1200 Calorie Diet

A simple dieting guide with heart-healthy food and meals for women who want to lose weight quickly.

A 1200 calorie meal plan is not recommended for every calorie conscious person. It is important for you to seek medical advice before you start a very-low-calorie diet.

The Guidelines

1200 Calorie Nutrition Plan Guidelines

Dieting at 1200 calories, is not appropriate for every person, and many people will need more than 1200 calories a day to lose weight safely. Please use the easy-to-follow 1200 calorie meal plan as a temporary guide to help you learn basic meal-prep, planning and healthy recipes.

Dieting is not easy. Making the right choices for a restrictive 1200 calorie meal plan every day is even harder. The solution? Fill up on nutrient-dense foods. These are foods that pack a lot of nutrition into a reduced number of calories.

A 1200 calorie plan is the lowest level at which it may still be possible for you to meet your nutrient needs through food. When planned, a 1200 calorie menu will include sufficient protein to minimize any muscle loss and hit most of your vitamin and mineral targets.

Your Caloric Needs

Your Basic Caloric Needs for Menu Planning

You should not blindly take 1200 calories as a universal recommendation which works for everyone. We strongly advise that you calculate your caloric needs with us first and determine your individual dietary needs before starting.

Your Weight Loss Goal Guide

Portion control plays a key role in the success of any weight loss schedule. To measure food for a healthy diet, you will need measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a kitchen scale.

To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body burns off each day. Most women and older, less active people burn fewer calories per day than active men. If your goal is to lose weight and you see no changes just with increased physical activity, then reducing the number of calories and food servings should help.

The key to weight loss success is going with low-calorie, high-fiber fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat protein sources. The meal plan below will help get you on your way or give you ideas of where to start.

Sample Plan

Easy to Make 1200 Calorie Sample Menu Plan

Here is a sample 1200 calorie meal plan and menu.

DAILY GROCERY LIST

• 1.5 cups (366 grams) -- Milk, low-fat, fluid, 1% milkfat, with added vitamin A
• 1.5 breasts, bone and skin removed (129 grams) -- Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, fried
• 1 tsp (2.6 grams) -- Soup, bouillon cubes and granules, low sodium, dry
• 1 cup (1 NLEA serving) (40 grams) -- Cereals, QUAKER, QUAKER Multigrain Oatmeal, dry
• 0.12 cup (29.76 grams) -- Apple juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid
• 1 cup (151 grams) -- Grapes, red or green (European type, such as Thompson seedless), raw
• 0.12 fruit (2" dia.) (8.04 grams) -- Limes, raw
• 5 large (75 grams) -- Carrots, baby, raw
• 2 tbsp (32 grams) -- Soy sauce made from soy and wheat
• 0.01 cup (1.28 grams) -- Cornstarch
• 0.25 cup (46.25 grams) -- Rice, brown, long-grain, raw
• 1.5 cups (292.5 grams) -- Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked

More Resources

New Menu Plans and Resources Coming Soon

♥ More basic, easy to follow plans.

♥ Free diet planner app.

♥ Easy to make menus.

♥ Easiest low-calorie options.

♥ Nutrition Journal.

♥ Reduced calorie tricks.

♥ Low-calorie ideas.

♥ Clean eating meals.

♥ Lower calorie-based plans.

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Using the latest science and research, the team at changingshape.com offers plans developed by certified nutrition and fitness professionals. Join the changingshape.com calorie counter app free today.