Sample Menus for a 2200 Calorie Diet Plan


 Posted by Susan Bowerman, M.S., RD, CSSD, CSOWM, FAND – Senior Director, Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training  0 Comment

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Add a sensible exercise plan
with your diet for ideal weight management.

Looking for a diet plan suitable for active or larger people? Three meals and three snacks a day are called for on a 2200 calorie diet plan.

A 2200 calorie diet plan can be a weight loss plan—if you’re a pretty big guy who’s getting regular exercise, but you’ve still got a bit of a spare tire. Just because you can eat a bit more than other people and still lose weight, that doesn’t give you the license to eat whatever you want. Your diet plan still needs to include all the nutrients your larger body needs—the protein, vitamins and minerals. So, it’s important that you pay attention to the number of servings from the different food groups that are recommended for you. That way, you’ll be sure to meet your nutrient needs. If you’ve looked at the lower calorie diet plans in this series, you’ll notice that your plan looks very similar. You just get a few more servings of various foods throughout the day.

Who should choose a 2200 calorie diet plan?

A 2200 calorie meal plan might be right for you if you are a large-framed, active male who is seeking weight loss. This plan may be too high in calories for you if you are female or if you are a smaller-framed male, unless your activity level is very high. A drop of no more than 2 pounds (1 kg) per week is considered a safe rate of weight loss. If you are losing more quickly than that, you can gradually add servings from any food group to your plan until you achieve a calorie level that leads to a safe rate of loss. If you are losing too slowly, you can drop down to the 1800 calorie plan. As with any diet plan, regular exercise is not only a healthy habit, it also helps you burn more calories to help you reach your weight goals.

2200 calorie diet plan overview

This plan calls for three meals and three snacks each day. Here is the basic breakdown for the 2200 calorie diet plan:

Breakfast: 2 Protein + 1 Fruit (+ vegetables if desired) + 1 Starch/Grain
Snack: 1 Protein Snack
Lunch: 2 Protein + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 1 Starch/Grain + 1 Taste Enhancer + 1 Fruit
Snack: 1 Protein Snack + 1 Fruit or Vegetable
Dinner: 2 Protein + 2 Starch/Grain + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 2 Taste Enhancer
Snack: 1 Fruit

Daily Totals: 6 Protein, 3-4 Fruit, 5-6 Vegetable, 4 Starch/Grain, 2 Protein Snack, Leafy Greens – no limit, 3 Taste Enhancers

To create the menus for the 2200 calorie plan, I simply plug in different foods based on my “How to Create Your Own Sample Diet Plan” article, which provides all the details on portion sizes for each food group. You can follow this 3-day plan, or you can swap foods in and out depending on what you like and what’s convenient for you to prepare. The beauty of this system is that it’s relatively simple, and it allows you to customize your menus to your liking. My 2200 calorie meal plan calls for three meals and snacks in the mid-morning, mid-afternoon and after dinner. But you have some flexibility to move things around as long as you don’t exceed the total number of servings from each food group for the day. Some people, for example, prefer to eat a larger meal at lunch, so they’ll ‘steal’ a starch/grain serving from the dinner meal and have it at lunch instead. Also, you can always swap out one or two meals for a Herbalife Formula 1 Healthy Meal Drink or an Herbalife Express Meal Bar, if you’re on the go or don’t feel like cooking from scratch. Herbalife Protein Bars are also a good way to make sure your snacks contain the right level of protein.

3-Day Menus for a 2200 Calorie Diet

DAY 1

Breakfast

  • 1 cup (250g) nonfat cottage cheese
  • 1 cup (80g) strawberries
  • Sprinkled with cinnamon
  • 1 slice whole grain toast topped with:
  • 3 ounces (85 gm) sliced turkey breast

    • Snack

  • ½ cup (125g) nonfat vanilla yogurt

    • Lunch Large Salad made with:

  • Leafy greens (lettuce, spinach) – any amount
  • 2 cups (160g) chopped mixed vegetables (carrots, peppers, tomato)
  • 6 ounces (170g) grilled chicken breast
  • ½ cup (150g) cooked white beans
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) reduced-calorie salad dressing
  • 1 tangerine

    • Snack

  • 1 ounce (30g) soy nuts
  • Carrot and celery sticks 

    • Dinner

  • 8 ounces (200g) grilled salmon with lemon
  • 2 cups (160g) steamed green beans with garlic
  • 1 cup (300g) cooked brown rice
  • large leafy green salad – any amount
  • ¼ medium avocado for salad
  • 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie salad dressing

    • Snack

  • 1 orange

    •  

    DAY 2

    Breakfast

  • 1 whole egg + 4 egg whites scrambled in nonstick pan with pan spray
  • Topped with tomato salsa
  • 2 corn tortillas
  • 1 cup (250g) nonfat cottage cheese
  • 1 cup (80g) cut melon

    • Snack

  • ½ cup (125g) vanilla yogurt

    • Lunch Chicken-veggie stir-fry. Sauté together tofu, chicken and veggies:

  • 5 ounces (125g) firm tofu, cut into cubes
  • 3 ounces (85g) chicken breast, cut into strips
  • 2 cups (80g) broccoli florets
  • Large bunch fresh spinach leaves
  • 2 tsp. (10 ml) oil to stir-fry
  • Season with soy sauce, garlic, pepper and ginger
  • ½ cup (150g) steamed brown rice
  • ½ medium mango

    • Snack

  • 4 Tablespoons (60g) prepared hummus
  • 1 cup (80g) baby carrots

    • Dinner Grain salad with protein. Toss together:

  • 8 ounces (200g) grilled shrimp
  • 1 cup (300g) cooked quinoa
  • 2 cups (160g) chopped mixed vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cucumber, onion)
  • 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie vinaigrette dressing
  • Place on a bed of leafy greens

    • Snack

  • 1 fresh orange

    •  

    DAY 3

    Breakfast

  • 1 whole egg + 4 egg whites scrambled in a non-stick pan
  • ½ toasted whole grain English Muffin
  • 1 cup (250g) plain nonfat yogurt topped with:
  • 1 banana, sliced
  • Sprinkle with nutmeg

    • Snack

  • 1 ounce (30g) low-fat mozzarella cheese

    • Lunch

  • 8 ounces (200g) grilled halibut
  • 2 cups (80g) steamed asparagus with lemon
  • ½ cup (150g) whole grain pasta
  • Mixed leafy greens salad – any amount
  • 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie salad dressing
  • 1 cup (80g) berries

    • Snack

  • ½ cup (125g) nonfat cottage cheese
  • 1 cup (80g) chopped mixed raw vegetables
  • season with salt, pepper, dried dill or chives

    • Dinner

  • 6 ounces (170g) grilled lean steak
  • 2 cups (160g) roasted Brussels sprouts (halve, toss with olive oil, roast at 400 F / 205 C  for 20 minutes)
  • 2 tsp. (10 ml) olive oil (for Brussels sprouts)
  • Steamed kale, spinach or Swiss chard with vinegar
  • 1 small sweet potato sprinkled with ginger

    • Snack

  • 1 cup (80g) diced fresh pineapple

    • I hope you can make this calorie plan work for you. Sometimes, seeing exactly how much you should be eating each day can help kick-start a new approach to healthy eating. It’s important to consume the right levels of nutrients from the right food groups each day, and I hope this diet plan helps you to see how these can be easily distributed across a day.
     

    More diet plans

  • 1200 calorie diet plan
  • 1500 calorie diet plan
  • 1800 calorie diet plan
    • «
    »



    Susan is the Senior Director of Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training at Herbalife, where she is responsible for the development of nutrition education and training materials, and is one of the primary authors of the Herbalife-sponsored blog, www.discovergoodnutrition.com. She is a Registered Dietitian and holds two Board Certifications from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, and a Certified Specialist in Obesity and Weight Management. Susan is also a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Susan graduated with distinction in biology from the University of Colorado, and received her master’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition from Colorado State University. She then completed her dietetic internship at the University of Kansas. Susan has taught extensively and developed educational programs targeted to individuals, groups and industry in her areas of expertise, including health promotion, weight management and sports nutrition. Prior to her role at Herbalife, she was the assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, and has held appointments as adjunct professor in nutrition at Pepperdine University and as lecturer in nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Susan was a consultant to the (then) Los Angeles Raiders for six seasons, and was a contributing columnist for the Los Angeles Times Health Section for two years. She is a co-author of 23 research papers, 14 book chapters, and was a co-author of two books for the public: “What Color is Your Diet?” and “The L.A. Shape Diet” by Dr. David Heber, published by Harper Collins in 2001 and 2004, respectively.