7-Day 1500-Calorie Indian Vegetarian Diet Plan for Weight Loss (with PDF)
For many people, losing weight can be a near-impossible task. But that’s only because they focus on the wrong things.
Spending hours at the gym without changing your diet plan can be counter-productive to your weight loss goals.
You need to be in a state of calorie deficit if you want to lose weight. Burning calories by working hard can be extremely hard. The easier way is to simply limit what you are eating and switch to a more nutritional, calorie-sparse diet.
According to research, a vegetarian diet plan can be very effective for facilitating weight loss [1] .
For that reason, we have come up with a comprehensive 1500-calorie vegetarian Indian meal plan. Make sure that you try and prepare these dishes at home, as consuming home-cooked food is associated with healthy weight loss and diet patterns [2] .
All the ingredients and dishes included in our vegetarian diet are easily accessible and can easily be cooked by anyone in India.
So, without further ado, let’s move on to our comprehensive diet regime.
What Will I Learn?
Key Takeaways
- Current research indicates that consuming low-calorie food items is the most efficient driver of weight loss strategies [3] .
- The overall composition of food – macro and micronutrient distribution – is as important as the number of calories consumed when trying to lose weight [4] .
- Losing weight drastically is never healthy. Generally, you should aim to lose around 1-2 pounds per week [5] .
- When you’re on a weight loss journey, you should avoid eating processed food at all costs, as it’s associated with obesity as well as underlying health conditions [6] .
- While not as important as nutrition, resistance training, and exercise can be favorable for losing weight, visceral fat, and more [7] .
7-Day 1500-Calorie Indian Vegetarian Diet Plan
The results of following our 1500-calorie Indian vegetarian diet plan are backed by scientific research and studies.
To improve your satiety and to keep you feeling full for longer hours, we have incorporated protein-rich and fibrous food items in the diet plan [8] .
Moreover, our simple Indian vegetarian 1500-calorie diet plan also allows you to eat multiple times during the day instead of just three major meals. This prevents hunger pangs or cravings and makes following the diet a whole lot easier.
So, without further ado, let’s dive right into our 1500-calorie vegetarian Indian diet menu that you need to follow for the next 7 days:
Day 1
- Morning: 1 cup of cornflakes (101 calories).
- Breakfast: 1 cup of sweet lime juice, 2 slices of toasted multigrain bread (175 calories).
- Brunch: 14 grams of whole almonds (82 calories).
- Lunch: 1 cup or 160 grams of mixed vegetable salad, 1 small cup of curd (224 calories).
- Evening Snack: 2 medium-sized bananas (210 calories).
- Dinner: 2 tawa rotis, 1 cup of arahar dal cooked with salt, 1 cup of mixed vegetables, 1 cup of brown rice (553 calories).
- Bed-Time: 1 glass of warm milk, 2 sugar-free biscuits (178 calories).
Total Calories: 1,523
Day 2
- Morning: 1 glass of banana smoothie (176 calories).
- Breakfast: 1 cup of vegetable dalia, 2 toasted brown bread slices (241 calories).
- Brunch: 1 medium-sized orange, 1 cup of mixed vegetables (107 calories).
- Lunch: 1 cup of vegetable curry, 1 cup of brown rice, 1 tablespoon of homemade chutney (410 calories).
- Evening Snack: 1 cup of black coffee (2.5 calories).
- Dinner: 1 cup of paneer curry, 2 tawa roti (530 calories).
- Bed-Time: 5 soaked almonds (35 calories).
Total Calories: 1501.5
Day 3
- Morning: 1 cup of 150 grams of chickpeas (210 calories).
- Breakfast: 1 cup of milk tea, 2 slices of brown bread (231 calories).
- Brunch: 1 cup of spinach soup (203 calories).
- Lunch: 1 bowl of vegetable sambar, ½ cup of brown rice, 1 serving or 80 grams of side salad (454 calories).
- Evening Snack: 1 cup of regular coffee (5 calories).
- Dinner: 1 cup of lauki sabzi, 2 multigrain tawa rotis (316 calories).
- Bed-Time: 1 cup of turmeric milk (92 calories).
Total Calories: 1,511
Day 4
- Morning: 1 cup of buttermilk (98 calories).
- Breakfast: 1 cup of oatmeal, 2 medium-sized apples (346 calories).
- Brunch: 1 cup of mixed fruit medley (97 calories).
- Lunch: 1 cup of chickpea curry, 1 cup of brown rice (578 calories).
- Evening Snack: 1 cup of green tea, 5 sugar-free marie biscuits (127.5 calories).
- Dinner: 1 bowl of mixed vegetable soup (159 calories).
- Bed-Time: 1 glass of orange juice (112 calories).
Total Calories: 1,517.5
Day 5
- Morning: 1 glass of apple green smoothie (150 calories).
- Breakfast: 1 cup of curd, 5 soaked almonds (245 calories).
- Brunch: 1 multigrain paratha, 1 cup of milk tea (277 calories).
- Lunch: 1 besan roti, 1 cup of saag sabzi (346 calories).
- Evening Snack: 1 cup of regular coffee (5 calories).
- Dinner: 1 cup of aloo sabzi topped with green beans, 2 tawa rotis (311 calories).
- Bed-Time: 1 cup of warm milk, 1 medium-sized banana (202 calories).
Total Calories: 1,536
Day 6
- Morning: 1 cup of iced tea, 1 small-sized pomegranate (195 calories).
- Breakfast: 1 vegetable tawa roti roll (206 calories).
- Brunch: 1 ghee roti, 1 cup of mixed roasted vegetables (163 calories).
- Lunch: 1 cup of chola masala served with brown rice, 1 cup of buttermilk (341 calories).
- Evening Snack: 1 cup of lentil soup (186 calories).
- Dinner: ½ cup of brown rice, 1 cup of mixed steamed vegetables, ½ cup of chana dal (280 calories).
- Bed-Time: 1 cup of green grape juice (154 calories).
Total Calories: 1,525
Day 7
- Morning: 1 cup of cold coffee, 1 veggie pancake (110 calories).
- Breakfast: 1 cup of cereal, 2 brown bread slices (224 calories).
- Brunch: 1 onion multigrain tawa paratha, 1 cup of black coffee (279.5 calories).
- Lunch: 1 medium-sized masala dosa, 1 cup of sambar (356 calories).
- Evening Snack: 1 cup of milk tea (77 calories).
- Dinner: 2 tawa roti, 1 cup of soya chunks/nutrela sabzi (475 calories).
- Bed-Time: 5 walnut halves (65 calories).
Total Calories: 1,586.5
What To Eat
You need to plan your meals carefully when you are only eating 1,500 calories a day for 1 week.
You can easily eat processed and junk food to meet the daily calorie requirement. But that will leave your body deficient in many essential nutrients.
To counter that, make sure that you fill your 1500-calorie vegetarian meal plan with normal food items as well as healthy options.
Here are a list of food items that can complement your weight loss journey:
Protein Sources
- Lentils (Dal) – Moong dal, masoor dal, toor dal, etc.
- Paneer (Cottage Cheese)
- Chickpeas (Chana)
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Chia Seeds
Fibrous Options
- Vegetables (Sabzi) – Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, etc.
- Salads – Mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, etc.
- Fruits – Apples, pears, papayas, etc.
- Whole Wheat Chapati (Roti)
- Brown Rice
- Oats
- Millet (Bajra, Jowar)
- Herbal Soups
- Herbs and Spices – Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, etc.
Healthy Fats and Fiber
- Nuts – Almonds, walnuts
- Olive Oil (for cooking)
- Coconut (in moderation)
- Ghee (in moderation)
Low-Calorie Snacks
- Herbal Teas (e.g., Green tea, peppermint tea)
- Roasted Chickpeas
- Sliced Cucumber and Carrots with Hummus
Grains
- Brown Rice
- Whole Wheat Chapati (Roti)
- Idli
- Dosa (when not overly oily)
Dairy
- Tofu
- Greek Yogurt
- Paneer (Cottage Cheese)
- Almond Milk (unsweetened)
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What Not To Eat
Filling up 1500 calories a day can be pretty easy if you are eating all the wrong things. To ensure that your body remains energetic and sharp throughout the day, you must avoid these particular food items while devising your Indian vegetarian meal plan:
- Fried Snacks: Deep-fried items like samosas, pakoras, bhajis, and vadas.
- Sugary Sweets: Sugary desserts like gulab jamun, jalebi, rasgulla, and barfi.
- White Rice
- Refined Flour (Maida)
- High-Fat Dairy: Full-fat dairy products like whole milk, cream, and regular butter.
- Fatty Gravies: Soya chunk sabzi, paneer makhani, etc.
- Processed Foods: Instant noodles, chips, sugary cereals, etc.
- Sweetened Beverages: Sugary drinks like soda, fruit juices with added sugars, and sweetened iced tea.
- Street Food: Items like chaat, pav bhaji, and kathi rolls.
- High-Calorie Snacks: Calorie-rich snacks like namkeens (savory snacks) and fried papads.
Grocery List
To make things easier for you at the supermarket, we have compiled a list of all the ingredients that you would need to prepare 1500-calorie, nutritious meals:
Grains and Cereals
- Cornflakes
- Multigrain bread
- Brown rice
- Dalia (broken wheat)
- Oatmeal
- Chickpeas
- Whole wheat flour
- Besan (gram flour)
Protein Sources
- Almonds
- Chickpeas
- Paneer (cottage cheese)
- Lentils
- Chana dal
- Milk
- Black coffee
- Green tea
Vegetables and Fruits
- Sweet lime
- Bananas
- Mixed vegetables (for salads, curries, and sides)
- Oranges
- Spinach
- Apples
- Green leafy vegetables)
- Aloo (potatoes)
- Pomegranate
- Onions
- Cauliflower
- Mixed bell peppers
Dairy and Dairy Alternatives
- Curd (yogurt)
- Ghee
- Milk tea ingredients (tea leaves or tea bags, milk)
- Buttermilk
Herbs and Spices
- Homemade chutney ingredients (e.g., mint, coriander, green chilies)
- Turmeric
- Sambar masala
- Various spices and herbs for cooking (e.g., cumin, coriander, garam masala, curry leaves)
Beverages
- Coffee
- Green tea
- Cold coffee ingredients (instant coffee, milk)
Other
- Sugar-free biscuits
- Marie biscuits
- Chutney ingredients (e.g., tamarind, pudina)
- Mixed pickle (if desired)
- Walnut halves
- Vegetable oil (for cooking)
- Fruit for smoothies (e.g., apples, bananas)
- Vegetable oil
1500-Calorie Indian Vegetarian Diet Plan PDF
A healthy diet can go a long way when you want to accomplish your fitness goals. People often pay nutritionists and dieticians to devise meal plans for themselves.
But with our 1500-calorie vegetarian diet program for weight loss, you don’t have to do that.
You can download the entire meal plan for free by clicking on the button below.
The file is available in PDF format and can easily be downloaded and printed.
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Final Words
People often think that a vegetarian diet cannot be healthy because of limited protein sources. But with a proper, well-structured meal plan, such a diet program can be excellent for you, especially for facilitating healthy weight loss.
In this article, we have used scientific weight-loss and fat-loss principles to devise the ultimate Indian vegetarian meal plan for the most effective results.
References
- Sofi, F., Dinu, M., Pagliai, G., Cesari, F., Gori, A. M., Sereni, A., Becatti, M., Fiorillo, C., Marcucci, R., & Casini, A. (2018). Low-Calorie vegetarian versus Mediterranean diets for reducing body weight and improving cardiovascular risk profile. Circulation, 137(11), 1103–1113. https://doi.org/10.1161/circulationaha.117.030088
- Mills, S., Brown, H., Wrieden, W. L., White, M., & Adams, J. (2017). Frequency of eating home cooked meals and potential benefits for diet and health: cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0567-y
- Kim, J. Y. (2021). Optimal Diet Strategies for weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome, 30(1), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.7570/jomes20065
- Roberts, S. B., & Das, S. K. (2017). The Messy Truth about Weight Loss. Scientific American, 316(6), 36–41. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0617-36
- Healthy weight loss. (2023, June 15). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html
- Poti, J. M., Braga, B. C., & Qin, B. (2017). Ultra-processed food intake and obesity: What really matters for Health—Processing or Nutrient Content? Current Obesity Reports, 6(4), 420–431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-017-0285-4
- Bellicha, A., Van Baak, M. A., Battista, F., Beaulieu, K., Blundell, J., Busetto, L., Carraça, E. V., Dicker, D., Encantado, J., Ermolao, A., Farpour-Lambert, N., Pramono, A., Woodward, E., & Oppert, J. (2021). Effect of exercise training on weight loss, body composition changes, and weight maintenance in adults with overweight or obesity: An overview of 12 systematic reviews and 149 studies. Obesity Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13256
- Lejeune, M., Westerterp, K. R., Adam, T. C., Luscombe-Marsh, N. D., & Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S. (2006). Ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide 1 concentrations, 24-h satiety, and energy and substrate metabolism during a high-protein diet and measured in a respiration chamber. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 83(1), 89–94. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/83.1.89