surely i dont need that many calories....

17 years old.

85 kilograms (@*%#!!!!!)

170 centimetres tall.

Currently eating 1200 a day, aiming to be 60 kilos.

http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html

This website claims that I need to have 2600 calories a day for the amount of excercise I'm doing.

Is this right??? If I ate that much I know I would gain weight very very quickly. I have stopped growing, why would I need lots and lots of food? I feel fine and alert and happy on 1200...

Do I need to up my intake based on my age?

thanks for your help

And by the way, please don't start lecturing me...I know myself and my body, I just want to know if I'm doing it wrong.

Well, CC's tools aren't made for young adults under 21. The body may not grow taller, but internally, there's a lot going on, hence why you need to eat more. For someone under 21, you need 1500 calories to survive. 1200 calories is for an adult woman to survive. Usually unless you're a short middle-aged woman, you wouldn't need to eat that little of calories, especially if you're exercising!

If you have too big of a deficit, your body will start to go into starvation mode, your weight loss will hit a plateau, and all sorts of stuff like that. Basically, what you're eating right now? Not enough. You want a deficit of no more then 1000, but a good deficit would be 500, so if you want to lose weight, I recommend eating 2100 calories a day. Yup, you get to eat that much food. Don't eat less then 1600 for now. And.. just because it's the bareminimum 1600, I wouldn't eat that much either. XD 2100 is a healthier amount of calories.

If you don't want to gorge yourself in quantities of low-cal food, I reccomend eating foods with more calorie density that way you can feel comfortable and make sure you're getting enough calories in.

wow. ok.

this is proably enough to get me told off but i feel...apprehensive about eating more than i do.

Nah! It's normal. I was quite frightened about upping my cals! When I first started I was eating 1400 calories and exercising vigorously, couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing that much weight. I was told I needed to up my calories by a lot, and I was afraid I'd gain weight.

Nope, I managed to lose waaayy more weight, and really comfortably too. In the first few days of upping your cals, ignore the scale. Your sodium levels will go up thus you'll probably be holding in some extra water weight. ;3

Trust me, once you up your calories, you'll be so much better off, and feel a lot better too.

so if i eat more, i will lose more?

As weird as that is, yes!

And I was looking at your journals, it'll actually make you stop binging too. It seems more then likely your body is pretty much starving, and it'll make you go into auto-pilot as it attempts to gorge itself so it can get the calories and nutrients it needs. So if you feed it properly (which means eating more calories), you'll probably stop binging. (Assuming most of your binging is based on a physical issue.. ie not eating enough.)

sigh. weight loss is so complicated.

thankyou so much for your help :)

Original Post by kaybug:

Nah! It's normal. I was quite frightened about upping my cals! When I first started I was eating 1400 calories and exercising vigorously, couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing that much weight. I was told I needed to up my calories by a lot, and I was afraid I'd gain weight.

Nope, I managed to lose waaayy more weight, and really comfortably too. In the first few days of upping your cals, ignore the scale. Your sodium levels will go up thus you'll probably be holding in some extra water weight. ;3

Trust me, once you up your calories, you'll be so much better off, and feel a lot better too.

Do you mind if I ask how tall you are/how much you weighed when you upped your cals and what you upped them to?
Haha sorry but I am so curious. I need to increase my calories because Ive been sick recently and they have dipped way low and now Im kindof afraid to.

To the poster of the thread, I know how you feel!
You definitely need more than 1200, and even though it may seem counterproductive it does help. Its just the actual doing it part that mostly gets in the way.

I know it's scary when you're told to up your calories.  You spend your whole life believing that if you eat less then you'll lose weight, so to be told to eat more just seems wrong!

When I originally came to CC I had quite similar weight & height stats (170cm & 83kg) to yours and was sedentary.  My weight loss stalled after a couple of months of eating 1300 cals/day.  I was advised by the good people on this site to up my cals, so (after much soul searching!!) i did.  I now eat around 1600/day and I've been losing slowly and steadily ever since (i'm now 73kg).  Please believe me when I say this can work for you too.  A 500 cal deficit/day should see you losing 0.5kg a week (roughly depending on TOM etc...)  If the various tools you are using are saying you should be eating 2600 cals, then aim for 2100, maybe increasing your calorie intake by 100-200 cals a day until you get there.  And don't panic if the scales show a temporary rise...it will disappear as your body readjusts, your metabolism kicks in and your weight loss can safetly begin :o)

Good Luck!

So wait does that mean I should be upping my calories? I've gone to other sites but this one puts me as burning quite a bit. I'm 20y/o and exercise about an hour a day on average (if not more as I like walking my dog) and it says I'm burning around 3000kcal a day if not more since I'm below 21?

Honestly I have trouble hitting over 1500 because I just snack lightly throughout the day and never really hit any 'meals'. Can I really eat 2000kcal a day and lose weight?

I haven't read every sentence in every response, but I just wanted to make one thing clear.  You may have stopped growing in obvious ways (height, shoe size, etc), but your brain is still growing.  No, it's not getting bigger, it's just firming up the connections that were laid while still in the womb.  For that reason, it's important that you be sure to get enough calories and nutrients.  Eating 1200 cal/day at 17 y.o. isn't enough.  You should probably check with your doctor and/or a nutritionist who knows about adolescent development and nutrition.

Original Post by decempt:

Original Post by kaybug:

Nah! It's normal. I was quite frightened about upping my cals! When I first started I was eating 1400 calories and exercising vigorously, couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing that much weight. I was told I needed to up my calories by a lot, and I was afraid I'd gain weight.

Nope, I managed to lose waaayy more weight, and really comfortably too. In the first few days of upping your cals, ignore the scale. Your sodium levels will go up thus you'll probably be holding in some extra water weight. ;3

Trust me, once you up your calories, you'll be so much better off, and feel a lot better too.

Do you mind if I ask how tall you are/how much you weighed when you upped your cals and what you upped them to?
Haha sorry but I am so curious. I need to increase my calories because Ive been sick recently and they have dipped way low and now Im kindof afraid to.

I'm 5'5", I was about 160 when I wasn't eating enough, and I was losing veeeerry slooowly, so I upped my calories to 1800-2000 calories, and I started dropping weight like crazy. o.o Like, I was actually losing 2 pounds on average at first, where as before when I was eating too little, I'd only lose a pound every two weeks or so. Plus I felt so lethargic and frustrated before I upped my calories.

Here's a couple of threads you might want to check out for similar stories:

http://caloriecount.about.com/upping-cals-los e-success-stories-ft89606

http://caloriecount.about.com/upping-cals-los e-ft103224

questobefit - Yup! I would actually aim for 2500 calories instead. I think having a 500 calorie deficit instead of a 1000 calorie deficit is more beneficial. -shrug- Plus you get to eat more. XD Defiantly work your way up to eating 2000-2500 calories a day. You'll see a big difference.

Original Post by kaybug:

I'm 5'5", I was about 160 when I wasn't eating enough, and I was losing veeeerry slooowly, so I upped my calories to 1800-2000 calories, and I started dropping weight like crazy. o.o Like, I was actually losing 2 pounds on average at first, where as before when I was eating too little, I'd only lose a pound every two weeks or so. Plus I felt so lethargic and frustrated before I upped my calories.

Here's a couple of threads you might want to check out for similar stories:

http://caloriecount.about.com/upping-cals-los e-success-stories-ft89606

http://caloriecount.about.com/upping-cals-los e-ft103224

 

Ahhh that makes me feel so much better, haha. For the past two weeks Ive been having belly issues and have averaged around 1000 (and during my sick week weigh in this past Friday I was UP .4lbs for the first time in a long time), normally I get in around 1400 and my loss was around .7-2lbs a week but the 2lbs were mostly on weeks I was sick or not getting enough.
How long did the quicker weight loss last for?
I have no idea what to aim for, Id like to lose 1.5-2lbs a week. Im 5'4'' and 147lbs. Geez Im rambling.

Anyways thanks so much for the reply and the links! Im checking them out right now.

Original Post by decempt:

Original Post by kaybug:

I'm 5'5", I was about 160 when I wasn't eating enough, and I was losing veeeerry slooowly, so I upped my calories to 1800-2000 calories, and I started dropping weight like crazy. o.o Like, I was actually losing 2 pounds on average at first, where as before when I was eating too little, I'd only lose a pound every two weeks or so. Plus I felt so lethargic and frustrated before I upped my calories.

Here's a couple of threads you might want to check out for similar stories:

http://caloriecount.about.com/upping-cals-los e-success-stories-ft89606

http://caloriecount.about.com/upping-cals-los e-ft103224

 

Ahhh that makes me feel so much better, haha. For the past two weeks Ive been having belly issues and have averaged around 1000 (and during my sick week weigh in this past Friday I was UP .4lbs for the first time in a long time), normally I get in around 1400 and my loss was around .7-2lbs a week but the 2lbs were mostly on weeks I was sick or not getting enough.
How long did the quicker weight loss last for?
I have no idea what to aim for, Id like to lose 1.5-2lbs a week. Im 5'4'' and 147lbs. Geez Im rambling.

Anyways thanks so much for the reply and the links! Im checking them out right now.

No probs. It eventually slowed down since my weight got lower, and I started exercising less (I started losing weight during the summer.. so when it advanced towards fall and started getting colder outside, I got lazy and thus .) XD  On average, once I hit the low end of the 150's, I was losing a pound a week, which was pretty sweet, considering some people go weeks and weeks without losin' anything. So.. once you hit a lower weight, it'll slow down by much more.

Probably still going to be faster then what you're losing now, though. o.o

I would seriously not worry about flunctuation. When you up your calories, you will see an increase, but it's just sodium. I actually reccomend that you stop weighing yourself on a daily basis and just start weighing yourself twice a week after you've gone to the bathroom in the morning, otherwise you're going to see a lot of ups and downs, which gets reeeeally frustrating. But maybe that's just me. -shrug-

Original Post by kaybug:

No probs. It eventually slowed down since my weight got lower, and I started exercising less (I started losing weight during the summer.. so when it advanced towards fall and started getting colder outside, I got lazy and thus .) XD  On average, once I hit the low end of the 150's, I was losing a pound a week, which was pretty sweet, considering some people go weeks and weeks without losin' anything. So.. once you hit a lower weight, it'll slow down by much more.

Probably still going to be faster then what you're losing now, though. o.o

I would seriously not worry about flunctuation. When you up your calories, you will see an increase, but it's just sodium. I actually reccomend that you stop weighing yourself on a daily basis and just start weighing yourself twice a week after you've gone to the bathroom in the morning, otherwise you're going to see a lot of ups and downs, which gets reeeeally frustrating. But maybe that's just me. -shrug-

Yeah now that its winter Im always inside, and visiting family so I dont have access to a gym here.
I wonder how much I could lose by upping? I dont even know how much to increase to. Today Im aiming for 1300 because yesterday was so horrible (500something. Im still sick)

I only weigh once a week, daily would drive me nuts. At most I weigh twice a week but thats rare.

Thank you so much (again) for all your advice

How are you doing with your weight loss lately? I hope all is well (:

Can i jus weigh in and ask some advice here?

I'm 27, 5ft 3 and about 156lbs. I wana lose a little more and i appear to be stuck.

Now i'm the first to admit, I dont really eat enough. I tend to hover round 600-700 cal a day, but i drink milk, tea and juice til it comes out of my ears. On weekends I tend to have groovy snack like wine gums sweets, but feel guilty after, even though i managed to convince myself it was ok.

Here's the thing tho; I can't afford the gym (sounds a cop out but i can't) so I don't really excercise. I don't work everyday, but when i do work I work about 6 hours a day, standing up, I walk two miles from the bus stop to work, I used to walk for fun upto and beyond 6 miles everyday, but kinda gave up when i started working at a new job. Now I spend most of my days sittin on my butt watching tv or playing video games.

So here is my question; How many calories, at such a sedentary level should I REALLY be taking in? I've read that even at such a sedentary state, i can eat 1300 and still lose. I'm not asking can i get away with not moving at all and still lose, what i'm askin is is this number right? I know about moving more, hence why i do love long walks, but then i get confused because I don't know if i should stay at that 1300 target or up it. Especially if I don't walk for the next four days. I'm kinda sporadic with my plan, but the problem is that I get very obsessional bout it. I'm really resistant to upping my calorie intake, though I do gorge sometimes and I would love to eat a decent amount, not feel guilty and not accidently go over the target because I drank too much juice or tea. 

As you can see I seem to be in a bit confused and nuts about this and I know I can't go on in such a manic state. I seem to be on the edge of an eating disorder, but I'm not sure what's right to do. Up the calories and risk gaining because i'm not moving enough, or stay where i am and risk my body hitting starvation mode.

Someone help me :D

If you stand up at work, you are not sedentary.  Call yourself "lightly active" even if that's the only time you're not sitting down.

I'm the same height as you, about the same weight (fluctuating between 150 and 152) and five years older.  I teach, so that's a standing up job too.  I lost weight easily on 1600-1700 calories/day when I wasn't exercising much outside of my job.  I'm now eating 2100 calories/day (though planning to drop that back down to 1800-1900), exercising for 2 hours x 3 days a week, and losing slowly.  I see no reason you can't eat 1500 calories/day and lose.  Because you've been starving yourself, you'll gain weight (mostly water) the first couple of weeks, but it'll come back off.  Once you fix your metabolism, 1500 calories/day should be a good amount for you to healthily lose weight.

im your height around your weight and eating 3000 cals with little exercise and losing weight! come on!! up your cals and see the weight loss.

mcwoo81, don't be afraid to eat! I am 26, 5'4" and around 163. I walk to work and back and on errands, but usually no more than 3 miles per day. I consider myself "lightly active." Without any exercise on top of that, I eat 1700 calories/day and still lose weight. When I am exercising, I eat quite a bit more.

Like susiecue said, you will gain weight in the beginning, but it will come back off. It is a small price to pay for fixing your metabolism and taking steps towards developing a healthy relationship with food!

You may well find that once you stop starving yourself you will feel happier and saner, and lose the urge to gorge.

When you up your calories (which you will, right?), just make sure you also log your drinks as well. Then you won't have to worry about going over your calorie target, since you will know exactly how much you are putting in your body.

Good luck, and happy eating!

Original Post by yaza:

im your height around your weight and eating 3000 cals with little exercise and losing weight! come on!! up your cals and see the weight loss.

You may have a fast metabolism...

You don't know the thread starter's body and how fast it burns calories. She could be one of those unlucky saps who avoids Honey Buns like AIDS becuase it's hard for her to burn off... I'm an unlucky sap for sure :[

Thank you so much for the comments so far, especially susiecue and theholla. I appreciate any help i can get.

As I said in my previous post I do get obsessive (I put obsessional, it was late forgive the sloppy language :D) and while I know everything about carbs, proteins, fat, how the body breaks it all down and uses it, etc, I'm stil strugglin with how that relates to me. As moon_doggie noted I am someone whose metabolism is pretty slow and I used to be 188 lbs, so being cautious about what i eat is big thing to me now.

In answer to your post theholla, I have been keeping a diary and noting not only my food but my drink as well, as I said I drink milk, juice and tea til it comes out of my ears (literaly cartons of juice a day) so I was never really that worried about how many calories I actually it. Is there a cut off point where it doesn't make any difference how much you drink or is it possible to gain weight PURELY through drinking. Does anyone know?

Keep the replies coming, I need all the info that I can relate to ME and not jus an average person I can get :D.

Cheers