Expert: Ginger M. - 10/2/2008

Question
hello,
im a 14 year old boy,
i do only a little exercise(walking for 20 mins aday. some times not even that!)

and in order for you to answer my question im going to have to fill you in on my history.


about eight weeks ago i was eating 300-400 calories aday, i realised that this was to low and i was most likely killing myself.
so i raised it to 500 calories aday. after some research i found out that i was slowing my metabolism and entering "starvation mode"

i ate 800 calories for one week then changed to 900.
so i changed once again to 900 cals.

im currently eating 900 calories aday:
200 for breakfast
300 for lunch
400 for tea

i eat healthy foods. protein veg fruit carbs ect.


im considering raising my calorie intake to

1000 calories aday:

300 for breakfast
300 for lunch
400 for tea

but is this enough?
have i slowed my metabolism?
if i were to eat 1000-1200 calories aday i would gain weight?
would i still be skinny?



please help me!!!!!!  

Answer
Hi Zack,
Thanks for your question! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you- I had a bit of an emergency I had to tend to.

I think you have most definitely slowed your metabolism. Before eight weeks ago, when you were eating 300-400 calories a day, how much were you eating? 900 calories a day will still keep your body in starvation mode, and it's likely that 1,000 calories a day will, too. As a male (and a growing male), you should be eating 2,200 calories a day to be healthy! I know this probably sounds like a lot to you, and it's maybe scary, but that's the recommended daily intake for a male.

The good thing is that you can speed your metabolism up again. Your body goes into starvation mode and starts holding on to every calorie and nutrient, because it isn't sure when it will be getting food again, or if it will get enough. Taking in more calories is a good way to do it. If it's too scary, don't start at 2,200 all at once- can you go from 900 to 1,200? 300 more calories isn't much, do you think you can add them in your day as two 150 calorie snacks, maybe? You could try to drink those milkshake-type drinks- I'm not sure what they're called where you are, but here they're Boost or Ensure. They're the type they give people in the hospital, and you can get them at the supermarket. These drinks are loaded with all kinds of good stuff your body needs, but are low in fat, so they might not be as scary for you to add them in as snacks.

When I was going through the same thing you were, I was frightened to death that I would gain a lot of weight. My doctors assured me I wouldn't, and they were right. My nutritionist said. "You can eat 700 calories and have your body hold on and store each one, or you can eat 1,700 and your body will use them the way it needs to." In the end, it worked out even- I ate more calories, but I used more, because my body wasn't holding on to them. Once I got out of the danger zone with my weight (I was super skinny) I didn't gain any more- I was still thin, but healthy!

If you are worried, once you get to the right level of calories, maybe you can increase your exercise a bit. What do you do now for the 20 minutes a day? Walking is good, as is some light strength training (which will also help your bones stay good and dense). I wouldn't recommend doing this until after you get your calorie intake up, though.

I would strongly suggest that you go and see your doctor about this, too. He/she will be able to give you some better nutritional information, and refer you to a therapist. You are young and have a long life ahead of you, and (trust me) you don't want to spend it worrying about calories and weight. I did that for a long, long time, and now that I know how great it feels to not be dealing with eating disorder anymore, I wouldn't go back!

If you need anything else, I'm here!
Ginger