How many calories should I be eating to survive?

Teresa

Hey y’all so recently I’ve been tracking all my calories on the lifesum app and my calorie food intake per day on average has been about 900 and I’ve worked out a lot and burn about 400 calories every day. I just want to make sure I’m not going too far, I am 17, 5ft 2”, female, and I weigh 125 lbs, I’m also trying to build abs if that helps. I just want to know how many calories should I be having to not have health concerns because I’m kind of clueless is this bad or good?

285 views • 1 upvote • 9 comments

COMMENT (9)

C

Posted at
You are definitely not eating ennough calories. Even tho alot of people think that restricting calories is the best way to loose weight, it’s not always true. If there’s too much calorie restriction your body freaks out and save all the fat it can. You should be eating at a minimum I think 1500 calories a day for it to be healthy

M

Posted at
At least 1200 I believe

Ba

Posted at
I would say 1500 minimum for you since you are young and not overweight. Plus more calories to replenish what you lost during the workout. For example: I exercise 4-5 days per week and aim for an intake of 2000 calories/day. I eat more calories if its a long workout and 1800 calories/day if I dont exercise that particular day. You are young so you should have a pretty fast metabolism. If you want abs, cut out the processed foods and eat clean. But definitely dont restrict your calories. Also make sure you take at least 1 rest day and/or very easy day a week to let your body recover properly. Keep in mind that weight is just a number on the scale. It fluctuates daily pending on water weight, fat, and muscle mass. You could weigh exactly the same now and have ripped abs or you could weigh less and be an unhealthy, skinny fat person.

Al

Posted at
If you’re trying to build abs you should be eating much more. At least 1200 calories a day. Make a lot of that protein

Am

Posted at
That's definitely too low. Especially with the amount of calories you are burning. Plus your body is still growing. That takes a lot of energy! You're very likely starving your body which can have serious long term damage. Talk to your doctor about a good fitness routine and caloric intake. You definitely need to have a minimum of 1,200 and even that is really low for your work outs.

Mo

Posted at
If you’re trying to build muscle, I would eat at least 1400 a day if not more. 900 isn’t healthy even for a person trying to slim down, which you aren’t. Eat, baby! You deserve it.

Ce

Posted at
You need a minimum of 1200 calories a day, and that's without exercising, to prevent your body going into starvation mode

Ma

Posted at
You should probably work with a personal trainer or nutritionist who can give you a guideline of how many calories/ what to eat and what workouts you could do in order to get your body where you want it. You’re definitely going overboard and your body will suffer if you don’t change it quickly. There’s a saying “abs are made in the kitchen” and that means definitely not starving yourself.

An

Posted at
You’re on poverty macros. 900 is not even close to what your body needs to carry out every day functions. This is different for every person, but I have to eat a minimum of 1300-1400 calories just to sit and breathe.