Why dont i look smaller?

Question

Im 15 years old. i try to eat under 500 calories a day, and excersize 2 times a week.
But everytime i look in the mirror, im not seeing any differences, ive lost some pounds though. I just dont look any different.
And i freak out and want to cry or just end my life when i eat over 300 calories.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Answer 1

If you don’t look smaller, it may be because what you see in the mirror is not the real image of yourself. You may be suffering from BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder) which is a distorted body image or yourself.
Who you see is not who you are.
You can see yourself as fat (and want to lose weight) even if you're in fact extremely skinny.
Or you can see yourself as ugly (and you want cosmetic surgery) when you're beautiful.

Even if you’re not suffering from BDD, you should not trust what you see in the mirror but take a measuring tape instead and measure yourself.
Also do not trust the scale. You lost some pounds…those pounds could be water, fat, muscle or just regular elimination of what’s left of what you ate previously…the scale will not make the difference.
Fat mass takes three time more space than muscle mass, or, in other words, muscle mass weighs three times more than fat mass.
So a person could gain a pound of muscle and lose a pound of fat and therefore remain the same weight.
You could get fatter and fatter but not get heavier on the scale because you lost as much muscle as you gained fat.
You could get in shape and get thinner and thinner but still stay the same weight because you lost fat mass as you gained muscle mass.
You could gain 2 pounds overnight just because you had a salty meal and you’re retaining water or because you're having your periods.
You could gain weight because you’re not regular.
So just forget about the scale.

It would have been helpful if you had mentioned your height and weight so I could get a better idea of what you’re talking about.
Also, what kind of exercise are you doing? For how long? At what intensity? And why only twice a week? (don’t you want to exercise more so you can eat more?). Are you doing cardios or building muscle mass through strength training?

You need to learn a few basics so you can understand what is happening to your body so you can stop freaking out.

On average (since I don’t know how tall you are and how much you weigh), a woman should eat about 1,200 calories a day if she has a healthy metabolic system (this is the BMR, the Basal Metabolic Rate).
You should not get fat if you eat only 1,200 calories a day and not even exercise, again, if you have a healthy metabolic system.
Most women will eat more than 1,200 calories because 1,200 calories is pretty low, especially if you go to fast food and then they will get fat.
Other women will eat more than 1,200 calories and exercise in order to use the extra calories and not get fat…getting in shape instead. Like myself…I exercise for about 7,000 calories a month, which is an average of 230 calories/day, so I can eat 1,400 calories/day and not get fat or hungry, but still, I avoid fast food and watch my calories intake and eat healthy (whole wheat…) and cook with no fat added, plenty of vegetables and some fruits.

Some woman, like you, will get fat and not accept it so they will try to lose weight by eating less than 1,200 calories/day, which is an error but an error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it (Orlando A. Battista said that).

You have to understand that your body is a marvelous system. If you eat less that what you need, your body will adapt in order to save your life from starvation. The less you eat, the less you will need to eat in order to survive because your body is your friend and wants you to survive. Your body does not know that you’re doing this on purpose and that there's a grocery store nearby. Your body is assuming that you do not eat because you do not have access to food…maybe some bandits stole your crops, maybe you’re in a Japanese war prison camp with a handful or rice every day if you’re lucky…

You could keep doing what you’re doing and end up eating a yogurt and a piece of lettuce every day and not lose weight…

You have to make piece with your body.
Right now, you do not like it, you do not like how it looks, you’re starving it and you even want to kill it!

Because you ate less and less (please, stop doing that and do not go lower), you do not have a healthy metabolic system anymore, otherwise you could eat 1,200 calories/day without getting more fat reserve.
You have to work with your body and not against it. Your body has to know that food is plenty and available so it stops trying to hold on to everything you eat.

Here it is…you have to eat more. Before you even think about losing more weight or whatever, your first priority is to take care of your metabolism. Right now, it’s way down there. You need to rev it up.

The best way is to build muscle mass. The more muscle mass, the more you need to eat. You have to exercise more than twice a week by doing strength training and weights lifting. Every day, get a little stronger and eat a little more. Eat food that fills you up (whole wheat) so you don’t get hungry. Do not ignore your hunger or your body will think you do not have access to food again.

You should also go have a medical check up and explain your problem to your doctor. He/she will have a program for you to follow or a referral to a dietician or whatever you need. You are not alone. A lot of people had the same problem before you and there is a way to get out of it.

In a few years, you might be healthy, in shape, doing exercises and eating normally and I hope, loving your body.

I wish you the best.

Answer 2

You have an eating disorder. It causes you to see yourself as fat which in reality you're probably not. And if you eat less calories than you should all the calories you consume turn into fat cause your body isn't getting enough nutrients or anything. The key is to eat at LEAST 1200 calories a day and work out maybe 20 - 45 min a day 3 - 6 days a week.. allow yourself 1 cheat day a week to eat whatever you want.

If you keep going at that rate you will be hospitalized.

Answer 3

Get help! You have an eating disorder and you need counseling. You should be eating a minimum of 1200 calories a day. I have been where you are and its very hard. What you are doing to your body will cause severe long term damage. Due to an eating disorder, I never had a healthy cycle and could not have biological children, also I now have hypoglycemia, kidney and liver damage, and probably more problems will surface. All these problems could have been prevented if I had sought help sooner. Please get help and give yourself a chance at a healthy future.

Answer 4

If you really freak out or consider ending your life, you should get some serious help. Ending your life is such a permanent solution for such a temporary and trivial (yes, trivial!) problem.
Eating so few calories is unhealthy, period.
When you restrict your calories too much, you're not going to lose weight any faster. In fact, your metabolism will slow down. This is your body's attempt to preserve itself.
Double your calories, don't eat junk food and double your weekly exercise. Right now you're just abusing your body.
It won't matter if you look skinny inside a casket!

Answer 5

you should talk to somebody close to you - its an eating disorder.
body needs 50cal/hour just for basic functioning (like when you are in coma) and thats 1200cal/day.
when you starve/deprive your body all you lose is water weight and muscle not fat and slow down your metabolism dramatically. your body stores in fat everything you eat and burns your muscle for energy so you end up having higher body fat percentage.

Answer 6

Muscle weighs more than fat. Maybe you are loosing some muscle mass. However, you seem to have an eating disorder, and need to talk to your parents about this.

Answer 7

Maybe if you were smaller you'd die. You must have an amount of body fat to be alive and if you cant accept that i'm sorry

Answer 8

YOU have an eating disorder. Talk to someone immediately.