Calorie intake - height/weight/age considerations

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askandtheanswer
askandtheanswer Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all, just a quick question if anyone can help!

I'm a 19 year old girl - around 5ft tall, and I haven't weighed myself in like two years (lack of scales around my accommodation) but I'm between 42-44kg. My calorie intake comes up (pretty much every day) as just under 1000 calories, sometimes even only 750 or so. I exercise pretty much every day, nothing too strenuous but some moderate cardio or toning exercises.

I'm aware that MFP and other websites advise not going under 1200 calories, but do you think this is a huge problem? I don't really get hungry, my appetite is generally pretty small, and I don't really eat particularly unhealthy things - my diet is pretty much chicken, salad, fruits, things like that. Also considering my age and height, perhaps my calorie needs are a lot smaller? Would be grateful if anyone can throw their opinion in!

(Ah and one last question: occasionally my protein figures/sugar intake gets in the red by a bit. But the protein is usually from white meat - generally chicken - and the sugar is from fruit, or the occasional one sugar in my tea/coffee. It's just the sugar/protein, my calories are usually never in the red. Is this alright, or should I be learning to restrict them somewhat?)

Thank you in advance!

Replies

  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    I worry that you might be underweight. According to BMI I found you are right along the bottom limit of what would be considered healthy. Keep in mind being underweight can cause many medical issues too.

    How accurately are you tracking your calories? It is possible you are eating more than you think which would be less cause to worry, but even with your small size 750 a day sounds really low, especially since it sounds like you are active.

    Do not worry about your protein and sugar going over on here. The default for them is pretty low.

    I think you should speak to a doctor or nutritionist and make sure you are at a healthy weight and your intake is sufficient for your needs.
  • askandtheanswer
    askandtheanswer Posts: 16 Member
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    Ah thank you so much for your help. I'll definitely check I'm tracking everything right, and I'll try and force myself to eat a few snacks throughout the day I think, keep my metabolism going and all. Thank you again (and for your concern!) xx
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    askandtheanswer wrote: »
    Hi all, just a quick question if anyone can help!

    I'm aware that MFP and other websites advise not going under 1200 calories, but do you think this is a huge problem? I don't really get hungry, my appetite is generally pretty small, and I don't really eat particularly unhealthy things - my diet is pretty much chicken, salad, fruits, things like that. Also considering my age and height, perhaps my calorie needs are a lot smaller? Would be grateful if anyone can throw their opinion in!

    Thank you in advance!

    YouR age gives you more calories than someone older. If you weight 100 pounds now and are sedentary, your TDEE (maintenance) is 1532 calories (BMR is 1390).

    As 4Legs pointed out, you are already at the bottom of the BMI scale...perhaps you need to focus on "toning" up rather than losing more lean muscle. Look for threads on body recomposition.
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
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    Think of protein like a minimum! And make sure you're getting adequate fat too. It's really important for hormone regulation, vitamin absorption, digestion, etc.

    The sugar column is sort of not working correctly, so I'd recommend changing it to something like iron or fibre. (You can change it in your settings!) Right now, the number is set for the recommended limit for *added sugar* (not including sugar naturally found in foods like dairy, fruit, etc). However, it actually can't distinguish between added sugar and inherent sugar, so basically everyone goes over. Don't let it make you think you can't have fruit or milk or something, it's misleading.

    And I agree with the others. IF you really are tracking accurately (weighing all your solid and semi-solid food), so you're actually eating 750-1k a day and you're also somewhat active, I do think that's too low for you, especially given your age. If you're not hungry, focus on adding some calorie dense foods -- these are foods with high calories for very small portions, so you don't feel like you're eating a lot more food. Like, 200 calories of peanut butter is, what, a couple small spoonfuls? And you can add it to fruit or other things you're already eating. Avocado is also nice! And if you're cooking, use olive oil or coconut oil or something you like, 1 tbl is like 120 cals, and it helps you get your fats.

    If you're not weighing your food, I'd get a scale and weigh, at least for a few weeks. See what you've really been eating. You may easily be eating a healthy amount, as it's super easy to be off when not weighing, and the little errors add up. Then you wouldn't have to make changes if you don't want to!

    And I also agree with TeaBea! You might be interested in body recomposition. :) You'd get to stay roughly the same size you are now, maybe even smaller, but get more muscular and "toned" looking, and have more calories to eat too.
  • askandtheanswer
    askandtheanswer Posts: 16 Member
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    Ah thank you all so much for your advice! I'll definitely be taking it all on board, thank you for all the suggestions :)
  • FeliJD
    FeliJD Posts: 22 Member
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    Wow 5ft and 42-43kg! That is small. I am 5ft 1 weighing 49-51kg. Although I am a bit older than you. I'd like to get to 45kg but struggle to stay within the 1200+ exercise calorie control. It would be useful to learn more about body recomposition. Doesn't that just make you more hungry? I work out quite a bit and find low calories is really hard.

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