A 400-calorie meal diet means you eat three to four times per day, with each sitting containing about 400 calories. Meals with 400 calories can include enough food to keep you satisfied, but totals just 1,200 to 1,600 calories per day, which is enough to elicit weight loss in most people. This 400-calorie per meal plan is the foundation of the "400-Calorie Fix Diet" book, written by health expert Liz Vaccariello of "Prevention Magazine," but you can devise your own 400-calorie per meal diet at home.
Food Choices
Filling your 400 calories with just any food may not result in optimal weight management and nutritional intake. Each meal should feature a serving of lean protein, such as chicken, flank steak, tofu, egg whites or fish, along with whole grains or a starchy vegetable and fresh fruits or vegetables. The protein helps keep you feeling satisfied, while also helping you to retain lean muscle mass as you drop pounds. The whole grains offer fiber for additional hunger satiation and digestive health. Fresh produce is full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which provide energy and prevent disease while offering few calories.
Fats
You also want to consume some heart-healthy unsaturated fats that enhance your ability to properly regulate hormones, support healthy skin and hair and absorb vitamins. Unsaturated fats found in plant oils, nuts and fatty fish may be higher in calories than other food choices, but they digest slowly and thus help squelch nagging hunger. Choose whole, natural foods over fat-free foods, which often leave you unsatisfied and routinely use sugar or other carbohydrates to replace the fat.
Considerations
A 400-calorie meal diet is convenient and simple to follow, but does require calorie counting. Using an online food diary can help you stick to your goals. You may also have to weigh and measure your food initially to get a sense of proper portion sizes. When eating out, it may be challenging to stick to just 400 calories per meal.
Meal Ideas
A 400-calorie breakfast might consist of three scrambled egg whites, 1 cup of cooked oatmeal, six almonds, one small apple and 1 cup of low-fat milk; a whole-wheat English muffin topped with 2 tbsp. of natural peanut butter and 6 oz. of skim milk; or 1 cup of nonfat, Greek yogurt with 1 cup blueberries and 1 oz. of toasted walnuts.
For lunch, you could have a sandwich with two slices of rye bread, 2 oz. of roast beef, 1 tbsp. of Dijon mustard and sliced tomatoes with 1 cup of minestrone soup and a plum; a whole-wheat pita with ¼ cup of hummus, sliced cucumbers and sprouts with a pear; or a salad made with 3 cups of baby spinach, 3 oz. of grilled chicken, 1 small chopped apple and 1/2 oz. of toasted almonds with five woven wheat crackers.
Dinner could consist of 4 oz. of grilled salmon with a small baked sweet potato and 1 cup of steamed spinach; 4 oz. of stir fried tofu with 1 cup of snow peas, ½ cup sliced red pepper, 1 cup of broccoli and 1 cup steamed brown rice; or 3 oz. of lean ground turkey on a whole wheat roll with sliced tomato and 1 oz. of mozzarella cheese with a large green salad topped with 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil and lemon juice.
Fourth Meal
You may include a fourth meal, especially if you are active or a man. Make this meal a smoothie made with one whole banana, 1 1/2 cups of soy milk, 8 frozen strawberries and 1 scoop of whey protein; two corn tortillas filled with 1 1/2 oz. of cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup of salsa and one quarter of an avocado; or 1 cup of tomato soup with 3 oz. of water-packed tuna mixed with 1 tbsp. of light mayonnaise, chopped celery and lemon juice with a serving of whole grain crackers.
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