Menu for 1500 kcal per day: diet principles, sample menu for the week, recipes and reviews of those losing weight

How quickly and how much weight you can lose

This system ensures slow but steady weight loss. In the first 2 weeks, 2-4 kg are lost. Later the process slows down to 300-400 g per week. But it’s worth looking not only at the scales, but also measuring volumes. During the diet, excess fat is lost, but muscle mass is also built up, so the body becomes more prominent and slender.

Using a menu of 1500 kcal per day, you can lose 2-3 kg per week.
It is recommended to adhere to this diet for no longer than 2-4 weeks. After this, the daily caloric intake (if necessary) can be slowly increased.

But, if you want to maintain your figure, you should not return to bad eating habits, abuse sweets and fast food.

Magic number 1500

Therefore, to effectively lose weight, you need a 1500 calorie diet. What's magical about this number? The fact is that 1500 calories is the optimal amount of calories at which you will not feel hungry, but will not overeat.

Sometimes nutritionists may advise reducing calories to 1300 or even 1000 calories per day. But this is allowed only if a person cannot lead an active lifestyle. If, on the contrary, a person has excessive physical activity, then he is allowed to consume, on the contrary, more calories, for example, 2000.

However, the 1500 calorie diet is the most popular option.

This is an option when a person does not suffer from hunger and can eat a variety of foods.

1500 calorie diet rules

In order for your nutrition plan to give maximum results, you should follow simple recommendations:

You need to eat often, but in small portions (the best option is 5 times a day). This way you will be able to avoid hunger pangs, reduce the risk of breakdowns, and speed up your metabolism.
It is better to start the morning with a glass of warm water - this helps activate the intestines. It is recommended to drink at least 2 liters of liquid per day.
You should have dinner no earlier than 4 hours before bedtime. If you go to bed at midnight and have dinner at 5 pm, then your body will have to fast for 14-15 hours. This causes stress and puts the body into hoarding mode.
Food cannot be fried, but can be steamed or grilled, boiled, baked, stewed.
Don't forget about physical activity. Regular training will help make your body more resilient and fit, and excess weight will go away faster. Any activity is suitable, be it aerobics, jogging, swimming, dancing, or long walks in the fresh air.
Rest is another important factor. You cannot bring the body to a state of physical or mental exhaustion, as this affects hormonal levels and can slow down the process of losing weight.
It is important to count calories and control portion size. Pay attention not only to dishes, but also to drinks - tea, coffee, compotes also have energy value.

Counting calories will give an objective picture of your diet.

How to burn 1500 calories a day?

In order for your weight to decrease, you need to consume the kilocalories a person receives per day. What's interesting is that even when you sit and read information online, you are already wasting energy. In one hour of such reading, a person loses 29 calories.

To make the consumption more effective, you should load the body with active physical activity. So, in one hour of jogging, you will lose 700 calories; during the same time of weeding the garden, you can lose 250 calories.

Sample menu for 7 days

All permitted products can be combined by preparing different dishes every day. When compiling a diet, you should be guided by your own preferences and capabilities. A sample menu for the week might look like this.

Monday

Meals on the first day of the diet:

in the morning: omelette with oatmeal (1 egg, 2 tablespoons of cereal), 2 slices of cheese, 1 tomato;
second breakfast: medium-sized unsweetened apple;
lunch: broth with durum wheat noodles and a boiled egg (serving of soup - about 300 ml);
snack: banana smoothie with milk;
dinner: 300 g of lean fish, stewed with carrots and onions, 300 g of vegetable salad.

The diet menu includes a banana milkshake.

Tuesday

Menu for the second day:

for breakfast: oatmeal with banana, 50 g of dark chocolate, a small piece of cheese;
snack: 300 g of baked zucchini (can be replaced with pumpkin in the fall);
lunch: 300 g vegetable soup;
afternoon snack: 200 g cottage cheese and fresh berries;
for the evening: a salad of fresh vegetables, a portion of fish stewed in cream.

Wednesday

Dishes for the third day:

in the morning: oatmeal with fresh fruit, 2 tablespoons of low-fat cottage cheese;
snack: sandwiches with pate (it is better to take dry bread);
lunch: a portion of buckwheat, turkey fillet with stewed vegetables, fresh cucumber;
afternoon snack: 50 g of nuts (walnuts or peanuts);
for the evening: chicken breast (can be baked or boiled), tomato and cabbage salad in vegetable oil.

Thursday

Menu for Thursday:

for breakfast: omelet with cottage cheese and fish;
snack: sandwiches with cheese, avocado and herbs;
lunch: apple, fish baked with vegetables;
snack: cocktail of kefir and banana with honey;
evening: chicken salad (baked breast, boiled eggs, tomatoes, lettuce).

Fish with vegetables is considered a popular recipe used to make a delicious lunch.

Friday

A sample list of dishes might look like this:

in the morning: scrambled eggs with cheese, fresh vegetables;
lunch: 1 pear, 100 g grapes, 1 banana;
lunch: buckwheat porridge with chicken and mushroom gravy;
afternoon snack: low-fat yogurt, a handful of fresh berries;
evening: chicken broth, rye bread.

Saturday

Sample menu for Saturday:

for breakfast: oatmeal with chocolate and banana;
snack: salad of fresh carrots, apples and raisins (can be seasoned with low-fat sour cream or yogurt);
lunch: meat soup with buckwheat or pearl barley porridge);
afternoon snack: low-fat cottage cheese with fruit;
for the evening: salad of greens, tuna, boiled egg and tomatoes.

Sunday

Meal plan for Sunday:

in the morning: scrambled eggs with cheese, ripe tomato;
lunch: fruit salad (you can take your favorite fruit);
lunch: 2 potatoes baked in jackets, minced fish cutlets;
snack: a handful of nuts;
for the evening: stewed cabbage with chicken fillet.

Recipes

There is a common misconception that you should not eat sweets while on a diet. It is not true. This can and should be done, since otherwise the body will become psychologically exhausted.

This is how the brain works - it tends to associate sweet foods with a feeling of happiness. Diet should not affect your psychological state.

Here are the recipes for the right sweets. They contain a minimum of calories and serve as a snack or addition to a lunch meal. The simplicity of the recipes will allow you to cook them 2-3 times a week without losing useful time.

Muffin with banana, raisins and walnuts (220 calories per 100 g)

Ingredients:

300 grams of oatmeal;
200 g milk 0-0.5%;
2-3 tablespoons of honey;
1 banana;
50 g raisins;
8-9 walnuts;
Soda on the tip of a knife;
Half a teaspoon of baking powder;
A teaspoon of cinnamon.

Preparation:

Grease the baking dish with oil. In a bowl, stir together baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Cut the banana, mix with walnuts and raisins. Pour milk into this mixture, add honey and mix in a blender along with the ingredients from the first bowl.

Pour the dough into a baking dish and bake in the oven at 180 degrees. Check readiness with a toothpick. As soon as there is no raw dough on it, the cake is ready.

Oatmeal and banana cookies with cherries (serving 5-6 pcs)

Another easy recipe for cookie lovers to add to your menu. One medium serving of cookies contains 118 calories. Cookies are suitable for an afternoon snack: use for food on a 1500 calorie diet up to 3-4 times a week.

Ingredients:

100 grams of oatmeal for cooking;
1 banana;
100 grams of fresh or frozen cherries.

Preparation:

Pour oatmeal into a bowl. Cut the banana into pieces and mix with oatmeal. Prepare the dough with your hands to form a thick substance, then add the cherries and mix.

Grease a baking sheet with oil and place cookies on it. Make the cookies into a ball from the prepared dough and bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

First course recipes

Dishes can be prepared according to your own taste.
The choice of products is large, you can alternate them, so the diet does not get boring.

Green pea soup

Vegetable soup is a dietary dish, but tasty. If we are talking about a diet, then it is better to cook it with water, but you can also use broth as a base. Peel 2 - 3 potatoes, cut into cubes, place in a saucepan, add water, add spices and bring to a boil. After this, you can add chopped carrots and onions to the soup, lightly stewed in a small amount of vegetable oil, and then a handful of green peas.

Meatball soup

For cooking you will need minced chicken. First you need to peel and cut 2 small potatoes, add water to them and cook over medium heat. During this time, the minced meat can be mixed with chopped onion, add pepper, salt, a little starch and roll into small balls.

Meatball soup is the most popular dietary lunch dish.

The meatballs are then transferred to the soup - the dish must be cooked until the meat is completely cooked, then add fresh herbs.

Approximate diet

To make it easier for you to create a diet, I suggest you focus on the menu below.

Of course, you can get confused and calculate the calorie content of a serving in a certain program. Or you can do it by eye, based on the following information.

Breakfasts for 300 kcal

Any type of grain you like will do. The most popular option is oatmeal, cooked in water and diluted with milk; 1 tsp. olive oil, a slice of cheese, herbal tea.
Scrambled eggs or two-egg omelet with herbs and vegetables. Green tea, whole grain bread sandwich with cheese.
Cottage cheese casserole with honey, herbal tea. You can find casserole recipes at the link.
Sandwiches with cheese or peanut butter, or lightly salted salmon (allowed once a week), or avocado.

Lunch for 150 kcal

This snack should be light. You can eat the following foods:

1 banana (or any medium-sized fruit);
20 g nuts;
a glass of berries;
fruit and vegetable salad;
250 ml kefir;
soft curd
sandwich with a slice of cheese.

Lunch for 500 kcal

This is the most dense meal. Nutritionists advise diversifying it with protein, complex carbohydrates and vegetables. The menu can have many variations.

Vinaigrette, brown rice with a piece of grilled salmon, broccoli, herbal tea.
Vegetable puree soup with herbs, a slice of whole grain bread, baked turkey fillet with eggplant, tea.
Seafood/chicken/beef pilaf, cucumber and tomato salad, avocado sandwich, rosehip infusion.
Navy pasta, grilled bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, tea.

The basic rule for a good lunch is ⅔ vegetables on the plate, ⅓ divided between side dishes and protein products. The serving should be 250 g.

150 kcal snack

You can prepare various smoothies from vegetables or freshly squeezed juices. Fermented milk products (kefir, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese, etc.) are also allowed.

Dinner for 300 kcal

Nutritionists advise not to skip this important meal. It should consist of protein and non-starchy foods. The last meal is 3-4 hours before bedtime.

Chicken fillet steak with herbs, bell pepper, tomato, mug of tea.
Cottage cheese 5% with herbs and garlic, herbal decoction.
Baked sea bream with zucchini and eggplants, green tea.

Main course recipes

For second courses, protein products are used - poultry, lean fish fillets, eggs.

Chicken breast baked with cheese

This dish can be prepared in 20 - 25 minutes. For 1 serving you will need 130 g chicken breast, a small tomato, ¼ peeled sweet pepper, leek. Finely chop the meat, transfer to a frying pan, add 1 tsp. vegetable oil and a little water. The breast is stewed for 5 minutes, after which you can add chopped vegetables, cover the container with a lid and cook over low heat for another 15 minutes.

Omelette with champignons

A simple omelette works well for breakfast. You need to wash and cut the champignons, place them in a frying pan and simmer in a small amount of water. During this time, break 2-3 eggs, add salt and spices, and beat them with a whisk. Pour the egg mixture into a frying pan and cook, stirring constantly.

Diet omelette with champignons is filling and low-calorie.

Grocery list

You don't need any special foods to follow a 1,500 calorie diet. Everything you need for the correct menu is sold in any supermarket. Of course, some products will have to be excluded from the menu, but the end justifies the means.

The diet menu should include:

Chicken fillet, fish, beef, rabbit, rye bread, durum wheat pasta, eggs, yogurt and dairy products with a fat content of 0-0.5%, fruits and vegetables.

Products whose consumption should be limited:

Milk chocolate, juices in tetra packs, soda, flour products, pork, pasta.

There is a common misconception that you should not eat sweets while on a diet. It is not true. This can and should be done, since otherwise the body will become psychologically exhausted.

This is how the brain works - it tends to associate sweet foods with a feeling of happiness. Diet should not affect your psychological state.

Muffin with banana, raisins and walnuts (220 calories per 100 g)

Ingredients:

300 grams of oatmeal;
200 g milk 0-0.5%;
2-3 tablespoons of honey;
1 banana;
50 g raisins;
8-9 walnuts;
Soda on the tip of a knife;
Half a teaspoon of baking powder;
A teaspoon of cinnamon.

Grease the baking dish with oil. In a bowl, stir together baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Cut the banana, mix with walnuts and raisins. Pour milk into this mixture, add honey and mix in a blender along with the ingredients from the first bowl.

Pour the dough into a baking dish and bake in the oven at 180 degrees. Check readiness with a toothpick. As soon as there is no raw dough on it, the cake is ready.

Oatmeal and banana cookies with cherries (serving 5-6 pcs)

To ensure that your food menu does not consist of only breakfast or lunch, avoid high-calorie, fatty, and sweet foods. Avoid:

Ice cream, cake, waffles, marshmallows, candies and other sweets
Fast food, cookies, chips, crackers
Coca Cola and other sodas
Do not eat food that is cooked in a frying pan in oil or fat.

As mentioned above, you can create a menu yourself. The tables provide data on the kilocalorie content of a particular product. You just need to take into account the method of their preparation, since fried dishes made with fats (vegetable, animal) will contain much more extra calories than the same dishes steamed, baked in the oven, or cooked in a slow cooker.

So from the prepared dishes the following will be useful:

Vegetable soup with mushrooms, without potatoes
Soup with chicken meat and vegetables
Beef goulash with peas, carrots, onions
Fish with vegetables cooked in a steamer
Pepper with lean meat and vegetables
Stuffed cabbage rolls with veal, carrots, onions, tomatoes
Steamed cutlets
Meatballs baked in the oven or steamed
Vegetable salads
Stewed cabbage with vegetables

Canned fish soup

Components:

Water - 0.5 l
Canned fish - 1 pc.
Onion - 50 g
Rice - 50 g
Oil – 10 g
Carrots – 50 g

Pour washed rice into boiling water
Then add carrots, cut into strips, onions
When the rice is soft, add the rest of the ingredients.
Let it simmer over low heat until done

Apples stuffed with cottage cheese

Compound:

Apples – 175 g
Water – 12 ml
Cottage cheese – 175 g
Egg - 1 pc.
Honey – 45 g
Raisins – 14 g

Cooking:

Wash the fruits, carefully remove the core with a knife
Prepare the sweet filling from the remaining ingredients
Stuff the fruit
Place in the oven
Baking time 18-25 minutes

Porridge with sauce

Buckwheat – 100 g
Mushrooms – 125 g
Onion - 65 g
Milk – 75 ml
Water – 75 ml
Flour - 15 g
Vegetable oil – 15 ml

Process:

Cook the buckwheat. There should be twice as much water as the cereal.
Peel the mushrooms, then wash them well and cut them into equal pieces.
Peel the onion too, wash it under cold water, and cut it into half rings or cubes.
Now start preparing the sauce. Fry mushrooms in oil in a frying pan. Then pour in the flour.
Pour milk, water, salt, add onion for flavor.
Cook the sauce for another 6 minutes.

Chicken breast with vegetables

Brisket – 125 g
Green onions – 65 g
Sweet pepper - 75 g
Tomatoes - 100 g

Recipe:

Cut the meat into equal pieces
Pour some water into the frying pan
Place the breast there, add diced tomatoes
Simmer covered until done
Add pepper, onion, salt to the mixture
Let it simmer over the fire for another 14 minutes.
At the end, sprinkle the dish with green onions.

Salads and cold dishes

If we are talking about appetizers and side dishes for meat dishes, then it is worth considering the following interesting recipes.

Korean beets

Beet salad is a good addition to meat steak or fish cakes. Vegetables (about 1 kg) must first be boiled, then peeled and grated. To prepare the marinade dressing, mix 100 ml of sunflower oil, 2-3 tbsp. vinegar, chopped garlic, sweet paprika, ground coriander, salt and a little sugar. It is better to leave the dressed salad in the refrigerator for 2-5 hours - this will improve the taste.

Canapes with cucumber and cheese

Canapes are not only tasty, but also a beautiful snack that is suitable for both breakfast and snack. You will need rye bread, which needs to be cut into small triangles. Cheese (cut into the same triangles), a circle of cucumber, and an olive are placed on the bread, after which all the canapés are pierced with a skewer to make it easier to take the appetizer from the plate.

Diet desserts

During the diet you will have to give up baked goods and sweets. But if you want to eat something sweet, you can make a dessert from healthy ingredients.

Protein dessert

If you use protein powders, you can make a delicious berry mousse.

Berry mousse is perfect for a light and tasty breakfast.

Pour 2-3 tbsp into the blender container. l powdered casein, the same amount of low-fat yogurt, a handful of berries (fresh or frozen) and 1 banana. The mixture must be whipped until a homogeneous mousse is obtained.

Before serving, the dessert can be decorated with fruit.

Banana fritters

For dessert you need oatmeal - it can be prepared by grinding oatmeal in a coffee grinder. Bananas (2 pcs.) are mashed into puree, add 15 tbsp. l. flour, 2 eggs, ½ cup kefir and a pinch of cinnamon. All ingredients are mixed until a homogeneous paste is obtained. You need to fry the pancakes without oil. You can add honey before serving.

Diet Requirements

Everyone knows that weight loss occurs by reducing calorie intake. That is, you can reduce your volumes on cakes (as, for example, Ekaterina Mirimanova did). I wrote more about this in the article “Mirimanova’s system: rolls, burger, chocolate - and losing weight so sweetly.”

But, friends, if you want a healthy body, you will have to give up harmful things.

Nutritionists talk about this. Therefore, a 1500 kcal diet should be completely close to proper nutrition. There should be 3 full meals and 1-2 snacks per day.

Mouth shut

This diet involves complete abstinence from:

sweet and flour;
salted and smoked;
canned food and semi-finished products;
various sauces.

It is necessary that your menu includes 50% complex carbohydrates, 20% lean protein foods, 30% healthy fats. I wrote about the right fats in the article “What are the benefits of fats.”

What is there?

As you already understand, to follow this diet, you do not need to buy special products. On the contrary, it is necessary to get rid of the usual ones and focus on the right ones.

The menu should include the following...

Carbohydrates:

all types of cereals, excluding white rice;
vegetables, fruits and berries;
dried fruits;
durum pasta;
rye or whole grain bread;
honey is strictly dosed (1 tsp per day).

Proteins:

dairy products (1-5% fat);
cheese (exception - processed);
lean meats;
seafood;
fish;
eggs
beans.

Fats:

unrefined oils (20 g);
avocado (maximum - 1/2 pcs per day);
nuts (up to 30 g);

It is also recommended to drink 2 liters of clean water per day. Teas, decoctions and herbal tinctures are allowed. You can use spices.

Benefits of the 1500 kcal diet

Such a power system has a number of undeniable advantages:

The body receives enough food, so a person does not have to suffer from constant hunger. There are no side effects such as weakness, headaches, or dizziness. Even emotionally, the diet is easy to tolerate.
You can prepare delicious dishes from simple, affordable ingredients. You don't have to eat the same thing every day.
After leaving the diet, the results are maintained - the weight does not return (this often happens after strict mono-diets).
The body receives a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals.

Principles of nutrition

The principle of the diet follows from the name. The daily calorie intake is at around 1500. The main components of the new diet are healthy foods. If you follow the diet every day for a week, without harm to the body, weight loss is 1-1.5 kg.

Weight loss occurs gradually, which eliminates the possibility of regaining lost weight.

The 1,500 calorie diet involves eating five meals a day: three meals and two snacks. This principle of nutrition will allow the body not to feel hungry during the day. Daily meals occur at the same time: this disciplines the body.

Drink water every day: if you follow a diet, 1.5-2 liters per day. Drink clean water, without gases. Tea, coffee, freshly squeezed juices are not included in the water norm and count towards calories.

Try to have your last meal no later than 3 hours before bedtime: in a shorter period of time, the body does not have time to digest food, sleep becomes restless, and awakening is difficult. After waking up, drink a glass of water at room temperature. Drink the liquid in small sips.

Contraindications for the 1500 calorie diet

The daily menu for such a diet consists of healthy foods, so there are almost no contraindications. This type of nutrition plan is not recommended during pregnancy (when a woman’s body requires more energy) and lactation. You shouldn’t create stress for your body and teenagers.

During pregnancy and breastfeeding, the diet is not recommended.

People with chronic diseases are advised to more carefully monitor their well-being and health status during the diet.

If any deterioration or alarming symptoms appear, it is better to consult a doctor.

What to avoid when eating properly

When losing weight, you need to give up junk food first.
Experts also recommend limiting the amount of salt (but not eliminating it altogether). This will help remove excess fluid from the body. Do not overuse hot spices. They accelerate metabolism, but at the same time irritate the mucous membranes of the digestive tract, causing a feeling of hunger.

Carbonated drinks and alcohol are also prohibited - they cause swelling, create additional stress on the kidneys, and weaken the body.

Menu for 1500 kcal per day from simple products. Basic Rules

Please note that everything is individual. If you lead an active lifestyle, go to the gym and move a lot during the day, then such a diet is too poor for you. For active weight loss, you can still stick to it, but only in short courses. So, what should a 1200 kcal meal for a week be like using simple foods:

In total it should include five meals. Of these, three are basic and two are snacks. The latter are allocated 300 kcal, the rest are divided between breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Animal fats and fast carbohydrates are what lead to weight gain. They need to be reduced to a practical minimum. However, this rule can be broken, but not going beyond 1200 kcal. Eat a cake or a couple of chocolates, a large sandwich with sausage and mayonnaise, and with regret you will realize that until the evening you can only drink water, since the daily norm has already been chosen.
The energy balance must be correct. This means that 50% of the selected products are sources of slow carbohydrates, 30% are proteins, and 20% are fats.
During the day, distribute foods correctly, this is important, even if you carefully follow a 1200-calorie diet per day. It is most convenient to create a menu for the week on Sunday, and move carbohydrates to breakfast, proteins to dinner, and lunch can be a combined type.
Drink plenty of water and avoid sugary drinks.
Fresh vegetables and fruits should be on the table every day in sufficient quantities.
“Empty” calories weigh too much in the daily diet. These are sweet soda, fast food and alcohol.

Reviews from those who have lost weight

This diet gives good results.
The extra pounds go away slowly, but the weight remains even after the end of the diet, as evidenced by reviews. Sergey, 39 years old, Yekaterinburg: “I followed a diet for 15 days and trained regularly. Sometimes it was difficult, because I had to give up sweets and flour, but later my body got used to it. Thanks to the correction of the diet, the body has become more prominent, and this makes me happy.”

Larina, 25 years old, Moscow: “It all started as a diet, but later I didn’t want to go back to my previous diet. And now I’m trying to eat less and cook healthy meals. I feel great, the menu is suitable not only for losing weight, but also for getting healthy.”

In order to enhance the effect of correcting your diet, you should remain physically active: exercise, morning jogging, training in the gym.