How To Find 1200 Calories A Day Diets

Successful weight loss depends on finding a diet that works for you. Reducing calorie intake to the point where you burn more calories than you take in will result in weight loss, but unless you do it in a way that keeps you satisfied and provides the nutrition you need, you are likely to fail. Menu planning can be a beneficial tool that keeps your intake limited but offers variety and balances nutrition. Aggressive dieters looking for fast but safe results can reduce calorie intake to 1,200 calories per day, according to Medline Plus, a division of the National Institutes of Health, which will maximize your calorie deficit and speed weight loss.

Step 1

Consult the medical journals for a scientific discussion of meal replacement strategies. The Journal of the American College of Nutrition, vol. 24, no. 5 contains an essay offering pros and cons of various plans. Other scholarly sources like the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition offer similar information. Meal replacements like Medifast or Slim Fast are designed to fall in the 1,200- to 1,500-calorie-per-day-range, and they are considered safe by the medical establishment.

Step 2

Visit the Mayo Clinic website for a complete list of items to use on a 1,200 calorie exchange diet. Exchange diets were developed by the American Diabetes Association, or ADA, to help manage carbohydrate intake and blood sugar impact, but they are balanced enough for anyone wishing to reduce their daily calories. Plans include several options from each food group that can be exchanged for any other option in the list. These "exchange values" keep the diet varied enough to be interesting, but rigid enough to be effective. The University of Maryland Medical Center website publishes a handy chart with the number of exchanges required for diets of 1,200, 1,500, 1,800 or more calories that you can print and take with you.

Step 3

Study the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Pyramid and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recommended daily values to design a custom meal plan that meets your 1,200-calorie-per-day needs. The USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans is a good place to start. Both the USDA and the FDA base their guidelines on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, so you can scale the recommendations for your needs and still be sure you're getting the proper balance of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

Step 4

Research scholarly papers on university medical center websites, like the University of Florida's "Healthy Meal Plans," by Linda B. Bobroff, PhD, RD, LD/N. The publication includes information on exchange plans and custom meal plans at various caloric intake levels. Bobroff also discusses the USDA recommendations and how they fit into diets of 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day.