So you want to get 200g+ protein a day. Here’s how to do it in less than 2000 calories.
The diet plan is perfect for strong guys who are cutting hard or beginners who need to eat a lot of protein at maintenance calories.
If you’re bulking or need more calories, simply eat more and add in carbs or fat as you prefer.
200g Protein a Day in 2000 Calories Diet Plan
| 200g Protein a Day in 2000 Calories | ||||
| Food | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fats |
| Pre-workout meal (Carb-Focused) | ||||
| 2 Bananas (~200g) | 178 | 2.2 | 46 | 1 |
| 500 ml skimmed milk (I drink Amul’s skim milk) | 175 | 17.5 | 25 | 0.5 |
| Pre-workout meal Total: | 353 | 19.7 | 71 | 1.5 |
| Post-workout meal (Protein shake) | ||||
| Whey Protein (75 grams / 2-3 scoops) | 309 | 62 | 3 | 5.6 |
| Post-workout meal Total: | 309 | 62 | 3 | 5.6 |
| Main meal 1 (Carb-focused meal – pulses and rice): | ||||
| Rice cooked (150g) | 146 | 3.3 | 32.3 | 0.4 |
| Dal, rajma, chana, etc. (40g raw) | 146 | 7.7 | 24.3 | 2.4 |
| Ghee (3 spoons / 10g) | 90 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Main meal 2 Total: | 382 | 11 | 56.6 | 12.8 |
| Note: You have lots of other options for this meal like bread with cheese, roti and sabzi, potato parathas, etc. The goal is to get in carbs and fat. Keep this meal around your workout to help with recovery. | ||||
| Main meal 2 (eggs in ghee – 1 whole with 3 extra whites x3): | ||||
| 3 whole eggs | 240 | 21 | 1 | 15 |
| 9 egg whites | 153 | 32.4 | 2 | 1 |
| Ghee (3 spoons / 10g) | 90 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Main meal 2 Total: | 483 | 53.4 | 3 | 26 |
| Note: We’re talking about large chicken eggs that weigh ~60g. | ||||
| Main meal 3 (Grilled spicy chicken with vegetables): | ||||
| Chicken breast (200g raw) | 300 | 56.3 | 0 | 6.6 |
| Low fat dahi (200 grams) | 81 | 6 | 8.8 | 2.5 |
| Tandoori masala, jeera powder, etc. | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Sauteed Vegetables (100 grams) | 65 | 1.7 | 7.7 | 3.3 |
| Main meal 3 Total: | 466 | 64 | 21.4 | 12.5 |
| Note: If you are a vegetarian, you can eat low fat cottage cheese instead of chicken. | ||||
| Day’s Total: | 1993 | 210 | 155 | 58.4 |
A few important points about this diet plan:
- We’re getting in a LOT of protein. Far more than 2.2g per kg bodyweight standard for most people. There is no downside to eating more protein. If you want lesser protein, just reduce portion sizes.
- The protein intake is split into multiple meals across the day. This makes sure that your body has fuel to build muscle at all times.
- We want the bulk of the protein to be from animal protein (milk, meat, eggs) because animal protein is far superior to plant protein.
- There’s enough carbs to support training and recovery. I’ve personally never enjoyed training hard on very low carb diets. Carbs lead to good workouts and unless you are insulin resistant or diabetic, you can easily eat 150-250g carbs without problems if you train hard and live an active life.
- Enough fats in the diet to ensure we don’t develop any testosterone or other hormonal deficiencies (~0.75g per kg bodyweight).
- I assume you are smart enough to add things like lemons to cover vitamin C and don’t need me to mention all these little things.
- Fast acting carbs for pre-workout.
- Fast absorbing protein for post-workout.
- No sugar, processed food, seed oils, or other garbage.
Recommended supplements:
- A multi-vitamin once or twice a week (insurance just in case you are deficient in something)
- 2g fish oil per day (great source of omega 3s). Note that you want to eat fish oil and not cod liver oil because cod liver oil has too much vitamin A.
- 15g collagen (if you have any joint pain). If you want to strictly stick below 2000 calories, reduce whey protein by 15g and add in the collagen. Important note: Do NOT take collagen if you have a history of herpes or things like cold sores. Collagen is known to trigger outbreaks.
- 5g creatine a day to help with lifting.
Potential situational modifications
If you don’t have access to ghee:
First of all, I feel sorry for you. You can use olive oil or coconut oil instead. If you use olive oil, make sure you aren’t using fake olive oil.
If you are a vegetarian:
If you are a strict vegetarian (you don’t even eat eggs), I highly recommend reading one of my most popular articles: How to Increase Protein in Indian Vegetarian Diet (With Desi Diet Plan)
You need to swap the chicken meal with low fat paneer (cottage cheese).
If you’re in India, Amul has made a paneer that has 50g protein for 200g (not an affiliate link).
If you need more carbs:
Increase rice portions whenever you eat rice. Add potatoes and dates to your pre-workout meal.
Do NOT add sugar or sugar based products like candy, chocolates, etc. Occasional treats are fine but dirty bulking is a bad idea. You mostly end up gaining fat and little muscle.
If you need to add more fats:
Add coconut, walnuts, almonds, cheddar cheese, and other high quality sources of fat. You can also substitute the chicken breast with chicken legs.
Do NOT add vegetable oils, margarine, and other bullshit to your diet. That stuff is poison for your body.
– Harsh Strongman
