I wonder this every day. How many calories do we need to function properly throughout the day though? It depends on a lot of factors including age, sex, physical activity throughout the day and also down to the type of work you do (from sitting in front of a computer all the way up to construction etc). Many people think that 2000 calories is the set amount for everyone however this is not the case at all. How is a person who has a very active lifestyle and is on their feet all day going to function properly on 2000 calories? Those of us who work at a desk would often find that can sometimes be too much and can end up gaining weight by the end of the day. I’m not suggesting you ignore how many calories you have - definitely not! It’s hard to avoid anyhow - just look at the treadmills and almost any machine at the gym these days - they all calculate how many calories you’re ‘burning’.

It is not just the calories you should be calculating - but also the amount of saturated and trans fat and sugar you’re consuming. Yes, these all calculate into calories for those of us who follow the low fat or calorie controlled diets created to reduce weight. Basically what I’m trying to suggest is - if you are only following the number of calories you’re consuming to maintain your weight rather than doing it to lose weight, don’t beat yourself up over an extra 200 calories over your usual ‘diet’. The amount of physical activity you do throughout the day will often burn them off anyway - especially if you park 1/2 a block further from work than your usual “park as close to the elevator as possible” attempts! Also, instead of walking slow and casual, upping your pace to a brisker walk will help burn the extra calories off faster too.

If you are eating a lot of fast food and candy throughout the day, this is not good calorie control and all the extra preservatives and sugars and fats in these foods are not good. Basically, just use your common sense.

If the calories you are eating are coming from healthy food, this is fine! If they’re primarily coming from deep fried food and heavily sugared foods, you have a problem and should change your diet. So if all the energy you’re digesting is coming in proper proportions from the food groups in the Healthy Food Pyramid (demonstrated below), then you are eating sensibly.

It’s not necessarily the amount of calories you are eating (ok, yes this is important) - it’s where the calories are coming from! I know many would think that calories are calories whether they’re coming from low fat and healthy foods or coming from the take-away franchises and local ‘fish and chips’ shop. Think of the benefits of the foods you are eating - the vegetables and all the foods mentioned in the bottom 3/4 of the healthy food pyramid all have a lot of other benefits other than supplying your body with ‘healthy’ calories.

Ultimately, if you are eating over 2000 calories a day and are eating the foods that are healthy for you, provided you are not on a medically induced diet, you are fine to eat a LOT of healthy foods but NOT the unhealthy foods. Just because the nutrition table on the wrapper of a burger says a certain amount of calories doesn’t mean that it is good for you because “there’s only this many calories in this burger”. You need to take into account the fats, sugars and sodium used in the making of it.

For proper healthy eating - I recommend you stick to the table!