To think 2000 calories a day is a crazy amount of food.

[HairsprayBabe]

The government guidelines are just not helpful when it comes to reccomending a healthy calorific intake. I have been dieting for the past 6 months and am proud to say I have lost over 4 stone not so stealth stealth brag

But anyway, the government recommends on average 2000 calories a day for women, even before I was watching what I ate I didn't eat that much (logged in MFP before diet proper started), and these days I would consider 1500 cals a treat day.

I know it is all linked to TDEE and BMR but I cannot believe that the average woman in the UK could happily eat 2000 calories a day and not gain weight! Where has this figure come from? It really is no wonder that obesity is on the rise.

So IABU is 2000 calories a normal amount of food or are my views skewed?

Name changed. I agree OP. I don't know where the 2000 calorie figure came from but it's been around for as long as I can remember and I'm nearly 50 so it must be war years data I should think, before everyone drove and before we had domestic appliances and lifts, escalators, travellators etc.

When I was a teenager and weighed 12 stone as 5'6" in the eighties and wanted to lose weight, I ate 1000 calories of good food for two months and bang, I lost the two stone. I tried the same again once I hit 30 and couldn't do it, I had to go down to 900 calories of good food (very few carbs) and it took three months.

Approaching 50, having struggled with my weight and topping 12 stone again, I again needed to lose it so went to see a specialist (dietician) about why I was finding it so hard to keep my weight on an even keel even though I did HIT (the shred) and walked/hiked a lot and ate proper healthy food.

I had my basal metabolic rate measured and it gave a reading of 1030 calories so in order to lose weight, I'd have to eat significantly under that and exercise. I've done it on a no carb meal replacement diet of 600 calories per day and 20 minutes of HIT every other day. I now weigh 10 stone again.

Some people just have a low metabolic rate naturally (going for a poo once or twice a week anyone?) always cold, sluggish, no energy. It's a give away. All those people who poo daily or more have high metabolic rates. I had my thyroid checked in case that was the problem but no, it was fine (three tests in total over 3 years). It's just the unfortunate way I am. Very unlucky. It's salad and chicken for me now until I die unless I want to gain weight again steadily as I get older.

I always used to wonder why the lissom middle-aged and older women in Kensington and Knightsbridge ate like birds despite being thin - now I know. My mum used to pick at her food as does my sister who's mid-fifties (both reed slim).

For some, 2000 calories will be fine and they'll stay slim, others can eat 3000 calories and stay slim. The more unfortunate among us have to be more careful - more so as we get older. That 2000 calories a day figure gives a false message of the quantities that women can eat without weight gain though, no doubt about it.

(going for a poo once or twice a week anyone?) It's a give away. All those people who poo daily or more have high metabolic rates

Hmm, that explains a lot for me

Very interesting post all round and has certainly been my experience of ageing too...!

no it it scientificly right amount often for more people that we think.it not that its too much its nowadays people don't consume the right foods with it.its more often not the amount eaten but what is eaten.many obese kids eat shit but often not to there full dietary calriefic needs.its the crappy stuff full of bad or unbalanced things that put on the weight not the total.
most aren't actually eating enough balanced.

I have absolutely no idea how many calories a day I eat

I just do not know how many are in the foods I eat, but I have an erratic eating pattern

Fabulous what about all the claims (fitness Instagrammers I am looking at you) that eating too little actually slows down your metabolism? I think I need to eat significantly less in order to lose my excess 7-12lbs but I'm worried about never being able to eat normally again. I've never had an unhealthily relationship with food (never really dieted either) always used to be able to exercise a bit more and lose weight. Now I'm 30 and it just won't shift! Am I doomed to eat rabbit food forever?? Ps I poo every day

Fabulous
In my opinion, most people near or past the menopause have such a different metabolism from what they had before (slower) that there is no way they can eat the same amount they used to without putting on a lot of weight.

I think it must be to do with the change in hormone levels. Starchy and sugary carbohydrates particularly seem to cause weight gain on the bust, waist, tummy and hips after the menopause.

I have no idea how many calories I eat but when I'm not being a greedy cow and eaten a Camembert and baguette to myself before bed, I usually maintain my weight. I weigh around 120-125lbs. Usual days food would be something like:
2 eggs and toast for breakfast
Subway 6 inch tuna and mayo sandwich and crisps
Couple of biscuits and a banana for snack
Spag Bol for tea
Cake or cheese and crackers when watching tv before bed.

I don't know if that's a lot but I poo a lot so I guess that makes up for it

Tuna how old are you? I'm trying to get back to that weight but struggling. If I ate what you eat I'd put weight on these days. I'm nearly 31.

I eat similar to tuna I think (I sometimes eat a whole Camembert and baguette to myself too ). I'm 32

GrumpySquirrel, I'm 31 in a few months. I don't seem to gain weight all over when I act like a greedy pig (like for 2 weeks over Xmas), just on my tummy. After kids, I look like I have a fat persons tummy on a slim persona body. I'm in size 8 clothes but with tummy flab .

Ecureuil It doesn't get much better than baked Camembert, does it?

Hmm that's interesting. I hold fat on my hips and legs - always have a relatively flat stomach even at higher weights. I do increase in size all over when gaining weight, but it mostly goes on my bottom half. 🍐
My "equilibrium weight" seems to be 60kg although I got down to 57 for my recent wedding I can't maintain it easily, it goes back on when eat normally again. My equilibrium weight used to be 55kg! 😭 although I have more muscle these days I think. I'm a size 8 but look bigger (I look curvy) so much so that I've had shop assistants tell me I won't fit an 8

grumpysquirrel That's so rude of them! I have pretty small boobs and had one shop assistant suggest that I just wear stick on nipple covers as there was 'no point in a bra'

That's very rude too! If you are sensitive about it a comment like that could be really upsetting.

Sigh.. ok back to low carb / counting calories tomorrow. 1200 + extra for exercise

I put on quite a bit of weight. Am now about 63kg. Should be more like 55kg.

The bbc link said I should eat 1600 calls pd to maintain. And that's at my loads - over - weight weight. To actually lose, I need to go right down.

Sweets and wine lead to immediate weight gain, even if I stick to the Cal limit. In fact, now when I eat sweets, my mouth gets really sore (raw) and hurts for a couple of days. And it make me insatiably thirsty, so it's now to painful to indulge in my Haribo addiction.

All calories are not created equal so counting calories is a completely absurd way of eating. I wonder what would happen if I ate 2000 calories of sugar versus 2000 calories of raw vegetables 😕? Just eat freshly prepared food, lots of raw vegetables, some protein, some fat, no sugar and no flour - both processed foods. You won't have a weight problem.

Too painful....

That's partly it but you can't just say that is the answer.

Like i said, I rarely eat days, I never eat bread, or pasta or cake. Most of my food is healthy and home made. Nevertheless last week I decided to do MFP. Put in all my healthy food for that day and it came to just over 2000 cals. I was really shocked. Because it d only healthy stuff. Salad, vegetables, etc. But like I already worked out, just 1600 calls will keep me overweight. 2000+ will pile it on me. And I did indeed feel the effects!

So yes, avoiding processed crap is important, but you can still pile of the weight when eating heathily.

PS only 1 of those meals was pretty large. So now I'm sticking to mfp

I remember being told in the 80s and 90s that 'a calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from.' So wrong. Your body handles different food elements in different ways and so many things can disrupt your food absorbtion and appetite. It's shocking too that the NHS still bang on about the food pyramid (loads of carbs and low fat).

Ive been peri-meno for a few years and really noticed the difference a loss of Estrogen and other female sex hormones makes. Now Ive been on bio-identical hormones Ive got my skin elasticity back, more energy, restful sleep and it seems to help with weight too.

Im a mesomorph body type so gain weight on my middle and upper body. no lovely Kardashian curves for me when i gain, just shot putters shoulders and a gut!

On the plus side though, I can make a loo roll last a month so every cloud ...

kinddogstail god yes. I avoid carbs and rubbish like the plague now. They used to bring on the sweats and period-like pain. If i put a stone on, My bust would be 2" bigger but my hips only 1" bigger which sounds great but not if its matched on the waist too.

The older you get the harder it is. If anyone is under 30, I'd encourage you to scoff all the chocokate and chips now while you can.

Oh and to answer the thread, 2000 is not that much food IMO. I'm hungry on 1500 and bloody starving on 1200. It's a real struggle. I agree low carb is the way forward - you get less peaks and troughs of hunger you are just slightly hungry all the time
Lots of water, veg and lean protein plus some fruit and limited dairy works well for me (but I'm addicted to bread so got to break that first!)

French - no your right nothing is ever that simple - but if you're serious about weight loss check out Radiant Recovery or Bright Line Eating. They both provide lots of science about how your body deals with the food you eat and the effect on your brain (which is very key to weight loss success). They are both very supportive forums though quite different in their approach. My understanding of food and the human relationship to it changed forever having looked at these two websites. For the better. Good luck x

Carbs are good - vegetables are carbs - it's refined carbs you need to steer clear of.

Carbs are good - vegetables are carbs - it's refined carbs you need to steer clear of

Yes.
(Menopausal/post menopausal)
If you eat a lot of vegetables such as spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, cucumbers, celery, chicory, peppers, courgettes, beans, etc, a little fruit that isn't the very sweet kind, some oil and adequate protein, I think it is possible to avoid putting on weight without feeling hungry. I think this way of eating helps against developing diabetes too.

Just used NHS online calculator to work out calories in what I've eaten today:

crumpet 188
toast 252
marge 59
jam 25

grapes 50
breadstick 21

veg soup homemade 400 (guesstimate)
rice cakes x 2 50
houmous 75

falafel x 2 134
w/m pittas x 2 484
cucumber 18
tomato 10
olives x 6 18
red onion 21
houmous 304
banana 95
tea x 3 32

Total 2236

I don't normally eat quite so much bread and houmous (and only occasionally have jam), but otherwise that's a fairly typical day. As I said above, TDEE calc thinks I can get by on 1350 - not a chance.

Oh yeah and broad beans - add on 48kcal.