Asians? How many calories should I be eating to lose weight?

I am Asian, female. I weight 61.2 kilograms, and I am 158 cm tall. I am also 14 years old.

I have used the BMI calculators for teens from the internet, but I'm worried that they might not be accurate for me, since they are for Caucasians.

I'm really worried about my weight and I really want to look thinner. I have been anorexic for a while about a year ago. Basically I'd try to only drink diet coke for a week. But when I end up drinking juice or something, I'd end up cutting. After that, I went to the therapist and recovered.

I'm worried that that might have somewhat affected my metabolism.

About a month or two ago, during Halloween, I binged on the candies, but to my amazement, the scale kept dropping a pound every week without any effort or changes in lifestyle at all. I lost about 2 pounds. About two weeks later, my weight stabilized, but I felt that I was still losing inches from my tummy... Etc... Also, my periods stopped, I just got my period on the 30th of november. The last time I had my period was the 6th of october.

Now, I have gained back like 1 or two pounds, without gaining any fat from my tummy (I even think that I have lost some fat from my stomach, even if the scale says I weigh more).

I still think that I'm really fat, since my parents say I'm fat, and although my friends say that I'm not, I'm sure that it's just white lies. I look in the mirror and feel fat.

I do light activities everyday. I horseride twice a week, do cross-country once a week, and also walk up and down a hill for about half an hour every day.

I've also used a calorie counter, and figured out the fact that I'm just eating around 1300 calories each day. Is that too little? But if it's too little,
why is it that I'm not losing any weight?

Is there an alternative to using the scale as a way of measuring my weight/body fat?

How many calories should I eat each day if I should lose ___ pounds?

What's my BMI range for an asian/chinese?


   

Please help me, as I have no one else to ask. If I ask my teachers/parents/school friends/school nurse, they would simply assume that I'm anorexic again. Thankyou.

I honestly don't think race has any difference in the calculators on the site...I could be wrong though.

i'm fourteen and i'm eating less than 1300 calories a day... i ate only 1100 yesterday and 900 on monday.

is that too little? i don't want to lose muscle! 

Since your so young, you definitely need to eat more. There are calculators all over the Internet that give calorie estimates for teenagers. They aren't based on race either.

l142- yes you are def going to lose muscle & bone mass

losing weight doesnt depend on race, why would it?

minimum 1800 cals for teens to lose weight

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=p ubmed&uid=12164465&cmd=showdetailview &indexed=google

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/555072

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-70143 02/Age-gender-and-ethnic-differences.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/16/hea lth/main525887.shtml


"To help doctors prevent obesity-related ailments, the World Health Organization established in 1997 a body mass index standard, calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. A BMI of 25 is overweight, and 30 is obese.

But the 10-country research showed that Asians had more fat content compared to Caucasians, which meant that a BMI of 25 was way above overweight for Asians.

In response, a group of WHO experts in July recommended an Asian optimal BMI of 23. Anything over it should be considered overweight and a health risk, they said.

In other words, an Asian and Caucasian may be the same weight and height, but the Asian is at greater risk for fat-related illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. The countries surveyed were Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Fiji, Indonesia, Singapore, mainland China, South Korea and the Philippines."

according to the bmi teen calculator i looked at you seem to be around 24.5 which maybe high for you, depending on your build.  really you should consult a professional/adult.   try to be clear and persistent if they make assumptions.

i dunno...i think race isn't that much of a factor compared to what we eat. I'm grew up with very traditional asian parents who would serve only japanese food, or asianized italian food. needless to say, right now (even though i'm the one cooking) these are the only kinds of food i eat (out of habit). these foods are low fat, have lots of vegetables (i'm also vegan...), and tend to have very SIMPLE ingredients.

even though my bmi is about 19, i look fat. caucasians tend to deposit fat in the chest, stomach, upper arms, thighs, and butt alot. i get fat in all those areas EXCEPT the chest and butt. so any fat i gain can't be hidden with 'assets.' lol

the bmi calculators go by wrist-size (asians tend to have slim wrists regardless their weight) height (which can only be rounded to the highest full number) and weight. it doesn't take into account how much of that weight is muscle/fat/cholesterol/fatty muscle, etc.

my advice: just eye it. if you think you look good/okay, stick with it. if YOU think you put on some weight, burn it off until you look okay again.

LOL you TOO with parents calling their children fat? Current East Asian pop culture REVOLVES around annorexia, colored contact lenses, bleached hair/skin and funky clothes. Don't be too worried about your parents' idea of 'fat.'

well anyways shes only 14 for goodness sakes! shes still growing!!!! just focus on eating healthy & excercizing 30-60 mins a day. eat when you are hungry, & stop not once your full, not once your satisfied, but once the hunger goes away. ive done this & i have lost weight on it, & a friend of mine lost 30 pounds doing this. youll lose weight without losing your health & still grow. believe me itll work for you.

A lot of Asian parents call their kids fat. Most of the time, it's not true.

Please be sure to eat healthy and get all your nutrients (don't just take supplements, eat!)

And admittedly, even this site, http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/article/q_an d_a.html, backs the idea of Asians having a lower healthy BMI range than Caucasians. "In general, small-boned Asian and some Caucasian women should aim for the bottom of the range"

And also note the emphasis on eating at LEAST 1200 if you're sedentary. Because you exercise, you definitely need more calories. Plus, you're only 14 meaning even more needed calories on top of that.

 If you eat too little, your metabolism slows down and that's why you're not losing weight. Go google some sites that go more into detail about how to restart it. There was one on some body building website that I can't remember.