.3lbs per week. I completely understand this concept, that muscle burns more than fat so you need more calories if you have more muscle, etc.

What confunds me is that when I fiddled around with the numbers, if I LOSE 5 pounds AND drop my bodyfat percentage to about 24%, i will need MORE calories to continue losing weight (1334). This goes AGAINST my previous knowlege that your calorie needs drop as your weight drops.

And is it just me, or do those estimates seem low?? I am moderately active ( i think...  walking 1 hour 5 times a week at 4mph, with some uphill PLUS jillian michael's 30-day shred workout DVD approx 2-3 times a week. other than that i am not too active.. walking to and from classes in high school.. doing dishes and laundry and homework and watching tv at home.... what would you classify my activity level at?)

Also, I am new to the whole healthy lifestyle living.. getting out of the diet mentality. I admit to having crashed dieted in the past, and it shows through my fat percentage. My goal is to drop approx 10 or 15lbs but more than that, i want to lose inches and drop my body fat percentage to "fitness". Any suggestions/advice/tips are WELCOME!!!!

Sorry if I asked a gazillion questions there. Any replies are much appreciated

Allison

Just to start, if you stick around here for any period of time, you'll keep hearing that your body is developing even after you've stopped growing, and so us under-21s should use this BMI graph and never go under 1500 calories/day.

(Also: whoa, we're really similar in stats!  I'm 5'4", went from 133-122 over the last summer.  My advice would be to find an activity/sport that you enjoy and eating better "quality", nutritious foods than to strictly focus on the calorie count.  Good luck!)

so to lose 1lb a week i need to eat 1800 cals????(the calculator said that at a moderate activity level I burn 2300 cals...that's assuming i really am at a moderate activity level, what do you think?) that seems like so much! some calculators say that you need to be 18 yrs old to qualify as having the caloric needs of an adult...so i'm very confused. I am done growing............ and i have done 1800 cals before just to maintain! any thoughts, anyone?

  also, it was very depressing to see that i weigh more than about 75% of girls my age .....

Original Post by salmander23:

  also, it was very depressing to see that i weigh more than about 75% of girls my age .....

 

I think that's looking at things unnecessarily negatively.   If you're on the 75th percentile it means you're in the normal range of healthy weights.   It's only once you get over the 85th percentile or under the 25th percentile that you are outside the normal range.   Under the 15th percentile and you'd be clinically underweight which is a pretty miserable state.   So of the 75% of people lighter than you, a large number of those are underweight or under a normal weight.   There's a range precisely because people develop at different rates and have differing body-shapes.  You may be reasonably well-developed at 18 where someone else may still have two or three years left to catch up.

Because you are a healthy weight if you want to lose inches and body-fat you'd much wiser to improve your food choices and tone up with exercise rather than cut calories.  A healthier diet combined with more activity may not reduce your weight but it will definitely improve your shape... and that can make you look trimmer.   Which is the real goal...

G.I. Jane!!!!! Wow, I'm so excited that YOU replied to my post! I've seen your replies to so many people, and I am a big fan of yours! (makes me sound kind of like a psycho stalker, but i'm not, i promise!) You just really seem to know your stuff... and I guess I am more developed than other girls my age. I would much rather keep my curvy shape than have the skinny chicken legs of girls who are lighter than me, and it's a lot more attractive having boobs and a butt than being underweight and flat-chested and flat bottomed. So thanks for putting the numbers into perspective for me (this is exactly why i love CC so much)

I do want to lose a few pounds, since I have a small frame and just look very bloated at this weight.. should I eat the 1800 cals suggested by the child calculator to lose 1lb a week, or should I eat the 1300 or so cals suggested by phord.com? Also, what would you classify my activity level as? and how do I log that in to cc? If i really am moderately active, do I set my account on moderately active and THEN log exercise? Or should I set it to lightly active and log activity? or sednedary and log exercise? This is the most confusing aspect of CC in my opinion... dertermining activity level and how to log that.....

any help is MUCH appreciated!

.......anyone? this post got backed up all the way to page two, and hardly any of my questions have been answered. I really could use the help....

Hi Allison! 

You may be done developing in terms of height proportions ... but you have to remember that you are certainly not done developing other parts of your body at your age.  Vital internal organs like your liver, kidneys and brain are still developing.  It is true that you are likely done growing in terms of height and stature ... but your development is not completely done.  Proper nourishment is ESSENTIAL for the proper and full development of other body parts.  Your prefrontal cortex, which is the part of your brain that develops during adolescence and early young adulthood will not be fully formed for some girls until the age of 21, 22, 23 (it can take longer for boys ... like 24, 25, 26).  Your brain is doing important stuff right now and feeding it properly is crucial for its development. 

I think that you should be eating AT LEAST 1800 calories a day.  I am shorter than you are ... and fully developed (at 37 years old lol) ... and eat 1600 calories a day and am sedentary to lightly active (at least lately).  I still manage to lose weight (I have lost 30 lbs in 4 months).  Having said that, you are much more active than I am, still developing and are taller than I am (by 4") ... so 1800 cals (or more) does not seem like it would be detrimental to your ability to lose weight (should you need to drop a few more pounds).  You will definitely need more than 1300 cals ... for your age and activity level.  If you are wanting to trim up ... strength training is going to be essential for you ... because you will definitely get trimmer by tightening up those muscles ... but you will lose those muscles if you are not nourishing your body properly and instead your body will draw from the muscles for its energy and leave that fat because it stores more efficiently. 

You are AT LEAST moderatively active.  You can set your burn meter on moderatively active and then not log any exercise unless you go above and beyond what would be considered moderately active.  I had this same question a few months ago ... and that was the advice I was given.  I don't log exercise unless I do more than "normal" for my activity setting.  For me, I am currently on light activity setting ... and I only log exercise if I do more than 2 hours per day (LOL which doesn't happen very often right now). 

I hope that this helps.  Pat yourself on the back for wanting to be health conscious ... that is AWESOME!  I work with adolescents in a school setting and not a lot of girls your age would be so conscientious about their health while losing weight ... and many of them turn to VERY unhealthy means to drop a few pounds or more.  You also, may want to consult your PE or Health teacher if you have a relationship with either of them ... for some advise they are a great resource as long as you have that curriculum in your school.  The option to consult your school nurse ... he/she may have a lot of good information about nutrition and developing bodies.  I know the nurse in the school where I work is not always in the building ... but kids can make an appt. with her for the next time she is in the building.  Those are some great free resources available to you while you are still in high school so I would encourage you to access them while you have the opportunity!

Good luck!

~Gwen~

Original Post by salmander23:

should I eat the 1800 cals suggested by the child calculator to lose 1lb a week,

 If you're moderately active (an hour or so a day is moderate) and you want to lose a lb or two then 1800-2000 is a good place to aim for as a starting point.    1300 wouldn't do you any favours and you'd just be hungry, tired and miserable.  1800-2000 ... if you're intelligent with your food choices... would give you plenty of energy. 

This website is aimed specifically at teens that want to get a balanced healthy diet and shape up.  It doesn't mention calories at all... which is excellent. http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/teens /

many, many thanks to raginheadache for taking the time to answer my question about teen development. I never took organ development into consideration, so that helps me to understand why i need more calories than an adult female.

I thought 1300 cals sounded like a ridiculously low estimate too, even for someone who was fully developed. It's surprising to me, because I've heard such good reviews on the phord.com/cc website.

I will be MUCH happier on 1800-2000 calories! That's actually how much I normally eat when I just pay attention to my hunger and eat HEALTHY foods, so that should not be a problem. It's hard to believe it's that simple. I just have to focus on keeping the exercise consistent. .

GI Jane.. I LOVE that website. Very sensible advice and information. I have added it to my bookmarks toolbar :-)

Thank you BOTH for clearing up the activity level question.