Easy and effective 1,500 calorie diet to lose weight
This diet is hypocaloric but healthy, because it is based on our traditional Mediterranean diet. We tell you what this meal plan is like and we accompany it with a downloadable weekly menu, recipes and much more.
WHY DO A DIET OF 1,500 KCAL
The average Spanish woman should take in between 1,850 and 2,350 calories a day, depending on whether she leads a very active or very active life. If you usually take this amount of calories (or more), to lose weight you have to "cut" them, take less. From there comes the figure of 1,500 kcal, which is an approximate figure because the amount of calories to be consumed daily depends on the height, physical complexion, age or physical activity of each person.
We get fat because we eat more calories than we burn. A 1,500 kcal diet seeks to create a caloric deficit that forces our body to burn more calories to perform its functions and thus reduce the amount of body fat stored in our body.
The caloric deficit is nothing more than taking fewer calories than we usually eat, but cutting them head-on, not drastically, to achieve a healthy and constant weight loss.
HOW MANY CALORIES SHOULD BE CONSUMED PER DAY TO LOSE WEIGHT?
The 1,500 kcal is an average, it may be that to lose weight a person has to take 1,300 kcal or 1800 kcal. This depends on age, sex, height, physical complexion, amount of muscle mass ...
A woman over 50 years old who measures 1.50 meters and 53 kilos in weight with little physical activity should not take more than 1450 kcal per day normally, so with a diet of 1,500 kcal she will not lose weight.
On the other hand, a 35-year-old woman who has the average Spanish complexion - that is, between 1.60 to 1.62 m and 62 to 67 kg in weight according to the study on the Prevalence of general obesity and abdominal obesity in the Spanish adult population 2014–2015– You can consume between 1,850 kcal and 2,350 kcal a day, so you will lose weight on a 1,500 kcal diet.
WHY THE 1,500 CALORIES DIET IS EFFECTIVE
Why 1,500 kcal and not less? Well, because underneath you go hungry and your body stops burning calories effectively. And it is that reducing the amount of calories consumed per day drastically can create "negative adaptations", that is, the body may think that it is starving and, instead of burning, it goes into "saving mode" and does more slowly. Starving is useless to lose weight.
It is not excessively restrictive - 1,500 kcal is considered a moderate hypocaloric diet - and rearranges the food groups, increasing the amount of protein you can take a little so that what you lose is not water (and much less muscle mass), but accumulated fat . In this way, the weight loss will be real and sustainable over time, preventing you from stagnating when you lose weight and then, when you finish the diet, quickly regain the lost kilos.
By dividing the daily menu into 5 meals, you better control your appetite, as several studies have shown, such as the University of Massachusetts and the University of South Carolina-Columbia (USA).
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HOW MUCH DO YOU LOSE WEIGHT ON A 1,500-CALORIES DIET?
It depends on the weight you start from, if you come from dieting or how old you are. But the usual thing is to lose about 3 kilos the first week, then the weight loss is more progressive.
WHAT TO EAT WHEN DOING THE 1,500 KCAL DIET
This 1,500 kcal diet is based on real food, as proposed by dietitian-nutritionist and CLARA collaborator Carlos RÃos, which is none other than unprocessed food, that is: vegetables, fruit, fish ... that you can find in the market and with which to prepare delicious meals by cooking (yes, cooking, not putting in the microwave).
Real food causes few cravings, which helps you control your appetite, unlike ultra-processed foods, very rich in sugar and fat, which makes it very pleasant to the palate, but what it does is provoke new cravings to eat when shortly after consuming it. If you think that you will not be able to substitute a bun for a fruit skewer with a thread of dark chocolate and enjoy the change, we will tell you how to train your brain to prefer what you lose.
HOW MANY SERVINGS DAILY ARE EATEN ON A 1,500-CALORIE DIET
Distribute these foods throughout the day:
Dairy products. 2 servings, which would correspond to 1 glass of milk, 80-100 g of fresh cheese, 40-60 g of aged cheese, 2 yogurts.
Vegetable. You have to eat between 300 and 450 g of vegetables a day, alternating cooked with raw. For example, in the meal a salad and in the evening steamed or cream vegetables, which are easier to digest.
Bread, pasta, rice. You have to take 3 small portions, more as a garnish rather than as a main dish, which would correspond to 2-3 toasts, 50 g of raw rice or heavy pasta, 60 g of raw legume, 150 g of raw potato, 30 g of cereal flakes (oats, centeno ...).
Meat and fish. Here the indications are weekly. You can take 150 g of white fish twice a week and 100-120 g of oily fish twice a week; 120 g of white meat 2-3 times a week; 100 g of red meat preferably once a week or less; 120 g of tofu two or three times a week; and 7 eggs a week (no more than 2 a day) if you have no health problems (yes, you can eat these eggs on a diet).
Fruit. 2 pieces daily or its corresponding if it is smaller fruits such as medlars or tangerines or half a cup of strawberries, blueberries, etc.
A TYPICAL DAY OF THE DIET OF 1,500 KCAL
Breakfast. 1 glass of milk and a mini with 40 g of bread and 1 slice of Iberian ham
Midmorning. 1 piece of fruit and a handful of nuts (20 g)
Food. 1 garden salad, lemon chicken (150 g) garnished with brown rice and 1 piece of fruit.
Snack. 2 toasts with fresh cheese.
Dinner. Vegetable cream, grilled fish garnished with vegetables and a yogurt.
WITH A DIET OF 1,500 CALORIES OF CLARA YOU WILL BE SAFE FROM ANTOJOS
Cutting the calories you eat is not going to mean more hunger. Many times we consume foods that are very caloric but do not take away our hunger, such as sweets, which we often eat out of boredom and that instead of satiating us, they provoke new cravings, in a spiral from which it is difficult to get out. On the other hand, the foods that we propose in this diet are light but satisfying.
WHEN REDUCING CALORIES, YOU MUST INCREASE (A LITTLE) THE AMOUNT OF PROTEIN
In order not to lose muscle mass, which helps to burn calories even at rest, in addition to doing sports, you have to eat a sufficient amount of protein. When the calories consumed throughout the day are reduced, it is recommended to slightly increase the amount of protein precisely so that when losing weight, the muscle mass does not also "lose weight" and make sure that the calorie burn is constant.
But, as we say, the increase is slight. If the usual is to take between 100 and 125 g of meat and 125 g of fish, in this diet it is recommended to consume portions of 150 g of meat and oily fish and up to 200 g of white fish.
