Caloric requirements for teenage girl

[Regin Smidur]

My sister came to me recently to learn how to exercise and I've been acting as her coach since. She is doing the Starting Strength novice program with the goal of gaining muscle mass. Shes currently 5'6 and 100 pounds at 14 years old. She plays soccer a couple of times a week and also does karate.

My question is, what caloric target should I set that will allow her to gain weight without getting significantly fatter?

[bcsmith3]

Without any concept of her current intake, activity levels, etc no one is doing anything but guessing. Try here for a starting point: www.tinyurl.com/yqqbt5

[mstrofbass]

Pictures would also be useful.

[Carnivroar]

Pictures would also be useful.

[f4thpathway]

Pictures would also be useful.

No...no they F'ing wouldn't. Stop that madness right now.

Calories are going to be a bit of trial and adjustment anyways. Especially with soccer and karate. At her height and weight, at 14, she can probably eat like a whale and be ok. Maybe. Her getting fat would be of little concern if I were you. I'd focus more on on-field performance to determine food intake for strength gains and recovery and assess increased/decreased athletic ability. Soccer twice a week is an excellent tool for you to make observations with. Should provide solid and consistent feedback, just be aware of the effects of training and don't confuse them with dietary issues.

[thersites]

More than she is currently eating, almost assuredly. Start by making sure she is getting a good pre-lift meal and a good quick-digesting post-workout feed w/ lots of protein and carbohydrates (usually, follow w/ a good protein-rich meal within an hour after this post-workout feed). Dan John has a good rule for his teenage athletes: he wants them to have eaten three times before he sees them for practice. A good breakfast, lunch, and a snack, all of which include a good source of protein. If you make sure she is doing this, add the post-lifting meal/drink, and see how she does. If she starts getting sluggish at soccer or gets stuck on her lifts, then up the food. If she puts on a couple pounds of fat along the way, tell her that with the extra lean mass, she should be able to quickly drop that fat once she has exhausted her linear progression on the novice program and encourage her to keep eating. If she resists, look for ways to trim the calories a small amount while keeping the quality (esp. protein) high.

[Kate]

Shes currently 5'6 and 100 pounds at 14 years old. .......
My question is, what caloric target should I set that will allow her to gain weight without getting significantly fatter?

Is there a typo, or is she really 100 pounds? If she's 100 pounds at 5'6", why would you say "fatter"? She has no fat. She needs to eat, a lot. Now.

[Dastardly]

Is there a typo, or is she really 100 pounds? If she's 100 pounds at 5'6", why would you say "fatter"? She has no fat. She needs to eat, a lot. Now.

A lot of girls have very light "frames" naturally. Id say that weight was about average for most of the women I know who are in their 20's. But I agree that 150lb at 5' 6" would probably look a lot better at least.

[mstrofbass]

A lot of girls have very light "frames" naturally. Id say that weight was about average for most of the women I know who are in their 20's. But I agree that 150lb at 5' 6" would probably look a lot better at least.

She's also 14 years old, so she may not have developed the extra fat that comes with that age.

See, maybe pictures WOULD have been useful.

[Kate]

Id say that weight was about average for most of the women I know who are in their 20's.

I doubt that very much, unless you know a lot of skeletal-looking women. For a grown woman who is 5'6", 100 pounds isn't "light"; it's frighteningly skinny, and even a small-boned woman would most likely look ill (whether she is or not).

She's also 14 years old, so she may not have developed the extra fat that comes with that age.

True. But that's why I was saying she doesn't need to be worrying about fat at all (if she even is); she doesn't need to worry about caloric targets, either. She just needs to eat more to fuel her various sports activities and normal healthy teenage growth spurts.