I think you need to use it as a baseline and adjust after a month to suit. It's also important to note you can't treat calories in isolation. No point in limiting yourself to a target if the chosen food is a bad choice.
I also came across an interesting article recently on normal vs light peanut butter... The light has less calories (fat) but is full of fillers like multi dextrin... Not good for weight loss. No too mention I used to eat twice as much of the light - regular is just more filling and you need less.

From what I've read, 2000 cal is too much for the average fairly sedentary person. I think the other thing that happens is that people generally eat a fair amount of processed food that is fat and sugar rich, and underestimate their calorie intake. Right now I'm using this app and tracking my food. I am eating around 1500 cal a day, and very slowly losing weight. But I'm also doing a lot of walking.

Hi Folks, hope all is well!
No matter what opinion anyone puts out there, someone is going to poo poo all over it. However I don't think any one person is wrong about their ideals when it comes to dieting but that we're all different and out bodies process what we eat differently. Having said that, here is MY opinion My Grand loved pork fat and ate it everyday and he lived till he was 101

Personally, I think 2000 calories is a bit low. I believe in body types and depending on your body type, your caloric intake will differ. If you follow Game of Thrones, I will guarantee the mountain will need a lot more than 2000 calories just to maintain his physique. The Rock eats a shed load of food just to maintain his, and his body fat % is pretty low. To begin with, their metabolism would be quite high because of their muscle mass.

However I do agree with one point you've made. If you sit in front of a computer day in, day out, 2000 calories is probably too much for the average 5' 8" person (referring to myself). I am currently consuming around 1650 calories, a 550 deficit per day as I'm trying to cut fat. However, I wouldn't be able to maintain it for a long period (no more than 12 weeks). My maintenance caloric baseline is around 2100 and i weigh 75kgs. I hit the gym 4 days a week, weight training and LISS type cardio, 4 days a week (hope to increase this to 6 days again once my son's daycare routine changes). I would eventually increase my calories again but I do believe quality of calories and not just 2x bic mac combos per day.

The point I'm trying to make is, work out what works for you. We are all different. Figure out what your average calorie intake is, and go from there. Depending on your goals, you might want to adjust it to gain or lose weight. Definitely incorporate some kind of exercise like LISS. For me, I maintain a heart rate around 120 for at least 45 minutes. If you haven't got time, try HIIT. I personally am not a fan of HIIT as I just hate the feeling of near death. However, I believe it works