Calories -- some questions

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I have an eating disorder and have lost sight of what is healthy. I have been trying to eat under 900 calories every day. Today I had 1500 calories. Is this overeating or is this healthy?

I am female, a little over five feet tall and weigh 39 kg. I am reasonably active (walk my dog for about 30-40 minutes every day and do two active voluntary jobs twice a week for a few hours). How many calories do I need to maintain this weight? Is there a way to figure it out? I know there are online calculators to work this out but they all give me different figures. Does anyone know an accurate one?

Is 1500 calories too much for someone of my height and size?

I'm sorry if these are stupid questions. Like I said, my illness has made me lose sight of what is healthy. 900 calories feels like a lot. 1500 feels obscene.

its understandable, 1500 sounds obscene, but around 2000 is what's healthy according to governmental recommended allowances.

39kg is a little low, but 1500 to 2000 calories is the healthy range, its sounds like a very active lifestyle so 2000 is the range to look at.

your weight in pounds is about 88#. it takes about twelve calories per day to maintain a pound of body weight. so, if you were inactive, you'd need 1056 calories per day to maintain your (low) weight. add a couple hundred calories for your activity (more on days you volunteer). women shouldn't consume less than 1200 calories per day on a regular basis unless under the supervision of a doctor (men 1500) lest they become (vitamin, mineral, and protein) malnourished. ideal body weight for women is 100# for the first 5 feet, then 6# (2.2# per kilogram) per inch. so a 5'1" woman should weigh 106# or just over 48 kg. ideal body weight for men is 110# for the first 5', then 6# per inch.

I learned this in the course of practicing medicine. I no longer am licensed, so take this as info, not advice. the fact that you're restricting calories so severely while underweight tells me your eating disorder needs more attention than it's getting. please seek help.

39kg for your size 5.1" I think is a BMI of 16

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obe ... /bmi-m.htm

You sound really underweight and are going to develop health problems from it. Plus you probably look unattractive being that skinny, you will look more unattractive once you get sick.

Forget about your diet and just eat, put on some more kgs. You will look more attractive and be more healthy. Eat plenty of fatty foods, your brain is mostly fat, so you will think more clearly when it is working better.

I have never understood eating disorders? Like are you afraid of getting fat? Do you think you are fat? Fashion magazines???

PerfectlyDarkTails - thank you for your response.

cathylynn - thank you for the information. I don't think my weight has ever been as high as 100 pounds, even when I was eating normally. I am trying to seek help -- believe me -- but it's extremely hard to get help for mental health problems in my town.

MR_BOGAN - thank you for your response. Eating disorders are complex and unique to each individual, I suppose. I think a lot of the time they actually have very little to do with wanting to be attractive and thin, though I think this can be a trigger and fashion magazines obviously have a role in that. For me, personally, there is a huge fear of weight gain and an element of believing I'm fat (whilst knowing I'm not at the same time) because I also have Body Dysmorphic Disorder. It is exhausting to have two conflicting thoughts in my head! But mostly my eating disorder is to do with control. As my life has gotten more out of control (through being unemployed, being ill with depression etc), my eating disorder has gotten worse. I think this is because I have been trying to control at least one part of my life through controlling what I eat and weigh. Also, setting weight goals and hitting them gives me a sense of achievement when I have little opportunity to experience this in other ways at the moment. So I think my eating disorder is a coping mechanism for lack of control and lack of a sense of achievement and purpose.

Telling people with eating disorders to just eat is like telling people with depression to just cheer the f**k up. Or telling people with aspergers to act like NTs. Iim sure it's more complicated than that.
I guess people assume eating disorders are caused by vanity so they don't see it as a serious illness.

To the OP, I hope you can get professional help soon.

I can only reply as someone with some experience with extreme body weight changes. I am not knowledgeable about eating disorders. I spent time in the military and during initial and various post basic training's, gained some insight into what ones body needs to function healthily. So ill just lay out some general knowledge I have gained through life and education. However, do your own research and educate yourself.

Never consult or let yourself be told anything by a 'nutritionist'. There is no standard for obtaining or using this title. They might have an education of some sort but are not accredited in that field.
A Dietitian is someone with the education to back up any advice and this should be the individual you consult about your diet.
The mind and body are ever connected. Seek professional psychiatric help on this. Do your own research, it is interesting stuff. My AS and depression has greatly effected my eating habits over the years.
The number of calories one is eating per day should depend on their respective resting metabolic rate (how many calories one would burn sitting still all day), with a multiplier accounting for your activity level. If you should be eating any less than 1800 calories a day I would be surprised. However, like I said the dietitian would know.
Calories are simply a means of measuring energy and your body need so much more. The food you eat should be nutrient dense. That does not mean calorie dense, like a twinkie... Nutrient dense means that it has a high vitamin, and/or mineral, protein etc. content in ratio to calories.

I used to eat what I wanted when I wanted and to hell with the consequences. Lets just say I wasn't healthy. My personal shift in diet mentality was when I actively started to think of my body as an engine. Its simply needs fuel, the right amount and the best kind possible. I cook great tasting food and have no problems eating well. I'm not in the military anymore due to the Asperger's diagnosis and therefore don't require nearly the same amount of fuel anymore. But I still see my body as an engine, yes it is organic and is unique, but an engine none the less.

I don't know if any of this is actually helpful but I just wanted to lay it out there for you.

Something I found amazingly helpful after I found it is Google Scholar. This is Google's search engine for peer reviewed journals. Meaning that any information you find will have been reviewed, questioned and passed a board of inquiry. Sometimes it will pull up books also. It takes a little extra searching but is well worth it. These sources are super dense and can be hard to understand if you don't know the terminology. But they are will worth it to learn.

I was going to post some websites but I am to new to this site to do this yet...

About my prior post... Doctors are not required to take many nutrition classes in med school beyond what is required to give the right advice to their particular kind of patient, general practice, pediatrics etc...

Thank you. I had not thought of using Google Scholar for this.