Why do health books say a women can eat 2000 calories a day?

Question

I am average height 5'4" and want to weight under 140 pounds.
They say that to weight 125 eat 1500 calories a day. Who are they kidding? If I ate more than 1400 calories a day I gain weight like crazy. They even had people on diets with 1400 calories.
Does anyone actually lose weight on that many calories?
Am I from outer space or something and don't need food.
Is there anyone out there who can eat that much and lose weight?

Answer 1

I agree with you in that 2000 seems like way too much if you want to lose weight, unless you run a half marathon every day. I have tracked my calories burnt, and I burn even less than 2000 calories during a half marathon. I've never really been on a diet, nor have I ever been really overweight, but it was when I was eating approx. 2000 calories that I was the heaviest. If I were you, I would make it a point not to go above 1200 calories/day, although I normally probably consume only 1000.

Also, keep in mind that you must exercise vigorously. No matter how low the amount of calories consumed, it is virtually impossible to lose weight simply by diet alone, just sitting on your **** every day. I run about 50 miles/week, and that seems to keep me reasonably thin (5'3", 110 lbs). Also try to keep track of how many calories you burn every day. Common sense will tell you that you can't lose weight if your daily calories burnt are not more than those consumed.

Answer 2

You burn calories just breathing and that's why you can burn up to 2000 calories a day. Some athletes require anywhere between 2500 - 5000 calories a day just because they workout so much and their body naturally burns calories because they have a high metabolism and a lot of muscles. Anyway, depending on your weight, the 2000 calorie found on packages is about the calories needed for an active young woman. The calories you expend depend not only on exercise but what it is you do throughout the day. For example watching tv expends 0 calories per hour, while reading burns 68 per hour. Even the process of eating food, digesting it, and transforming that energy burns calories. There are websites you can use that can help in calculating how much calories you naturally expend, which can help you lose weight by just eating less than that number, there are better calorie calculators that may be purchased. Simply, just use this formula : Calories ingested - calories burned = Weight lost, gained, or maintained If you end up at 0, no weight changed. A positive number is an increase in weight, and a negative number means a decrease in weight. - 3500 calories is the equivalent of losing a pound. For a Calorie Calculator just enter it on google or yahoo and find whichever one you like best. A good one I used was : mcgraw hill nutrition calc 3.0 I bought the disc off amazon for $8, and you use it to calculate exactly how many calories you are eating and how many you're burning throughout the day. If the

Answer 3

if i ate 2000 calories a day i'd be as big as a cow. i'm 5'10" and i eat about 1500 a day, and i exercise, twice a day sometimes, and i keep a steady weight. i think this 2000 calories a day is just a solid round number. it's a lot easier to calculate than, say, 1700. and they also base this on someone who is really active, like they're running 4 miles a day and doing crunches like there's no tomorrow, and then do some swimming on the side. i run about 3 miles a day and only do crunches till i get sore. this 2000 is actually unrealistic.

because you're about average height, i should say about 1400, but also exercise some. if you're not active, try walking about 2 miles a day and work your way up to something more challenging. and remember to include EVERYTHING that you eat or drink. that glass of iced tea actually has some calories. same with the piece of gum. even tho it's not much, it does count towards your daily caloric intake. i, myself, have completely cut out soda (i don't even like it anymore) and candy. i don't eat any fast food (except for taco bell, i can't give that up). i only drink water and milk. eat more fruit. an orange will fill you up as much as a small double cheeseburger from mcdonalds... but it only has about 60 calories... compared to around 200 for the burger. drink water before and after every meal, it will make you feel fuller for longer so you don't eat as much. oh, andevery bit counts... stairs instead of the escalator... park further away from the store... even bouncing your leg when your sitting burns calories, believe it or not.

well, that's my suggestion... and i've recently lost about 30 pounds

Answer 4

Well when most health books say to eat a 1500 calorie diet, they of course mean to eat the proper balance of all food groups and to exercise. It also depends on your metabolism, your exercise level and maybe even your age. I really noticed how much harder it was to lose weight after i hit 30. Before you begin any kind of weight loss regimen, think about your body, your lifestyle and what you will crave the most. For instance, if you really like sweets and breads and carbs, the Atkins diet may not work for you. Are you good at sticking to a certain exercise routine and food group to avoid? Then you may try weight watchers or slim-fast or such. It will be really hard to just go by a certain number of calories a day and nothing else. You could look up calorie burning foods, like celery and so on, and go by them. I know that chicken and nuts are a good thing for me. Plus i love salads and eggs. Try to find the most bang for your buck as far as calories go and what will give you energy and keep you full. Good luck and remember that it didn't take 2wks to gain weight so it will probably take longer to lose it :O)

Answer 5

Yes, that is absolutely correct. Do you not realise that just breathing, sleeping and sitting burns calories. You are constantly burning calories throughout the day and should not eat less than 1,200-1,500 calories whilst dieting and regular calorie intake to maintain weight should be between 1,700-2000 calories.

If you are finding it easy to gain weight at such a low consumption of calories, then I put it to you that you may have some kind of thyroid problem causing you to have a reduced metabolism. I would consult a doctor to have your thyroid checked.

HTH.

Answer 6

you metabolism sounds really low, you need to start building some muscle.......do strength training at least 20 minutes, 2-3 times per week.....don't worry, you won't get bulky! after a few weeks, you'll be burning more calories all day and night....nothing will make a bigger change to metabolism than this!

you may also want to do more cardio, try to do 30-45 minutes a day.....also try to move more throughout the day too


1400 calories is really low.....are you sure you're counting calories correctly? maybe you need to be extra-careful that you're measuring your food right......a lot of people tend to underestimate how much they eat


p.s. I am frightened for the girl that answered your question that said she runs 50 miles a week and only eats 1000 calories a day! this is dangerous!

Answer 7

there's no set amount you should eat to be a certain weight. it varies from person to person depending on build, age, fitness, activeness, metabolism etc. its actually not how much you eat, but how much LESS you eat than normal that will make the difference for you- if you can manage 500 calories less a week, you may lose around a pound per week. for the fastest weight loss you can go down to a 1200 calorie diet safely, but don't go any lower than that. if you're still finding that you are putting on weight even with a seriously low cal diet, and especially if you feel tired and sluggish, see your doctor- may be a thyroid problem or similar.

Answer 8

You have to work out so you don't gain weight. I used to work out all of the time, and I am 5'7'', and I weighed 115. I ate 3000+ calories a day! Now that I don't work out that much, I eat 1500 or less. If you work out all of the time, you need to fuel your body. You'll have a higher metabolism and digest food faster. If you stop working out, you need to lower your calorie intake so you can maintain your weight. If you aren't overweight, you will not lose weight simply by lowering you caloric intake. You NEED to work out. Cardio drops the weight the fastest.
Read more. They tell you that you HAVE to work out.

Answer 9

You need to be eating the right kind of food. And exercising atleast 4 times a week for atleast an hour. I do 1500 a day. Am 5'5 and 17.

Answer 10

i think you don't exercise enough from the sounds of it... required caloric intake depends a lot of activity level, not only size or gender. start weight lifting and doing some cardio. Your requirement for caloric intake will increase, but if you choose not to eat more, you will lose weight! good luck! :)