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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

352 replies

HairsprayBabe · 24/03/2017 14:04

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?

OP posts:
Hippywannabe · 27/03/2017 07:41

I have switched to a mainly plant and protein diet recently with occasional small amounts of cheese or yogurt. i have definitely lost weight over the last 3 weeks but am trying to stay off the scales as I have so much to lose.
I have been tracking it all on MFP and have been surprised at how many calories I have still been eating. The small handful of nuts can have more calories than a WW dinner!

Believeitornot · 27/03/2017 07:43

What's the recommended exercise levels alongside that?

Also it's a recommendation. Not a rule.

floraeasy · 27/03/2017 09:32

KatherinaMinola

Thanks for listing your food and totting it up.

Are you in the healthy weight range?

If so, you must be doing something right.

KatherinaMinola · 27/03/2017 09:42

Yup, never been overweight in my life - BMI around 20.5. I have always eaten around the 2000 mark. I suspect my calorie needs will be decreasing a little as I get older though - on the cusp of meno.

Postagestamppat · 27/03/2017 09:48

2000 calories a huge amount of food?! Not for me. I could easily manage that and then some. I am a healthy bmi and 5'7'' although the doctor has ordered me to lose weight to bring down my cholesterol. I am miserable trying to stick to 1500 calories a day and failing. I would love to be able to control my appetite but am always bloody hungry.

Medeci · 27/03/2017 10:00

I've always been thin (8st and 5ft7) felt OK, active and healthy but looking a bit gaunt as I get older so wanted to gain a bit of weight.
My calorie intake was approx 1500/day.
Increased to 2000 cals (basically just started eating breakfast) four weeks ago, and have so far gained a pound a week, can't see any difference yet, only thing I've noticed is am sleeping much better.

floraeasy · 27/03/2017 10:03

Medeci

That's interesting. So the 2000 cals is making you PUT ON weight and you were obviously maintaining at 1500 cals before (which goes contrary to the advice that women should all be eating 2000 cals).

Having said that, you are very slim to start with.

If you keep with the 2000 cals I wonder what weight you will end up with and stabilise at?

Madhairday · 27/03/2017 11:11

This always flummoxes me because if I eat that much I pile weight on. I'm healthy bmi and 5ft6 but still losing weight with combo of sw and mfp, and can only lose if under 1200 calories a day, actually closer to 1000 and that's a slow loss of 1lb or .5lb a week. That link says I should maintain on 1850 but I've always found if I go over 1500 I put weight on. I have a small appetite and have never eaten much but still struggled with weight due to chronic illness and steroids.

Out of interest I entered everything I ate yesterday - it was a real binge day due to mothers day and the dc making treats, so for e.g. I had a cookie, ice cream and wine and hot chocolate on top of meals, still only came to 1800 and felt so full and uncomfortable on it.

I think we're all so different and there's a lot we don't know yet and one rule can't apply to everyone.

Medeci · 27/03/2017 11:17

floraeasy Hard to tell but perhaps I've been "under eating" for years without realizing. Never get that hungry and if I'm busy at work just grab a cup of tea on the go instead of eating lunch.
Will be interesting to see if/when I stop gaining wt with 2000cals.

KindDogsTail · 27/03/2017 11:28

Postagestampat Though without knowing anything about what you are eating it is difficult say for sure, I would suggest that it may be possible for you to have that 1500 with slightly different foods which would prevent the worst of the hunger.

Also adequate sleep, relaxation from stress and moderate exercise help against hunger.

acornsandnuts · 27/03/2017 11:36

But surely everyone takes into consideration their individual circumstances. I'm 5ft 2 and 9stone. My best friend is 5ft 10 and 13 stone. I need to eat a lot less than her to maintain my weight.

FunkinEll · 27/03/2017 16:20

If you had two people of the same height and weight but one had a higher muscle mass, that person would require more calories to maintain their weigh than the other.

The higher your muscle mass, the higher the amount of calories you can eat to maintain your weight.

CaseyAtTheBat · 27/03/2017 18:26

which goes contrary to the advice that women should all be eating 2000 cals

That isn't the "advice" at all. Don't people understand words like guidelines and approximately?

floraeasy · 27/03/2017 18:48

Everyone seems shocked if you are only able to consume fewer than 2000 in order not to put on weight though.

I've been on both sides of this - able to eat LOADS and maintain a BMI of 19 to struggling to eat very little in order to keep my weight down. I suppose the people who've never experienced it won't understand unless it happens to them.

CaseyAtTheBat · 27/03/2017 18:53

Nobody is remotely shocked.

Ecureuil · 27/03/2017 19:02

I don't think anyone is shocked, are they? Most people recognise everyone is different.

AgeingArtemis · 27/03/2017 19:47

I reckon I maintain my weight at about 2200-2500 (young, tall, active) but although that must sound like a lot to some of you, I am constantly hungry and I never feel fully satisfied with how much I've eaten unless I am well over 3000 calories. Sad

I've never been overweight, but it's a constant battle of willpower. I did try for 3 weeks eating as much as I fancied (mostly healthy stuff, but plenty of bread and pasta and some sweets) in case my body was telling me I need more food, but I did start to put on a bit of weight so I went back to my normal amount. I am on the pill- maybe that has increased my appetite?

FabulouslyGlamourousFerret · 27/03/2017 20:25

I think Metabolic adaptation is a proven theory isn't it?

auntyhiro · 27/03/2017 20:56

So much of this depends on height.

A 5'9'' is not just 7'' bigger than a 5'2'' because it needs to be cubed.

NotACompleterFinis · 27/03/2017 21:01

Ageing - try eating more good fats - like avocado and animal fat ; more protein and more vegetables. Don't be hungry. They'll keep you feeling full for longer and the more you eat of them the less room you'll have for bread and pasta.

Roomba · 27/03/2017 21:47

I am 5'2", smallish frame and that calculator says I need 1595 kcals per day to maintain my current weight. I am not sedentary but not super active either. If I ate 2000 cals a day I would pile weight on, and have done in the past when I've eaten that or more.

floraeasy · 28/03/2017 11:15

Nobody is remotely shocked

I don't think anyone is shocked, are they? Most people recognise everyone is different

Perhaps I was OTT in using the word shocked then Grin

However, below are just some of the comments in this thread alone in response to people who say they'd gain/not lose on 2000 calories:-

*Have you had your thyroid checked?

*If you eat too little you can actually slow your metabolism down

*Well you're talking cobblers to be honest. You've got something wrong with you if you gained 4 stone on 2000 a day.

*I don't think 2000 calories is much.

*The calories don't matter, it is the type of food you are eating. You can maintain / lose weight if your 2000 calories are made up of protein, fat and veg.

*2000 calories is not very much at all.

*Then either you have significant food issues or you don't know how to accurately count calories. Or both.

*i struggle to see how you were eating less than 2000 calories per day and had 4 stone excess. Im not trying to be funny at all, but I dont see how that would happen.

*If you're gaining that much on 2000 then you either can't be of average height or you are incredibly lazy (or maybe a mixture of both)

*Calorie counting is no way to live

*I think the opposite. That 2000 calories isn't much at all.

*If it makes you fat, it could mean you're eating 2,000 kcal of food with high fat and sugar.

*can happily eat 2000+ and still lose weight. If you sit on your arse all day, and do little exercise then this may be different

*It depends how you get the 2000 calories.

*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

*All calories are not created equal so counting calories is a completely absurd way of eating.

heron98 · 28/03/2017 11:33

I probably eat about twice that Blush. But I have never been overweight. I don't think it's a huge amount at all.

CaseyAtTheBat · 28/03/2017 11:47

All those comments out of context mean nothing at all.

floraeasy · 28/03/2017 11:56

Well, they mean something surely? Having read the whole thread there definitely do seem to be people who don't believe how little some people need to eat to not put on weight.

On the other hand, I do believe those who say they can eat loads and not put on weight. I've been there myself, so I know it happens.