Recovering from anorexic type behaviour

Question
Hi Tanya,

I am a 23 year old girl who is having some problems with my eating habits. I am 1.6 m tall (5'3 I think).

For the past year and a half my eating habits have been terrible. I restricted my food intake and sometimes ate as little as 300-400 calories a day. I lost about 5-6 kg which to me didnt seem like too much but I stopped getting my period and have not had my it for about a year now. I am really concerned about this and want to be able to stop obsessing over what I eat because it is making me very unhappy!

I currently weigh about 50kg although I have put on about 1.5 kg over the past month because I have been at home (I used to weigh about 48). I feel horrible because i have put on this weight! I know that I have to eat normally again and get healthy but I'm scared that if I eat normally now I will put on lots more weight because my metabolism is probably messed up??

Although I am trying to eat normally I am finding it really scary and difficult. I have lost touch with what is normal to eat in a day and feel liek I'm eating too much all the time. I am currently trying to eat normally by following the weightwatchers guide. I am trying to eat 18 points a day (about 1200 calories probably) so that I can eat more normally but not put on weight.

I am so confused though and would really appreciate some advice.

how many calories should I eat a day? All the internet sites give me different answers ranging from 1000 - 1600. Thats a big difference! I dont want to eat too little so that I am in stavation mode but I dont want to eat too much or else I will put on weight!

PLease could you advise an amount of calories each day to maintain my weight(23 years, female, 50kg, inactive)

Thanks so much!!

Answer
Dear Candy,

Here are several article I hope will answer your question.

Calorie Intake Calculation for Women
http://www.dietandbody.com/article1090.html

Assessing body composition at home
http://www.dietandbody.com/plan/measuring.html

Is Your Body Weight Ideal for Your Frame?
http://www.dietandbody.com/article1031.html

What is Ideal Body Composition?
http://www.dietandbody.com/article1226.html

What you consist of
http://www.dietandbody.com/article1088.html

= TZ

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