Counting Calories? Here's What 2,000 Calories Looks Like With The Foods You Love — For Those Who'd Prefer Not To Count
Famed Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps may have squashed rumors about his 12,000-calorie per day diet, but Olympic athletes nevertheless eat an incredible number of calories each day to replace the 4,000 to 6,000 calories they lose. Dr. Michael Joyner, a researcher at Mayo Clinic, told The New York Times in 2012 that their daily diets compare to those from Man vs. Food, the popular food-gorging TV show that was hosted by Adam Richman. Dinner, for example, can include a pound of pasta with some olive oil, a dozen eggs, a whole pizza, and a pint of ice cream. Many of them drink beer, too, which comes in at 150 calories a bottle.
For everyone else, though, as much as we’d like to eat all of those things without feeling guilty, it’s just not possible — unless you plan on doing intense workouts for up to five hours a day. Otherwise, recommended caloric intake for the everyday man or woman over 18 — those who get less than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days — ranges from 2,000 to 2,400 calories. But who counts calories anyway? If you want to know how much that is without counting them — although you should sometimes — this video will show you with some of your favorite foods.