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?

[specialsubject]

4 stone off in 6 months implies a lot of eating beforehand. Perhaps op is very short and so needs less food.

No idea how.many calories I eat but I know when it is too much as buttons start to strain. We are all different.

[DataColour]

2000 calories is not a lot of food, it's a comfortable amount. IF you are active.

[gleam]

That would have been in the 80s, I guess.

[ayahuasca]

I need around 2200-2300 calories to maintain my weight, not a very big person but fairly active and I do have a thyroid disease.

[NeedMoreSleepOrSugar]

2000 is an average. For some it will be too much, especially if smaller build and sedentary, but for others it may be too little.

That said, if you see 1500 as a treat day, are you expecting to maintain on less than that? That seems unrealistic. I'm small build (height and weight) and even when I'm at my least active I'd easily eat 1500 without gaining weight.

[LagunaBubbles]

Its also important to note that 100 calories from a pizza is different to 100 calories from kale

No 100 calories is a 100 calories. Obviously it is different regarding portion size - a slice of pizza as opposed to a bags and bags ans bags of kale, but 100 calories is 100 calories as far as your body is concerned.

[Gallavich]

2000 is less than I burn daily although I am overweight. I can easily eat 2000 calories across 3 meals and a snack, most people can unless they have very small appetites.
I agree that 2000 may be more than lots of women need to maintain their weight if they are slim and not very active but it's pretty rude and incorrect to call 2000 cals a 'crazy' amount of food.

[amusedbush]

If you drastically reduce your calories to lose weight, you can slow your metabolism down and you won't be able to eat a "normal" amount to maintain. I've read that to maintain the same weight as someone who has never dieted, you would need to eat ~300kcal a day less than them.

2000kcal is a pretty normal amount of food, I would say. When I'm training 5 times a week I can lose weight steadily on 1800kcal.

[noeffingidea]

I've never really counted calories, to be honest, so I wouldn't know. The 'eat less, move more' thing always seems to work for me.

[mando12345]

I lose weight at 2000 calories a day, that's tracking everything on MFP.
MY weight goes up when I eat out our entertain then goes back to normal when I eat normally, which averages out at 2000, that's not including the eating out entertaining days.

[HairsprayBabe]

I am 5ft6 so not short.

I don't have any thyroid issues - had it checked for sleep stuff a while ago.

Put the weight on very slowly, over about 6 years.

But yes we are all different, I think this is the issue that isn't highlighted by the guidelines.

[LadyLoveYourWhat]

I'm maintaining with 2000 calories on the days I just get my 10k steps in (i.e. 20 minute each way walk to work and back, 30 minute stroll at lunchtime, walking to meetings but otherwise sat on my arse) and more if I run. It sounds reasonable to me.

[Bukkaroo]

My BMI is 18.5 and I am a size 6-8 and maintain at about 2,000 calories a day. I do go to the gym a lot though. 1,400 is very low!

[greeeen]

I'm 5ft8 and 10st, at the moment, and although I don't calorie count exactly if I ate 2000 calories a day I would definitely put on weight. I average about 1500. My mother always said I should try and stick to 1000 a day to stay slim , I will not be passing this on to my DD!

[Ecureuil]

I'm 5ft5 and 9.5 stone. I maintain my weight on 2000 kcals. I move quite a lot.

[RiverdaleJughead]

My DRC is 1515 when active - the 2000 is the average so many below and many above . It's easy to stay well under with veg and protein but if you want a damn greggs pasty I'm 1/3 into my DRC so it's really not exactly obscene

[Firesuit]

The first site Google found for me confirmed that an "average" woman needs to eat 2000 calories a day to maintain weight.

I wonder if that's an average of all women, or an average of all women who have their weight in the healthy BMI range?

Taken at face value, they did mean average of all women.

If the overweight are included in the average then the figure is misleading.

[ErrolTheDragon]

You won't digest all the kale. Although calorie content estimation is a bit more sophisticated than just burning it in a calorimeter, I'm not sure that the numbers totally accurately represent how much energy you'll extract from it.

2000 cals seems way high to me... but I'm 5'1, 56 , and although I do exercise, walk etc my job is very sedentary. I've got an underactive thyroid now too, but on thyroxine so I doubt that's much of a contributor.

[Alyosha]

It depends on the individual. I am about 1500 kcal replacement (sadly). I long overestimated this at 1800, which meant I lost no weight. I am 5ft5 and 10 stone, trying to lose another stone. And failing at the moment!

I'm sure there are many women who are at around 2000 kcal replacement rate (if not more), especially as most people are overweight, some women will be on their feet all day in cafes etc.

[timeforabrewnow]

YANBU

2000 calories is a lot of food, and I have put weight on eating just that. All this talk of slowing metabolism down etc is simply not true.

As a society generally in the UK - people eat too much - it's a comfortable habit that we're all into - myself included.

[LittleGwyneth]

It depends on what kind of foods you're eating. Nuts, avocados etc have healthy fats which are yummy but also have calories (and are good for your skin etc etc). It also depends on your BMR, and your activity level. If you're a small person who is very sedentary then it might feel like a lot.

[RiverdaleJughead]

And tbf gleam my generation are giants so no wonder it's gone up

[kingscrossnoodle]

its the one size fits all approach I don't like

But it's isn't 'one size fits all'. The NHS 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.

Then go on to say....

These values can vary depending on age, metabolism and levels of physical activity, among other things.

It's general advice, averages. Of course everybody is different.

[Laiste]

I can eat 1000 per day and only slowly loose weight (average height, not much to loose, average activity levels)

Maybe i've buggered up my metabolism in the past? Or is that a myth? Dunno - so many conflicting studies out there about it all it's impossible to know.

[TailEndCharlie]

OK people - it is this simple. 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... but you will gain if the majority of the 2000 cals is carbs. They have now worked out that the calorie count isn't what is important. The NHS will catch up with its advise eventually, much in the same way it is with advise for diabetics.