What does a 1300 calorie day look like

wisniewskan

According to this app and my weight and activity level in order for me to reach my goal of 50 lbs down I have to start at 1300 calories. What does everyone’s day look like when on a diet? I have a hard time trying to figure out what I have to eat and how many times a day.

shaf238

Add some friends with open diaries and you'll get a much better idea

tulips_and_tea

Eat the same things you eat now. Eat what you enjoy. Buy a food scale and make sure what you eat is in proper portions to fit in your daily or weekly calorie goal.

As to how many times per day to eat, that's up to each individual. If eating small portions often works for you, then do that. If you prefer one or two larger meals then that's fine, too. You have to figure out what works for your schedule, your lifestyle, and your health.

Panini911

i think my diary is open. i am not closer to 1450 as i am finding maintenance but just cut out a snack really!

but eat the same foods you eat but in smaller quantities. because i like volume eating (eating MORE FOOD) i cut some foods that are higher in calorie density and don't do it for me (ex: rice and potatoes - never my fav) but it has zero to do with keto-low carb many keep small portions of rice. I eat lots of raw veggies as they are a good way to get volume.

what it looks like varies person to person based on how they like to eat. some prefer 2-3 larger meals. me, i prefer eating more often so smaller meals and more snacks.i also keep room for "dessert".

cwolfman13

Panini911 wrote: »

i think my diary is open. i am not closer to 1450 as i am finding maintenance but just cut out a snack really!

but eat the same foods you eat but in smaller quantities. because i like volume eating (eating MORE FOOD) i cut some foods that are high fat and don't do it for me (ex: rice and potatoes - never my fav) but it has zero to do with keto-low carb many keep small portions of rice. I eat lots of raw veggies as they are a good way to get volume.

Rice and potatoes aren't high fat unless you are adding fat to them.

Panini911

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Panini911 wrote: »

i think my diary is open. i am not closer to 1450 as i am finding maintenance but just cut out a snack really!

but eat the same foods you eat but in smaller quantities. because i like volume eating (eating MORE FOOD) i cut some foods that are high fat and don't do it for me (ex: rice and potatoes - never my fav) but it has zero to do with keto-low carb many keep small portions of rice. I eat lots of raw veggies as they are a good way to get volume.

Rice and potatoes aren't high fat unless you are adding fat to them.

my bad i meant higher calorie count (vs density) edited my post.

kimny72

OP, if you set your goal to lose 2 lbs per week, that is pretty aggressive. It might be better to start with a lower weekly goal and start with slightly higher calories to make the learning curve easier. Once you get the hang of that calorie level, you can always try to go a bit lower if you want. Also remember that you are supposed to log your exercise, and eat at least some of those calories back.

I did 1500 cals when I was losing (thank you exercise cals!) and found I needed to increase my serving size for protein and veggies, and decrease my serving size for some of the more calorie dense stuff I enjoyed. I also tried to eliminate beverage calories, and save those for filling food. It took some trial and error, paying attention to which sorts of foods filled me up, and which left me still hungry.

Also prelogging really helped me. Log all the different components of the meal you are planning to eat and that tweak the proportions (or eliminate something entirely) to get the number to look right.

Give yourself some time to get the hang of it, and good luck!

amy19355

kimny72 wrote: »

OP, if you set your goal to lose 2 lbs per week, that is pretty aggressive. It might be better to start with a lower weekly goal and start with slightly higher calories to make the learning curve easier. Once you get the hang of that calorie level, you can always try to go a bit lower if you want. Also remember that you are supposed to log your exercise, and eat at least some of those calories back.

I did 1500 cals when I was losing (thank you exercise cals!) and found I needed to increase my serving size for protein and veggies, and decrease my serving size for some of the more calorie dense stuff I enjoyed. I also tried to eliminate beverage calories, and save those for filling food. It took some trial and error, paying attention to which sorts of foods filled me up, and which left me still hungry.

Also prelogging really helped me. Log all the different components of the meal you are planning to eat and that tweak the proportions (or eliminate something entirely) to get the number to look right.

Give yourself some time to get the hang of it, and good luck!

I'll add a vote of support for the value of prelogging food to make sure I'm eating in line with my goals. I've done it long enough that it felt really odd NOT to log while i was on vacation recently. A week off wasn't too hard to manage with mindfull attention to portions, but, I do not believe I could sustain that over the longer term.

Logging is a blip on the clock of time spent doing things.

good luck to you!

OddDitty

1300 calories may seem aggressive but it kind of depends on why the person is trying to lose that. Some people, like myself, have important medical issues attached to a strong weight loss program. I'm to take in 1350 calories per day. MFP said I could lose 1lb per week at 1500 but my liver specialist says no. We need to push that envelope for the first 50 pounds.

What it looks like is something you can google easily enough.

https://goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/advice/a22187/1300-calorie-diet-meal-plan/

just google: what does a 1300 calorie diet look like

Poke_doll

I usually hit 1,100/1,200 you can add me and see what I eat!

leanjogreen18

If you look at reddit r/1200isplenty (you don't need an account) often you will see peoples whole day, just add 100 calories:)

I second eat what you normally eat and log it. Soon you will learn what satiates you and what doesn't, whats worth the splurge on calories and what isn't. Often people start playing with their macros and find that either higher carbs, protien or fat helps them stay satiated and move towards more nutritional foods.

Keep reading here on the forum.

Alice_in_VVonderland

I've been around 1200-1400 pretty consistently for a long time. Most of my meals are wrapped in a low carb tortilla. You don't have to go on a low carb diet, but the tortilla is only 70 calories.
Meatball sub? On a tortilla. Panini? On a tortilla. Pizza? Tortilla thin crust. Nachos? Baked low carb tortilla chips, with bell pepper chunks and zucchini slices. Breakfast burritos? Low carb tortilla. Burger King Whopper? Remove the 230 calorie bun and put the burger and toppings on a 70 calorie tortilla (It's still like 600 calories with cheese, but sometimes you need to cram a terrible fast food burger in your face hole, and you may as well be healthier about it). Anything that you'd normally use about 200 calories worth of bread for can be replaced by a 70 calorie tortilla.

Mushrooms are incredible, low calorie filler for just about any meal. They also make excellent dippers for whatever goo you want in your mouth.

Bake with Truvia baking blend to reduce unnecessary sugar calories. Use light sour cream and light cream cheese (don't bother with fat free, the lame flavor isn't worth the few extra calories you save).

String cheese is a good snack. So is extra dark chocolate (I eat 90%, but not everyone can take it that dark), with a schmear of peanut butter.

Egg Beaters or ReddiEgg or whatever store brand are a good way to pack in protein with about half the calorie of real egg. I often make scrambles with spinach, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, or whatever vegetables I have around. Sprinkle with cheese. I usually make Carbquik biscuits to go with scrambles. Altogether a scramble with biscuits is typically under 500 calories and leaves me feeling super stuffed.

Instead of spaghetti, I recommend spaghetti squash mixed with shredded zucchini, lightly sauteed in a bit of olive oil with onions and garlic. This is a much more flavorful and lower calorie/lower carb base for whatever goo you plan to pour on top.

alli6650

Try egg whites for breakfast, I like to do omelettes with 2 eggs and 1 egg white, or 2 whites and 1 egg (I use egg white cartons from the grocery, so much easier). I add spinach, half a laughing cow low cal cheese wedge, and low cal salsa.
Oatmeal with peaches, blue berries, a few chocolates, and cinnamon is also really good
Both are a healthy not too high cal way to start the day.
I pretty much eat the same things for lunch or dinner. I keep it simple with crock pot stuff, for ex, chicken, pineapple, low cal sugar free bbq sauce cooked on high for 4 hours= awesome. I serve it on.5 to 1 cup of brown rice.
I eat around 1100 cal a day.
It's all about portion control and healthy choices. Personally I like eating smaller portions and more of them so I can snack all day.
Use YouTube to follow healthy meal makers, I follow a lot of strength trainers because they actually make a lot of videos about good food and know what to eat that works

Love_2_Hike

I mostly food prep my 1300/1400 calories. This is 3 days of Meal 1, 2 & 3 .
I always have protein - eggs, tuna, chicken, ect. I always have a fat - olives, avo, EVOO, mayo, nuts, cheese, ect at every single meal. Each meal can range from 350-400 calories. Oh and a tablespoon cream in coffee.

jgnatca

With so few calories to play with you will have to be creative. Being diabetic skipping snacks was not an option but I kept them to 100 calories each. Half a protein bar was about perfect in the afternoon.

Breakfast was important and so was my afternoon snack. I put my calories there. Lunch was less important so I would plan a soup or salad.

If you portion calories to match your personal rhythms you should not get too hungry.