1500 Calorie Low-Fat High-Protien Diet

Fat has more than double the amount of calories per gram of protein. By replacing fatty foods, like creamy salad dressings, candy and fried foods, with protein-rich foods, you may be surprised at just how much you can eat and still keep your daily calorie count at 1500. On this plan, you will eat several small meals a day. This keeps your metabolism running high and ensures that you don't starve to death at any point in the day, then gorge yourself when you do get to eat.

Breakfast

• Blend 1 cup of nonfat milk with 1 scoop of protein powder. This gives you about 245 calories, 44.5g protein and only 3g to 5g fat depending on the protein powder you use. Protein helps you to feel full longer, so a protein shake should get you to your mid-morning snack without feeling like you're starving to death.

  Read the nutrition label of your protein powder. Make sure it doesn't contribute too many extra calories, sugar or fat. According to www.caloriesperhour.com, each gram of protein has 4 calories. Knowing that, the 30g to 40g of protein that you typically get in a scoop of protein powder would provide 120 to 160 calories if it were pure protein. In order to make protein powders dissolve properly and taste decent, manufacturers have to add sweeteners and other ingredients, but not so much that it becomes unhealthy. If the calorie ratio is much higher than 4 calories per gram of protein, you know those extra calories are coming from something other than just protein.

Mid-Morning Snack

• According to www.how-to-best-lose-weight.com, 2 cups of strawberries with 1 cup of low-fat fruit yogurt mixed with 10g of vanilla protein powder makes a great energy-boosting snack at only 256 calories. It will provide 15g protein and 4g fat. Other fruits have very similar nutritional values to strawberries, so you can always substitute raspberries, pineapple, blueberries and other fruits with similar results.

Lunch

• For your lunch, stick with lots of veggies and lean meats to keep the calories low, but the protein levels high. You can make a reasonable salad with lettuce, 1 cup of chopped, skinless chicken breast, and a fat-free Caesar dressing for 309 calories, a whopping 47g protein and only 5g fat. Salad dressings are usually the big calorie and fat culprits in salads. Some versions of ranch dressing have as much as 17g fat and 250 calories per 2-tbsp. serving. Choose your dressings wisely.

Mid-Afternoon Snack

• Blend 1 cup sliced banana with 10g vanilla protein powder. This provides a filling snack with only 178 calories, 11.5g protein and 2g fat. That brings your daily total so far to 988 calories, 117.5g of protein and only 15g of fat. This leaves you room for dinner and even a small snack before bed.

Dinner

• For a satisfying dinner, 1 cup of chopped chicken breast, 1 cup of green beans and 1/2 cup of black beans has only 370 calories and 5g fat, but 53g protein. Since you've been eating small meals and snacks throughout the day, you'll notice that you don't feel as hungry at dinnertime as you might if you were stretching your food out over only three meals a day. This method also keeps your metabolism functioning at a higher rate, and prevents you from gorging yourself at meals because you're listening to your stomach growl and not paying attention to your growing waistline.

Bed-Time Snack

• An hour before bed, eat 1 cup of 1-percent cottage cheese for 163 calories, 28g protein and 2g fat. This gives your body something to use as fuel while you wind down after your long day and prepare to sleep, while using the protein for repair, regrowth and building new tissues, hair, nails and organs. Following a plan similar to this will result in a daily total of 1521 calories, 22g fat and 199g protein.