Am I eating too little for fat loss? (Around 1100-1400 cal a day)

[Azeria]

I started my weight loss journey last August, and managed to lose 20 kgs by December. My weight has stopped falling since then, and I'm seeing no change in my body either. I'm a 15 year old girl, 5'2.5", and 49.5kgs/109 lbs. This is a really low weight for my height, is what I've been told, but I have so much fat on my body. I don't mean like a small pooch on the stomach, I mean saddlebags, stomach that expands over breasts, little bit of arm fat, and huge inner thighs. Nobody would think I'm 109 lbs if they saw me naked. My skinny parts are my front arms, my face and I have a small waist. So when I wear clothes I appear to be kind of thin, but in reality I have a lot of fat, and little to no muscle on my body. I want to build muscle and lose this fat. I'm much more than skinny fat.

I work out at least 3 times a week. 20 minute HIIT cardio on the treadmill + 30-45 minutes weight training.

Breakfast:
2.5 tablespoon oats- 125 cal
2 egg whites - 34 cal
1 whole egg- 76 cal
1 medium banana- 105 cal
1 tsp coconut oil for the pan- 39 cal
90g greek yogurt- 64 cal
5 almonds - 35 cal

Lunch:
1 Methi chapathi - Some sort of Indian flat bread with fenugreek leaves in it - 90 cal
2 egg whites- 34 cal
1 whole egg- 76 cal
1 cup spinach- 7 cal
4 medium button mushrooms - 16 cal
1 tsp olive oil for the pan- 40 cal
5 almonds- 35 cal

Snack- (Throughout the day)
1 Apple- 74 cal
1 cup Strawberries- 52 cal
2 Carrots- 50 cal
40 calories of dark chocolate
90g greek yogurt- 64 cal

Dinner-
100g of brown rice- 110 cal
1 cup spinach- 7 cal
1/2 green bell pepper- 12 cal
1/2 cup mushrooms - 8
2 oz chicken breast- 85 cal
1 tsp olive oil for the pan- 40 cal

Total= 1288 cal

I don't feel hungry, but I always want something to chew on, and I don't know what to do about that, because thats mainly what makes me eat. Just want something in my mouth. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've had a bad past with restricting my calories too low. I sometimes used to eat below 800 cal. I realized thats not right, and I probably screwed up my metabolism as well. Thank you for helping me

[Junsuiakai]

Talk to your parents. Too young to advise.

[Rabbitjb]

Talk to your parents AND doctor, you're body dysmorphic, too young to be this obsessive, and laying the ground for long term damage

[skelooth]

I'll go against what everyone else is saying. I think it seems fine, but you could probably do with an extra 100-200 calories a day for general health AND to hold on to your muscle. If your calories are too low you will lose muscle. The best thing you can do is plug your numbers into a TDEE calculator (google search it). I use myfitnesspal for calorie tracking that also produces a BMR level of calories to eat. I'm not sure what the age limit is on it, but I assume anyone 13 and up is fine to use it. Good for you taking such a keen interest in your health at such a young age. Once you're done leaning out you will need to up your calories a little or you will not be able to build muscle.

Like others said, talk to someone, like a fitness professional or a nutritionist that can help you set calorie and exercise goals. You're almost 16, I don't know why others here are freaking out like you're too young. You're a young adult and showing interest in your physical health.

[Rabbitjb]

I'll go against what everyone else is saying. I think it seems fine, but you could probably do with an extra 100-200 calories a day for general health AND to hold on to your muscle. If your calories are too low you will lose muscle. The best thing you can do is plug your numbers into a TDEE calculator (google search it). I use myfitnesspal for calorie tracking that also produces a BMR level of calories to eat. I'm not sure what the age limit is on it, but I assume anyone 13 and up is fine to use it. Good for you taking such a keen interest in your health at such a young age. Once you're done leaning out you will need to up your calories a little or you will not be able to build muscle.

Like others said, talk to someone, like a fitness professional or a nutritionist that can help you set calorie and exercise goals. You're almost 16, I don't know why others here are freaking out like you're too young. You're a young adult and showing interest in your physical health.

You assume wrong. Teenagers are still growing and have very different nutrition needs

Myfitnesspal is for 18+

[Azeria]

Talk to your parents AND doctor, you're body dysmorphic, too young to be this obsessive, and laying the ground for long term damage

I talked to a dietician and they said that 1200 calories is fine for me, but others say that 1200 is too low, and your body goes into starvation mode. I don't want to be unhealthy, and I'm over my "eating disorders" (wasn't diagnosed with any).

[skelooth]

You assume wrong. Teenagers are still growing and have very different nutrition needs

Myfitnesspal is for 18+

Hence why she should talk to a professional dietitian/nutritionist. I just disagree that it's an ED. It's totally healthy to want to have a fitter body. Especially at that age. She actually has the foresight to come here and ask if what she's doing is right or not.

[Azeria]

I'll go against what everyone else is saying. I think it seems fine, but you could probably do with an extra 100-200 calories a day for general health AND to hold on to your muscle. If your calories are too low you will lose muscle. The best thing you can do is plug your numbers into a TDEE calculator (google search it). I use myfitnesspal for calorie tracking that also produces a BMR level of calories to eat. I'm not sure what the age limit is on it, but I assume anyone 13 and up is fine to use it. Good for you taking such a keen interest in your health at such a young age. Once you're done leaning out you will need to up your calories a little or you will not be able to build muscle.

Like others said, talk to someone, like a fitness professional or a nutritionist that can help you set calorie and exercise goals. You're almost 16, I don't know why others here are freaking out like you're too young. You're a young adult and showing interest in your physical health.

Thanks for the advice! I kind of understand that people might be concerned if a young person is getting too much into calorie counting, as it is known to cause eating disorders. I talked with a dietician and they said that 1200 calories is fine to lose weight. Using the TDEE calculator on the stickies, my TDEE is 1800 calories. I don't want to over do it and consume too less because I know it can lead to loss in muscle. I'll try getting 100-200 calories more like you said.

[Rabbitjb]

Hence why she should talk to a professional dietitian/nutritionist. I just disagree that it's an ED. It's totally healthy to want to have a fitter body. Especially at that age. She actually has the foresight to come here and ask if what she's doing is right or not.

I didn't suggest she had an ED but I would suggest it is easy for teen girls to be body dysmorphic and tbh she is on the 37th centile for her age in terms of height v weight