Limiting yourself to 1,300 calories a day requires that you eat well-balanced meals to ensure your body has adequate nutrition. Check with your doctor to verify that 1,300 calories is an appropriate level. In general, a woman needs to eat a minimum of 1,200 calories a day and a man needs at least 1,500, even while losing weight. The National Institutes of Health also says to avoid fad diets that overemphasize a single food.
Breakfast
The ease of sticking to a 1,300-calorie allotment for the day may have something to do with the breakfast food you eat. A 2010 study published in the journal "Nutrition Research" and led by Joseph Ratliff found that men who ate eggs rather than a bagel for breakfast ate less throughout the day.
Eat a protein-rich, 78-calorie boiled egg, a bowl of whole-grain cereal with 1/2 cup of skim milk and a piece of fruit to keep your breakfast calories under 300. Vary your choices to include oatmeal, 1/2 protein bar with a whole-grain waffle or a breakfast smoothie. Use egg substitutes in place of whole scrambled eggs to reduce your cholesterol intake.
Lunch
A filling lunch will help you get through the difficult afternoon hours. Your lunches should be in the 300- to 400-calorie range to stay on target. Include nutritious whole-wheat breads in your lunches by spreading a couple of tablespoons of hummus inside a 77-calorie pita. Stuff the pita with fresh, chopped spinach, crunchy cucumber and tomato slices. Add a no-calorie vinegar dressing. Serve with 4 oz. unsweetened yogurt and 1 cup of watermelon. Use small bagels in place of sliced bread for variety, use cheese sparingly, and always include a low-calorie salad or raw vegetables with your lunch.
Dinner
Your dinner meal should be between 400 and 500 calories, depending on how many snack calories you eat during the day. "Fitness" magazine suggests an Italian sausage and vegetable pasta dish made with 2 oz. whole-wheat pasta, 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce, 1 piece chicken sausage, garlic, mushrooms, onions, zucchini and Parmesan cheese for a 500-calorie dinner.
To avoid adding saturated fat to your diet, choose vegetarian options such as spicy bean burgers or salads filled with in-season vegetables. Make filling soups, grill a chicken breast and top it with low-calorie salsa, or make chili with ground turkey instead of beef.
Snack
Plan your snacks within your daily calorie allotment if you feel hungry between meals. If you eat 500 calories for dinner, 400 for lunch and 300 for breakfast, you still have 100 calories for snacks. You can have two 100-calorie snacks if you slightly lower your main meal calories. A cup of raw carrots has 45 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database. Eat raw broccoli with fat-free dressing, a rice cake with 1 tsp. peanut butter, a cup of air-popped popcorn, a piece of fruit or a crunchy granola bar.
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