Teenagers fear of gaining weight

Question
I am a 16 year old girl that is recovering from Anorexia.  I now weigh 107 pounds and my height is 5'3".  I am currently at a healthy weight, according to my doctors, so I want to know how many calories I should eat to maintain it.  I'm terrified of gaining weight so I don't want to eat too much.  I jog on the treadmill at a speed of 4 miles per hour, for at least 20 minutes, 3 times a week, and, for at least 30 minutes, on the weekends.  I weight train for about 20 minutes, twice a week.  Also, I speed-walk from class-to-class during the school day, with a total of about 30 minutes of walking.  All of the calorie calculators that I have looked at have told me that I am too young for an accurate caloric determination.  How many calories should I be eating?

Answer
Jessie,

From all I know, a girl recovering from Anorexia should work on being positive about eating. For any teenager, it means taking care of foods she must eat to be well, and enough of them to feed your brain and make your body vibrant.

Please keep it in your mind:

1. that calories are not created equal, so the 100 Cal. from pure sugar are very different from 100 Cal. coming with loads of essential nutrients in, say, salad greens.

2. that calories work differently depending on the type of macronutrients, so if you limit your carbohydrate intake and increase your good fat intake, you'll be able to eat up to 300 extra Cal. a day and still lose weight.

Eat more:

- leafy green veggies
- olive oil
- nuts and seeds
- fish
- fresh fruits and berries
- yogurts (no sugar added or with sweetener or fresh fruit)
- green tea instead of sodas


3. that you have room to make your exercise more efficient by turning your 20 minutes on the treadmill into the high intensity interval training (see reading list below)

4. that body fat percent tells more about body composition than body weight.

Reading:

Body composition
http://bantadiet.com/banta/?page_id=23

Interval training
http://atkinszone.com/exercise/2008/06/high-intensity-interval-training-for.html

Should you change your nutrition, exercise, or mind?
http://atkinszone.com/exercise/2008/01/should-you-change-your-nutrition.html

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