Today I have Day 3 of the latest 7-Day Diet Plan for low calorie eating with an emphasis on quick and easy meals. I’ve shared previously how I plan a 7 day menu (scroll to the bottom of the page) that calls for a fair amount of cooking and meal preparation. Creating a menu plan centered around eating out one meal each day is easier in some ways but harder in other ways.
[NOTE: As always, with each menu I include suggestions for how to adapt the menu to a 1300, 1400, or 1500 calorie diet.]
I enjoy providing healthy low calorie menus. However, if you would like to plan your own quick and easy menu for a week’s worth of meals, I encourage you to do just that! Ultimately you will be more successful when you create your own plans.
It’s a rare individual who can easily follow someone else’s plan! You are unique. No one else has your particular likes and dislikes when it comes to food. No one else has precisely the same daily schedule or budget. The food you have available for purchase where you live may be significantly different than what I have where I live.
Here are some tips to help you out. There are 5 basic steps you might follow when planning a week’s menu that includes one meal eaten out each day:
1. Choose restaurants with low calorie nutritious and affordable choices where you live. Pick menu items for one meal each day of the week. Keep the calorie count to no more than 350 to 400 calories per meal for a 1200 to 1300 calorie diet. (For 1400 and 1500 calorie diets select no more than 400 to 450 calories per meal.) I use the database provided by Calorie Lab to quickly and easily determine the lowest calorie/nutritious choices at each restaurant. Another option for exploring restaurant menu choices is DietFacts .
[NOTE: I'm doing my best to include a different restaurant each day for fun and variety with my menu plan. Having a range of foods also gives you a better chance of fulfilling your nutrient needs. However, having said that, you might choose to eat at the same restaurant more than once. Some restaurants offer more than one low calorie healthy menu selection. Or you might opt to order a menu item that could provide you with a meal on more than one day. Simply divide your meal in half and save half to eat at home the next day.]
2. Now that you’ve got a start you will want to round out the menu for each day by choosing and making a grocery list of nutritious foods. Also, think about what foods you would be willing to eat more than once during the week to keep your grocery shopping to a minimum and limit time spent with food preparation. If you spend money eating out, I would imagine you would want to reign in your grocery bill.
3. Refer to the 1200 calorie diet plan on this website for a guide in choosing nutritious food for each meal and snack. Be realistic. You may find it difficult to have each day follow the plan exactly. That’s o.k. What is more important is that your meals and snacks are as reasonably well balanced as possible. If you use a food diary service such as My Food Diaryas I do, you will get excellent feedback about the nutritional merit of your menus. MyFoodDiary costs a small fee each month. However, you can refer to Calorie Counts and Nutrients: Best Sites Online for other no cost online nutrition calculators.
4. Start and keep an ongoing list of meal and snack ideas YOU LIKE that are nutritious and low calorie. As you add to the list over time it will become easier to plan a menu for a day or a week. Yes, it may take some time initially, but you can reach a point when you won’t need a list at all because selecting healthy low calorie foods will have become second nature.
5. When you have completed your plan for the week, write up a list of the groceries you will need to buy. Is it reasonable? Do you need to make some adjustments for lower cost food? Have you remembered to factor in how you will make use of leftovers or other perishable food?
If you try your hand at planning a week’s menu following this guide let me know how it goes! It would be wonderful, if you would be willing to share even a day or two of your plan with others. Just leave a comment after this post.
1200 Calorie Menu (Day 3)
Breakfast
3/4 cup Kashi Heart to Heart cereal (110 calories)
1 carton Vanilla Soymilk (Soy Dream, 120 calories)
1⁄2 cup Orange Juice (Light ‘N Healthy Orange Juice with Calcium- Tropicana – 25 calories)**
12 pieces Dry Roasted Almonds
Snack
1 Low fat Stonyfield Farm Yogurt (130 calories, your choice of flavor)
Lunch
1 Chicken Grilled Taquito (Taco Bell, 310 calories)
1 medium apple (bring from home)
Water, unsweetened tea, or coffee
Snack
1 String Mozzarella Cheese
Supper (very much the same as day 2 so you can finish the soup)
1 cup Fat Free Barley Soup (Health Valley – 90 calories)
1 Veggie Cake (veggie cake/burger by Morningstar – 130 calories)
4 Nabisco Triscuits – Reduced Fat
Water, unsweetened tea, or coffee
(Always remember to get plenty of water throughout the day. Read Water, Weight, and Women to learn more about your water needs.)
Total Calories = 1230
Total Fiber = 23.9 g
Fat = 25%
Carbs = 56%
Protein = 19%
(U.S. Dietary Guidelines Recommended percentages: Fat 20-35%, Carbohydrates 45-65%, Protein 10-35%)
Calcium = 1030 mg (Women between 19 and 50 years need approximately 1,000 mg a day, 51+ need 1,200 + mg a day)
Iron = 16.8 mg (Women 19 to 50 years need 18 mg of iron, 51+ need 8 mg)
1300, 1400, or 1500 Calorie Diet Menu
This menu has a fairly good balance of nutrients. It is just a tad short on calcium for postmenopausal women. If this describes you, you may want to supplement this menu with another serving of a milk product. Or be sure to take a calcium supplement (with vitamin D).
The menu is just a tad short on iron for women between the ages of 19 and 50. Today might be a good day for an iron supplement. Or you might choose to have a second serving of the Fat Free Barley Soup. (Given that the meal plan for today is finishing up the soup left over from the previous Day 2, you would need to plan on buying two cans of soup for the week!).
Otherwise, for women of all ages, simply add an additional serving or two of one of the menu items or other food of your choice to bring the total calories up to the level you need. (I encourage you to read my article on how to determine the minimum SAFE caloric intake for you: 1200 Calorie Diet: How to Get Started! )
**Light N’ Healthy Calcium Orange Juice by Tropicana. I included this juice because it is a source of a little extra calcium and it helped the numbers to add up right for total of approximately 1200 calories. However, I believe a regular orange juice product (with or without added calcium) would be a better choice for not too many more calories. Why would it be better? Adding water to plain orange juice is what makes light juice. That dilutes the available nutrients, which may or may not be added back in. In my opinion, the original mix of nutrients as nature intended is always best.
If you’ve read this far, good for you! For day one and two of this latest plan:
Healthy Low Calorie Sample Menu
It may be a while before I complete and share the remaining few days for this 7 Day Plan. In the meantime you may want to take a look at my previous plan. Go to 1200 calorie diet and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to check my articles page for other important tips on following a healthy low calorie diet.
Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food!
