to think 2000 calories a day is too high

[kepler10b]

for a lot of women.

i've never been overweight but after several years of happy marriage, too many hours at the desk and nights on the sofa i have put on a few too many pounds for my liking.

so i decided to get down the gym and also take a look at my diet.

i've never counted calories before but decided i'd look at how many i was eating.

definitely below the recommended levels of 2000 a day for a woman. honestly if i ate that much everyday i would be obese.

my typical calorie intake has probably reached more like 1500 and i reckon without doing loads of exercise in order not for my weight to creep up as it has been it needs to be more like 1300.

i am small frame and 5'2" but that isn't that unusual surely?

i just wonder where this 2000 calories a day recommendation came from and how people are supposed to lose weight if they keep to it?

Er no. It's about 550 minus the last thing you mentioned, the veg.

So unless you battered and fried them you'll be starving to death.

That last post was to justanother

also - evem if you were average hieght (which you're not for the UK, not sure why indonesia was mentioend their RDA is probably not 2000) with average activity leveland average metabolism, then 2000 per day is an average over the year so for example if you want to drink wine at the end of the week or chocolate or eat fmore over your hlidays or Xmas then in order not to put weight on over a year you need to be avaerging less than that per day in order to absorb your extra pointless calories.

The Livestrong website have an excellent (and free) calorie calculator and food and excercise tracker. There are lots of different foods on there and it'll give you your calorie target to lose/maintain/gain weight.

StarlightPrincess - one of the things that keeps people from seeking help is a mistaken notion that you are going to be the object of negative attention. When you tell yourself the doctor will think you're crazy, that's your disorder speaking, not your sensible brain.

According to Trillian's calculator link, you should be eating about 1700 to maintain weight (you and I are about the same height and build - I'm an inch shorter and a few lbs lighter).

These things are bollocks. I can't even lose weight unless I'm on 1000 or less calories a day. If I was on 2000 I'd just get fatter and fatter. 1300 cals is the maximum I can eat. Been to the doctors and had god knows how many tests and been on every diet known to man and it's been officially diagnosed as "one of them things". Thanks NHS, you're helpful.

I'm not a tiny skinny either I'm a big ol' fatty fat and I'm 5'9. I just have a stupid body.

Mathanxiety- Do you know what the treatment for eating disorders is at all? Is it usually CBT? I actually can't believe I'm posting this because I don't speak about it to anyone.

Starlight - thank heavens you are talking about it, and if it's easier to do on the internet than in real life, who cares, it's a start. (I speak as one who lost a much loved relative to weight-related problems - part of a complicated set of health issues of which weight was part of the story). Sounds like you're getting some good advice here, and hopefully it will give you the confidence to talk to someone in real life. Your GP really won't be judgemental.

thanks for the interesting responses. it does seem that 2000 is high for a lot of people (but fine for those who keep themselves very active and aren't small).

starlightprincess - wish you well on your journey to a more healthy relationship with your body and food.

Thanks very much, I'm going to try and pluck up the courage to book an appointment for next week.

I am tall but on the big side of average!
According to this calculator, just over 2000 calories would maintain my weight. I note that I could eat another half a chocolate bar a day if I was 10 years younger - sigh!

I'm just about that mythical person! I calculated it at 2001.

StarlightPrincess - there are many approaches. One of the most promising is the Maudsley Method, developed in London's Maudsley Hospital. You could ask your GP, or google. There is a CBT/DBT component, along with other aspects. You're not treated as a patient that 'the doctors' do things to - the treatment goes in stages. Maudsley was conceived as a family-centered approach but a midified method for independent adults may be available.

There are lots of people working hard to tackle the issue, and none of them would bother if they didn't think it was a worthwhile endeavour.

Good luck.

I need 2020 to maintain and 1540 to reach my goal weight by June. Hmm, now what to give up for 500 a day - was thinking of curry and wine later

starlight 9.5-10 stone sounds perfect for your height

It's my stomach that depresses me to be honest. No matter how little I eat or how much exercise I do, it will never be flat without surgery. But because I can't afford it, I binge/purge, if you see what I mean.

I am losing quickly on 1800 a day, I guess as I get thinner I will need to eat less. (I've lost 10lb in a fortnight.)

But I am 5'7 and active, as well as fat, so use more calories I suppose.

If you lose 10lb in a fortnight you are more likely to put it back on quicker, you need to lose less than that for it to stay off.

Of course it depends how much you are overweight.

Im nearly 2 stone overweight and on 1k calories a day, I barely see it come off its a nightmare!

But 2lb is a bag of sugar! I need to lose 12 more bags.

2,000 caloties a day is for maintaining your wait not bor dieting. Some prople need more some need less.

Yes, I know that Fabby, but always lose a good bit in the first couple of weeks. I lost 2 stone last year, then stopped trying over Xmas, regained 10lb, so back to trying again. My aim is 1-2lb a week - I am not "dieting," I am just trying to be aware of what I eat. Right now, I'm about 2 1/2 stone overweight.

An approach to belly fat that involves eating 4x400 calorie meals a day - of the right foods.

Eating very little will do absolutely nothing for your tummy. In fact, your body will store fat rather than metabolise it, so you will achieve the opposite result from what you seek if you go down the road of deprivation, binging and purging. Lean protein, whole grains, fruits and veggies, beans, oily fish, olive oil dressing for salads, and dairy products containing calcium are all elements of a good diet and could make up your 4 meals, with nuts and seeds for snacks.

The glycemic index can provide the basis of a diet whose aim is your better overall health - always a better perspective with which to approach food, instead of seeing food as the enemy. When you can see it as your ally in creating a healthier you, or laying the foundation for your wellbeing far into the future, it's easier to relax about it.

Getting a handle on stress is essential if you want to stop gaining fat in the midriff or get rid of what's already there. High cortisol levels contribute to it; stress causes cortisol levels to rise. You could begin to practice meditation or gentle yoga, or do breathing exercises, and forget the more frantic, body-punishing exercising.

I think if you're taller than 5'2" you need more than 1200 calories a day for health.

OK, 4x400 = 1600 (can't do multiplication at this hour) 1600 plus snacks sounds much nicer...