Enjoy water and zero calorie beverages freely.

Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Bacon, Jam, Skim Chocolate Milk

2 eggs, scrambled (220 calories)

2 slices of bacon (prepared in the microwave) (50 calories)

1 serving of jam or preserves (60 calories)

margarine (up to 60 calories worth)

2 slices of whole grain toast (140 calories

1 cup of skim milk (90 calories)

Morning Snack - 2000 Calorie Diet & Meal Plan

100 Calories of your Choice

Enjoy any food that contains no more than 100 calories.

Lunch - 2000 Calorie Diet & Meal Plan

Taco Bell Tacos

Yes, one can even enjoy dining out while keeping calories under control. Here is just one example:

Enjoy 3 crunchy tacos for 450 calories.

zero calorie beverage, tea or water

Afternoon Snack - 2000 Calorie Diet & Meal Plan

Enjoy any food housed within the healthy Dairy Food Group up to 110 calories. Healthy menu suggestions include: low fat cottage cheese, low fat cheeses, low fat yogurt - all of which can be enjoyed with a few raw veggies.

Dinner - 2000 Calorie Diet & Meal Plan

Steak, Baked Potato, Beans, Side Salad

3 ounces of steak (any cut & trim away all visible fat) - grilled or oven roasted or pan roasted

1 small baked potato (134 calories)

margarine (60 calories worth)

whole grain bread (up to 140 calories worth)

1/2 cup of baked beans (140 calories)

1 small salad consisting of 2 cups of chopped lettuce + 1 chopped plum tomato + 1 sliced cucumber + 1 Tablespoon of shredded cheese + 60 calories of the salad dressing of your choice.

zero calorie beverage, tea or water

Bedtime Snack - 2000 Calorie Diet & Meal Plan

Thin Thin Slim Shake

1 cup of skim milk blended with 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries (about 110 calories)

Or if you prefer, enjoy a single serving container of low fat yogurt containing 110 calories or less.

Nutritional Data - 2000 Calorie Diet & Meal Plan

Our example of a 2000 Calories Diet contains the following food group serving amounts:

2 Servings from the Fruit Group, 7 Servings from the Grain Group, 8 Servings from the Vegetable Group, 3 Servings from the Dairy Group and 8 Servings from the Meat & Bean Group.

I’ve discovered that bodybuilding nutrition advice is good, but not great. What is great is being told and shown EXACTLY what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat and how to cook it. (The only thing I can’t do is cook it for you and feed it to you).

So over the next five days I am going to post five sample weight gain diets that range from 2,000 to 6,000 calories.

Feel free to ask questions about this bulking up diet and I’ll take your most popular questions and answer them in future posts. The most popular question I suspect is, “How do I know how many calories to consume to gain weight?”

I would recommend a simple formula: Your body weight X 15. This is a conservative bulk up plan. If you wanted to bulk up more aggressively, go with your body weight x 18.

Sample HEALTH MASS PLAN - 2000 Calories
(taken from the pages of my Empowered Nutrition Mass Meal Plans at http://www.vincedelmontefitness.com)

6:00 am Breakfast:
5 Eggs, whole
1 cup Mushrooms
1/2 cup Onions
1 cup Jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup Salsa
3 cups Tomatoes
1 tsp Olive, Flax, Hemp or Salmon Oils

35g P - 45g C - 9g F Calories: 401

9:00 am Snack:
2 cups Yogurt, plain, low fat
2 tbsp Almonds, slivered

28g P - 36g C - 6g F - Calories: 310

12:00 pm Lunch :
4 oz Chicken breast, skinless
2 slice Whole grain bread
4 tsp Mayonnaise

28g P - 36g C - 12g F - Calories: 364

3:00 pm Snack:
21 grams Protein powder
1 1/2 cups Yogurt, plain, low fat
1 cup Peaches, canned
1/3 cup Oatmeal

42g P - 63g C - 0g F - Calories: 384

6:00 pm Dinner:
4 oz Fish
1/2 cup Mushrooms
1/2 cup Onions
1 cup Tomatoes
1 1/3 tsp Olive, Flax, Hemp or Salmon Oils
2/3 cup Rice

28g P - 36g C - 12g F - Calories: 364

8:00 pm:
2 oz Cheese, low or non fat
1 cup Blueberries
6 Almonds, whole

14g P - 18g C - 6g F - Calories: 182

Total Daily Portions:
Protein: 175g Carbohydrates: 225g Fat: 45g Calories: 2005

Using my weight gain formula, this will be an ideal bulking up diet if you are 140-150 pounds and want to bulk up. Even though being in a caloric surplus is critical for gaining weight, you can still experience muscle growth by increasing the QUALITY of your nutrition before increasing the QUANTITY of your nutrition.

That means a 2000 calorie HEALTHY MASS PLAN will build more muscle than a 3000 calorie DIRTY MASS PLAN. Get it? So this 2000 calorie plan might be the solution for you if you’ve been relying on dirty nutrition to bulk up.

Source: USDA Food Guide (Dietary Guidelines 2005)

When is a 2000-Calorie Diet Appropriate?

Eat about 2,000 calories a day if you are:

- a large size man (little exercise), who wants to maintain weight.
- a large size man (regular exercise) who wants to reduce weight.

Diet Nutrition and Weight Loss on a 2000 Calorie Diet Plan

Eating foods with a high nutritional content is also important for weight reduction. Because in order to lose weight efficiently, you need to maintain a healthy metabolism which will digest and process food efficiently and burn calories efficiently. Put simply, eating 2000 calories of junk food typically leads to a sluggish and inefficient metabolism, which is not helpful for weight loss. Also, try to divide your calorie allowance throughout the day, so that you do not go longer than 3-4 hours without eating.

Cutting back to 1000 calories a day is pretty drastic, and should only be used if you just want to lose a few pounds quickly, or feel the need to kick-start a longer term weight loss plan. Our 1000 Calorie Diet Menu sample packs in as much good nutrition as possible whilst trying to keep it simple, tasty and realistic.

Even so, it's not a good idea to stick to such dramatic calorie restriction for more than a week. Not just because you'll be short of essential nutrients, but on a diet of just 1000 calories a day - your body will be convinced it's in the middle of a famine if you keep it up for long.

This means it will slow down, in order to hold on to every calorie for as long as possible... not helpful when what you really want when you're trying to lose weight is a lively, active body burning up the calories as fast as possible.

That's why health professionals recommend aiming for a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week, and keeping active when you're on a diet - pushing your body into starvationmode is counterproductive.

You can find out how many calories you need to lose weight at your chosen rate by taking a free trial of the Weight Loss Resources interactive tools.

1000 Calorie Diet Sample Menu

Printable version

Drinks throughout the day can include water, black tea and/or coffee without sugar and negligible calorie carbonated drinks such as Diet Coke.

This menu provides 1000 calories, 60g protein, 145g carbohydrate, 21g fat.

Breakfast

• Banana sandwich made with 2 small slices of wholemeal bread and a small banana.
• 200ml glass of orange juice

Morning Snack

• 100g pot of low fat fruit yoghurt

Lunch

• 1 wholemeal roll (45g) filled with 70g tuna (canned in brine) and 10g reduced calorie mayonnaise
• Mixed salad of 50g lettuce, 50g red or yellow sweet peppers, 10g spring onions.

Afternoon Snack

• 28g bag of lower fat crisps (eg. Walkers Lites)

Dinner

• 70g Roast Chicken breast (without skin)
• 80g Potatoes, mashed with 30ml semi-skimmed milk
• 60g Broccoli, steamed or boiled
• 50g Carrots, boiled
• 100ml Gravy (made from granules)

Evening

• 1 serving of low calorie Hot Chocolate Drink made with powder and water (eg. Cadbury's Highlights)

Women will lose 2-4 lbs in a week, men 3-5 lbs in a week, depending on start weight and activity level. It is not recommended that calories be so restricted for more than one week - for most people this level of calories is too low to obtain enough nutrition, and may have the effect of slowing metabolism.

Ensure you drink plenty of water - aim for 8-10 glasses per day.

Recipes

Pasta with Broccoli and Chicken

Instructions:
Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Return the liquid to the pot. Place the pasta in a bowl and cover to keep warm. Bring the liquid to a boil. Add the broccoli, cover, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until soft, but not soggy. Add the pasta, chicken, cheese, oil, and pepper flakes (if using). Toss well.