1600 Calorie Diet and Meal Plan

1600 calories per day is appropriate for a medium-sized woman who exercises lightly and wants to maintain weight. See also 1500 Calorie Diet Plan or 1500 Calorie high protein plan.

For the woman who exercises 3-5 times per week, 1600 calories per day will generally cause fat loss.

See more on the Daily Calorie Needs Calculator

1600 Calorie Meal Plan

The following plan was written by the NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute).

We suggest making the following changes – use olive oil instead of vegetable oil, basmati or brown rice instead of white rice. If possible, consider eliminating margarine from your diet completely.

Meal Plan

TOTAL CALORIES ~1602

Breakfast (387)

  • 1/2 cup (1/4 cup dry) oatmeal, prepared with 1/2 cup 1% milk, low fat (136)
  • 1 medium whole wheat English muffin (120)
  • 1 tablespoon cream cheese, light, 18% fat (35)
  • 3/4 cup orange juice (83)
  • 1 cup coffee (0)
  • 1 oz. milk 1%, low fat (13)

Lunch (317)

  • 2 oz. baked chicken, without skin
    (94)

  • 1 tsp olive oil
    (40)

  • Salad:    (40)
    • 1/2 cup lettuce   
    • 1/2 cup tomato   
    • 1/2 cup cucumber
  • 2 tsp oil and vinegar dressing (50)
  • 1 medium apple (93)
  • 16 fl.oz. Water (0)

Snack (123)

16 Almonds (123)

Dinner (655)

  • 3 oz. lean roast beef
    (147)

  • 1/4 cup onion
    (17)

  • 1 T beef gravy, water-based
    (10)

  • 1/2 cup turnip greens, seasoned with 1 pat butter
    (65)

  • 1 small sweet potato, baked
    w/ pat butter, cinnamon, and 1tsp brown sugar. (147)

  • 1/2 medium slice cornbread prepared with pat of butter (156)
  • 1/4 medium honeydew melon
    (90)

  • 1 cup iced tea, sweetened with 1 tsp. sugar
    (23)

Snack (120)

  • 4 whole wheat crackers, unsalted tops (48)
  • 1 oz. Mozzarella cheese, part-skim, low-sodium (72)

Ensure you drink plenty of water.

For reviews of other diet plans, see our recommendations here.

  • Lichtenstein, A. H., Appel, L. J., Brands, M., Carnethon, M., Daniels, S., Franch, H. A., … & Wylie-Rosett, J. (2006). Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006 A scientific statement from the American Heart Association nutrition committee. Circulation, 114(1), 82-96. Link
  • Fleming, R. M. (2002). The Effect of High-, Moderate-, and Low-Fat Diets on Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors. Preventive cardiology, 5(3), 110-203. Link