Advice on calories

Janerspencer

Hi! I am 18 years old and weigh around 115 pounds. I am comfortable and happy with this weight, and for the first time in a while, I am slightly confident in my body! I'm about 5'6 and I do an hour of cardio 6 days a week and lift as heavy as I can about 3 days a week. This summer, I was about 130lbs, and with the approval of my mom, I decided to lose a bit of weight. I didn't realize it, but I was eating about 1,000 calories a day for about a month, then I upped it to 1,200. I didn't realize how little I was eating at the time, and I wish I could go back, because I would never have done that if I had known!! I realized how little I was eating last week when I started to get very lightheaded and it was harder to workout, and I calculated, and realized how little I was eating! For someone that burns about 800 calories a day just through exercise, that is not nearly enough to eat!! I am afraid that by bringing my calorie intake down so low I have damaged my metabolism. I've been at a low calorie intake for about 3 months. I want to increase my calories, but I am afraid that if I increase too much too soon, I'll gain weight, which I don't want to do! I want to increase to as high as my body needs to fuel me properly as fast as possible without gaining weight! Can anyone help me?? How many calories should I be eating, and how can I repair the damage on my metabolism I have done, and how do I increase my calories without gaining weight?

_lyndseybrooke_

Your TDEE (the amount of calories your body burns throughout the day, including workouts) is about 2300 calories. That's your maintenance - what you technically should be able to eat without losing or gaining any weight. How accurate that number is depends on the individual, though.

Three months at 1000-1200 calories most likely didn't do much damage. If you increase your calories from 1200 to 2300, you WILL see some temporary weight gain, but it will go away. I'd start off with 2000 calories, don't weigh yourself for a month, and then see where you are. If you lose, increase your intake. If you gain, drop your intake to 1800 and wait another month. It's all trial and error. Don't be discouraged by sudden gains - they're a temporary side effect of increasing your caloric intake.

At 5'6" 115 lbs, you are right right on the borderline between underweight and normal/healthy weight. I know you don't want to gain, but at this point gaining would be better than losing. In fact, your previous weight of 130 lbs is the "ideal weight" for your height. It's not up to me what weight you feel good at, but you really need to stay in the healthy weight range by avoiding any more loss.

Don't increase your calories 100 per week or something like that. You need to up it quite a bit to prevent losing anymore. Eat, girl!

Janerspencer

Thank you!
I honestly recognize that I developed a bit of an obsession with working out and eating low calories, because I am the type of person that does something ALL THE WAY and I obsess over it! Here is just a typical day of eating for me...I have always been a healthy eater.
Breakfast: 1 cup of 0% fat plain Greek yogurt with cacao powder and a banana with some orange juice (about 300ish calories)
Morning snack: an apple or banana with PB2 or almonds or a Quest bar (200ish calories)
Lunch: kale, chard, spinach salad with toasted almonds and an apple (about 250 total I think...before anyone says anything...yes I do enjoy salads!)
Afternoon snack: usually same as morning (200ish calories)
Dinner: whatever my mom makes, but we all eat very well so its usually healthy and nutritious

I always have "cheat meals" once a week, which I always feel guilty about afterwards, but I don't restrict myself at all during cheat meals! In fact I am going to my favorite restaurant tomorrow and I cannot wait! I am not going to lie...I do not want to gain weight, and I do have more muscle definition now...but I have accepted that I cannot live like this forever because #1, I am constantly exhausted, and #2 it is not good for me at all! Just looking for a way I can eat more, while gaining minimal weight...and I feel like reverse dieting would be the best way. I do not track macros, and I do not think it would be at all practical for me to track macros while I live at home, and eat my mom's meals frequently, and I do not have time to track macros. Is there a way I can reverse diet without tracking macros? I just want to increase calories as soon as possible

terbusha

I would not do any big jumps in calorie intake. If you're metabolism is down, we can get it back up with a reverse diet. Check out this video on the subject: www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3gTGLulLnI

I've done this myself and have helped other people do it too, so if you have any questions, hit me up. I'm always happy to help out.

Allan

gothchiq

It takes more than 3 months to wreck your metabolism. Don't freak yourself out, you can get back to normal.