Is this a lot for a meal?
Any calorie number against your own day, and two plates at exactly that size, graded.
40%of your day
On 2,000 calories over 3 meals, a plate runs 500 to 830, so 800 is a normal meal for you.
Two plates at 800 calories
Built to pass
5 of 6 clear their line. Glucose falls short
1.25 chicken breast, 1.25 brown rice, 1.25 broccoli, ¾ black beans, 1.25 olive oil
- Energyfits820 cal
- Processingwhole100% whole food
- Musclehigh57 g protein
- Hungerfilling21.2 g fiber, 1.2 cal a gram
- Nutrientsdense2 cups of plants
- Glucosea rise52 g fast carbs
Fast food
1 of 6 clear their line. Processing, Muscle, Hunger, Nutrients and Glucose fall short
1 cheeseburger, 1 french fries, 1 cola
- Energyfits740 cal
- Processingprocessed0% whole food
- Musclevery low20 g protein
- Hungerlight3 g fiber, 3.7 cal a gram
- Nutrientslow0 cups of plants
- Glucosea spike73 g fast carbs
Same calories, different plates. What's on it decides whether it's a good 800. Check your own plate.
What your answer means and what to do next
Light is fine for a snack or a small meal. If it's a main meal, add protein or vegetables so it holds you. Normal means the size is right, and what's on the plate decides whether it's a good one. Big or very big means the meal uses more than its share of your day, so box half or make the next meal smaller. One big meal won't undo anything.
The two plates show why size is only one of six jobs. At the same calories, one clears all six and the other misses most of them. Put the real meal into the meal checker to see which one yours is.
How big a meal is for three meals a day
| Meal | 1,600 a day | 2,000 a day | 2,400 a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 cal | Normal | Light | Light |
| 600 cal | Normal | Normal | Normal |
| 800 cal | Big | Normal | Normal |
| 1,000 cal | Big | Big | Normal |
| 1,200 cal | Very big | Big | Big |
Normal means inside the plate window (your day over your meals, give or take a quarter). Big is over it, and very big is more than half again over it.
Restaurant plates are where big meals come from. Tufts researchers measured 364 of the most ordered meals at 123 non-chain restaurants in three US cities. They averaged about 1,200 calories, and 92% had more than 570, the calories a typical woman needs at one lunch or dinner.
The two plates are scaled to your number: every amount on each is multiplied by the same amount, then graded on the same six meters as the meal checker, where Energy is the one that turns on the size.
2 sources
- Urban LE, Weber JL, Heyman MB, et al. Energy contents of frequently ordered restaurant meals and comparison with human energy requirements and US Department of Agriculture database information: a multisite randomized study. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2016pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Gebhardt SE, Thomas RG. Nutritive Value of Foods. USDA ARS, Home and Garden Bulletin 72, 2002ars.usda.gov
