For those of you eating a 1500 calorie diet what does a typical day of food look like for you?

shadows2424
shadows2424 Posts: 179 Member
edited November 26 in Food and Nutrition
I'm looking for a greater variety of fairly low calorie dinner foods that i can eat on 1500 calories. I currently aim to eat cereal for breakfast along with a cup of coffee for 500 calories. Peanut butter and jelly for 300. Two pieces of talapia with barbeque sauce broccoli with cheese sauce and two or three small dinner rolls for 6 to 700 calories. I come in almost right at 1500 however i find myself getting bored and am looking for a way to spice things up. So any suggestions?

Replies

  • josstuff
    josstuff Posts: 24 Member
    Breakfast - One Serving of Rolled oats and a Fuji Apple
    Lunch - Either a Cobb salad or chicken bowl with rice and veggies
    Dinner - Big bowl with 1.5 servings of brown rice, steam veggies, steam boneless chicken breast.
  • shadows2424
    shadows2424 Posts: 179 Member
    josstuff wrote: »
    Breakfast - One Serving of Rolled oats and a Fuji Apple
    Lunch - Either a Cobb salad or chicken bowl with rice and veggies
    Dinner - Big bowl with 1.5 servings of brown rice, steam veggies, steam boneless chicken breast.

    What's rolled oats?
  • josstuff
    josstuff Posts: 24 Member
    Basically oatmeal, just the type of oatmeal is rolled oats. There are several types, quick cooking, instant, rolled, and steel cut. Just different types of processing.
  • MrsJBro
    MrsJBro Posts: 59 Member
    I eat just under 1500 calories a day. Yesterday for breakfast I had a banana and small bowl of oatmeal (235 calories). Morning snack, two mandarine oranges (120). Lunch, can of tuna with 2tb mayo and 2 tb green onion, eaten with cucumber slices (around 300 cal). Afternoon snack, two turkey bites (100). Dinner, a meal salad (under 500). Then if there are calories left over I might snack on something light.
  • betuel75
    betuel75 Posts: 776 Member
    breakfast: 50 or 81 calorie whole wheat tortilla(i have two options), egg whites, 1/2 oz feta cheese and 1 oz lean meat. breakfast burrito style.
    morning snack: meringue made with artificial sweetener(zero cal granulated baking sweetener) and flavored water enhancer.
    lunch: salad with zero calorie dressing(walden farms) or steamed broccoli with about 3-4 oz or lean turkey or ham or chicken breast or tuna
    afternoon snack: another whole wheat tortilla with lean turkey and maybe fat free sandwich slice cheese
    dinner: sandwich with tuna or again lean turkey or chicken breast. Maybe another salad or steamed veggies
    late night snack: i leave plenty of room here. If you look at my diary all the egg whites entries are from making an egg white fluff with artificial sweetener and flavored water enhancer. This is my go to snack while sitting on the couch. Low cal, high protein.
    Im usually not too hungry during the day and save my calories for eating and snacking at night.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I like to eat above or below my 1500 target by a couple of hundred calories each day. It evens out in the end and I end up with more variety.
  • yardprincess
    yardprincess Posts: 42 Member
    I try to get around 300 to 400 calories per meal and then for snacking I like to have tea (sweetened with either stevia or just real sugar, but I measure 2 tsps. EXACLTY/cup) I always eat protein at dinner which is always before 7 pm and I don't eat after.... for breakfast I almost always eat cereal and 1% milk (but again I MEASURE the recommended serving size according to the food label) and have some fruit with a cup of coffee and actual real cream in that coffee (I personally like 1/2 and 1/2) but I measure how much I take since I'm logging everything as I go along.
    Then lunch is usually a sandwich or left overs (depending on what is available) and again I try to keep it around 300-400 calories. I usually eat graham crackers, or pretzels if I get snacky around 3 pm. Drinking plenty of water as I go along. Then dinner is always a portion of protein (about the size of my palm or less), a carb of some kind (can be rice, pasta, bread or potato) and ALWAYS a vegetable of some type (salad, or cooked frozen vegetable variety) Many times I'll put vegetables in to cook with the meat, but no matter what - there needs to be some kind of fiber and protein added to every dinner meal.
    I know I didn't really give many specifics, but every day is different and you need to pick foods that are right for you! Good luck with your choices and remember: "Every thing in moderation!" :smiley:
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    For a lower calorie dinner or lunch I like to spice things up with my salads by changing the flavors to a base of my favorite lettuce and grilled chicken. For Mexican flavors I'll add cumin and chili pepper to the chicken before heating them in the pan (I buy precooked chicken breast strips, but reheat before eating), then add cilantro, a little bit of low fat Mexican blend cheese, and tortilla strips toppers. I'll mix some fresh lime juice, lime zest, and garlic into some light ranch dressing and add cilantro to that, too. Other times I'll make the salad topped with walnuts, grapes and feta and use a Greek flavored dressing, adding lemon juice and fresh oregano if I have it. It may sound fussy to add these little things, but it really makes eating a salad feel like a special occasion and I know I can change it up when I get bored.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    Oh, I mean to also point out you could increase the calories you have for dinner by playing around with your breakfasts. Seems like you like to eat cereal, but if you also eat eggs, it's pretty easy to get a lot of bang for you buck by adding several eggs whites to a whole egg. Pair with a high fiber wrap or piece of bread and you can have a 300 calorie breakfast that will last you a while. You can spice up the flavor of eggs pretty easily, too. For example, add Indian flavors with turmeric, cumin, and garam masala. And you can add your favorite low calorie veggies for a few more calories, too.
  • PhoenyxRose
    PhoenyxRose Posts: 70 Member
    I eat around 1500 calories a day, feel free to look at my diary :)

    Right now tho, the apple chicken curry, rice, and salad I have for dinners is pretty filling
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
    I'm on around 1500 a day (though often slightly more because of exercise)
    I try to keep my breakfast calories as low as possible because I get massively hungry in the evenings so like to save my calories for then.
    Breakfast - usually under 250 cals, a couple of boiled eggs or yoghurt and a banana.
    Lunch - Salad with some pasta and ham, or a salad sandwich. Around 400 cals.
    Dinner - A jacket potato, cottage pie, sausages and oven chips...I get bored so mix it up a lot. 600ish calories.

    Then I've got 250 left for some chocolate or a piece of cake when I get the evening munchies.
  • DarrenKH
    DarrenKH Posts: 21 Member
    Some of these descriptions leave me thinking I would be hungry, but maybe I have to adjust.
    Breakfast similar to what others have said though I usually end up with 500 here, 1-2 cups cereal or 2 slices bread. Lunch: Soups are great to get in various nutrients, somewhat filling, and not too high calories. My favorites are butternut squash (sometimes with parsnips or rutabaga), and a carrot and asparagus one. Salads as many of you have mentioned, greek salad with feta is my favorite, and lots of different vegetables, a TB of seeds.
    Snacks of carrots, celery, grapes, cottage cheese, crackers and swiss cheese. Trying to set up a bowl of veggies and fruit to eat during the day, when I make the kids' lunches.
    For dinner I try to keep carbos to half a cup, and more vegetables, plus fish, beans or meat.
    Evening snack usually a grapefruit or other fruit, sometimes a rice cake. This is a time I am often tempted to grab a muffin, peanut butter sandwich, which I might allow if I did burn enough calories that day exercising.
  • chelsea7162
    chelsea7162 Posts: 97 Member
    This was yesterday and it came in under 1500 but I allow myself 1500 a day.
    Breakfast: A vega chocolate protein shake mixed with unsweetened soy milk. Some pomegranate, blueberries, and strawberries. And for a warm element I usually pan fry some spinach or kale.
    Lunch: Steamed spinach (I have to use this stuff up quickly before it goes bad), a black bean burger, a slice of vegan cheese, and for dessert I had a slice of gluten free toast with Cookie Butter. I did not have any buns so I made with what I had.
    Supper: More spinach, another black bean burger with cheese, avocado on top, a hash brown, a glass of a chocolate banana protein beverage, and for dessert I had a handful of dates.
    Post workout meal: a protein shake with soy milk and some more dates

    I had a lot of protein shakes yesterday because I was working out and I normally eat more protein but I wanted to use up my bean burgers and some spinach
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I found this link when I was actively losing weight and found a lot of good ideas on here - they have several meal plan options including for 1200, 1500 and 1800 I think, as well as options for Gluten Free, Diabetes friendly, Heart Healthy, etc.

    http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans
  • olsogo
    olsogo Posts: 25 Member
    I use spaghetti squash as a filler in so many ways. If I have chili I have less (chili) by filling up a bowl with the spaghetti squash and then topping it with chili.. I do this with meat sauce, manicotti recipes, etc. It's a great way to change up your meals with a lower calorie option.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
    I tend to split up my calories around 500/500/500 per meal, sometimes lighter on lunch, heavier breakfast and dinner, or if I'm doing something for dinner, lighter on breakfast and lunch.

    BREAKFAST:
    • 1/4 cup steel cut oats with 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp raisins, cinnamon, 1 tbs vegan carob (chocolate!) and SOMETIMES 1 tbsp peanut butter, chia seeds or pumpkin seeds (500 cal)
      • Another breakfast: Two white corn tortillas (80cal) 1 lean turkey/salmon/blackbean burger from costco (200 cal)
        split in half -half in each taco - 2 fried eggs (170 cal) (450ish cals total)

        LUNCH:
        • Salad - 2 cups spinach, 1 bell pepper, 10 pecans, 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 roma tomatos (approx 350 cal) or with chicken breast instead of eggs (450 cal)
        • Sandwich on thin slice bread (120 cal total - Dave's killer seed) with curried tuna salad, turkey and apples, peanut butter and banana with cinnamon and coconut chips
        • cottage cheese with grapes or cashews
        • 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 medjool dates, 20 cashews
        • 1 avocado, 2 hardboiled eggs, 1 medjool date

        DINNER
        • Sweet potato with Almond Butter (350)
        • brown rice with miso tahini sauce, chicken breast, sauteed veggies
        • rice with curry, tofu and veggies
        • ground turkey with brown rice pasta and sauteed veggies
        • ***always measuring to make sure its around 500 cals!
  • mlinci
    mlinci Posts: 402 Member
    I've been eating about 1,500 calories per day for the last six or seven weeks or so, I think my diary is open to public. I try to have roughly 400 cal breakfast, same for lunch, about 500 for dinner and couple of hundred for snacks. My biggest lifestyle change is dinner - I used to eat over 1,000 calories most days, easily.
  • dia_nruf
    dia_nruf Posts: 112 Member
    betuel75 wrote: »
    breakfast: 50 or 81 calorie whole wheat tortilla(i have two options), egg whites, 1/2 oz feta cheese and 1 oz lean meat. breakfast burrito style.
    morning snack: meringue made with artificial sweetener(zero cal granulated baking sweetener) and flavored water enhancer.
    lunch: salad with zero calorie dressing(walden farms) or steamed broccoli with about 3-4 oz or lean turkey or ham or chicken breast or tuna
    afternoon snack: another whole wheat tortilla with lean turkey and maybe fat free sandwich slice cheese
    dinner: sandwich with tuna or again lean turkey or chicken breast. Maybe another salad or steamed veggies
    late night snack: i leave plenty of room here. If you look at my diary all the egg whites entries are from making an egg white fluff with artificial sweetener and flavored water enhancer. This is my go to snack while sitting on the couch. Low cal, high protein.
    Im usually not too hungry during the day and save my calories for eating and snacking at night.

    Can you give your recipe for egg white fluff?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I've been bouncing around 1500 calories during the week (my calories vary based on workouts right now and I'm planning to eat more on the weekends). I only just started logging again, but you are welcome to look. If you go back to 2014 and Jan 2015 I was logging pretty consistently and was at around 1500 for a good part of that. (I buy lunch far too often, as you will see if you look.)
  • arameni
    arameni Posts: 105 Member
    I am supposed to stick to about 1500 to lose, but I tend to be over that by at least a little each day.

    I have 2 frozen waffles (whole wheat, off-brand, 70 Calories each) every morning, and vary the topping (used to be strawberries, walnuts, and honey. Now it's peanut butter, walnuts, and honey!) based on what produce I have.

    I have toast with an over-easy egg and pinto beans on top for lunch.

    And for dinner I often have soups. I love miso soup and mushroom stroganoff (can stir in cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, or rice to up calories/protein).
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
    I eat 1670 but my meals come in under 1500 most days. (I use the rest of my calories on snacks.)

    Breakfast: Steel-cut oats made with almond milk, peanut butter (or nuts), applesauce and cinnamon, plus one serving of cottage cheese and a cup of tea (~400 cal.)
    Breakfast 2: 3-egg omelet with one slice of cheddar, salt and pepper plus one serving of cottage cheese and a cup of tea (~400 calories)
    Breakfast 3: Met Rx Protein Pancakes with low-calorie syrup and fresh fruit (I like this on running days--good healthy carbs.) (~450 calories)

    Lunch (weekday): Flatout pita bread peanut butter wrap (it's better than it sounds, honestly), plain or low-sugar yogurt, cheese stick and 1 serving of fresh fruit (~550 calories)
    Lunch (weekend): Grilled cheese on rye bread with soup and veggies (if I have enough calories) (~450-600 calories)

    Dinner 1: Fortified pasta with butter and 1 oz real cheese plus carrots and edamame (~600 calories)
    Dinner 2: Vegetarian tacos on whole wheat tortillas with 1 slice of cheddar and carrots (~600 calories)
    Dinner 3: Pan-fried salmon filet (I use calorie-free Pam, not cooking oils) with 1 oz. cheese, carrots, edamame and/or sweet potato: (~350-500 calories)
  • adriennemarieb
    adriennemarieb Posts: 38 Member
    Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, a banana and coffee with creamer

    Lunch: 4 oz chicken, 1 cup rice, broccoli

    Dinner: 4 oz chicken, sweet potato bake (like the Thanksgiving kind but I skip the marshmallows, I use Martha Stewart's recipe), green beans seasoned and broiled with 1 TBS oil

    Snacks: cheese sticks, eggs, almonds, protein shake, etc.
  • ckdprevent
    ckdprevent Posts: 105 Member
    I rarely get to 1500 calories, but here goes.
    Breakfast: 1 C strawberry/banana smoothie
    Lunch: Chunky chicken nachos with cheese and salad with oil & vinegar
    Snack: almonds
    Supper: 1/2 cup chili, 1/2 cup rice, cantaloupe and blueberries
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