To think that women don't actually need 2000kcal a day

[Croissantsfordinner]

I am barely losing weight eating 1600kcal a day and most of the people I know who are slim and fit definitely do not eat 2000kcal (I am referring to family, friends, colleagues, what I read here on MN and also celebrities diet, lol). So where does this guideline come from?
Unless you are almost an athlete, I don't think all those calories are actually needed, AIBU?

Do most people know how many calories they eat each day? I don't have a clue!

Stop leaving them unsupervised with the sudocreme then 😂 DD ate half a tub once

2000 is too high for most people in sidentary jobs etc.

I eat 1600 a day and I exercise (abs gym fit) and I don't need more than this.
I am tall as well. I up my calorie intake if I'm doing huge amounts of cardio but that isn't often.

According to my Fitbit I burn on average 1500 calories a day. If I want to lose weight I have to eat less than 1000. If I ate 2000 I’d be enormous. I’m a size 14, so definitely not teeny tiny!

Different for everyone, and very much based on your body composition and activity level.
I’ve lost around 3 stone (and still going, now with a BMI of 26) on 1900 a day, I’m 5ft 2 and pretty active. It’s really common to under count on calories too, plus numbers given by activity trackers can be really inaccurate, so often people are eating a few hundred more a day than they think which can make quite a difference .

It's right if you're tall, broad, muscular and/or very active.

I would be the size of the house if I regularly consumed 2000calories a day. I lose weight if I am at 1000-1200, maintain on 1400 ish.
I am 5'2, lift weights 4-5 times a week and walk/run 4/5 times a week so not totally sedentary but my job is a WFH sitting on one's derriere one so I do not kid myself that I burn a lot of calories.

Totally depends on the individual. I’ve barely done any exercise this week and my average daily calorie burn is 2003 calories per day. On a normal week I’d have run at least 20 miles, walked more and been to the gym more. My daily calorie burn usually averages at least 2300 over a week.

I probably did until my 40's now I need less. I feel full sooner and although my activity levels are similar I am probably have about 1800, bmi 23.6

Most women should need that but the reality is that we just aren’t active enough anymore.

I definitely know some women who need to eat that and more because of their genetics or because they do a lot of exercise and need to fuel their bodies properly.

Calories are calories. You could eat a regular diet of Big Macs for tea and so long as you were in a calorie deficit you would lose weight. If you ate lettuce all day every day and consumed 2500 calories - assuming that was in excess of the amount of calories burned then you would put weight on.

Yes. This the bi-weekly competitive undereating martyrs.

Also it depends on your current weight. If you are overweight then you are using more calories just existing than someone with a normal BMI.

The people I know who restrict a lot and eat very little are underweight but they prefer it that way. I can eat 2000 cals but am in the "normal" category.

When I exercised, I could eat what I liked really.

I always thought the 2000 calories is based on a less automated life. People having to hand wash laundry, use carpet sweepers instead of a vacuum, walking to shops, school etc. Similarly, the average of 2500 for men, when more people had manual labouring jobs.

As a 'teeny tiny' (5'2", and small framed), middle aged woman, with a desk based job, I can only fantasise about being able to eat that much.

My relative is late thirties. She has never been more than 8 stone as an adult. She eats things like burgers and cooked food from a deli almost every day, but she only eats once a day, bar the odd chocolate bar or biscuit or packet of crisps when she feels weak.
She doesn’t really exercise although she walks a fair bit. She smokes cigarettes and weed, and binge drinks. Occasionally does harder drugs.
She has thyroid problems, high blood pressure and last year she got a clot on her brain.
Technically she probably eats more or less the recommended calories per day and is a “healthy” weight.
That kind of advice is a rough guideline. You have to use common sense and see what works for you personally.

Mine are all adults now! But I survived many such moments (as did they, but only just...)

There’s a huge grey area though isn’t there

pre vs post menopausal
tall vs short
active vs inactive

I love an apt username

It's been the recommendation for decades. Most of us need less because life has changed since this was calculated, but the amount each individual needs to maintain their weight depends upon so many variables. If I ate 2000 calories a day I would gain weight hand over fist and none of my clothes would fit me 14,000-16,000 is it for me . Wish it was more. .

No I don’t believe that. But I do believe that lots of women who lead a fairly average life and have a sedentary job, do not generally need so many calories

I think so too, guidelines should be refreshed

I'm 6ft 2 and do need about that

You are absolutely right - we only need to go to a vintage shop and try their dresses or coats on to realise we ate ourselves into totally different species, the ones you know, women's strappy sexy sandals, size 8 and 3XL blouses. All our doing, you are spot on.

I’m an average height mid fifties with desk job.

TDDE calculator thinks I need 1,556 maintenance.

I work out nearly every day, mostly 30-40 minutes functional and strength with cardio at weekends. Plus a minimum walk of 3k per day.

My fitness trackers, averaged over a number of years tell me my actual maintenance calorie requirement is 1,211 calories. I burn another (averaged) of 421 calories.

An extra 400 calories per day and my weight would go up quite rapidly.

I disagree with the previous poster who said it didn’t matter what calories were made up from. We know that how foods affect our blood sugar will affect whether our body chooses to store excess as fat. It’s why low glycaemic load foodstuffs are always the better option when balancing our food /diet. Exercise and diet will also affect whether the body uses fat or lean muscle for fuel when eating in calorie deficit.