Hi everyone, I am here to ask for some advice/help. I'm sure you all have seen so many threads like this so if you can maybe foward me to one or just give me a few pointers to get me on track that would be great. So basically, I've never had an issue with weight. I ate like crap when I was little, I ate huge servings of anything I wanted and I never really gained weight. I pretty much remained that way for all my life (I'm 19). I guess you could say I have very good genes or a quick metabolism. Who knows. Then I started to realize I was eating really poorly, and going into my freshmen year at college I decided I was going to start watching what I ate. I guess you could say I got a little obsessive, because I was eating EXTREMELY healthy. I refused to eat anything the school provided because it was all fried or cooked in too much butter/oil or something. I was eating about 900 calories a day, which I know is really really bad for you. The reason my calorie intake was so small is because I was eating smaller meals of the healthiest things possible to get at school (my diet consisted mostly of soup, salad, egg whites, fruits, vegetables, and oatmeal). Obviously now that I'm home for the summer I have upped my calorie intake to a much healthier level (about 1200). I wake up late so I only have about 2 meals a day with several snacks thrown in. I'm 5'7" and I've been fluctuating between 120-123. I'm not very good at exercising, but I try to swim at least 3 times a week. My biggest problem is, I feel like the second I go over about 1100/1200 calories I start to gain weight. Like this weekend I ate a litlte more then I usually do and now I'm up to 125. I know its not a bad number, but I don't want to have that burden over my head, you know? If I have no other choice I guess I have no other choice, but I'd like one. So if anyone has any advice that would be wonderful thanks.
I think, first of all, that as you finish with puberty and your body becomes more womanly, your weight will shift a little bit. You won't be able to maintain the weight you had as a 16 year old forever. You might need to let your body find its favorite weight--that might wind up being a little higher than 125 or it might not.
Secondly, there is NO WAY that a healthy woman who is 5'7 and 19 needs to eat fewer than 1200 calories a day to maintain her weight. Unless you have some thyroid problem (or other health problem that I can't guess at) you absolutely SHOULD NOT gain weight at those calories. I am two inches taller and twelve years older than you and my maintenance calories are between 2000 and 2500. You should be able to eat AT LEAST 1800 calories a day. I think only formerly obese, quite short women who are well into middle age (sorry ladies!) have to maintain at such a low calorie level. You should not.
This is just speculation on my part, and perhaps someone else with more expertise might be able to contribute, but I wonder if you haven't done a number on your metabolism by eating so little for the past year. It's really, really bad to spend a year eating so few calories--you can't meet your nutritional needs on 900 a day. You're not eating heathily by avoiding all fats and giving your body starvation-level calories and nutrients. Your body needs more respect than that. Those of us who try to eat as healthily as possible know that it is quite possible to eat 2000 calories a day of fruit, veggies, complex carbs, lean proteins and good fats.
So, in short, you need to increase your calories (do it gradually--100 calories added a week) and you might want to think about seeing a doctor or nutritionist. Weight gain at 1200 calories a day for you doesn't really make sense.
(Btw, how often are you weighing yourself? You might find it best if you stick to weighing once a week at the same time of day in the same clothes. You can drive yourself nuts with ordinary fluctuations if you weigh too often.)
Yeah! That was a great post. I agree, I really hope I didn't do any damage when I was at school to my metabolism, that would really really suck on my part. And I hope your right by saying that I could possibly maintain on 1800 calories of food, that would be awesome. I would be able to eat so much more. I don't think I will be able to eat that much though, only because like I said, I usually don't eat breakfast since I get up at 11/12 in the summer so I'm waking up right to lunch. So I will try to increase my intake gradually, and I'll have to track what I eat prettyyy well. I weigh myself daily and I know I shouldn't, I just can't help not to. I would feel worse if I didn't. But thank you so much for the advice, hopefully I can start eating more, that would be nice!
One other thing to keep in mind is that your weight fluctuations are related to what you eat also. You said you ate a bit more than usual this weekend and are up two pounds -- did you eat a lot of salty food over the weekend? That can make you retain water and kick the scale up a couple pounds temporarily, but it will go away in a few days if you drink plenty of water.
I have another warning against eating too few calories because I did it the first time I lost weight (with slim-fast). Be very careful because eating too few calories can cause stomach problems like acid indigestion and ulcers. I had major stomach problems after eating too little, and I think it's because my stomach was producing enough acid to digest way more food than I put in, and as a result was digesting itself. Anyway you already know eating too little can be bad for you, I just wanted to add my 2 cents.
Also in terms of weighing daily vs weekly . . . I have always weighed daily, but I only count one day a week as my "official" weight. That way I can monitor fluctuations and get used to them, without getting worried about a couple pounds of water weight. Also, make sure you weigh at the same time and under the same conditions every day (I do it first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom, with no clothes on). Your weight can vary several pounds during the day.
Actually I have a question for you also . . . Did you lose weight during the school year? If so, how much did you weigh before you started cutting calories so much? Maybe your body wants to return to that weight.
Yeah, since I'm always out with my friends there are so many temptations to eat crappy food so I must have eaten something with a lot of salt. I need to up my water intake a LOT. I bought naturally flavored seltzer water.. thoughts? I know its not the same but I drink so much more, its easier to get down then water is.
Yeah I also weigh myself in the same conditions every day, the same way you do. I think its a really good idea to pick one day as your actual weight thats smart. At school I was down to about 117 (ick). I can't really remember what I was before that, but I know I've never been more then like 125/130. I know I'll never get back down to 117 ever again haha, but I'd like to remain at like 122. Like I said before, weight is just a number, but sometimes I feel like I can start to see the added weight, liek in my face and hips. Hopefully my body can deal with 122, which is not an unhealthy weight for my height. Now the problem is trying to maintain it on the most food possible, which I have a feeling isn't going to be as much as I'd like haha.
I think you definitely had a problem relating to anorexia/orthorexia (an obsession with "healthy food") and yes, as a consequence, you WILL have set up your metabolism to believe your body is being starved, so itll grab any extra calories, and hang on for dear life, or in other words, you may well gain weight.
I'm 19 too, and 5ft 7ins, and I can eat 2,000 cals a day with 30 mins moderate exercise and maintain at 128lbs, so I'd say your metabolism definitely needs gentle boosting. As another poster says, take your 900 then add 100 for a week, then 100 more the next week etc. If you feel you gain "too fast", go up in fortnightly increments. But you certainly do need to get to the stage whereby you can eat about 1800 minimum to maintain, or your health really will suffer.
flavoured seltzer water still counts. plain water is all the better!
Wow thats great that you can eat that much. I don't eat 900 anymore obviously, that was at school. Now I'm up to like 1100 so yeah I'll try to keep upping it each week. Thanks for the advice everyone!
Simley, I average around 1,200 per day but I'm a half a foot shorter than you. Definitely, your calorie intake should be higher. Good luck finding that happy medium.
inevitable weight gain?
So if anyone has any advice that would be wonderful thanks.
