Teenager seeks caloric help.

kaylynhudson
kaylynhudson Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
Hello, my name is Kaylyn and I am 17 years old. I am 5' 2" and I weigh about 135 pounds. I do not have a lot of weight to lose, however, I have had a sudden increase in cellulite in my legs and arms. I have a very athletic build because I was a gymnast for about ten years. I would like to lose about ten pounds. I work out 5-6 days a week. During my workouts, I do a five minute cardio warm up, 30 minutes working one muscle group, then 30-40 minutes of cardio. I burn up to 500 calories doing this and I switch up the muscle group daily. I've been doing using MFP for a while now, and I just can't eat 1200 calories. Mentally, I feel like that it was too much food for me because I am petite and I don't have much to lose. Physically, I am never hungry enough to eat that much food. However, after eating around 900 calories a day and working out qutie frequently for about a month now without seeing any improvements anywhere, I feel like I might be eating too few calories. I am just so confused when it comes to the "eat few calories diet" or the "eat many calories to lose weight diet" PLEASE HELP ME! I fear all this stress about how to eat will cause me to gain weight due solely to stress. Thanks for any advice you have.

Replies

  • livingdeadlifter
    livingdeadlifter Posts: 36
    Relying a lot on counting calories causes stress. My recommendation to you is to eat low-processed/unprocessed foods most of the time. You're DEFINITELY not eating enough. If you're working out most days, you'll need well above 1200 calories to a) feel mentally clear and b) lose weight. There's so much misinformation about calories and biochemistry out there. Eat more protein, more fat, more vegetables, less sugar, less processed food. Stick to veggies, fruits, eggs, meat, fish, soups, low-processed dairy, and whole grains if you feel you must eat grain products most days of the week, and maybe one day a week have what you want. Just because you're petite doesn't mean you need to be eating next to nothing. I'm 5'3" and yesterday I ate 1700-ish calories (no sugar, no bread, no alcohol) and woke up weighing less. I work out 5-6 days a week too, and I lift heavy weights (deadlifts, squats, etc). I actually ate over 2000 calories today, much of it protein-based. And I know I'm not going to gain weight from it because the food I ate was unprocessed/low-processed. You can do this, just concentrate on QUALITY not necessarily QUANTITY! :)
  • kaylynhudson
    kaylynhudson Posts: 2
    I just can't bring myself to eat 1200 calories even. I eat three meals a day and I always end the meals pretty full. The only way I can get in the right amount of calories is if I force myself to eat when I am not hungry and I don't want to start any bad habits.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
    You aren't eating enough. Anything under 1200 is metabolic suicide. Since you were a gymnast you must have a good deal of lean muscle yes? If so your BMR is probably much higher than you are eating for. Eating below your BMR for and extended period of time will shutdown your metabolism and your body will NOT release fat.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Figure out your body fat % and then use this to get your BMR/TDEE (the one on the right): http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

    Set it to Moderate Exercise given your described routine. Once you get your numbers, never eat below the BMR and never above your TDEE. TDEE-500 = 1 pound loss/week. TDEE-1000 = 2 pounds/week (only if it doesn't go below your BMR)

    I can speak to this from personal experience. I was eating 1500/day, netting 900 after workouts. My BMR is 2157. I lost a ton for about 6-8 weeks then BAM... hit the wall. Nothing. No movement. It sucked. Now I'm up to 2300/day (1000 less than TDEE) and I lose 1/2 pound/day on average. Took 3 weeks for my metab to restart and I had to gain 5 pounds back. I lost so much valuable loss time because of this.

    If you are fairly lean already you may have to settle for 1 pound/week.

    Hope this helps.
  • livingdeadlifter
    livingdeadlifter Posts: 36
    Have you ever tried not counting calories and just seeing how you feel? Sorry I'm just curious. For a while a few years ago I diligently counted and felt I couldn't eat more than like 1400 or so. I felt stressed and miserable, and I was running 5-6 days a week. I injured myself and then gained back the 20 pounds I lost. I took some time away from counting for a while, and then just went back to tracking more for protein intake than anything. It's been working. I feel better, I have more muscle, I'm eating much more, I know when I'm physically hungry vs. bored.

    If you're really worried about this see your doctor or a nutritionist... or both, really. You don't want to force yourself to eat if you're not hungry, but you need to feed yourself. I'd say talk to a professional.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
    I just can't bring myself to eat 1200 calories even. I eat three meals a day and I always end the meals pretty full. The only way I can get in the right amount of calories is if I force myself to eat when I am not hungry and I don't want to start any bad habits.

    Umm 2oz of plain natural almonds is like 320 calories and really good for you. It's a handful of nuts. Eat it between meals. So if you have 4oz of almonds/day that's 640 calories right there and I guarantee you will not be full LOL.

    As for eating 1200, I never thought I could eat 2300 but I can and do daily. Reduce your meal portions and increase from 3 meals to 6-7 meals. Eat like every 2-3 hours, it doesn't have to be a full meal, but keep your furnace burning.
  • SweetPotato221
    SweetPotato221 Posts: 8
    I am a former competitive distance runner who is 5'1". I gained quite a bit when I stopped training to follow academic pursuits - I went from eating 2500 calories per day to keep up with training to zero activity whatsoever. Because you are still doing your intense training regimen, and most likely have a low body fat percentage, 900 calories per day seems totally extreme, and you may be wrecking your metabolism with your current diet. Given your young age and activity level, I would guess that you could lose weight eating 1700-1800 calories per day. My winter fitness plan includes mostly lengthy power walks and free weights, and I have been shooting for around 1700 although I am a tiny person probably with a higher BFP than you.

    I have seen fellow athletes get very run down and physically ill from overtraining and not eating enough. Whereas very obese people may benefiit from a very low calorie diet, it's definitely not appropriate for someone your size. Also, given the type of workouts you are doing, you would probably want to consume a higher pereventage of complex carbohydrates than the average person. If I were eating as little as you were, I imagine that my short term memory would be pretty awful by now, I'd be constantly tired, and unfocused. I recommend that you have a chat with a trainer or nutritionist to figure out what your calorie needs actually are and work on getting your metabolism back to normal. I'm not a doctor, but given the information you posted, you are risking illness and long term damage to your body by only eating 900kcal per day - see a professional who can give you sound diet and nutrition information rather than relying on us (the masses) for help.

    P.S. The appearance of cellulite can be improved with fat loss, but it is pretty much genetically determined by the thickness and strength of the lowest layer of skin above the fat. Therefore, supplementation with collagen and foods/vitamins that support skin elasticity may help with damage control, but don't beat yourself up over it, it happens to the best of us :)

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