Daily Food Plan Worksheet: 1,000 Calories
Your calorie needs are about 1,000 calories a day. These are the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines for your daily recommended amount of each food group.
Your doctor advises that you need about 1,000 calories a day. Below are the recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for the amount you need from each food group.
Protein foods (1 to 1½ servings) | Dairy (2 servings) | Vegetables (1¼ servings) | Fruits (1 serving) | Whole grains (1 to 2 servings) | Healthy fats (2½ servings) |
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Include beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu, fish, eggs, poultry, and lean meats. Limit processed meats like bacon, sausage, and deli meats. | Choose milk, yogurt, and cheese with little or no added sugars. You can also choose fortified nondairy alternatives, like soy milk. |
Eat a variety of vegetables each day, including dark green, red, orange, and other colorful options. Fresh, frozen, and low-sodium canned vegetables all count.
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Eat a variety of whole fruits. Choose fresh, frozen, or canned fruit packed in water or juice instead of syrup. Limit fruit juice.
| Choose whole grains more often than refined grains. For example, choose whole-grain breads and cereals and whole wheat pasta and whole-grain crackers. | Choose mostly unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, canola oil instead of butter, shortening, or coconut oil.
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Source: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025–2030, www.realfood.gov
Know your limits on saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium
- Limit saturated fats to no more than 10% of your calories each day. For a 1,000-calorie food plan, that is 10 grams of saturated fat.
- Limit added sugars to less than 10 grams per meal.
- Limit sodium (salt) to less than 2,300 milligrams per day.
Get moving and be active!
Aim for at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. That's about 22 minutes a day. Even better, try to get 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.
Daily Servings Worksheet: 1,000 calories
This worksheet tells you how many servings you should get each day from each food group. And it tells you how much food makes a serving. Use this as a guide as you plan your meals throughout the day. Track your progress daily by writing in what you actually ate.
Food group | Daily goal | What you ate today |
|---|---|---|
Protein foods | 1 to 1½ servings 1 serving is:
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Dairy | 2 servings 1 serving is:
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Vegetables | 1¼ servings 1 serving is:
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Fruits | 1 serving 1 serving is:
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Whole grains | 1 to 2 servings 1 serving is:
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Healthy fats | 2½ servings 1 serving is:
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