(Help) How many calories to have a day?
 

Hi :) I need some help with finding out how many calories I have to consume every day to lose weight. I started exercising around March this year - I was sick of how much weight I had gained (mostly from eating junk food.) Since then, I have gone down 1 and a half sizes and I am proud of how far I have come :D . I currently exercise 7 days a week for 40-60 mins on a stationary bike, doing 30 seconds on max resistance as fast as I can then pedalling slower for a minute for the entirety of the workout. Other than that, I do sit-ups and 2kg weights each day but where I'm stuck is how many calories to consume. Up until about two months ago, I wasn't counting calories (just eating as healthy as I could, with as little processed foods as possible) but now I've started and I'm getting a lot of different recommendations on how many to have every day. I'm sixteen years old, female and around 5"9-5"10. I don't know my weight at the moment and I don't have any scales at home so I have no idea how many calories to have. I started off with dropping to 1200 per day, because I read from different websites that that was the lowest recommended amount for a woman, but I'm really confused now because I've also read that teenagers need 1800+ calories a day for growth. At the moment I'm having 1400 calories a day and I eat 6 small meals a day and I find that keeps me fuller than 3 big meals. Any help would be great, I'm really stuck :(

Honestly? If you weren't counting before two months ago then I really wouldn't bother starting. Sounds like you were doing just fine without it! Most of us would love to be able to loose without counting... You are young and want to learn your body hunger signals and listen to them it's way more effective long term than counting calories, trust me. I started with counting calories just because my idea of portion sizes was way off, but I've learned about my body.

If you still want to count calories, definitely I'd go more than 1400 unless you're actually four feet tall, and make sure you get lots of protein, or you'll be loosing more muscle than fat. You're also taller than me! I started at 1600-1800 calories a day and I'm 5'1" and I was able to lose weight at a great pace that didn't harm me.

You're still growing at age 16, I wouldn't restrict calories to 1400 at all. Especially with all the exercising you are doing (go you!) I would aim for 1800 cals of the highest nutrition possible. Steer clear of any and all processed foods and look into all the new research about eating high quality fats - they are so important and not at all bad for you. :)