A healthy, low-calorie diet can help you lose weight without feeling deprived or devoid of energy. Include a variety of foods from all the major food groups: meat and beans, grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, and heart-healthy oils. Keeping portion sizes under control is also essential to meeting your calorie goals. Aim for at least three meals a day and one or two snacks, especially if you will go more than four hours between meals.
Calorie Needs
The number of calories in a low-calorie diet depends on your activity level and size. For most people, a diet ranging from 1,200 to 1,800 calories is considered low in calories and will yield weight loss. Women should not drop below 1,200 calories per day and men below 1,500 calories per day or risk nutritional deficiencies.
Nutrition Considerations
A healthy low-calorie diet is balanced in terms of nutrients. Try to stick to Institute of Medicine recommendations and obtain at least 45 to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 10 to 35 percent from protein and 20 to 35 percent from fats. Carbohydrates provide energy, protein helps promote lean muscle mass retention and growth and fat supports hormone production and vitamin absorption. Limiting your intake of saturated fat to less than 7 percent of total daily calories and trying to eliminate all trans fats, added sugar and excess sodium also helps keep your low-calorie diet healthy.
Types of Food
A healthy, low-calorie diet includes at least 3 oz. of whole grains, 5-1/2 oz. of meat or beans, 3 cups of dairy and 4-1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables daily. Most of the fat you consume should come from unsaturated sources such as plant oils, nuts, fatty fish and avocados. Choose whole, unprocessed foods as often as possible. Restaurant meals, frozen dinners and boxed snacks often contain refined flours and added sugars, which add calories without a lot of nutrition.
Sample Meal Plan
For a 1,500-calorie diet, allow for three, 400-calorie meals and two, 150-calorie snacks. At breakfast, have a whole wheat english muffin spread with 1 tbsp. almond butter, a sliced banana and 1 cup skim milk. Mid-morning, enjoy a cup of nonfat, plain yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup fresh blueberries. For lunch, make a large salad consisting of 3 cups of romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup sliced cucumber, 1/2 oz. feta cheese, 1/2 cup chickpeas, 1/4 cup sliced red onion and one tomato cut into wedges. Toss with a vinaigrette made from 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1 tsp. olive oil and 2 tsp. red wine vinegar. Have a toasted whole-wheat pita on the side. At dinner, have 3 oz. of baked salmon with 1/2 cup brown rice mixed with 1/2 cup baked butternut squash. Include 1 cup of steamed asparagus on the side. Your second snack may fall between lunch and dinner, or may occur in the late evening. Have a low-fat string cheese with an apple or 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese mixed with 2 tbsp. raisins.
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