It’s Time To Fall Out of Love With 2000 Calories

The one the thing that makes me crazy as a fitness professional is that we think we need a certain number of calories to lose weight or maintain weight. One of the most common myths is the “2000 calorie” myth or, basically, you’ve probably heard that the average person needs to eat 2000 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight. Even many nutritional labels state “nutrition facts based on a 2000 calorie diet” which tends to further reinforce the blanket statement that 2k calories is for everyone, but that simply isn’t true.

First of all we should look at what the rest of those nutritional labels say and that’s “your values may be higher or lower based on your calorie needs” which is the part that so many people seem to gloss over.

The USDA looked at how many calories men, women and children ate in a given day. The FDA determined that it was roughly 2000; it was reduced by 20% to make it an easy to remember number. Plus it gave consumers a way to compare foods between each other.

I’m not a fan of calories for two reasons

1. they don’t tell you anything about what is contained in that calorie count!
2. Your body is not a bank account it doesn’t tally the calories you consume and the calories you burn! Our bodies are pretty smart but not the smart!

So how do you go about making sure you are having the right about of food for you”

I’m a fan of starting with a food journal. Tracking what I eat and how I feel. When I eat how long does it take me to feel hungry. Do have any cravings’ What’s my energy level’ Do I need to need to eat to give me energy’ Does a certain food or foods make me tired or bloated’

When I track these things I know what foods work best for me versus just banning certain food groups because I read an article. The only foods I encourage my clients to remove from their nutuition are foods with artificial flavors, sweeteners or are overly processed.

I encourage you to figure out what works for you vs looking for a diet plan. It’s time for us to break free from the “diet” and start tuning into what foods work best for YOUR body. I know that this will take time but are you as sick as I am of dieting!

[Tweet “A lot of people believe that you should eat 2000 #calories a day but that figure is way off for most people.”]