AIBU to wonder if the recommended 2000 calories a day for women is too much?

[VenetiaLanyon]

I'm of an average build and height and exercise regularly, but would definitely put weight on if I ate this much every day. Anyone else?

The NHS give guidance, and this is currently 2000 a day - what would you have them say?

What I mean is, what guidance would you have them give if it didn't involve calorie-counting etc?

whois we cook a lot from scratch and I calorie count whenever I need to lose a few pounds. I use the nearest match in the database I use (weightlossresources) to estimate calories. I weigh the end result to indicate portion size, but not each of the ingredients going into the dish. It's not perfect but it works well enough for me.

For example, this weekend I made rock cakes. WLR had a couple of shop bought rock cake entries. I used one of those. The ingredients might be a little different, but it's good enough.

2000 calories would probably be too much for me (I'm 5'2", 7st10, sedentary job), but it's only a rough guideline, there's never going to be an exact number that works for everyone.

I don't really do calorie counting or diets, just stop eating when I'm full. It seems to work.

eurochick ah ok, that makes sense. I was thinking it would be very tedious weighing and counting every ingredient out to get total for the whole dish, then measuring how much you ate of that.

I downloaded mfp today, thought it was quite interesting. Easy to add in breakfast (porridge) and lunch (baked potato) but dinner was a bit more time consuming. I should have weight the scoop of mash as I basically had no idea how much that was. Quorm sausages as my friend is a veggie (chefs selection, much nicer than I remember quorn sausages!) and carrots. And a piece of cheese cake... Plus an apple and 2x ryveta as my morning and afternoon snack. And a handful of grapes while cooking. 124 over. Bother!

If I were going to calorie count then lunches are probably going to be the hardest as we have a subsidised canteen at work so it doesn't make financial sense to take in lunch. I might get sick of baked potatoes very quickly, and adding up the cooked food would be difficult.

In terms of weight loss all calories are created equal, but not all equally good for you.

I would generally eat exercise calories (though be careful as the counters on gym equipment tend to exaggerate). If I didn't eat them I would end up starving and overeat eventually...

I used WLR to measure calories eaten and exercise calories. I found it excellent. Great for getting maintenance calories as well - from memory I was about 1750 per day based on height, age and weight, so a bit under the 2000 figure.

So, having found out about MFP on this thread I decided to give it a go, just so see what it was like. Tried it for two days. This was my first diet EVER and it was an abject failure. (Background: I am a big eater, always have been. I eat very healthily, but am constantly grazing. I am slightly overweight (would like to lose 4kgs). I had a baby in April. Before kids I used to be very sporty (eg triathlons and long distance cycling) but now I don't have the time for much exercise. Probably only 30 mins per day of moderate exercise like brisk walking. Occasional trip to the gym.)
Here's how it went:
Day 1, I ate the allocated amount (1550 cals) plus I gave myself 200 cals to account for BFing. So, 1750 cals. Well, I was STARVING. I couldn't sleep all night, tossed and turned. Ended up getting up at night and having 2 weetbix and milk.
Day 2, I ate 1800 calories but at 9pm I was STARVING again. Again, had to have 2 weetbix and milk before bed because I knew I wouldnt' make it through the night.

How the HELL do you dieting people do it!? It's really hard! I simply cannot function even at a basic level being hungry. I have a new respect for models and people who lose weight - it is incredibly hard work. Not sure I have what it takes to be honest.

By the way, can somebody please tell me how many 'extra' calories I get for breastfeeding. MFP doesn't have a function for factoring that in (or does it?). DD is 6 months old and has 4 bfs per day.

thanks for the tip Seventh

so, it looks like I can have 300 cals extra for BFing. Those extra weetbix were necessary to keep this finely tuned machine humming. Feeling less weak-willed now.

It's about right for me when I'm walking 3 miles a day. I pile the weight on in the school holidays, though.

Please read this site www.Zoeharcombe.com. It explains how there is no scientific basis for any calorie guidelines & how it is just not sensible to expect people to eat a precise amount of calories to stay the same weight. It has been illustrated by the posters who know nothing about calories but have miraculously stayed the same weight. Her explanation of how obesity only started getting worse after governments starting pushing low fat diets really amazed me - it is all the sugar that we are now eating that is the problem.