Planning a healthy diet requires more than cutting calories. You'll need to create meal plans that provide adequate amounts of the essential nutrients that help your body function at maximum efficiency and ward off diseases and conditions that can arise from poor eating habits. A 1,300 calorie provides fewer daily calories than what the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recommends for an adult, so work with a health professional when planning a diet with this few calories.
Protein
The USDA's Food Intake Patterns chart provides specific recommendations for calories and nutrients, based on your age, gender and activity level. For a 1,300-calorie diet, the USDA recommends 3.5 oz. of meat and beans and 2 cups of milk. The USDA considers the following amounts of proteins as a 1 oz. equivalent from the meat and beans group: one egg, 1 tbsp. of peanut butter, 1/2 oz. of nuts or seeds, 1 oz. of meat, fish or poultry or a 1/4 cup cooked, dry beans. The USDA suggests low-fat or fat-free choices from the milk group and does not consider cream cheese, cream and butter good choices, because they contain little or no calcium. You an increase your intake of protein using the 117 calories each day classified as "discretionary calories." The USDA suggests these calories be low-fat or fat-free with no added sugars.
Carbohydrates
Get your daily carbohydrate needs from vegetables, fruits and grains. The USDA recommends 1.2 cups of fruits and vegetables and 4.5 oz. of grains. The chart breaks down vegetable and legume consumption on a more specific level, recommending specific weekly servings. For dark green vegetables, the USDA recommends 1.5 cups per week; 1 cup for orange vegetables and legumes; 2.5 cups of starchy vegetables and 4.5 cups of other vegetables. The USDA recommends that half of all grains you eat daily should be from whole grains. Canned, frozen, fresh, dried or juiced fruits and vegetables qualify for inclusion in this group.
Fats
The USDA recommends 4 tsp. of oils daily. While this may not seem like much, consider that 1 tbsp. of oil contains 120 calories. At 3 tsp. per tbsp., this translates into 160 calories, or more than 12 percent of your daily calories coming from oils. Choose monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Keep in mind that additional foods you consume will contain fats, as well.
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