Planning your meals can help you stick to a nutritious 1,400-calorie diet. To keep your hunger under control, eat three 400-calorie meals daily and leave 200 calories for snacks. Each meal should contain a healthy carbohydrate, lean proteins, plenty of fruits or vegetables and healthy fats.
Breakfast
A 400-calorie breakfast could include two scrambled eggs, which provide 12 g of protein, the antioxidant lutein and vitamins A, D, B-12 and B6. Have your eggs with two slices of 100 percent whole wheat toast and 8 ounces of orange juice. The toast provides whole grains and fiber, while the juice provides vitamin C.
Lunch
At lunchtime, a healthy 400-calorie meal could include a mini pizza muffin. Layer slices of tomato and fresh basil leaves on a whole grain English muffin and top with 1 ½ oz. of shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese. Place it under the broiler until the cheese is melted and serve it with 2 cups of celery, red pepper and carrot sticks dipped in one-quarter cup plain yogurt mixed with 1 tablespoon salsa. The English muffin provides more whole grains while the cheese counts as a serving of calcium-rich dairy. The vegetables and healthy dip count as two servings of vegetables.
Dinner
Make a healthy dinner by sprinkling 3 ounces of halibut with salt, pepper and lemon zest. Bake the fish at 350 degrees F until cooked through and serve with 1 cup of brown rice cooked with vegetable broth, sliced mushrooms and one-quarter cup of frozen peas. Eat a cup of steamed, fresh broccoli on the side. The fish is a healthy protein that is low in saturated fat. The brown rice provides fiber and another serving of whole grains and the broccoli, peas and mushrooms count as three servings of vegetables.
Considerations
A 1,400-calorie diet will bring about weight loss in most adults. For men, 1,400 calories may be too little to sustain daily nutritional and energy needs. Snacks on your 1,400-calorie plan should help fill in nutritional gaps. Foods with 100 calories include 1 cup of skim milk, 1 cup of plain, non-fat yogurt, a banana, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 ¼ cups of blueberries, 2 tablespoons of hummus with one-half cup of grape tomatoes or one-half cup of low-fat cottage cheese.
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