The 2000 calorie standard

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  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
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    I'm 5'4", 185 lbs, and maintain on 2500-2800 depending on how much I'm running at the time.

    ETA: I find the 2,000 to maintain as arbitrary as the 1200 to lose...
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    I am smaller than average but have a lot of lean mass. 2000-2100 is my estimated TDEE (i.e. maintenance at my current activity level). I think people who truly gain weight on less than that either have entirely too much body fat

    your everything else in your statement makes sense except for the excess body fat part. it takes a certain amount of calories to sustain the amount of BF on you, so i don't see why having more BF would make you gain at fewer calories.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    i don't see why having more BF would make you gain at fewer calories.

    I think she's saying a female at 150# with 33% BF burns fewer calories at rest than the same height/weight, but 18% BF
  • Shoechick5
    Shoechick5 Posts: 221 Member
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    Female, 181 pounds not that active and my TDEE is around 2000 - 2100 so it would be bang on for me.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Well the 'average' woman in the USA is overweight, so I think that's probably not too far off the truth
    My maintenance is 2000 calories....and I am not overweight...right on the cusp and want to lose but to maintain it's 2k....

    ETA: I am 41, 5ft 7 and weigh 163lbs...I do about 30mins of cardio a week and 3 1hour weight sessions...hoping my maintenance goes up actually
  • totem12
    totem12 Posts: 194 Member
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    I've often thought about this, my maintenance calories with decent amounts of exercise are around 1600-1700 a day, but then I am pretty small!

    The problem really is that people don't seem to be able to take on board a more subtle message that includes disclaimers regarding height, weight, activity level. People take '2000 calories' as a blanket statement and gospel. I actually had a disagreement with someone the other day who told me I shouldn't eat more than 5 portions of fruit and veg a day because that's what the government recommends...
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    I watch a lot of "guilty" TV like Supersize vs Superskinny and Secret Eaters. They all make a point of saying that the average woman needs 2000 calories to maintain their weight, which seems to be massively overstated to me. I consider myself pretty average in height and weight, and if I ate 2000 calories a day I would be packing on the pounds. My maintenance point hovers around 1600-1700 calories a day. What do you guys think of the FDA's standard of 2000 calories a day for women and 2500 for men?

    I'm 35 yrs old, 5ft, 6in and I'm maintaining with around 2,200 calories. I do exercise 6 days a week, but just for 30 minutes a time/pretty low impact.

    Eta: my maintenance range is 117.5-120lbs.
  • ElizabethFuller
    ElizabethFuller Posts: 352 Member
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    I wear a Fitbit to monitor my movement and according to my gizmo over the last week my lowest burn was yesterday at 1939 and my highest was 2843 on Tuesday (crazy busy day at work plus gym). I'm 5'6" and weigh 69kg. Even if my Fitbit is over-estimating then I think I'm still probably burning around the 2000 mark plus some.

    Edited for fat finger spelling:smile:
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    i don't see why having more BF would make you gain at fewer calories.

    I think she's saying a female at 150# with 33% BF burns fewer calories at rest than the same height/weight, but 18% BF

    that i can get on board with, and i can read that in her post if i add a word or two, lol

    i'm sure that was her point
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    can someone show me where the FDA actually recommends women should eat 2000 calories?

    I'm thinking its basically an artifact of whatever TV the OP is watching.

    serriously, i tried googling it and i can't find an FDA.gov web page that says anyting other then 'daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet'.

    no where do i see them claiming this is the the amount the average woman should eat
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I think it's just a rough ballpark figure.
  • ILoveGingerNut
    ILoveGingerNut Posts: 367 Member
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    Women come in different sizes, age and activity level and therefore have different energy needs. 2000 is a very rough estimate and way too much for a petite sedentary like me. There are lots of websites where you can calculate your BMR and TDEE, including MFP....
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    I think it's just a rough ballpark figure.

    i think your exactly right. extreamly rough. like they basically had to pic a number, just to put the daily percentages on there.

    perhaps thats what the 'average (man, woman or person)' should eat, but i don't see the FDA saying that anywhere.
  • totem12
    totem12 Posts: 194 Member
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    The FDA might not say it but it is definitely widely reported across the media!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,017 Member
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    can someone show me where the FDA actually recommends women should eat 2000 calories?

    I'm thinking its basically an artifact of whatever TV the OP is watching.

    serriously, i tried googling it and i can't find an FDA.gov web page that says anyting other then 'daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet'.

    no where do i see them claiming this is the the amount the average woman should eat
    This
  • fushigi1988
    fushigi1988 Posts: 519 Member
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    5'11" 165 lbs, maintaining on 2300-2500 or so (working on recomp and strength).
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
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    Well the 'average' woman in the USA is overweight, so I think that's probably not too far off the truth
    My maintenance is 2000 calories....and I am not overweight...right on the cusp and want to lose but to maintain it's 2k....

    ETA: I am 41, 5ft 7 and weigh 163lbs...I do about 30mins of cardio a week and 3 1hour weight sessions...hoping my maintenance goes up actually

    You are taller and leaner than the average American woman.

    Stats from the CDC show the average weight to be 166.2 lb and height 5'3.8" (2012 data), plugged into a TDEE calculator is 1960 cal/day for a sedentary 40 yo female. I've no idea whether the 2000/day is including exercise or not but the figure isn't far off the TDEE for your typical, slightly overweight and sedentary middle-aged female.
  • birdiecs
    birdiecs Posts: 237 Member
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    Sounds about right, I lose steadily eating 1600-1800 cal. 2100 is right about maintenance for me at 5'2.5 129lbs 43yr old. My workouts aren't terribly long 30-45min 5x a week, maybe 6 if I feel up to it...but most often than not I don't hehe
  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
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    God, you people make me so jealous. 40, female, 5' 6", 1-2 hours of cardio per day, and I maintain at ~1450. I do have Hashimoto's, but all my levels are normal. This is just all I can eat without gaining.
  • lexbubbles
    lexbubbles Posts: 465 Member
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    God, you people make me so jealous. 40, female, 5' 6", 1-2 hours of cardio per day, and I maintain at ~1450. I do have Hashimoto's, but all my levels are normal. This is just all I can eat without gaining.

    This. I don't have Hashimoto's, but my hormones are whacko from medication. The old meds I was maintaining right around 1800 or so but when those stopped working and they switched me onto new ones, I started gaining 1lb-1.5lb/week on that and now I would maintain at around 1,400 (no exercise). Went from 140lb right up to 175lb in about 9 months.

    It took me a long time to find a figure I could lose at - 1,000-1,100 net after exercise. Although even that has only resulted in 5lb in 5 weeks or so (half of MFP's estimate for that intake). I started out at obese (175lb BMI 30.0), and still have 25lb to go before I get back into 'healthy weight' range at 145lb (BMI 24.9).

    I dread to think what would happen if I even so much as thought about a 2,000 a day diet :laugh: I'd be huge!

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