What should my calorie limit be?

1,100 and under will push your body into starvation mode, and rather than lose weight your body will start storing everything you eat out of survival instincts. Your body will think that you are starving, and prepares for the worst case of not having sustenance.

I get the idea of giving sustainable advice and offering healthy options, but what you're saying here is a misconception amongst the weight-loss community and frankly incorrect.

There is a true phenomenon known as the starvation response and it is well documented in the Minnesota Starvation experiments and the Hunger Fasts that have been studied. However, it only happens in humans when they lose enough body fat that they fall below the level of essential fat. In a man, this would be below around 5% fat and in women just above that.

http://www.healthscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=512:are-you-in-the-starvation-mode-or-starving-for-truth&catid=102:jeff-novicks-blog&Itemid=267

So, what did the results of the study find? First, all participants lost weight. Starvation mode does not result in your body hanging onto extra fat or calories in an effort to “preserve” your body. But, it’s more complicated than just losing weight. All of the participants also experienced a drop in their metabolic rates – approximately 40% below baseline. Now, you will see many posters here that will argue that you will start losing muscle and not fat within a few days of going into so-called “starvation mode.” Yet, the research shows that participants lost both. In fact, at no point did they stop losing fat until they hit a rate of approximately 5% body fat near the end of the study.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/761810-the-starvation-mode-myth-again

Overall, the loss of weight will lower the TDEE calculations, so constant recalculation is required as the scale rolls back, and diet adjustments will need to be made. However, until you are at the point of literal near-death starvation, worrying about the body holding onto calories to stay alive is incorrect and bad science.

Research your facts, spread information and knowledge, not misconceptions.

At 19 years old your body should tend to have a higher metabolic rate although it may just need to be jump started. If you are planning for 30-40min of cardio per day, suggesting that you maybe go two days on and one day off to start then increase, your body is still going to need enough calories to get you the energy needed to make it. I would suggest you start at 1500-1700 calories per day and monitor that for a couple weeks and then tweak from there. Good luck

Have you been researching this since August to make as your first post?

Leptin

Poor attempt at a smarmy reply - some of us don't regularly use the forums.

Self-control.

Have you been researching this since August to make as your first post?

Leptin

Poor attempt at a smarmy reply - some of us don't regularly use the forums.

Self-control.

No a poor attempt is trying to rip apart a study by posting a link to a website with zero citations to backup its claims.

So are you advocating an 1100 calorie a day diet? Or were you just here to give an opinion on a scientific experiment?

The science is there, and widely available to those who research their claims before offering advice.

That being said, some pushing 40 who still makes 'your mom' jokes on the internet and tries to troll people about their post count can hardly be expected to do any real research.