Isn't it time we stopped saying 200/2500 calories a day?

[hidinginthenightgarden]

This is what the NHS website says.
"Within a healthy, balanced diet, a man needs around 10,500kJ (2,500kcal) a day to maintain his weight. For a woman, that figure is around 8,400kJ (2,000kcal) a day.
These values can vary depending on age, metabolism and levels of physical activity, among other things."

People will look at that and think they can have 2000 calories a day, more if they exercise a lot. But that isn't the case.
Shouldn't it say around 1500 calories (for women) but varies with age, activity levels etc? That way people will eat up to 2000 calories when doing exercise not when sat on their arse?

2000/2500 is taught at a young age but the "this varies depending on exercise" bit isn't! I teach maths and one of the exam papers even has a task where you work out what 1 third of your 2000 calories is and pick meal from a fast food menu to "fit in with your recommended calories".

I just think it would help with the obesity levels to re-educate people and this is probably a good place to start.

If I ate 2000 calories a day I would be morbidly obese in no time at all.

I don't think I have fucked up my metabolism. I am just short, and small built. 1,400 is enough for me to maintain unless I have been very active.

I don't know anyone who counts calories. Where do you even start? Do you weigh your food?

Yes, and then put it into MyFitnessPal.

It is really simple.

I only do it because I lost 5 stone about 5 years ago and need to keep on top of it. I stopped counting calories for a long time and put weight on, so back onto it now.

It doesn’t sound simple to me. When do you weigh it? What bits do you weigh? How does my fitness pal know what you’ve cooked?how do you manage sharing meals with others? When the food it on the table, do you put it on a plate and weigh it then, when everyone is there and the kids are killing each other because they are breathing each other’s air and someone has dropped a fork and you’ve just remembered you left the sweet corn on the hob

You weigh/measure as you cook, just like when you're following a recipe. Then you can specify how much of the finished dish you serve, as a portion eg half/quarter etc. If you ever cook the same food again then it's already done and saved. It works well if you usually meal plan.

It doesn’t sound simple to me.
Like most things worth doing it takes a bit of working out, everyone's situation is different.
Loads of people manage to do it. You could read the forum on MFP to get some tips.
It's not complicated but you need to spend some time organising your own system and getting used to how MFP works.

It's not about calorie intake

It's about calorie partition

Imagine a solar power/battery system on your roof... you either use the electricity generated on the fly for the appliances you have running, or the system stores the electricity in the battery for future use. You have your own "battery" in the liver. Fat accumulates in the liver for longer term energy storage.

With the calories you consume, you either burn them, or you store them.

Different foods will have different storage potential, depending on how they biochemically signal to the body.

Processed sugar and carbs promote the fastest and most intense energy accumulation (along with playing havoc with your appetite hormones like leptin, ghrelin and insulin that incline you to overeat).

Eat moderate protein and high fat (minimal carbs - just fresh veggies) and the partitioning signalling will be minimal, you'll burn through the fat stored in your abdomen, you'll balance your metabolism and curtail intense cravings for junk.

Most diets and weight loss schemes don't take account of the role of energy partitioning and insulin signalling in human physiology. 500 calories of steak & buttery spinach have a completely different effect on the body as 500 calories of custard doughnuts.

Look up Dr Jason Fung, Canadian nephrologist, talks on youtube/books etc.

As a serial dieter I have a rough idea of calorie intake of most foodstuffs. Mostly I don't bother to tot it up - occasionally I do- generally if I've had a day where I believe I've eaten very little. I reckon that some days I eat around 1800 cal per day, others way over the 2000 mark, so on average abut over 2000 per day. This is when I'm just eating what I feel like, rather than actively watching my food intake.

I'm 5'4", in my 50's and sedentary (lazy). however I do maintain my current weight by eating this much. The problem is that my current weight at 10st10 is in the overweight category. I would need to eat less to maintain a healthy weight for my size .

I think I am one of the people who has always used 2000 cal as a yardstick whereas for my height, age and activity levels it's probably more like 1800 cals.