1200 Calorie Diet
The 1200 calorie diet: Your road to weight loss.
Weight loss is one of the trickiest topics one will have to handle, as its perception varies from one individual to the next. Lots of people are quite unhappy
with their present weight but most aren’t sure how to change it. There are many reasons why one would want to lose weight, whether it is to become more physically fit, comfortable, more attractive or even for health reasons. The main method of losing weight today has to be the diet plans. Walk down the street; ask around, most of the people are following one diet plan or another. One of the most practiced diet plans is the 1200 calorie diet plan.
Why 1200 Calorie Diet?
The 1200 Calorie diet plan is based on the fact that a daily intake of 1200 is the minimum amount one should take to be able to lose weight in a safe way. This diet plan is encouraged because it is believed that this amount of calories is adequate in nutritional value for most people. The 1200 Calorie diet plan is meant for all dieters who want to lose weight without sacrificing their body’s nutritional needs. Dieters in this diet will consume a smaller amountof calories than the ones they are using, thus weight loss.A regular 1200 calorie diet plan is proven to be nutritionally good for most people. This is because one’s body gets enough calories for its functions while at the same time ensuring that the calories do not pile up in the body. Starving your entire body with too few calories more often than not causes your entire body to slow in its use of calories, thus no weight loss shows up on the scale. This is just one of the reasons why this diet is ideal for most people. Dieters on this diet do not experience hunger if they choose wholesome foods and see progress in their quest for weight loss fulfilled gradually. Its flexibility is another reason why it is so popular because one is able to make a choice on what they want to eat and still be within their calorie intake. For people living with diabetes, and even vegetarians, this diet is easily modified to suit them. The main reason many stick to this diet is that you are able to record weight loss that is rapid at the beginning which in turn motivates them to keep going with the diet.
1200 Calorie Diet Dangers
However, this diet is great but it also has its setbacks such as the routine of counting calories as well as measuring food which is a challenge to most dieters with most people opting for other diet plans. It needs careful planning and even sacrifice to come up with a plan that sticks to the caloric intake while at the same time preventing nutritional deficiencies. Due to its low caloric intake, the 1200 calorie diet plan is not recommended for people who are physically active people as they expend more calories.
Where to Find 1200 Calorie Diet Plans?
Anyone can make this type of diet for themselves as it takes keen planning to ensure that the main foods like vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates are well distributed in the meal plan. Specialists suggest that one should break down their food intake to small snacks with low calories several times a day instead of eating once or twice a day. This is a great strategy as the snacks will kill the hunger and keep one energetic all day long. There are several online stores that offer different meal plans for those following the 1200 calorie diet plans. You should probably check there for different ideas on your menu keeping in mind that the caloric intake cannot exceed 1200 calories. We have some examples of our menus: 1200 calorie diet menu.


{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been on a 1200 diet for three days now and have had no issue whatsoever. I’ve split my meals up into 6 smaller meals and have a lot of energy – even to exercise! It’s okay to have an ice cream or piece of chocolate within this diet – if you are craving it, just as long as you balance it out with the rest of your calories during the course of the day. This is a very good diet. I will continue it for another two months.
i combined the 1200 calorie with the dukan diet and the results are spectacular.
I’m looking for a 1200 calorie diet that I can puree then move to soft food then regular 1200 calorie diet
I exercise about 3-4 times a week, and would like to find how many calories i should have each day to lose weight at a steady pace. Is 1200 cal diet to little for days i exercise hard? Thanks.
I have been on the 1,200 calorie diet for about 9 months now I weighed 228lbs to start out and now down to 140lbs I did it all on my own I picked out my own foods to eat actually I eat different foods everyday. So if your interested in anything just post it
i lost 150 pounds doing this, anything you do well requires a little planning, but just knowing that if you stay within this calorie range, you will lose not gain and that is enough incentive to excite and motivate you each day. It will work and happen if you do this, there is no (might or hope it works this time) to concern yourself with.
I started 6 days ago at 216, I’m now down to 208. I’ve doubled my water intake (those mio things are great) and walk 1 hour 4 nights a week. Eating 1200 calories makes you look at choices….where I would normally grab a candy bar at 260 I now have a small Apple at 90, leaving me more options later in the day should I have a craving. I no longer eat to eat…I find I’m really not as hungry as I once thought. For smart phone users…I really recommend an app called my fitness pal. It won’t go as low as 1200…it goes to 1360. But it tracks everything, and you can see where your lacking. Also tracks exercise. Good luck!
I recommend the app “my fitness pal”. It’s great! Tracks your caloric intake and gives you a target daily goal based on your current weight and how much you want to lose. It allows you to scan foods, enter workouts, set a goal, etc. Mine is 1200 calories/day and if I jog it adds more calories depending on how many calories I burn.
My fitness pal is awesome for this diet! It does go down to 1200 calories. That’s what I’m set at. 5’2″ female. I’ve lost 7 lbs in a week.
this is my 3rd day of being on a 1200 calorie diet. my starting weight was 194 and this morning it was 190. this is the first diet i have EVER stuck to. what i did is make a diet diary. i write down what i eat BEFORE i eat it…i write the time i eat it, what i eat, and the calories. in the back of the diary i wrote down a list of reasons why i want to lose weight and if i want to cheat on my diet i read the list over and over. i also CHUG LOTS OF WATER whenever i crave something not in my diet. it helps it really fills you up. it may take 1 cup or 3 cups but it works! the things i have been eating are pita pockets stuffed with veggies i cooked in a little olive oil on the stove and veggie fajitas. ( i am a vegetarian by the way) i also have been having odwalla bars which are bars that taste pretty good. their calorie content ranges but is around 220 calories a bar. i usually have onbe of those for breakfast, or some other kind of granola bar. well anyway thise diet is not only successful but it isnt very difficult to stick to. its not a 10 calorie a day diet or a eat only grapefruit diet. also spread your meals out because if you eat 500 calories of food for breakfast …well…youwont have 1200 in the whole day. have about 200-300 for breakfast, and space out the rest (: hope i helped and wish me luck on my diet as i will do for all of you!!
I’ve been on this diet for a little over a month now, and so far I have lost 20.8 pounds! I started at 220 (the biggest I have EVER been in my life) and I am now back down to 199.2. Believe me, I’m still not satisfied with my weight BUT I am happy with the results. Also, this is the longest I’ve ever stuck to a diet. I eat a lot still, but the food are very low-calorie. I’m going to continue with this diet until I reach my goal weight, and then I will make a plan that helps me maintain that weight. (My ideal weight is 130, but my goal is around 150-160. We’ll see!) I definitely recommend this diet to everyone; however, you MUST be extremely determined to stay on track. The weight you will lose should keep you very motivated all the time
Hope it helps!
Hi everyone I’m just starting the 1200 calorie diet tomorrow, I need to lose like 80 pounds hope this helps me. I would love tips from all of you guys that have lost weight, very inspiring stories that give me the hope to keep on..
I downloaded the app just a couple days ago and i like it so far. Just started my diet today and keeping track of my calories! Done this before thanksgiving and lost about 15 pounds but then you know how holidays go. Right now i weigh 235 and determined to reach my goal weight of 180lbs again. Wish me luck! and good luck to everyone else out there!
In 5 days I’ve lost 8lbs. Day 1 was the hardest. From then on you want to make the right choices because you see the weight coming off fast!
I start the 1200 calorie diet tomorrow. Reading the above comments really motivated me! Hope you all keep it up.
Will you see results as fast if you workout while on the diet or should you not workout because of the musle weight?
I really want to lose weight….I have been dieting off and on for the past 13 years and am sick of losing and regaining….I lost most of my weight doing low carb diets and have a hard time not wanting to continue witht hat lifestyle….the thing is I don’t actually stick with it or I wouldn’t weigh 220 lbs. Any ideas on how to change my mind will be greatly appreciated! I would love to lose 60 lbs!!!
Hi everyone I started the 1200 calorie diet three days ago, I have not checked my weight since the start of it. I plan on weighing myself every friday, goal is to lose 2 pounds a week. I must say i have a lot more energy though I seem to be hungry alot. So far its going great
I’m starting this diet in 2 weeks time, at the moment I’m on the Cambridge VLCD plan of 500 cals a day, but this is un-sustainable for me as I am getting really light headed, so the doctor is helping me come off this and back on to ” normal” foods.
I too, use MY FITNESS PAL, and it is amazing as it tracks everything you eat and exercise can be filtered in too – mine DOES go down lower than 1350 calories though? I currently have it set at 810calories as I move up to 1200 calories a day xx
I’ve been on this diet for about a month or so after the birth of my second child. I’ve lost 50 pounds so far, going from 297 to 247. It is soo easy and satisfying. Good luck to everyone!
If i exercise, do i have to increase my calorie passed 1200 calories? and will it come off as fast if im only 150.. and my goal is 140?
i am starting my 1200 calorie diet tomorrow.how much weight do you normally lose per week? i am currently tied up in school but i do walk to school which takes at least 30 mins or so. oh and also, can someone provide me with some useful tips?
So . . . are you surfing around to figure out what the right diet is for you? Someone told me this . . . multiply your current weight by 13. The number you get is how many calories you need each day to maintain that weight. Now mulitply the weight you want to be at. That is the number of calories you will need to maintain to achieve that weight. If you do the 1,200 calorie diet, you can make a mathematical equation of how many pounds you will lose based on your current weight. We all know that 3,500 calories equal one pound. If I were to reduce my calories by body burns by 500 each day (i.e., 1,700 calories to 1,200 calories), then I would lose one pound in a week. I think the key to this diet is to be realistic. I am 140 pounds and want to get to 120lbs. I am 5’4″. The reality is that I will probably be on this diet for 20 weeks, or 5 months. So once you come to grips with that, and really commit, I think anyone can do it. I have been on this diet for 4 weeks and have lost, I think 8 pounds. There is obviously salt and water weight in the first few weeks (just like on the Biggest Loser), but I am definetely making progress. Excited to report what happens in the next 4 weeks. Let’s see if I hit 136!!! Woop-woop! By the way, there was a birthday celebration at work and I had a Publix cupcake. I just managed my calories after that and don’t feel bad about the indulgence. It can be done
I started this diet a week ago… It is HARD… But I lost TEN pounds in a week. I STAY under the 1200 mark by atleast 100. Went from 190 to 180. I got to 180 from 150 in two months… I’m 21. Never had kids etc. But I DID drink atleast 3 sodas a DAY AAAND a energy drink… And fast food atleast every other day… And drank about 2 mikes a day… And did NOTHING for a workout…. 3 sodas plus a monster energy is 650cals…. So that plus a LG mcdonalds meal adds up! I plan to keep up with this routine and have been taking pictures of my progress. For a food enthusiast like me it’ll be HARD. I never would have thought my addiction was food…. I downloaded “my fitness pal” on my Android phone and keep track of my everyone bite and excersise.
I’m new at this 1200 calorie diet. I lost so far 18 lbs. I’m not sure if i lost muscle mass and/or fat. Because my clothes fit the same. Maybe I answered my own question. The thing is,I want to lose another 25 to 40 lbs. I’m eating right but maybe not enough calories. I download my fitness pal and it told me I need 1350 for a healthy weight loss. Ok! Now I wonder how am I going to consume 1350 calories a day? I workout at least three times a day. Idk! My trainer wants me to buy a polar watch so she can monitor how much calories I burn,in order to see how much I need to consume. I’m going to try this 1200 hundred calorie diet,I hope it works!!! BTW: if any has any advice,I’m open to them.
Hi ,
I just started the 1200 calorie a day diet.For those, who have been succesful with this diet how often did you exercise, how much water did you drink, and how long did it take you to get to your goal weight?
I am on day 3 of 1200 calories and refuse to look at the scale. The one thing I did notice is I can’t survive as well through my workouts so I am going to have to figure out what I can eat before and after to be able to go my best. I weigh in on Monday and refuse to step on a scale any day before that. I am hoping for big numbers!
I’m starting the 1200 cal diet today and keeping my fingers crossed that it works. I was once at 220lbs a few years ago after the birth of my daughter, then went through a bad break up and unintentionally but benificially dropped down to 168. i’ve maintained this weight for almost 3 years now (occasionally gaining or losing 4-5 lbs depending on the time of day i weigh and the time of month i weigh). I believe it was all bc during the bad relationship i was depressed and spent most days when i got of work sitting, eating, and watching tv. but now i’m more confident in my body so it makes it tough to have the drive to want to lose more weight. At 5’9″ i’d like to get down to 140 but i’m betting this is unrealistic. I’d take just getting down to 155! Today’s the beginning. Going to start walking 3 miles every day as well as drop my calorie intake to 1200. We will see how it goes!! Biggest worry is that i wont be able to find snacks/sweets to calm my cravings. I’ve always been a sugar freak so it will be hard to stay clear of those! any suggestions?