Just some general teenager questions...:)

Question
Hi there Laura! So. To start off, I am a 17 year old, healthy, active young woman. (That feels good to say..."young woman"..:) ) I am 5'2" and I weigh 120-125 pounds. I was blessed with..assets, you could say:) To start off, I want you to know this isn't a rant about "Oh my God. I'm fat. Help me lose a billion pounds so I can continue to compare myself to every other woman out there." I'm not saying I don't...but I'm not concerned about jump starting my model career anytime soon. ;) My questions more pertain to my curiousity, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and outlook on my body. I generally eat Paleo. My family is super big on natural, home-grown foods, so everything comes from the Farmers Market or other local growers, or our own garden. I do cheat sometimes. I just eat good food until I'm satisfied and happy. Recently, I tried seeing what my appx. daily intake of calories was, out of curiosity, and I discovered I'm eating around..1300-1400 calories a day. To my knowledge...that's not enough for a developing teenager. YET! I still feel...blah. I am in no way fit looking, even though I'm active all day and eat like this. Maybe my body type is just...SOFT. Haha. Anyway. Also, my weight and appearance fluctuates considerably. 2 days ago, I thought I looked pretty damn great if I do say so myself! And today...I look and feel like I've gained 7 pounds. Woah. I know..water weight, hormones. All that jazz. Maybe I'm just looking for a knowledgable, comforting that's reassuring about my annoyances. Is it normal. What can I do to feel better. Should I just...whip out the kettle ball and go ham? I don't know. I apologize for my confusing and possibly ridiculous schpiel. Thank you for your time:) You can just go ahead and give me all you've got! :)

Answer
Dear Alison, you are a normal weight for your height. A dietitian can look over a few weeks worth of food journals to check your nutrient status especially protein and healthy fat ingestion which are essential to growing teens. Weigh yourself once a week, and you are right- hormones will fluctuate your weight considerably, so don't fret. A two week gain of weight without an increase in height should trigger a brief change in eating habits or you should workout a bit more for a week or two to burn it off. Hope that helps, Laura Kraemer, Slimkids.com

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