1,900-Calorie Meal Plan High-Protein: Your Diet for Weight Loss

A sure way to reduce your weight is to create a calorie deficit. When doing this, your body isn’t getting enough energy from food to run bodily processes and perform daily activities, so it burns stored fat to make up the difference. This is where a 1,900-calorie meal plan high-protein comes in handy.

According to the National Library of Medicine (MedlinePlus), eating approximately 500 calories less per day can result in a weight loss of approximately 1 pound of body weight per week (1). Therefore, it is evident that living on a calorie deficit for an extended period of time can result in significant weight loss.

While this is the case, there is a risk or a challenge that may set in – hunger! How do you then deal with hunger while you maintain a calorie deficit? Your meals should be high in proteins because that has been found to promote satiety (6). Smaller portions of protein-rich foods can easily make you feel full and satisfied. 

It’s important to note that high-protein diets can be used to overcome feelings of hunger while creating a negative energy balance. This is where the energy needed to run the body processes is more than the intake in the form of calories, another way of describing a calorie deficit. 

By just following a low-calorie diet without considering a high proportion of proteins, it may become difficult to sustain due to the feelings of hunger and decreased fullness as mentioned (6). Therefore, it’s important to maintain fullness or satiety while you’re eating fewer calories than your body needs. 

So, having understood the importance of a high-protein meal plan in relation to weight loss, let’s look at what this plan is all about. 

What Is a 1,900-Calorie Meal Plan High-Protein?

A 1,900-calorie meal plan high-protein is a diet schedule that gives you 1,900 calories with a high proportion of them coming from protein sources. It’s a simple meal plan for losing weight as it can help you feel satisfied while creating a calorie deficit, which is necessary for burning stored fats to produce energy. This assumes that 1,900 calories is a deficit for you, but this depends on your individual energy needs. 

This meal plan is useful for weight management that you may not achieve with a typical diet plan. Some of the benefits of this diet include: 

Muscle Repair and Growth

Proteins are made up of amino acids, which form the building blocks for muscle growth and repair (7). Therefore, if you want to gain muscles and are working out for that, you should include high protein content in your meal plan. This is where a 1,900-calorie meal plan high-protein becomes useful. 

Recovery

When it comes to the recovery process of muscles, proteins are useful for facilitating better recovery, especially after exercise. The amino acids from proteins form the basic building blocks for repair and growth and this helps initiate recovery (18). 

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Satiety 

This is one of the main reasons for including high-protein foods in a diet that is meant to create a calorie deficit. The idea is to promote satiety (fullness) with fewer calories so you don’t become hungry and crave more food. This is important for sustaining a calorie deficit for a specific period. 

Boost in Metabolism 

Proteins slightly increase diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), which is the increase in metabolic rate as a result of food you eat (2). It takes more energy to digest protein than it does carbohydrates or fat, so you burn a few more calories when you eat more protein.  

Can I Lose Weight Eating 1,900 Calories a Day?

Some people can certainly lose weight by eating 1,900 calories a day. If eating 1,900 calories creates a calorie deficit, then weight loss is likely. For example, if your body burns 2,500 calories daily for its normal functions, that would create a deficit of 600 calories, which can cause a significant change in weight if maintained over time. 

It’s important to note that an average man needs approximately 2,500 calories a day, while an average woman needs around 2,000 calories. This is what the body burns for daily energy needs without resorting to fat stores (19). However, this will vary depending on factors such as age, weight, height, and amount of physical activity. 

Studies have suggested that cutting about 500 calories daily can make you lose approximately 1 pound of weight (454g) per week (1). Assuming your body burns about 2,500 calories daily, then 1,900 will create a deficit of 600 calories, which is enough to lose some reasonable weight over time. 

It’s also important to note that the number of calories your body burns depends on several factors. One of these is the amount of physical activity or exercise. Incorporating exercise will increase the number of calories your body burns and consuming 1,900 calories will then create a much more significant deficit. 

Read more: Calorie Deficit but Not Losing Weight: What’s the Culprit Behind It?

Is 1,900 Calories a Good Deficit for a Female?

This depends on her body size and physical activity level. A female who eats 1,900 calories may only create a small deficit if she typically requires about 2,000 calories with normal physical activity or in a sedentary lifestyle. If this is the case, this will create a deficit of just 100 calories per day, so it will take a lot longer to lose a noticeable amount of weight.

However, if the woman is highly active or where other factors raise the number of calories her body burns to about 2500, then this would create a reasonable deficit and a significant change in weight could be expected over time. 

How Much Protein Do I Need on a 1,900-Calorie Diet?

The proteins you need on a 1,900-calorie diet may vary based on your individual needs and goals. The minimum recommended protein intake for adults is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, but those who are active or trying to lose weight often aim for more – often around 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram. You can also create a target based on the proportion of calories you get from protein. The recommended range for protein is 10-35% of calories. As protein contains 4 calories per gram, this comes to about 48-166 grams of protein per day.  If you’re trying to eat a high-protein diet, you’ll aim for the upper end of that range. 

How to Make Your 1,900-Calorie Meal Plan High-Protein

Making a 1,900-calorie meal plan high-protein requires the consideration of high-protein foods. Therefore, we’ll aim for about 30% of calories from protein in this diet plan. Here’s an example: 

Breakfast (about 500 calories)

For breakfast, aim for 500 calories. Examples of foods for breakfast that can give you this amount include: 

• 2 granola bars – 264 calories (16).
• 1 cup of berries – 65 calories (4). 
• Greek yogurt – 100 calories (20). 
• 1 tbsp of honey – 64 calories (9). 

Total calories for breakfast: approximately 493 calories. 

Lunch (about 700 calories) 

For lunch, you can aim for about 700 calories. Of course, your meal may include main and side dishes that are rich in calories and high in protein. Some food options for lunch include: 

• Grilled chicken salad – 302 calories (8). 
• 1 cup of cooked quinoa – 222 calories (13). 
• 1 cup of steamed broccoli – 54 calories (17). 
• Sliced avocado – 117 calories (3). 

Total calories for lunch: approximately 695 calories. 

Dinner (about 700 calories) 

For dinner, you also need to aim for about 700 calories. It could be slightly higher to compensate for the calories you didn’t reach in your breakfast and lunch. Some of the foods to eat for this number of calories for your dinner include: 

• Salmon filet – 234 calories (15). 
• Roasted vegetables – 76 calories (12). 
• Brown rice – 248 calories (14). 
• Chickpeas – 189 calories (5). 

Total calories for dinner: approximately 747 calories. 

Total calories overall: 1,935 calories. 

This is just an example of a diet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You may use it the way it is or replace it with your food choices as long as you achieve about the same number of calories. Of course, as you want 1,900 calories from a high-protein diet, you’ll need to include protein-rich foods in each meal.

Read more: Creating A Diet Plan: A Detailed Playbook On Finding Your Own Dieting Rhythm

How to Hit 120g of Protein a Day

To hit a target of 120g of protein in a day, you’ll need to focus on protein sources. From breakfast to dinner, ensure your meals contain some protein sources. For example, you can try the following strategies: 

• Incorporate proteins in every meal – include proteins such as chicken, fish, beans, and lentils among other proteins in your dishes at each meal. 
• Consider high protein snacks – consider snacks such as peanut butter, nuts, cottage cheese, beef jerky, and hard-boiled eggs. 
• Adjust your portions – just add a little bit of protein intake from your usual intake to meet your daily needs. 
• Include protein shake – drinking a protein shake can make it easy to achieve your daily protein needs. 
• Add protein to your breakfast – if you tend to eat starchy foods such as cereals for breakfast, look for ways to add protein. For example, you can mix in nuts or nut butter to your cereal, or add some eggs on the side. 

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Can You Build Muscle On 1,900 Calories a Day?

Yes, it’s possible to build muscle while you’re on 1,900 calories a day. Although it can be challenging, it’s possible to achieve this depending on several factors, including the following: 

Diet Structure 

The diet structure plays a significant role in whether you can build muscles on 1,900 calories. Prioritizing proteins in your diet will make it easier for the body to repair and grow muscles. Therefore, you should include foods such as fish, eggs, low-fat dairy, legumes, and other healthy protein foods. 

Activity Level 

You can grow muscles by combining your diet plan with strength training. Focus on resistance exercises that target the muscle groups you want to grow. Exercises such as squats, bench presses, and push-ups are helpful for building muscles. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is 1,900 calories overeating?

1,900 calories isn’t overeating for most people. As previously mentioned, the average woman needs approximately 2,000 calories daily while the average man needs approximately 2,500 calories daily. This is the number the body burns (in moderate/normal physical activity) for energy and to maintain the same body weight. So, eating 1,900 calories of healthy nutrient-rich food sources is actually eating less than the required number of calories if you want to maintain your weight and you have the energy needs of the average person. 

• How much protein should I eat to lose weight?

To lose weight, you should aim for about 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight. This should involve 25% to 30% of calories from proteins (11). 

• How many calories are in protein?

One gram of protein contains approximately 4 calories (10). This means 100 grams will contain about 400 calories. 

The Bottom Line 

If you’re looking for a way to lose weight by creating a calorie deficit, a 1,900-calorie meal plan high-protein for weight loss may be a good plan to implement. You will create a deficit (depending on your energy needs) while making sure you have a full choice of foods in your diet. 

As mentioned, the high protein content in your diet is helpful for promoting satiety. This is important if you want to maintain a reasonable deficit for an extended period.