{"id":549,"date":"2019-01-31T09:39:19","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T09:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp\/?p=549"},"modified":"2019-03-19T04:16:46","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T04:16:46","slug":"who-benefits-more-from-the-usrdas-2000-calories-per-day-you-or-big-agra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lisajohnsonfitness.com\/who-benefits-more-from-the-usrdas-2000-calories-per-day-you-or-big-agra\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Benefits More From the USRDA\u2019s 2,000 Calories Per Day? You or Big Agra?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a simple enough question: why are all the nutrition labels in the U.S. standardized to 2,000 calories per day? \u00a0Who chose that number? \u00a0Is it an accurate representation of what we should follow?<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

I was having this exact conversation with my friend\u00a0@Krazy_Kris<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter last week. \u00a0She\u2019s been living healthier, exercising, and\u00a0blogging\u00a0about her journey. \u00a0She\u2019d been following the USDA recommended 2,000 calories per day and hadn\u2019t lost any weight. \u00a0Huh, she thought, started researching, and discovered she needed to eat a few hundred calories less each day in order to lose about a pound a week. \u00a0She was annoyed, feeling a bit misled by her government.<\/p>\n

What your daily calorie count should be varies quite a bit; it depends on age, weight, gender, amount of exercise, lifestyle, medical issues, etc. There is no true cookie cutter number that applies for everyone. \u00a0Kris asked me where the 2,ooo calorie amount came from and I honestly didn\u2019t know, so I went to find out. \u00a0I was furious when I uncovered the answer.<\/p>\n

I found the\u00a0Executive Summary<\/a>\u00a0for the USRDA guidelines at health.gov, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services\u2019 health promotion website. \u00a0These documents can be hard to decipher. \u00a0I think the phrase \u201cpolitically correct\u201d emanated from people trying to write government documents that reflect the views of a combination of experts, lobbyists, and elected official interests \u2026 Anyway, there were key sections that jumped out at me:<\/p>\n

Throughout most of this publication, examples use a 2,000-calorie level as a reference for consistency with the Nutrition Facts Panel. Although this level is used as a reference, recommended calorie intake will differ for individuals based on age, gender, and activity level. At each calorie level, individuals who eat nutrient-dense foods may be able to meet their recommended nutrient intake without consuming their full calorie allotment. The remaining calories ~\u00a0the discretionary calorie allowance\u00a0<\/em>(my emphasis)~\u00a0<\/em>allow individuals flexibility to consume some foods and beverages that may contain added fats, added sugars, and alcohol. ~\u00a0USDA Executive Summary<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lobbyist Fingerprints<\/strong><\/p>\n

Additionally, in a prior paragraph the Executive Summary said the 2,000 calorie per day recommendation was based on \u201cpopulation weighted food intakes.\u201d \u00a0That is, Americans are already eating 2,000 calories per day, so we\u2019ll just overlay the proper nutrient balance on top of those calories. \u00a0There is no daily calorie recommendation\u00a0at all\u00a0<\/em>built into the side of our food packaging; it\u2019s based on what Americans already take in. \u00a0As in our population which is 66% either overweight or obese.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the pull-out quote above recommends that Americans eat nutrient dense foods and\u00a0then blow the extra calories on fat, sugar, and booze.<\/em>\u00a0Are you serious? \u00a0Does anyone think a group of well-educated nutritionists inserted that line? \u00a0No ladies and gentlemen we\u2019re looking at the work of a very strong food lobby.<\/p>\n

So How Many Calories Do You Need?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I went in search of a chart with the recommended daily calorie levels and couldn\u2019t find one! \u00a0I spent a good hour surfing through government sites. \u00a0The only thing I found was the\u00a0MyPyramid.gov<\/a>\u00a0page which does have a handy calculator, but it gives you the daily value for the \u201cnutrients you should consume for your weight and gender and lifestyle.\u201d \u00a0This means it calculates the calories you need for weight maintenance, not weight loss. \u00a0I plugged my own data in and got 2,200 calories per day with nearly 300 calories for \u201cexcess,\u201d i.e., the sugar, fat, and booze mentioned above.<\/p>\n

I can tell you right now if I eat 2,200 calories per day I\u2019ll gain weight. \u00a0The MyPyramid page helpfully suggests, \u201cYour calorie needs may be more or less than average so check your weight regularly. \u00a0If you see unwanted weight gain, adjust the amount you\u2019re eating.\u201d Um, yeah, thanks for that \u2026 sheesh.<\/p>\n

So how do you find out what your daily calorie intake should be? \u00a0Honestly, the best you\u2019re going to get is a general guideline. \u00a0There are lots of calculators available and Kris mentions a few in her blog post. \u00a0This is\u00a0the one I use<\/a>\u00a0which is based on research out of the University of Maryland.<\/p>\n

Why We Need to Educate Ourselves<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of the numbers these other calorie calculators recommend are lower than the U.S. guidelines. \u00a0Again, the food and agricultural industries don\u2019t make more money if you eat less. \u00a0The food lobbyists are pushing as hard as they can to nudge those numbers upward. \u00a0They want you to eat more.<\/p>\n

We can get great information from registered dietitians. \u00a0If you can get a referral from your doctor to see one I strongly urge you to do so.<\/p>\n

What do you think? \u00a0Are you as furious as I am? \u00a0Do you feel saddened that the U.S. government is taking good information and twisting it just enough to confuse and lead us astray? \u00a0How are we going to improve our health if the government is giving us questionable information to begin with? \u00a0Where do\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0get your nutritional information?<\/p>\n

Let me know your thoughts \u2026<\/p>\n

Thanks,<\/p>\n

Lisa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a simple enough question: why are all the nutrition labels in the U.S. standardized to 2,000 calories per day? \u00a0Who chose that number? \u00a0Is it an accurate representation of what we should follow? I was having this exact conversation with my friend\u00a0@Krazy_Kris\u00a0on Twitter last week. \u00a0She\u2019s been living healthier, exercising, and\u00a0blogging\u00a0about her journey. \u00a0She\u2019d …<\/p>\n

Who Benefits More From the USRDA\u2019s 2,000 Calories Per Day? You or Big Agra?<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nWho Benefits More From the USRDA\u2019s 2,000 Calories Per Day? 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