Monday, April 21, 2014

What does 1500 calories look like?

Hi lovely blog readers! My hair and I are doing well, that post is actually one of my most popular in the four years I've been blogging! I'm not even going to think that it was because people want to see my mug with an ol' lady coif. We've become friends :)
 
So lately, I've been feeling not myself. Which is why I am so excited for the warmer weather, it makes me want to go outside, go running, get in shape! I usually gain some weight back in the winter, this season was no exception. With this being said, I'm back to my calorie counting. This might sound sad but it's actually not a bad thing, I feel more in control then ever. So my calorie range is about 1200 with the option of earning additional calories by working out. * This is totally personal and what works for me might not work for you, check out a calorie counting website, or even better an RD to really personalize your plan, just as a side note. *
 
I feel longwinded today, are you still there? Anyway, I wanted to show you what 1500 calories look like. Marc and I went out for 3.5 mile jog today so I earned 300 calories on top of my baseline, YAY!
 
Breakfast was an smoothie after our run, it's thin mint inspired! (spinach, milk, vanilla protein powder, oats, honey, cocoa powder, and mint extract)
 

Whip on top!

Delicious breakfast!
 
Lunch was leftovers! My favorite! This is called Otsu, a Japanese noodle dish that has a citrus-y taste. It has tofu, cucumber, and pea shoots on top. Yum. A big tip about reducing calories that I could give is to always make your food beautiful! That way you aren't as apt to be sad about the portion.


Snacks are important! It's a great way to stave off hunger and increase nutrition! I love almonds, great source of protein.


Wow this dinner! I impressed myself, I can't deny it. We had kale salad and leek quiche. The quiche was so buttery and actually had half and half in it so it felt luxurious. That's another tip for you, try to get as much flavor in your food as possible, who wants boring crudité and boiled chicken everyday? Not this chick! Haha get it? Chicken... hehehe! Now I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow too! Woop!

 
Dessert is still in the freezer, it is grapes covered in plain Greek yogurt. I had a lot of yogurt left over which was a delicious (and unexpected) after dinner treat.

 
So counting calories isn't bad! Here's the breakdown from my fitness pal calories in kcal, the rest are in grams:
Calories 1482.     Goal 1523
Carbs 144           Goal 190
           Fat 70.                Goal  51         
Protein 87          Goal 76
Sodium 2090.      Goal 2300
Sugar 53             Goal 57

I went slightly over on protein and fat <-- gasp, vegetarians can get more than sufficient protein, whaatt? I went slightly under in everything else, so it's all good.

I hope you enjoyed visualizing what a 1500 calorie diet can look like and I can vouch for it's deliciousness.

2 comments:

Amanda said...

Are we friends on My Fitness Pal already? You should add me if we aren't! I'm pookasluagh on there just like on Spark!

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a flavor-packed day. I want that thin mint inspired smoothie right meow. Your tips for feeling satisfied even while calorie counting are very helpful. Flavor, color, beauty - all important! Someday I will be like, "yeah I always knew she was gonna be an awesome RD even before she graduated and got super-famous."