Is 2000 cals a day REALLYneeded by an "average" woman?

[absolutelynotfabulous]

I'm constantly reading that the average woman uses 2000 cals a day. I think I'm pretty average, at 5'4 and 10st 7, and I put on weight at 1400 cals. I find it hard to lose, and I'm constantly battling that final stone. Not only would I struggle to eat 2000 cals, particularly on a regular basis, but I rarely expend 2000 cals even on a particularly active day (15000 steps).

I've just been reading yet another site in which 2000 cals daily is recommended.

Am I the only woman for whom 2000 cals is waaay too many?

Easiest way to lose weight is turn down the heating. around 50-80% of calories are used maintaining body temperature.

gOD thatd make life tough though. I can't think about anything else when I'm cold.

Also, if you put on a cardigan, you lose the effect?

From Wikipedia

Basal metabolism is usually by far the largest component of total caloric expenditure. However, the Harris–Benedict equations are only approximate and variation in BMR (reflecting varying body composition), in physical activity levels, and in energy expended in thermogenesiss* make it difficult to estimate the dietary consumption any particular individual needs in order to maintain body weight.
Meaning that you really can't rely on a calculated BMR to work out your calorie needs.

It goes on to say that when they measured basal metabolic rate as opposed to calculating by the formula, there was huge variation between people, even between people of the same lean body mass. In one study, there were 2 people of the same lean body mass, who had a difference of over 700kcal per day in their measured BMR.

I really wouldn't base too much on those calculations.

I think tracking calories with a healthy, balanced diet is by far the best way to loose weight. Add in some exercise you enjoy and easy healthy lifestyle.

However, I think it takes a while and a bit of tinkering to get to know your own calorie consumption for maintaining or loosing weight. And it does change depending on what you do. I can literally eat whatever I want and I still maintain my weight but then I'm training pretty hard. It's taking me a while to get my head around the eating part of it.

My experience is bmr is a good place to start and then work from there. Some people need less sugar or less carbs or more protein but as a start point I think it's a good one

I can only lose weight by eating air and drinking water, so my metabolism is pretty efficient :)

When I used to regularly go to the gym my trainer told me to times My weight in pounds by 11 and that was what I would roughly need to eat in calories to maintain my weight-less to lose weight obvs.
I weighed 135 pounds at the time so tried to stick to eating 1400 kcals a day and I lost weight fairly steadily without feeling hugely hungry.

2,000 calories is usually what you need to have in order to maintain a weight and not to lose. To lose - I suggest a healthy 1,200 calories a day along with moderate exercise. I never go by guidelines and instead go with what works for me.

New york Times article about a 6 year follow up on the metabolism of contestants on The Biggest loser www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?_r=0

It's an average. I'm small and 52 and eat around 1700 cals per day (when i worked out my TDEE it was about the same). I exercise 3-4 times a week and walk a reasonable amount, but have a desk job.

And that 11 times your body weight in pounds is insane! I get 1127 cals on that. I would be bloody starving.

Are you very small though fish. I'm 5'7 and weigh 12 stone, so get 1848 calories to maintain, which is in the right ballpark - do you weigh only 100 pounds?

In fact, if I could stick to 1848 calories I would probably lose weight. I probably eat a lot more than that and don't gain or gain very slowly.

According to the basal metabolic rate calculation I only need 1193 calories a day. I would starve. I eat a lot and I'm very slim as it is.

I eat around that, I used to eat between 2,200 and 2,500 kcals a day but I was a fitness teacher and have a toned muscular physique. I'm 5 7 and menopausal but my dense muscle mass means I can eat way more than most of my friends it's getting harder as I get older and do less exercise so I'm working on reducing it

@Birdsbeesandtrees Ah. Think there's been a misunderstanding. The BMR is not all you need.

BMR is literally the baseline of calories which you would still need to fuel your vital organs each day in order to stay alive if you were on complete bedrest.

If you're not on bedrest, there are various formulas for projecting your total daily energy requirements; the one I know best adds your BMR plus a total for your physical activity plus an amount for the energy used/wasted in digesting food.

I'm not convinced that Fitbit is accurate with calories burnt. It seems to vastly overestimate the amount of calories I use in a day. Which is nice, but not helpful.

2000 calories is about right to maintain my weight (5'6 and 10 stone). I walk around 10k steps a day but don't do much in the way of other exercise for the first time ever - I was a gym bunny until I tried to combine working full time with having a toddler and found something had to give.

2000 is average.

At 6ft and fairly active , apparently 2700 for me is needed to maintain weight

Am currently cutting back to around 2000 to try and lose a few pounds (8 pounds down so far!)