How to do a 2000 calorie diet (with cardápio)

However, this diet can also be used by people who want to maintain their weight or gain weight. This is because some people already consume this amount of calories and, therefore, end up maintaining the weight, or ingesting fewer calories, which favors weight gain. Find out how many calories you should consume per day to reach your goal.

The use of a 2000 calorie diet depends on each person's goal, as well as other factors such as age, current weight and activities performed throughout the day. The ideal is to go through a consultation with a nutritionist to make a food plan adapted to the needs and goals of each person.

How to diet

For the 2000 calorie diet, it is recommended to eat 5 to 6 meals a day, prioritizing he althy foods such as whole grains, legumes, low-fat proteins, tubers, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Discover some he althy foods to include in your diet.

During the diet, it is also important to drink a minimum of 1.5 liters of water a day, as water intake prevents the body from confusing the feeling of hunger with thirst, promoting satiety and controlling appetite. Know the amount of water you should drink per day.

It is recommended to sleep between 7 to 9 hours a night, because during sleep the hormones responsible for hunger and satiety are regulated, thus favoring weight loss, weight maintenance or weight gain. See how many hours you should sleep a day.

What to eat

During the diet, some foods that should be prioritized in the diet are:

Fresh fruit and, if possible, with peel and pomace, such as oranges, bananas, pears, papayas, watermelon, melons, grapes, persimmons, cashews or guava;
Whole grains,such as brown rice, whole-grain pasta, whole-grain bread, corn, or quinoa;
Fresh vegetables,such as lettuce, tomato, carrot, chayote, pumpkin, okra, cabbage or cauliflower;
Tubercles, such as cassava, sweet potato, yam, yam, potato or baroa potato;
Low-fat proteins such as eggs, fish, seafood, chicken, turkey, or tofu;
Lean dairy products, such as white cheeses, low-fat yogurt, or semi-skimmed milk.

In addition, pulses such as beans, chickpeas, lentils or soy provide essential protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, helping to promote weight loss and muscle mass gain.

2000 Calorie Diet Menu

The following table provides an example of a 3-day menu for the 2000 calorie diet:

Meal	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Breakfast	1 cup (200ml) of semi-skimmed milk without sugar + 1 scrambled egg + 1 whole grain French bread + 1 medium silver banana (70g)	1 cup (200ml) of unsweetened oat milk + 1 tapioca with 4 col. of tapioca soup + 1 col. chia seed soup + 2 large slices of Minas cheese (80g) 1 small orange (90g)	1 cup unsweetened unsweetened coffee + 1 whole grain French bread + 2 large slices of tofu (70g) + 1 medium guava (170g)
Calories	379, 7 Kcal	385, 9Kcal	309, 6 Kcal
Morning snack	½ small avocado (135g) + 1 tbsp rolled oats + 1 tbsp honey	1 large pear (130 g + 3 Brazil nuts	1 medium persimmon (110g) + 2 col. uns alted roasted peanut soup
Calories	235, 2 Kcal	146, 5 Kcal	284, 4 Kcal
Lunch	150 g of grilled chicken breast + 4 col brown rice soup (100g) + 3 col. bean soup (51 g) + 1 dessert plate of lettuce, arugula and spinach salad, seasoned with 1 tablespoon of olive oil + 1 large slice (100 g) of pineapple	150 g of grilled sardines + 1 cup (140g) of whole-grain spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce + 3 tbsp of braised cabbage (60g) in 1 tbsp of olive oil + 1 medium slice (200g) of watermelon	1 chicken thigh (95g) soaked with 4 col. boiled potato soup (120g), 3 col. okra soup (120g) +4 col bean soup + 1 dessert plate of salad with lettuce, 2 col. tomato soup (30g) and onion, seasoned with 1 tablespoon of olive oil + 3 fresh plums (90g)
Calories	556 Kcal	588, 2 Kcal	523, 3 Kcal
Snack	1 small mango (60g) + 2 walnuts	200g of low-fat plain yogurt + 1 tbsp of sunflower seeds + 1 tbsp. honey soup	1 glass of smoothie with 150 ml of soy milk + 1/small apple (45g) + 1 tbsp of peanut butter
Calories	154, 4 Kcal	188, 7 Kcal	186, 3 Kcal
Dinner	4 col. spinach soup stewed with 2 eggs + 3 col brown rice soup + 4 col chickpea salad soup (66g), seasoned with 2 col chopped tomato soup, 3 col chopped onion soup, fresh herbs and 1 col olive oil soup + 1 medium slice (90 g) of melon	3 col. mashed potato soup (135g) + 100g grilled beef steak + 3. col bean soup 1 dessert plate of salad with spinach, 2 col. chopped tomato soup and 2 col. chopped onion soup, seasoned with 1 tablespoon of olive oil + 1 small kiwi (76g)	1 Eggplant (250g) baked with 140g tofu filling, 2 col. chopped tomato soup, fresh herbs and ½ tbsp olive oil + 1 cup cooked quinoa (185g) + 1 saucer of lettuce salad, chard, arugula, seasoned with ½ tablespoon of olive oil + 8 strawberries (96g)
Calories	513 Kcal	447, 6 Kcal	499 Kcal
Supper	150 ml rice milk + 1 small tangerine (100g)	Porridge made with 150 ml of unsweetened semi-skimmed milk + 2 col. oat flakes soup + 1 medium silver banana (70g)	200 ml unsweetened almond milk + 17 grapes (136g)
Calories	184, 6 Kcal	251, 1 Kcal	199, 9 Kcal
Total calories for the day	2009 Kcal	2008 Kcal	2002, 5 Kcal

This menu is just a template that may vary according to age, gender, physical activity and he alth status. That's why it's recommended to go through a consultation with a nutritionist so that an individualized food plan can be prepared.

In the example of the menu, the calories of each meal were indicated, which can be used for other diets with more or less 2000 calories. In this way, you can add or remove meals according to the recommended amount of calories per day.

What to avoid

To control the quantity and quality of calories in the diet, it is important to avoid high-calorie and low-nutrition foods, such as:

High-fat foods, such as fried foods, snacks, fast food, pizza or hot dogs;
Delicious foods such as bologna, turkey breast, ham, salami, sausage or sausage;
Foods high in sugar,such as ice cream, cakes, candies or chocolates;
Refined cereals, such as white rice, white pasta, or white bread;
Processed foods,such as soft drinks, ready-made sauces and seasonings, packaged cookies.

In addition, it is important to avoid the consumption of alcoholic beverages, such as wine, beer or sparkling wine, as these types of beverages do not contain nutrients and are very caloric, making it difficult to maintain weight or lose weight.