What Does a 1500 Calorie Diet Look Like?

When it comes to dieting, we have always assumed that you need to stick to a 2000 calories a day diet. However, many people are opting to go with a 1500 calorie day diet. This means ingesting less calories. But, you have to make sure that you are eating foods that are going to be healthy for you to get the most out of these calories. It is super easy to hit 1500 calories a day when it comes to some foods...resulting in empty calories that are not going to help your body function.

How Many Calories Should You Have a Day?

With the 1500 calorie diet, you are going to keep your calorie count at 1500 per day. Is this a good calorie count for people? Many doctors recommend this type of diet when you need to lose weight, control diabetes or lower your risk for heart issues. However, the dietary guidelines tell us that women usually eat between 1600 and 2400 calories a day, while mean eat between 2000 and 3000 calories per day. For those who have been ingesting 2000 or more calories per day, going onto a 1500 calorie diet may be harder than they thought as they are really going to have to watch what they are eating.

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1500 Calories a Day Diet: An Example

For those who are ready to try the 1500 calorie diet for their own health, they are going to find that there are several options to make this diet work for you. Here is an example of a 1500 calorie meal plan for one day.

Breakfast:

• 2 breads such as a slice of toast and ¾ cup of corn flakes
• 1 fruit like a small banana
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 protein such as 1 poached egg
• 1 fat such as putting 1 tsp of margarine on the toast

Lunch:

• 2 ounces of protein such as 2 ounces of turkey breast
• 2 starches such as 2 slices of bread
• 1 vegetable such as putting 1 lettuce leaf or 2 tomato slices on the sandwich
• 1 fat such as putting 2 tsp of low fat mayonnaise
• 1 fruit, such as eating an apple

Afternoon Snack:

• 3 cups of air-popped popcorn

Dinner:

• 2 ounces of protein such as eating 2 ounces of lean roast beef
• 2 starches: one baked potato (if this is loaded, it will add more calories and fat) and 1 medium dinner roll
• 1 fat: 1 tsp of margarine for the roll or potato
• 2 vegetables, such as 1 cup of mixed vegetables that are steamed with no dressing or salt
• 1 fruit, 1 ¼ cups of fresh strawberries on the side for dessert, no sugars

Evening Snack:

• A cup of milk
• Graham crackers limited to 3

Keep in mind this type of diet is not taking into consideration drinking any type of coffees that are sweetened or soda, which can easily put your calorie count even higher. For example, a can of soda can have around 170 calories in this. Drinking this would mean not eating the snacks or taking out some of the foods to hit the 1500 calorie mark. However, a soda is empty calories.

With a 1500 calorie diet, you may feel hungry, which is why snacks are encouraged during the day to ensure that your blood sugar does not plummet due to how you are eating. With the above type of meal plan, you should not face a lot of hunger, and the foods are going to provide your body with the recommended amounts of nutrition that are needed.