The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that female dieters never dip below 1,200 calories per day and men never dip below 1,800. A 1,200-calorie low-carb meal plan should be geared toward women looking to lose weight. By following this meal plan, the scale will most likely drop quickly in the beginning due to your shift in macronutrient intake.
Definition
A low-carb diet limits the amount of carbohydrates you may consume throughout the day and instead focuses heavily on protein and fat. Carbohydrates include but are not limited to grains, bread, fruits, vegetables and rice. The amount of carbohydrates you're allowed varies with each specific diet. The Atkins Diet, for example, begins with a mere 20 g of carbs per day and gradually adds carbs throughout the program until you determine how many you can eat while maintaining your goal weight.
Science
In a typical diet, carbohydrates are your main source of energy and are converted into sugar when digested. As blood sugar levels rise, so does your insulin level. Insulin is what creates energy from those sugars. If some sugar is not used, it is then stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen. Limiting carbs is believed to lower insulin levels and cause your body to burn stored fat for energy instead of sugar.
Amount
The American Heart Association recommends 45 to 65 percent of your calories come from carbohydrates. On a 1,200 calorie diet, that equals 540 to 780 calories from carbohydrates. One carbohydrate gram is equal to 4 calories, so that becomes 135 to 195 g per day. According to everydiet.org, low-carb diets are classified as 25 to 40 percent carbohydrate intake, which would bring this diet to 70 to 120 g per day. Yet all diets are different, and on Atkins diet, you are limiting yourself to only 20 to 100 g of carbs per day.
What to Eat
If you are limiting carbs, for example, to 25 percent of your daily caloric intake, that means you have 75 percent that is made up of protein and fat. An example meal would include a Southwestern omelet for breakfast, poached salmon and a Caesar salad for lunch, chicken with roasted vegetables for dinner and two snacks a day such as a chocolate shake, granola bar, olives, cheese or sugar-free gelatin. This is all assuming that you are under your daily carb allowance and that it meets your 1,200 calories per day.
Warning
The American Heart Association does not recommend low-carb diets for weight loss. These diets restrict essential nutrients and healthful foods and pose higher health risks for diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer. The initial weight loss from these diets, AHA claims, is mainly from fluid loss caused by lack of carbs. To lose weight safely and effectively, AHA recommends a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, monitoring portion control and caloric intake and including a daily exercise routine.
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