How many calories should a 24 year old woman consume daily?

This is simple question does not have a simple answer.

First understand the way the body and your metabolism works.

Do you workout? How often? What type of goals do you have when working out?

For an adult female I would say 1200-1500 calories per day is the healthy range, to fully sustain your bodies needs throughout the day. If you have a workout routine, you may need to increase your calories by 300 or more, depending on your goals, intensity of our training, and your metabolism.

Also consider it's not ONLY how many calories you eat a day, but what you're eating! For instance, if you eat only 500 calories a day but its all CANDY!

Avoid refined sugars like soda, candy, etc. This can cause your blood sugar to spike which causes your body to stop producing glucagon. It sounds like a cleaning product, but it's actually a hormone responsible for releasing body fat to be utilized as energy.

I don't believe in cutting out any major food group, including carbs. Proteins must be "high quality" meaning lean beef, lean pork, fish, egg whites, tofu, cottage cheese (fat free). High in protein, low or no fat. Fiber, 25-35 grams per day, fruits, vegetables, unrefined grains, like oat meal. Refined grains like pasta, and non-whole grain bread are not high quality fibers.

You need to eat fat! Yes, that's right your body needs some fat intake but probably not the kind of fat you're thinking of. I mean the healthy kind of fat such as nuts and seeds, nut butters, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, virgin coconut oil, and avocados. Depleting yourself with the healthy fat can negatively affect your hormone levels that will only result to more cravings.

In addition, you want to limit the unhealthy fat (saturated fat) such as butter, margarine, and the fat around your steak. Avoid hydrogenated fat at all costs as they cause more harm than good.

Lastly, eat smaller meals more often. Eating a small meal (300-500 calories) about every 3-3 1/2 hours, 5-6 meals per day. Not only will you feel less hungry but it will help boost your metabolism by constantly supplying your body with the adequate amount of energy. Stay away from eating 3 larger meals and start eating smaller meals through out the day. If you did the math that would mean 3000 calories per day! That's right, realistically a male with a strict workout routine, would need to eat about 3000 calories to sustain his body and metabolism. A female with the same routine may need to consume 2000-2500 calories per day.

I hope this sheds some light on the subject.