how to get out of starvation mode without gaining to much weight

Hi, I am 13 years old, 5'3 and 92 pounds. I am an athlete and I thought I had to much fat so I kinda went on a crash diet and only ate about 600-800 calories a day. Now I am trying to stop and am eating 1400-1500 calories a day with no exercise until I start cross country which is in about 3 days. I lost about 10 pounds am afraid I am in starvation mode. I just have a few questions I would like answered please.

1. How many calories to you have to eat to go into starvation mode?

2. How manydo you have to eat to get out?

3. How long will it take to recover?

4. Will I gain ALL of the wieght back and then some?

5. If I gain all the weight back, will it be fat?

6. And finally, how do you raise you metabolism and lose the fat after starvation mode, but don't go back in again?

Please help! I lost my period for 2 months now and I am really scared. My mom won't take me to a doctor because she thinks I can solve this by myself.

Well u should use one of those calorie calculators to determine how much calories u should be consuming to maintain ur weight and then based on that u can see the amount that u want to take to either put on a couple if u want or to maintain the 92 pounds if that is what u wish.  I don't think u will put on back the weight if u were not starving urself.  I think if u were eating ur three meals then u shouldn't.  It's all about monitoring what u eat. At the same time, I would just be careful about weighing only 92 pounds.  That sounds like a red flag weight so just be careful that u don't lose anymore esp. being that ur 5' 3"

You need to understand that there's a difference between 'starvation mode' and 'starvation'....   Do check out this website specially aimed at people under 21... http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html

You'll see that you weren't overweight at 102lb & that you're currently in the 'at risk of being underweight' category.  You need to gain weight.  You'll also see that an active girl your age and size needs a baseline 2000-2300 cals a day because your body is growing and it needs plenty of energy and good nutrition.  So that's how many you need to get you off the mark.  Because you're young, your body will probably catch up quite quickly.  You will almost certainly gain weight because your body needs to recover and repair the damage.  Body-weight is a combination of fat, fluid, bone, muscle.... what you gain will be a combination of fat, fluid and muscle.  You keep your metabolism lively in the future, quite simply, by getting the right level of energy and being active. 

But do talk to your mother again.   You're very, very thin at the moment and you clearly have some serious issues with eating, body-weight and self-confidence.  If your periods are skipped for a third month you need to see a doctor.  My concern would be that if you launch into cross-country or some other vigorous exercise with your body in a weakened state you could become quite ill.  If your mother has problems with this is there a nurse at school that you could talk to? 

BTW...  bathroom scales should be forbidden to the under 16's.  Body-shape goes through all kinds of phases as you go through the change from 'girl' to 'woman'.... talk to your mum about these changes.  She's been through them as well.

You're 13! Get off this site before you scar yourself for life.

You are a child and uninformed about health.  Right now you are growing.  You are supposed to be getting bigger, not staying the same or getting smaller. 

If you undereat at this stage in your life you will cause yourself permanent damage.  Your bones won't develop, your heart (a muscle) will be weak, and your brain will be under developed. 

Please have your parents take you to your pediatrician for a complete physical and discuss your dieting with them. 

Meanwhile, don't expect support for what you are doing from calorie count.  We can encourage you to eat right, but we can't help you do things that are harmful. Here is some helpful information for you to share with your parents.

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/tee nweightloss.htm?nl=1Calorie

Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. Please help our moderators follow this vision and respect the following guidelines. 

Dear clairelaine,

I know I am not suppose to stay the same hieght/weight. I came here asking for help on how to get out of weight loss. I am not undereating anymore and am currently adding a lot more calories to my diet. I want to know how to gain weight back(mainly muscle mass). I am not trying to promote Anorexia or Bulimia either.

Crimsonsunxx, I am glad you see you are doing something wrong and need help. And everyone here is trying to help you.

Do you realize that eating 1400-1500 is STILL undereating for someone your age, especially an athlete (just because you aren't running this second doesn't mean you don't have the metabolism of a runner).

I would not spend too much time worrying about whether you are or are not in starvation mode.

I would focus on upping your calories ASAP and gain back the 10 lbs. I agree with Claire that you definitely were not overweight before you lost the 10 lbs and now you are in a danger zone.

Take care of yourself, you are about to start running again and will likely lose unless your cals go up to 2500 and probably more (maybe Coach Kay can come and give us some insight here?!).

Will you increase your calories????

Original Post by crimsonsunxx:

Dear clairelaine,

I know I am not suppose to stay the same hieght/weight. I came here asking for help on how to get out of weight loss. I am not undereating anymore and am currently adding a lot more calories to my diet. I want to know how to gain weight back(mainly muscle mass). I am not trying to promote Anorexia or Bulimia either.

I re-read your post and don't see any mention of you wanting to gain weight.  You are too young to be playing around with your health like this. You are a unique human being and it will take a professional to assess your health.  Please use the link I posted for more information about appropriate health for people your age.

Dear nycgirl,

Thank you for your help. i have upped my calorie intake to about 2000 at the moment. when I start running i think about 2500-2700 will work, but I will have to experiment. I am going to start lifting weights to see if I can gain some muscle back. I know what i did was stupid, yet again i have never been smart so I expected something like this would happen to me eventually.  Thank you for the help.

Dear clairelaine,

I know my post says nothing about gaining weight because I wasn't planning on finding out how to gain weight from random online people. I just wanted some thoughts on this. I am going to schedule a doctors appointment. I know I am to young and that I have got to be the stupidest person for doing that to my body.

crimson, don't be so hard on yourself.  nyc and claire had so much excellent advice for you and I am so glad that you've decided to take it.  This crash diet that you did does not in any way make you stupid.  It's simply a lack of knowledge about nutrition, and it's very common among young teens.  I think you are smart for seeking out a healthy site.  And you are way ahead of some other teens here that are your age because you have decided to actually listen to us.

Good luck and be sure to let us know how your doctor's visit goes.

Good for you!  You don't have to be alone in this.

Dear everyone,

I am doing much better in my struggle. I have started eating about 2000-2200 calories depending on the day. I am still very active, and am increasing calories on days of extreme exercise. I have been eating healthy and weight lifting to try and gain some weight back. So far, I have gained half a pound! I am happy about my accomplishment.

Tonight was my mom and step dad's anniversary and we had a bunch of seafood. I ate my weight(I know thats not much) in seafood. I logged it at about 2300, which for me is quite alot. I am not sure if I am eating enough yet though. For running 3-5 miles everyday plus walking about 6-7, do you think I am eating enough to gain weight? I average about 2000 a day.