Your gender, age, weight and amount of activity will all affect the daily calorie count; the most often occurring figure is 2,000 calories. The FDA bases daily recommendations of several nutrients on 2,000 calories since it is the most often occurring value; so, 2,000 calories is also the reference number used on the Nutrition Facts Panel on packaged foods. That figure will vary if you wish to drop weight instead than keep a healthy weight.

What then would a 2,000-calorie diet resemble? And is that the ideal calorie count for your needs and goals? Starting with your daily calorie target, find out how much food you get on a well-balanced 2,000-calorie-a-day diet (you can compare it with the 1,200-calorie and 1,500-calorie variants).

Calculating Your Daily Calorie Target

This basic computation will let you figure out how many calories you need to either keep your present weight or drop a reasonable one to two pounds every week. On a 1,500-calorie diet most people will drop weight.

Multiply your present weight by 12 to project how many calories you require daily to keep at the weight you now carry.

2. To drop one pound a week: Eat 500 daily calories less.

To drop two pounds a week: Cut one thousand calories every day.

As an illustration,:

Say your weight right now is 190 pounds:

1. To keep your present weight—190 lbs. x 12—2,280 calories

To drop one pound a week: 2,280 calories – 500 calories = 1,780 calories

To drop two pounds a week, 2,280 calories – 1000 calories = 1,280 calories

Remember that weight control is more than just calories-in and calories-out; there is no one ideal calorie total for everyone (it’s much more of a range). This computation serves merely as a recommended basis.

This formula also presumptions the user of the equation is lazy. If you lead an active lifestyle, you can find that your daily calorie count needs more than what you computed to be satisfying. Your level is best judged by your degree of satisfaction (you shouldn’t be hungry all day) and, should weight loss be your goal, by whether you are actually losing weight.

Keep with it if you feel wonderful and are losing weight on 1,900 calories a day. We advise not dropping more than two pounds weekly for a healthy weight loss.

Of note: Set your calorie goal back up to 1,200 calories if you find one daily target that is less than 1,200. It’s difficult to meet your nutritional needs—or to feel satisfied enough to follow a plan—below that. Your metabolism is probably going to slow down below 1,200 calories a day as well, which will affect your weight over time.

A 2,000-calorie day looks like what?

Sometimes you simply want someone to tell you what to eat when you’re trying to lose weight or eat better. Starting with a meal plan created by a trained nutritionist is a fantastic way forward.

At 2,000 calories, an example day looks like this. Try this sensible day of eating and don’t miss our other 2,000-calorie meal plans, including our diabetic meal plan or Mediterranean-style meal plan.

Sample Breakfast:

• Scrambled Eggs with Vegetables (338 calories)
• 1 medium banana (105 calories)
• 1 cup green tea (2 calories)