A 1,200-calorie diet is a low-calorie diet plan that if not well-planned, can leave you feeling hungry, making it difficult for you to stay on track. A non-starving 1,200-calorie diet should emphasize low-energy-dense food choices including more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, very lean sources of protein and low-fat or nonfat dairy foods. Choosing more low-energy-dense foods can help satisfy your hunger, and help you stay within your calorie goal. Consult your physician before starting any weight loss plan.
Diet Guidelines
Your 1,200-calorie diet plan should include three meals and two snacks. Eating more often can also help keep hunger down and energy levels up. You should aim to have a meal or snack every 3 to 4 hours. Each meal should contain 300 calories, and each snack, 150 calories. For balance, try to include foods from each food group at each meal.
Breakfast
You may be tempted to skip breakfast to help with your weight loss, but skipping breakfast will not improve your weight loss and may in fact make it harder for you to stick to your diet. A low-calorie and filling breakfast may include an egg white omelet made with three egg whites and filled with 1/2 cup of cooked spinach and 1 oz. of low-fat Swiss cheese, served with one slice of whole wheat toast with 1 tsp. of butter or margarine and 1/2 cup of diced cantaloupe. This breakfast meal contains 300 calories.
Lunch
Make vegetables the focus of your lunch meal to help improve satiety on your low-calorie meal plan. A healthy and satisfying lunch meal includes 2 cups of tossed greens topped with 1/4 cup of chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup of cucumber slices, 1/4 cup of shredded carrots, 2 oz. of grilled chicken breast and 2 tbsp. of fat-free salad dressing, and served with 1 cup of nonfat, sugar-free yogurt. This lunch contains 300 calories.
Afternoon Snack
Vegetables also make a filling snack choice. Try 1 cup of a variety of vegetables, such as carrot sticks, celery sticks and slices of peppers, with 3 tbsp. of hummus for 150 calories.
Dinner
For your non-starving 1,200-calorie diet, make most of your meat choices very lean such as white meat poultry, fish, pork chops or beef round. A dinner meal on your diet plan includes a 3 oz. broiled pork chop, a 3 oz. plain baked potato topped with 1 tsp. of butter or margarine, 1/2 cup of steamed green beans and 1 cup of mixed greens with 1 tbsp. of fat-free salad dressing. This dinner meal contains 310 calories
Evening Snack
For an evening snack you can have 1/2 cup of unsweetened ready-to-eat cereal with 1 cup of nonfat milk for 150 calories.
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