All notes
Calories
How many calories a day — a calm number, not a diet
UK advice often starts at about 2,000 kcal a day for women and 2,500 for men. That is a starting line, not a sentence. Here is how to use it in a home kitchen.
Where the number comes from
The NHS and UK dietitians give a figure for an average adult with a normal day. Walk a lot, breastfeed, still growing — you need more. A desk day — a little less. We are not weighing you. We are cooking supper.
A plate, not a calculator
Easier to look at the plate: half vegetables, a quarter potatoes, grain or bread, a quarter meat, fish, egg or beans. Calories then sit nearer the mark without an app.
Rough figures from this kitchen
- Boiled potatoes, 200 g — about 160 kcal
- Chicken thigh, skin off, 150 g — about 250 kcal
- A tablespoon of oil in the pan — about 120 kcal
- A full bowl of borscht — usually 250–350 kcal
- A slice of poppy-seed loaf — easily 400 kcal, and that is fine on a feast day
These are starting figures for adults, not a medical prescription.