How many calories a day for women?

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How many calories a day for women?

Postby seattlebuddy » Thu May 30, 2019 6:29 pm

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for all the great information you teach us!

I hear it often quoted that women need about 2,000 calories a day.

I would guess I used to eat about that (or maybe a little more) in my 20s and 30s. Since then, the amount I can eat and maintain my weight feels very significantly less than before so I tracked everything I ate for 10 days in a row, 3 separate times, a couple months apart each time. I always got the same results - 1,600 per day on average to maintain my weight. As a very active woman in my late 40s, this number seems surprising compared to the "average" and, at the same time, it seems 1,600 calories a day is right comparing what I eat to others around me who are slender.

So is that 2,000 really true or is it possible that something is wrong and I should have some tests done? Perhaps I am very fortunate should a famine arise?

Thanks so much!
seattlebuddy
 
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Re: How many calories a day for women?

Postby JeffN » Thu May 30, 2019 6:35 pm

seattlebuddy wrote:Hi Jeff,

Thanks for all the great information you teach us!

I hear it often quoted that women need about 2,000 calories a day.

I would guess I used to eat about that (or maybe a little more) in my 20s and 30s. Since then, the amount I can eat and maintain my weight feels very significantly less than before so I tracked everything I ate for 10 days in a row, 3 separate times, a couple months apart each time. I always got the same results - 1,600 per day on average to maintain my weight. As a very active woman in my late 40s, this number seems surprising compared to the "average" and, at the same time, it seems 1,600 calories a day is right comparing what I eat to others around me who are slender.

So is that 2,000 really true or is it possible that something is wrong and I should have some tests done? Perhaps I am very fortunate should a famine arise?

Thanks so much!


Many of the numbers you hear are estimated averages used to make points. Otherwise they would have to come out with 320 million examples :). There is no set number as there are so many variable that come into play each day, that no two days are the same. Maybe somewhat similar for the same person, doing the same thing, but not the same.

If you are at a healthy weight and maintaining it, then it seems like your experiment gave you the answer for you.

As you probably know, we do not recommend counting anything but following our guidelines and principles. That’s one of the beauties of this way of living

In Health
Jeff

Here are 2 somewhat related articles on the topic that I will be reposting at my website soon

How To Successfully Count Calories!
Jeff Novick, MS, RD
3/10/2012

Calories.

We love them and hate them.

When we are out walking or exercising and are thinking about how many calories we are burning, we love them.

When we are indulging in our favorite foods and thinking about how many calories we are consuming, we hate them.

As over 2/3's of Americans are overweight, with over 1/3 of them considered obese, calories are an issue as many of us struggle to maintain and/or lose weight.  In regard to weight, the bottom line is that our weight is a factor of energy balance. While we always hear about fancy diets, pills, supplements, etc that will help us somehow escape the basic laws of thermodynamics, none of them are true and in the end, a calorie is a calorie and calories count.

And to that end, many of us are encouraged to count calories. In, and out.

But the problem is that "counting" calories is extremely ineffective and almost impossible to do for most people and there are several reasons for this.  

- We have very poor tools that are highly inaccurate to count calories with. Even trained professionals have been shown to be 50% off or more.  I recently discussed this in the newsletter, “Do You Know How Many Calories Are In The Food You Eat?”

-  Counting calories eventually and almost always leads to portion control, which does not address the important issues of hunger and satiety, which leads to unsatisfied hunger, which for many, may lead to binging,  

- Counting calories does not consider the many other factors that may influence the daily fluctuations in weight that we have no way to control for (fluid balance, etc),  Even fecal content of the bowels can cause a weight change of several pounds when eliminated if elimination is not regular.  

- Counting calories uses calorie values that are based on estimates and not always very accurate and can be 20% off or more.

- Counting calories does not take into account issues like absorption which is influenced by many factors including cooking, blending, fat content, etc.  

Dietary fiber, which is often thought of as not yielding any calories, actually yields ~ 2 calories per gram and these calories are often not accounted for.

- Resistant Starch, often thought of as not yielding any calories or as yielding 4 calories per gram, actually yields ~2 calories per gram and is often not accounted for.

So, what is the best way to successfully count calories?

There is none.

Unless we lock you up in a metabolic chamber where we carefully monitor every single issue mentioned above. :) Or, unless you want to carefully weigh and/or measure every morsel of food and beverage that you put in your mouth.

Since this is not practical or possible for most people, there just is no real practical way for anyone to micro manage all these details on a daily basis and to count calories accurately. That is why trying to count calories and micro-manage energy balance on a daily basis is so difficult and virtually impossible for most. Some days it may not make any sense and some days it may make too much sense. 

So, what do we do?

Learn and understand the principles of calorie density, which are simple, easy to apply, time tested and proven. The principles of calorie density put you in control of your caloric intake without having to count calories or micro-manage what you are doing.  

To learn the principles of calorie density and how to apply them, check out the following newsletters...

“A Common Sense Approach To Sound Nutrition”

“Maximizing Weight Loss: How To Fine Tune Calorie Density”

The best method to see how well you are doing is to simply weigh yourself on a scale on a weekly basis. To do so, weigh yourself on the same scale, in the same place, at the same time, in the same clothes.  For the most accurate weight, weigh yourself without clothes on, first thing in the morning after awakening and going to the bathroom.

Once you learn the simple and easy principles of calorie density and how to apply them, you can adjust them as needed to your individual needs which may vary from time to time. What doesn't vary though, are the laws of physics, energy balance and thermodynamics.  

In Health
Jeff



Do You Know How Many Calories Are In The Food You Eat?
Jeff Novick, MS, RD
6/28/12

Do you know how many calories are in the food and beverages you are consuming?

Turns out, most people, even those who are professionals in the industry, have no clue.

Why?

It turns out that when we eat, everything from the size and color of the plate or cup, to the package design, to the immediate environment, etc., influences how much we eat and drink.

To prove this point, researchers decided to test the idea to see how accurately people can estimate the calories in food and beverages. The researchers asked 294 people to estimate how much liquid was in a range of cups, starting at 12 ounces all the way up to a 50-ounce “Double Gulp.”

Surprisingly, the subjects consistently guessed wrong, especially in the larger sized cups. They assumed the larger cups held about 20 percent to 40 percent less liquid than they actually did. Professor Chandon, director of the Insead Social Science Research Center in Paris said, "We tend to underestimate the increase in the size of any object. When you double the size of something, it really looks just 50 to 70 percent bigger, not twice as big.”

This is especially important to know as most foods and beverages have been super-sized in the last 25 years.

This is not new information though. Many other studies, using all kinds of food and beverages from jelly beans, popcorn, ice cream and alcoholic drinks, have also shown that it is very difficult for people to accurately know how many calories they are consuming.

Back in 1992, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded, "The data demonstrated that these subjects reported good compliance with their diet and activity program, but under-reported their actual energy intake by 47% and over-reported their actual physical activity by 51%."

The same is true, even amongst food experts.

In one very recent study, dietitians were asked to estimate the calories in three fast-food meals. The first was a typical fast food meal. The portion size was then doubled in the second meal and then doubled again in the third meal. The dietitian estimates were 13 percent to 26 percent too low on the calorie counts.

These mistakes, though small, can add up over time.

So, with almost 70% of Americans overweight, what can we do to help manage our weight?

It is extremely difficult to count calories. This is not our fault as the tools and methods we have are just highly inaccurate. Trying harder to measure both calories in and calories out will not work as the fault is not in the effort we are applying, but in the accuracy of the tools and the systems we have available to us to use.

The simple and easiest solution is to learn and understand the principles of calorie density. Once you do, you will never have to count calories, or weigh, measure or portion food again. Check out the articles, "A Common Sense Approach To Sound Nutrition," to learn more about calorie density and how to apply it.

In Health
Jeff
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