The Best 1500 Calorie Diet Meal Plan
Finding a good 1500 calorie diet meal plan can be a challenge. This difficulty exists despite the 1500 calorie diet being one of the most popular weight loss diets in America. The problem seems to stem from the lack of understanding surrounding the diet.
Most people looking to lose weight hear about various fad diets that have much better marketing. By comparison, the 1500 calorie diet receives little fanfare except among health professionals.
Nonetheless, the popularity of the diet amongst health professionals is because 1500 calories is considered the least amount of calories most men should consume to achieve health weight loss. For most women, the amount is 1200 calories.
It becomes very difficult to put together a nutritious diet for a man that is less than 1500 calories, so this diet is considered the lowest amount you want to consume.
Furthermore, the fundamental principle of weight loss is that you must consume less calories than you burn. To burn 1 pound of fat, it takes 3500 calories. If the standard recommended daily allowance of calories is 2000, then to lose 1 pound of weight (i.e. fat!) you need to consume 500 calories less per day (500 calories x 7 days).
Please see the sample meal plan below. However, if you are looking for a more comprehensive 36 week 1500 calorie meal plan you can check out this link.
Sample 1500 Calorie Diet Meal Plan
It is very difficult to find a sample 1500 calorie diet meal plan. The following diet plan was published by the National Institute of Health. It is actually 1600 calories, so you would need to shave off 50-100 calories to have it conform to your needs.
| Breakfast | Energy (Kcal) | Fat (GM) | %Fat | Exchange for: |
| Whole-wheat bread, 1 med. slice | 70 | 1.2 | 15 | (1 Bread/Starch) |
| — Jelly, regular, 2 tsp | 30 | 0 | 0 | (½ Fruit) |
| Cereal, shredded wheat, ½ C | 104 | 1 | 4 | (1 Bread/Starch) |
| — Milk, 1%, 1 C | 102 | 3 | 23 | (1 Milk) |
| Orange juice, ¾ C | 78 | 0 | 0 | (1½ Fruit) |
| Coffee, regular, 1 C | 5 | 0 | 0 | (Free) |
| — Milk, 1%, 1 oz | 13 | .03 | 23 | (1⁄8 Milk) |
| Breakfast Total | 505 | 6.5 | 10 |
| Lunch | Energy (Kcal) | Fat (GM) | %Fat | Exchange for: |
| Roast beef sandwich | ||||
| — Whole-wheat bread, 2 med. slices | 139 | 2.4 | 15 | (2 Bread/Starch) |
| — Lean roast beef, unseasoned, 2 oz | 60 | 1.5 | 23 | (2 Lean Protein) |
| — 1 slice low-fat/sodium American cheese (¾ oz) | 46 | 1.8 | 36 | (1 Lean Protein) |
| — Lettuce, 1 leaf | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| — Tomato, 3 med. slices | 10 | 0 | 0 | (1 Vegetable) |
| — Mayonnaise, low-calorie, 2 tsp | 30 | 3.3 | 99 | (2⁄3 Fat) |
| Apple, 1 med. | 80 | 0 | 0 | (1 Fruit) |
| Water, 1 C | 0 | 0 | 0 | (Free) |
| Lunch Total | 366 | 9 | 22 |
| Dinner | Energy (Kcal) | Fat (GM) | %Fat | Exchange for: |
| Salmon, 3 oz edible | 155 | 7 | 40 | (3 Lean Protein) |
| — Vegetable oil, 1½ tsp | 60 | 7 | 100 | (1½ Fat) |
| Baked potato, ¾ med. | 100 | 0 | 0 | (1 Bread/Starch) |
| — Margarine, 1 tsp | 34 | 4 | 100 | (1 Fat) |
| Green beans, seasoned with margarine, ½ C | 52 | 2 | 4 | (1 Vegetable) (½ Fat) |
| Carrots, seasoned with margarine, ½ C | 52 | 2 | 4 | (1 Vegetable) (½ Fat) |
| White dinner roll, 1 med. | 80 | 3 | 33 | (1 Bread/Starch) |
| Ice milk, ½ C | 92 | 3 | 28 | (½ Fat) |
| Iced tea, unsweetened, 1 C | 0 | 0 | 0 | (Free) |
| Water, 2 C | 0 | 0 | 0 | (Free) |
| Dinner Total | 625 | 28 | 38 |
| Snack | Energy (Kcal) | Fat (GM) | %Fat | Exchange for: |
| Popcorn, 2½ C | 69 | 0 | 0 | (1 Bread/Starch) |
| — Margarine, 1½ tsp | 28 | 6.5 | 100 | (1½ Fat) |
| Grand Total | 1,613 | 50 | 28 |
| Calories: | 1,613 | SFA, % kcals: | 8 | |
| Total Carb, % kcals: | 55 | Cholesterol, mg: | 142 | |
| Total Fat, % kcals: | 29 | Protein, % kcals: | 19 | |
| Sodium,* mg: | 1,341 |
Note: Calories have been rounded.
1,600: 100% RDA met for all nutrients except: Vit E 99%, Iron 73%, Zinc 91%
* No salt added in recipe preparation or as seasoning. Consume at least 32 oz water.
A 36 week 1500 Calorie Diet Meal Plan
While we are happy to provide the above example of a 1500 calorie diet meal plan, this doesn't cut it if you are serious about sticking with the diet and losing the weight. You need something more.
If you don't want to go it alone, check out the 36 week meal plan system put together by NutriDIET Pro. This company is an expert in developing meal plans, not only for consumers, but seasoned Registered Dieticians as well. In fact, Nutridiet has been helping professional dieticians formulate meal plans for over 20 years!
Their 1500 calorie diet meal plans program has the following advantages:
- Recognized Nutritional Expertise (they are not a fad diet program)
- Different Food styles (Asian, Italian, Spanish, Indian)
- Different Eating Styles (heart healthy, vegetarian, etc.)
- Recipes are designed to use foods you can easily find in your grocery store.
If you have tried some of the various fad diets, you will know how important that last bullet point is.
Click here to view more 1500 Calorie Meal Plan Details
If you are interested in this meal planning option, you should be aware that there is also a more comprehensive option. The 1500 Calorie Diet Meal Plan has 36 weekly plans for $34.99.
The comprehensive program is only slightly more expensive, yet if you have multiple people looking to diet (such as yourself and spouse) you end up saving money. Moreover, if you anticipate losing the weight and then want to have a meal plan for a higher calorie amount, then you should consider this option.
The all inclusive option has over 1250 meal plans for $79.99. While you won't probably need all of these plans (e.g., one plan is a 3,000 calorie plan), it is a less expensive option than buying some of these plans a la carte.
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