A high-protein and vegetable 1,400-calorie diet can help you lose weight while helping preserving lean muscle mass. By focusing on fresh produce and lean meats, you can get enough nutrients and energy while still creating a calorie deficit. Combine your diet with a focused exercise routine and healthy lifestyle for the best results.
How Much Protein
The Institute of Medicine recommends consuming between 10 and 35 percent of your daily calories from protein. A high-protein diet focuses on the high end of this range -- 30 percent or more. A study in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" published in July 2005 found that increasing protein from 15 to 30 percent of calories helped dieters lose significant weight. For a 1,400-calorie plan, this amounts to 420 calories, or 105 g of protein daily.
Food Choices
Lean proteins are optimal choices. Options include skinless turkey and chicken breast, white fish, flank steak, beans, egg whites, nonfat dairy and tofu. You still want to include a fair amount of carbohydrates for energy and fats for vitamin absorption and hormone production. Vegetables can provide you with the 45 to 50 percent of the calories you should obtain from carbohydrates. Choose a colorful variety of vegetables weekly, including dark leafy greens along with red, orange and yellow vegetables. Starchy vegetables can also provide essential nutrients along with fiber, to help regulate digestion and cholesterol levels. Fat should comprise 20 to 25 percent of your calories. Most of your fat should come from unsaturated sources such as nuts and fatty fish, both of which also boost your protein intake. Avoid fatty cuts of meat, which contain high amounts of unhealthy, saturated fat that raises your risk for heart disease. You should also avoid trans fat, which is commonly found in processed foods and margarine.
Healthy Considerations
For men and very active women, a 1,400-calorie plan may provide too few calories -- even when you are trying to lose weight. If you lose weight at a rate faster than 1 to 2 lbs. per week, consider adding slightly more calories, as losing weight more gradually can increase your chances of maintaining your weight loss.
Meal Plan Idea
For breakfast on a 1,400 calorie diet, you can have an omelet made with four egg whites, filled with chopped peppers, sliced mushrooms and diced tomatoes and cooked in 1 tsp. of olive oil. Have 1/3 cup of cooked oatmeal and a cup of skim milk on the side. Mid-morning, mix together 6 oz. of nonfat Greek yogurt with 2 tbsp. of salsa to make a dip for five celery sticks. At lunch, toss a salad with romaine lettuce, 1/2 oz. of chopped almonds, 1/2 cup of roasted chicken breast, 1 orange and 1 cup of steamed sugar snap peas. Dress it with 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil mixed with balsamic vinegar and a splash of orange juice. In the afternoon, toss together 1/2 cup of steamed corn kernels and 1/2 cup of drained, canned black beans. For dinner, grill 3 oz. of salmon and have with a baked sweet potato and 10 asparagus spears. This meal plan contains 1,429 calories with 31 percent protein, 47 percent carbohydrates and 22 percent fat.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Losing Weight; June 2, 2011
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition;" A High-Protein Diet Induces Sustained Reductions in Appetite, Ad Libitum Caloric Intake, and Body Weight Despite Compensatory Changes in Diurnal Plasma Leptin and Ghrelin Concentrations; David S. Weigle et al.; July 2005
- ChooseMyPlate.gov: Vegetables
- Institute of Medicine; Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids; September 2002
- Oxygen Magazine; Power-Packed Protein; Karen Ansel, MS, RD
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