As you draft your New Year’s resolutions for 2018, there’s new health advice to consider. Public Health England (PHE) suggests that adults should only eat 1,800 calories a day, compared to current guidelines of 2,500 calories for men and 2,000 calories for women, Business Insider reports.
PHE, an executive agency of the U.K.’s Department of Health, suggests consuming 400 calories for breakfast, 600 each for lunch and dinner, and 200 in snacks throughout the day. Chances are, that’s a bit less than what you’re currently chowing down on come mealtime. Consuming 2,000 calories or more, PHE says, constitutes overeating.
Like most things, there’s a catch. PHE says that new 1,800-calorie guideline applies to just food, not to what you drink. With drinks in the mix, it’s ok to hit that 2,000 or 2,500 number.
The idea behind the new recommendation is for people to more carefully consider the food they’re consuming during the day.
Paying attention to what you eat is good advice for anyone. Earlier this year, a different set of researchers discovered that even slowly improving your diet over time (even over a period as long as 12 years) can help you live longer. So if you’re not ready to make a huge change for 2018, even a small one could have a pretty big effect.