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?

Exactly my point.

Totally agree

Obviously this can be answered by the phrase 'everyone is different'.

This thread really shows how everyone is different! 2000 calories a day is fine for me - if I drop to 1500, then I lose weight pretty quickly (5"5, size 8-10). But I have a friend who can't lose weight unless she goes below 1200. Too many different factors to calculate using online tools - you've just got to find what works for you.

There is not a figure which will be the correct amount for all women - it will depend on your height, build,muscle mass, activity. I highly doubt the real average would be such a round number but it's a number that doesn't mean anything to anyone anyway.
I would loose weight eating 2000 calories a day but my BMI is 25 so probably could loose some.

I am tall, have 3 young children, and like to do weight training at the gym so this may increase what I would want to eat compared to someone smaller - if you eat more than you are using you will put on weight so there is not a set round number which will work for women across the board.
A petite women that does not have a lot of muscle mass won't need many calories but not the case for all women.

The number of people agreeing with the OP with the words 'I eat' are proving the point - you're an individual, not every woman.

How tall are you? I’m 40 with a similar lifestyle, but my weight would skyrocket if I ate anything close to 2500kcal. I maintain at around 1500kcal. I’m 5’2” so yes I’m small, but that’s only 1-2 inches smaller than the average woman in the UK apparently. You wouldn’t think it would make so much difference.

I eat 2200 a day, I don’t weigh myself anymore but measurements all over are reducing. I weight train 4 times a week and never do less then 10,000 steps a day.

We are all so different.

Are you under 40?

So my maintenance calories (to not LOSE or GAIN weight) are 1000 now. I’m very short and very small bones. As an idea my feet are a 3, my hands for gloves are a 6, my wrist is about 5 inches circumference. I weigh 8 stone 7 pounds and I’m still overweight on bmi.

I’m really, really small.

I’m losing weight on a weight loss drug and eat 800 calories a day to lose between half-one pound per week. It’s very, very slow.

I cannot wait to get to maintenance so I can eat a 1000 calories a day so I get some more energy from calories, 800 is tough energy wise (because of the weight loss drugs I’m not hungry so it’s not hard to eat this little).

but I’m tired, fall asleep at 9pm and just don’t have the energy I used to when I was able to eat more.

Yes early 30s

I'm almost 5'11!! I'm about size 10/12.

I did eat more than 2500 but due to perimenopause I have cut back a bit as clearly my body doesn't need so much.

I'm also a teacher so spend most the day on my feet then in the hols I have my kids to run round with.

Honestly you get used to it, I also intermittent fast though so 1200 calories would be good size lunch a healthy dinner and a afternoon veg sticks with tzatiki for instance.

I'm aware of what I use to cook with so have very low calories from oils and I choose low calorie high protein sources which keep me full so quorn, prawns, chicken and fish.

I don't buy diet products and keep carb size to a palm but also do things like cook, cool, freeze and then reheat things like pasta and rice as it reduces the glycemic index so I don't get a spike. I have to have low carb for a health condition anyway and I'm at higher risk of type 2 diabetes due to gestational diabetes with DS2.

For women, things change with age. I used to eat at least 2000 calories, if not more, in my 20s and 30s to maintain my weight. I am quite tall and was always slim (size 8/10). Never done a lot of exercise. I don't need as many calories now in my late 40s. Maybe the guidelines need to take age into account.

I am my healthiest BMI when I eat only 400 a day. I eat now 1500 and am size 20

On average, women need about 1,600 to 2,400 calories each day, and men need 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day -- based on age and activity level. If you figure out that you need 2,000 calories per day, then you need to keep your calorie intake about equal with that number.

For me the issue is bread, cake, large portions of potato or rice. Once I get rid of the bread and snack on good protein, fruit, veg, eggs, fish, etc - I go down to size 10 within a month without any diet. I used to look at the bread calories label and think they actually lie because all I eat a day is one slice of bread and I grown with 1 kg a day ( this is my reality)

A whole lettuce leaf - you glutton you!!

As with everything else, the calories per day should be calculated by using data such as Height, Sex, Activity levels etc - without this, its meaningless

According to how I put 1 kg a day by adding just one slice of bread with my lunch gives me that 1 slice of bread actually has 1000 kalories.

“The underlying science for calorie needs is much older, dating back to research in the early 20th century, with more refined models developing through the 1940s–1980s as nutrition science evolved.”
I think it’s safe to assume that majority of modern women (and men), who are largely sedentary (desk job, car) and not involved in physical labor as much as their 1950s counterparts, indeed don’t need 2000kcal “to sustain” themselves.

Thanks that’s really interesting. Mine came up 1600 and that’s exactly what I would have thought.

I just think it's mad that anyone at any point in time thought you could meaningfully apply one calorie expenditure to ALL women. I'm 6'1", my best friend is 5'3". Obviously we're not going to need the same calories per day. Same as any other measure (e.g., "waist size should be below Xinches to be healthy"). It just feels these generic measures have more people who do do not apply to, than those that they do!

As others have said, it depends on age/height and activity levels, and where the calories are coming from - 2000 salad and protein will make you look better than 2000 from chocolate. I’ve done the research myself 😂

Running around with toddlers, and doing a huge amount of gym-based exercise, I definitely needed all 2000 calories.

Twenty years on, fairly sedentary and menopausal I can put on weight just looking at biscuits.

It’s all so confusing and has been for decades. Always a new diet that will see the weight melt off.

I don’t count my calories but every time I have. Usually promoted by these threads. It can be quite a lot. You can easily eat or even drink them.

This sounds like a Donald trump speech 😂

But the background is my fav coffee is 345 calories and you would be amazed how many calories are in a spoldge of mayonnaise.

It refers to the average woman - some women will need more, some less. Surely that’s obvious? I eat around 2000 calories a day and I’m slim and fit. I’m also quite petite, so presumably I’d need more calories if I was taller and led the same lifestyle.

I wouldn’t look at celebs for diet advice! 😆 Most of them seem to swing between starving themselves and overindulging in junk food. What they say they eat is part of the image they promote not necessarily fact. I won’t name names but one female pop star said she skipped breakfast, ate a small salad of tomato and cucumber for lunch with no dressing and a pitiful evening meal that I can’t remember but was probably steamed chicken and no carbs. If that were true, she needs to see a doctor as something’s wrong with her metabolism.

I find it depressing that lots of women can’t eat a normal, healthy diet with a few treats without worrying or trying to pretend they only nibble at lettuce leaves. We need calories and sustenance too, just like men. This nibbling at lettuce crap only serves to promote guilt and encourage women to be undernourished and feeble.