What Is a 1200 Calorie Diet?
1200 calorie diets have created interest in people who want to lose weight for a while. But what is a 1200 calorie diet? A 1200 calorie diet is a diet that consists of a person only consuming 1200 calories each day. These diets are mostly popular among women, but many people use 1200 calorie diets in order to achieve their weight loss goals. Those who tend to be attracted to 1200 calorie diets are people who are short and people who are sedentary.
People who are on 1200 calorie diets track their calories in a food diary. They tally up the calories and stop eating once they reach the 1200 calorie daily limit.
Why Is a 1200 Calorie Diet Used?
A 1200 calorie diet is typically used when someone wants to lose weight quickly. Since 1200 calories is very few calories, it causes rapid weight loss in most of the people that partake in the diet.
Some people use 1200 calorie diets for anti-aging and longevity. There is proof that a reduction of calories can help with life extension and disease prevention. In this case, a 1200 calorie diet would be taken on as a way to stave off illnesses and increase your lifespan. Those who use 1200 calorie diets for life extension plan to spend most of their life on the diet.
How To Count 1200 Calories
Counting calories can be a bit confusing for anyone who has never tracked their calories before. When you read a food label, you will want to look at how many calories is in a serving size. Then look at how much a serving size is.
For example, let's say we have a bag of chips. There are 15 chips per serving and 140 calories per serving. That means that 15 chips is all you can eat for 140 calories. If you were to eat the whole bag, which has 3 servings in it, then you would be consuming 420 calories. So it's important to know how much a serving is and to count and measure your food.
The numbers of servings per container vary depending on what you are eating, so it's important for you to learn how to read food labels if you want to follow this diet. Small mistakes can lead to big problems when trying to lose weight with calorie counting. It's very easy to make mistakes in counting your calories, so be sure to practice and get help when you need it. There are apps that allow you to scan the barcodes to see how many calories there are in a food. But you still need to make sure you are only eating one serving.
In some cases, it's vital for you to use a food scale in order to measure the grams of food that you are consuming in order to make sure it is a serving size.
Sometimes a food label will tell you how much is in a serving size and how much is in the whole package. The numbers are beside each other on the label. Just read the label carefully to find this information.
Who Shouldn't Use a 1200 Calorie Diet?
Most people need much more than 1200 calories in order to maintain their weight, so eating 1200 calories will cause weight loss in almost everyone who follows the diet.
1200 calories may be too few calories for men, very active people, or some very overweight/obese individuals. It will still help you lose weight no matter what, but it's just not sustainable for those who need a lot of calories. Those people who are very active or weigh a lot could lose weight on much more than 1200 calories. They may want to try eating a 1500 calorie diet for weight loss. This will ensure they don't experience a lot of negative effects such as headaches and low energy.
Some people actually find that they lose even MORE weight after they increase their calorie intake to 1500 from 1200. This is because their metabolism slowed a bit on the 1200 calorie diet and now their metabolism is waking up again after they began eating 1500 calories a day.
Who Should Use a 1200 Calorie Diet?
A 1200 calorie diet works very well for certain people. Those people are:
- Those who are shorter than average
- Those who need to lose "the last 10 lbs" or don't have much weight to lose
- Those who are sedentary and don't do much activity
Anyone can decide to follow a 1200 calorie diet if they wish, but these are the people who will benefit the most from a 1200 calorie diet. In fact, some of these people HAVE to eat at 1200 calories or they will not lose weight at all. This is because their TDEE is so low that they cannot create a deficit if they eat much more than 1200 calories per day.
If you are on a 1200 calorie diet, but you are not losing weight there could be a few reasons for this. If you initially lost weight on the 1200 calorie diet, but then the weight loss stopped, you are at a weight loss plateau.
A weight loss plateau happens when you are doing everything right according to your diet, but your weight stalls for at least 2-3 weeks. This happens because your metabolism has adjusted to what you are doing. Our bodies are very clever and they will lower their energy needs according to our lifestyle.
If you have hit a weight loss plateau, there are a few things you can do to help yourself break the plateau and lose weight again.
1. Eat at your TDEE for a week or two, then restart the diet you were on before. Your TDEE is the amount of calories you need each day in order to maintain your weight. So in other words, you will increase the amount of food you eat for a week or two, essentially going off the diet completely. Then restart your diet fresh. The weight should start coming off again.
2. Calorie zig-zagging can wake up a lowered metabolism. This is where you eat a different number of calories each day. You have some low calorie days and some high calorie days, but your overall average calories will be at a deficit for the week, so you will lose weight. You can use this calculator to help you get a calorie zig zag plan.
3. Intermittent fasting can break a weight loss plateau. Try eating your calories during an 8 hour window and fasting for 16 hours each day. The plan will look like this:
If You Aren't Losing Weight On 1200 Calories
If you are on a 1200 calorie diet, but you are not losing weight there could be a few reasons for this. If you initially lost weight on the 1200 calorie diet, but then the weight loss stopped, you are at a weight loss plateau.
A weight loss plateau happens when you are doing everything right according to your diet, but your weight stalls for at least 2-3 weeks. This happens because your metabolism has adjusted to what you are doing. Our bodies are very clever and they will lower their energy needs according to our lifestyle.
If you have hit a weight loss plateau, there are a few things you can do to help yourself break the plateau and lose weight again.
1. Eat at your TDEE for a week or two, then restart the diet you were on before. Your TDEE is the amount of calories you need each day in order to maintain your weight. So in other words, you will increase the amount of food you eat for a week or two, essentially going off the diet completely. Then restart your diet fresh. The weight should start coming off again.
2. Calorie zig-zagging can wake up a lowered metabolism. This is where you eat a different number of calories each day. You have some low calorie days and some high calorie days, but your overall average calories will be at a deficit for the week, so you will lose weight. You can use this calculator to help you get a calorie zig zag plan.
3. Intermittent fasting can break a weight loss plateau. Try eating your calories during an 8 hour window and fasting for 16 hours each day. The plan will look like this:
- Begin eating your first meal at Noon.
- Stop eating your last bite of food at 8 p.m.
- Do not eat again until Noon the next day, skipping breakfast.
Any one of these plans is a great way to break a plateau when on a 1200 calorie diet, or any calorie counting diet for that matter.
If you just started a 1200 calorie diet and you have not lost weight at all, this wouldn't qualify as a weight loss plateau. You may need to talk to your doctor, because there could be an underlying issue there.
It also could be because you are super short. Those who are 5' likely won't lose weight on a 1200 calorie diet, for example.
Can You Exercise On a 1200 Calorie Diet?
Yes, you can exercise on a 1200 calorie diet, but I would advise anyone who is exercising to eat back at least a portion of the calories they are burning through exercise. This is because you don't want to create too much of a deficit. If you create too much of a deficit, you may experience many negative effects from the diet.
Most people who are on a 1200 calorie diet will likely want to eat back some of those exercise calories because it will help give them more energy while on the diet. Exercising helps to preserve muscle as well.
1200 Calorie Diet Side Effects
Those who lower their calories to 1200 per day may experience some negative side effects. These may include:
- Headaches
- Hunger pangs
- Low energy
The effects will likely continue throughout the duration of the diet. Many people who are on a 1200 calorie diet tend to feel miserably unless they already have low calorie needs.
How Much Weight Can You Lose On a 1200 Calorie Diet?
This depends entirely on a person's TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). As an example, if you need 2000 calories to maintain your weight, you could lose 6.8 lbs in a month of eating a 1200 calorie diet. That's a pretty decent amount of weight loss.
Weight loss will vary from person to person because we each have different calorie needs depending on our weight, height, age, and activity level. In order to estimate your weight loss on a 1200 calorie diet, you will need to know how many calories you burn each day. You can find out by using this calculator.
What Type of Foods Should You Eat On a 1200 Calorie Diet?
You can eat whatever foods you want to eat as long as they fit in the 1200 calorie limit. But, those who eat high volume, low calorie foods will likely feel better. High volume, low calorie foods include most vegetables. Vegetables will help you fill up on less calories and they are nutrient dense, so they help you get all your nutrients on such few calories.
Be sure to get plenty of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients while eating a 1200 calorie diet. It can be difficult to fit everything in, so make sure you are keeping track of how much protein, fiber, and other nutrients you are receiving on your diet.
Is a 1200 Calorie Diet Effective For Weight Loss?
A 1200 calorie diet is effective for weight loss for most people. I have heard of very very short people who cannot lose weight on 1200 calories. But for the most part, you will lose weight on this diet if you follow it correctly. Weight loss will vary from person to person, but most people will see satisfactory results.
Tools To Help You On a 1200 Calorie Diet
There are some tools that can help you with a 1200 calorie diet. You can use calorie counting apps for keeping track of how many calories you are eating. Some of these apps even let you scan the barcode of your food to tell you how many calories are in a serving. They will track your calories for you so that you can keep up with it.
Some people still like to use a good old pen and notepad to keep track of their calories, and that's fine too. Both work just the same.
A food scale is also a good tool to have when on a 1200 calorie diet. You need to be pretty precise when measuring food while you are eating so little. It's easy to make mistakes and miss the mark completely.
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