AIBU to think that guideline ‘suggested calories per day’ should be reduce

[Crepid]

We all know that the NHS guidance is that adult women should eat 2,000 calories per day and men should eat 2,500.

I’ve also just seen that a 7 year old girl is suggested to eat over 1,500 calories a day - again, the source is the NHS.

I’m 5ft 6, and have a BMI are the upper end of normal (very close to overweight) and I would say that I am probably a little overweight (fat around my abdomen and generally not as slim as I’d like but I’m on track).

In the past year I’ve taken to the gym where, combined with eating less and healthier food, I’m happy to say I’ve managed to lose about 1.5 stone (9.5kg).

For motivation, every time I attend the gym I use a new body sensor device that gives me a detailed breakdown of my stats and it clearly states that to maintain my weight and physique I should eat no more than 1,350 calories per day.

Obesity is causing a huge strain on the NHS and robbing people of their mobility and broader health.

Why are they recommending that people eat 2,000 calories per day when myself - a woman of larger than average height and medium activity levels is being told on both the gym equipment and the GP surgery machine that 1,300 calories will suffice in keeping me at the upper region of ‘healthy’ if not close to overweight?

That’s less than a 7 year old child.

AIBU to think that the calorie suggestions should be lowered to combat it?

YABU - calorie guidance should stick at 2000/2500 calories

YANBU - calorie guidance should be reviewed and lowered

(Incidentally MyFitnessPal pal is on your side OP and constantly suggests I might want to eat 1600kcal a day to maintain, despite me maintaining on 2000kcal for the last 4 years)

Yeah, I can overeat and don't necessarily get the signs to stop eating. Particularly if it's processed white carbs.

Easy to drink a lot of alcohol calories too.

Agree with this, most people are utterly clueless when it comes to calories and think they consume far less calories than they actually do, very few people consistently weigh and measure all their food and drink they consume and vastly underestimate a ‘portion’, a portion on the packet for example is 200 calories yet the portion they serve themselves is probably 3 times the size, so are consuming 600 calories yet think they have eaten 200 calories! See it all the time in my office, oh and healthy food doesn’t contain calories either apparently, my colleague eats a packet of 500gms grapes as a snack as it’s healthy and low in fact yet it is actually 365 calories, doesn’t count though apparently.

As a 5'6" moderately active person, if you eat 1300 calories per day you will continue to lose weight. As a 5'4" fairly active slim woman, I need to eat 1600 calories per day to maintain my weight.

We move nowhere near enough to be needing anywhere near 2000 cal a day. People like nurses, waiters at busy places, etc that walk all their shift- for sure; but the average person needs a lot less.

most people are utterly clueless when it comes to calories and think they consume far less calories than they actually do
I agree. Unless you weigh or measure the portions, chances are your portion size will be bigger than the 'recommended' one.

The portions on UPF tend to be tiny so that they don't have bad traffic light ratings.

I find that things like crisps leave me hungrier than I was, so I don't bother with them.

Agree - I used to be able to get through 2000 calories - tall and active , but post menopause it’s considerably less and I have the weight gain to prove it :-(

@NewKingontheBlock thats another thing. People thing they eat a salad and should get skinny while that ‘salad’ is more likely half the calories for the day.
i track (weigh, measure and record ) everything i eat; walk over 10,000 steps daily and work out 4-6 times a week. At 5ft6 my maintenance calories are 1,800 and to lose are 1,500. At 2,000 I’ll be gaining continuously.

For me 2000 is far too much ! I find that on 1300-1500 I can maintain a perfect weight for my height. It’s a very individual thing though. Probably does need looking at and reviewing but I suppose they have to give general guidelines and don’t want to say too little ?

Those stats would give you an overweight BMI though.

I am only moderately active, I eat around 2000 calories per day and my weight remains stable.

This is to the posters who eat around 1200/1300 calories each day so as not to gain weight. Would any of you be able to share what you eat in a typical day and do you often eat out (I have found calories on menus to be much higher than I expected even though I thought I was good at working out calories)?

@NewYear24 , I've no idea how many calories I eat in a day but I very rarely eat out. If I ate out regularly I'd be a lot heavier.

I think some of the menu Cals are plucked from thin air and I’ve counted Cals for more than half my life depressingly… Some are way out.

Unless they give weights and measurements of all food and drink consumed it will be pretty useless to you, one persons ‘bowl of porridge’ will vary hugely.

Unless they give weights and measurements of all food and drink consumed it will be pretty useless to you, one persons ‘bowl of porridge’ will vary hugely.

It would actually be very useful for me as I’ve recently lost a lot of weight and I’d like to hear about what 1300 calorie per day people eat.

I usually eat approx 1400 calories per day. Yesterday, I ate =

1 piece toast, peanut butter, apple

1 piece rye bread, hummus, banana

Veg pakora x 2, dahl, rice

2 biscuits

I agree with you, the average British woman shouldn’t be eating 2,000 calories a day.

And that belief is based on what? Any qualifications whatsoever?

I understand that but you need weights and measurements as I said in my post for it to be accurate, a ‘handful of nuts’ for example, some people have huge hands!

1300 cals sounds impossible to me

I eat/need about 3000 a day

Yes I am taller than average, and active, but surely not twice as much so!

The 2000 I guess is an average and the 1300 and my 3000 are outliers

It would actually be very useful for me as I’ve recently lost a lot of weight and I’d like to hear about what 1300 calorie per day people eat.
I understand that but you need weights and measurements as I said in my post for it to be accurate, a ‘handful of nuts’ for example, some people have huge hands!

I have asked because I am interested in the answers and believe it will be useful for me so thank you NeedToChangeName for replying to my request.

@NewYear24 You don’t appear to be understanding what I am saying at all. Will leave it there.

This is correct. We don't move enough and we eat too much. All the electronic devices, including Fitbits tend to overestimate calories burned. You cannot accurately measure body fat on a set of scales. We need a reset on how we think about food and exercise.

I'm 39 years old, 5ft 2, 8 stone and I eat 1500 cal a day. I prefer to do two 800 cal fast days and eat 1700 every other day though. It keeps my metabolism sharp and I like to eat more for 5 days of the week!

I would absolutely starve on 1300 cals a day. I think if you gain weight on more than that, your metabolism is broken. That’s why I’m evangelical about weight training—I’m 5’4, lift weights regularly and maintain a 20% ish body fat (visible abs) on about 2500 calories a day.