If you're trying to lose weight, you probably already know that counting calories (and, more importantly, reducing them) can help you succeed. You may have already heard that eating 500 fewer calories a day results in 1 pound of weight loss over the course of a week. Though this thinking is considered by many to be outdated, the premise that eating fewer calories than your body needs to maintain your weight will result in weight loss remains true.
Why Calories Matter
All that said, to cut calories, you need to know how many calories you need to maintain your weight first. There are online calculators that can help you estimate, but ultimately you will have to keep track of how many calories you're eating each day and see whether your weight goes up, down, or stays the same.
Since the average person is said to need 2000 calories a day, 1500 calorie meal plans are popular among those trying to lose weight. You may be able to eat more calories than this and still lose weight, or you may even need to eat less. Nonetheless, if you find that you do indeed fall into the 2000-calories-a-day-for-maintenance crowd, you can give this 1500 calorie meal plan a try and see if you lose any weight after the first week. Be sure to track your calorie intake diligently (our meal planner can help with this).
Note: if you have difficulty losing weight or need to lose weight for medical reasons, please see a nutritionist or medical professional. We aren't doctors and our meal plans aren't intended to be medical advice, just a starting point!
The 1500 Calorie Meal Plan
This meal plan is complete with recipes and products for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desserts clocking in close to 1500 calories/day. The nutritional information is based on one serving of each recipe or product. If it's not enough (or too many) calories for you, plan to eat more than one serving or make a little less quinoa, pasta, etc. You can also substitute one recipe for another (use the search engine under the "Recipes" tab to find new recipes). If you replace a recipe, the nutritional information will automatically update so you can see how the new recipe impacts the calorie count. These tweaks can help you get the meal plan closer to your desired calorie intake.
Here are the main dishes to give you an impression of what low calorie meals you can expect:
Monday | Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti from MyRecipes/Cooking Light |
Tuesday | Pesto caprese omelette from Closet Cooking |
Wednesday | Zesty sriracha shrimp and quinoa from Julie's Eats & Treats with steamed sugar snap peas |
Thursday | Pizza frittata from spoonacular user coffeebean |
Friday | Shrimp scampi from For the Love of Cooking |
Saturday | Herb and cheddar cordon bleu from spoonacular user coffeebean with steamed Brussels sprouts. |
Sunday | Asian beef lettuce wraps from The Comfort of Cooking |
To see the complete 1500 calorie meal plan for weight loss, open the preview.
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We hope this meal plan gets you a bit closer to your goals. You might also check out our Paleo meal plan or our vegetarian meal plan. If you have any thoughts, wishes, or other feedback please let us know via Facebook, Twitter, or our contact form!