I agree with you, I do not think this number is correct. It is an estimated average at best.
In order to accurately calculate your daily caloric needs, you first need to find out your RMR or resting metabolic rate. RMR is specific to many things, most importantly lean body mass, which can be calculated if you know your body fat percentage. Once you have your RMR, you can add in your daily activity factor and finally your fitness goals.
I took a RMR test, where you had to breathe into this device for a few minutes...I believe that this particular test uses your oxygen intake/carbon dioxide output ratio.
Anyways, if you could find a on-line Caloric calculator that factors in body-fat Percentage(if you know your BF %) and or lean body mass in lbs...this would give you a more accurate number to shoot for.
This one may be more accurate for RMR, just scroll down the page a bit:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/par8.htm
Also, I posted this thread a while back..may be helpful:
Resting Metabolic Rate Calculator
Good luck Mele!
Some info about RMR:
Some FAQs about resting metabolic rate
What are basal and resting metabolic rates (RMR)?
These two terms are used interchangeably, although they are not technically the same. Resting metabolic rate is really what most lay people mean when they say basal metabolic rate, and I talk here only about resting metabolic rate (RMR). Basal metabolic rate is a precise calculation with a precise definition; RMR is close enough for practical purposes.
Resting metabolic rate is the energy required by an animal to stay alive with no activity. Therefore, your real metabolic rate is always significantly higher than your RMR. Calculating RMR is a very useful first step in calculating your real metabolic rate.
Your metabolic rate = your resting metabolic rate (easy to calculate reasonably accurately) + energy consumed by your daily activities (must guestimate).
What determines Resting Metabolic Rate?
A very small number of people have physical conditions that give them strange resting metabolic rates.
However, for the vast majority of people, resting metabolic rate can be calculated knowing a few key variables. They are age, sex, weight, height and fat-free body mass. Fat-free mass is a very important variable. Weight and height are used in one formula to determine body surface area.
When does the body change Resting Metabolic Rate? Does cutting your food intake reduce resting metabolic rate?
The body CAN NOT change resting metabolic rate per unit of fat-free body mass. Studies have shown this.
For an article that is on-line in full text by a well-known researchers in the field, see Genetic Influences on the Response of Body Fat and Fat Distribution to Positive and Negative Energy Balances in Human Identical Twins, Claude Bouchard and Angelo Tremblay
Your resting metabolic rate will decrease if you lose muscle, and increase if you gain muscle. Losing fat alone will not lower your RMR (and note that you will need to follow a very sensible program probably including weight training to lose fat without losing muscle). You have probably heard that people who go on crash diets end up lowering their metabolic rate, which means when they go off the diet, they put on fat more easily than before they started. Because they have lost muscle, they have lowered their metabolic rate. However, the amount of energy burnt per unit of fat-free weight does not change; poor dieters end up with fewer units of fat-free weight, and that's where their vicious cycle comes from.
