What Does 2000 Calories a Day Look Like?

We often here experts tell us that we should watch our diet, stay in shape and generally try to stay healthy. As a marker the value of 2000 calories a day regularly crops up as being the ideal number of calories consumed per day for the average person to maintain a healthy body weight. If you want to lose weight them consume less calories and if you want to pack on some muscle then eat more.

While this is a rough guide and it’s often assumed that you’re actually eating healthy foods that provide the necessary protein, fats and carbohydrates along with fiber and nutrients.

The problem is that most people do not have a clue as to what 2000 calories actually looks like.

Do You Under Estimate Your Calorie Consumption?

one egg and bacon strip on toast 220 calories

The fact is that most people underestimate the amount of calories that they consume each day and while this may not be entirely your fault, as many food labels incorrectly specify the amount of calories they contain, it does make it difficult for those looking to lose weight to make the necessary progress.

The short video above helps you visualize what 2000 calories a day actually looks like using some popular and common produce that most well stocked kitchen will contain. I think that most people will be shocked to see how little food it takes to reach that 2000 calorie limit.

Even so called health foods can still have a high calorie count so portion control is important if you want to keep the pounds off and get that beach body that you’ve been after.

Remember that Big Mac and large french fries that tasted so good the other day contains a massive 1000 calories with almost half of those calories coming from fat.

Need Some Help Counting Calories?

Planning your meals ahead of time rather than buying food impulsively when you are hungry is the best way to control how many calories that you consume. Spread you meals out at regular times throughout the day and try to keep each of your three main meals around 500 calories each. Having a snack between meals is fine, just keep those calories under 200 each and you’ll still reach the 2000 calorie daily amount.

There are plenty of free online services that will help calculate the calorie content of millions of different foods. Some go even further such as MyFitnessPal that allows you to keep an online journal that will aid in you setting goals and tracking how many calories you consume each day.

The Easiest Way to Reduce Your Calorie Intake

One of the fastest and easiest ways to reduce the number of calories you receive is to cut out foods that contain sugars and sugar substitutes such as soda’s, candy and cakes. Anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it will spell disaster for any diet.