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1200 Calorie Menus

Achieve a healthy weight loss by following a balanced daily meal plan based on 1200 calorie menus.

1200 Calories per Day

The way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in every day. Eating a balanced 1200 calorie diet each day will help you to reach your weight loss goal. You can expect to lose one to two pounds per week following this type of meal plan.

1200 Calories and the USDA Nutritional Pyramid

When creating 1200 calorie menus, the USDA recommends choosing foods based on the nutritional food pyramid that meets the requirements of most American adults. A 1200-calorie diet using the pyramid as a guide includes:

• 6 ounces of lean meat or other protein
• 5 servings of bread or other starch
• 4 or more servings of vegetables
• 3 servings of fruit
• 2 servings of low fat dairy
• 3 servings of fat

Sample 1200 Calorie Menus

A general guideline on the breakdown of calories throughout the day includes:

• 300 calorie breakfast
• 100 calorie mid morning snack
• 300 calorie lunch
• 50 calorie mid-afternoon snack
• 450 calorie dinner

Snacks can be eaten anytime throughout the day if you prefer a different schedule. For example, many people enjoy a light snack in the evening. Remember calorie totals per meal are a guide and can be modified as needed as long as the total calorie goal for each day remains at 1200.

Day 1

• Breakfast
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 large shredded wheat biscuit
  • 1 cup skim milk
• Mid morning snack
  • 3 whole-wheat crackers
  • 3 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
• Lunch
  • 2 slices whole wheat bread (check the calorie count as some breads are sliced thicker or baked in bigger loaves)
  • 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon jelly – sugar free
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1 medium size orange
  • 2 cups baby carrots
• Mid afternoon snack
  • 3 handfuls of unbuttered popcorn, seasoned with herbs
• Dinner
  • 5 ounces lean broiled beef
  • Small baked potato – 3 ounces
  • 1 tablespoon light margarine
  • 1 cup of steamed broccoli or asparagus
  • 1 cup of mixed greens salad
  • 1 tablespoon of light salad dressing

Day 2

• Breakfast
  • 2 slices whole wheat toast
  • 2 teaspoons light margarine
  • 1 cup sliced strawberries
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 6 ounce container yogert – fat and sugar free
• Mid morning snack
  • 2 large graham crackers
  • 1 teaspoon peanut butter
• Lunch
  • 1 toasted whole wheat English muffin
  • 1 ounce low fat cheese of your choice
  • 1/2 cup baby carrots
  • 1/2 cup light or fat free ice cream
• Mid afternoon snack
  • 4 mini rice cakes
  • 2 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese
• Dinner
  • 3 ounces lean protein
  • 1 medium baked sweet potato
  • 2 teaspoons light margarine
  • 1 cup steamed broccoli

Online Resources for Menus of 1200 Calories

There are many resources online to help compile 1200-calorie menus. Some of these resources follow the nutritional pyramid while others may not. Here are several of the available resources.

Specialty 1200 Calorie Daily Menus

• The Campbell’s Soup for Life Plan includes soup every day as you follow their 1200-calorie weight loss plan.
• The National Heart and Lung Institute offers a 1200-calorie menu with a delicious Asian American theme.
• A 1200-calorie Laco-Ovo Vegetarian menu loaded with taste even if you are not a vegetarian.
• Mexican- American cuisine complete with a taco and an enchilada make a satisfying 1200 calorie menu.
• Tasty southern style meals make up this 1200 calorie menu.
• Anyone with diabetes needs to take special care when following a diet meal plan. Gluco Menu offers 1200-calorie menus for people suffering from diabetes. Be sure to consult with your physician or nutritionist before starting any diet plan.

More Resources

• Journey Woman offers an excellent list of snacks that are one hundred or less calories.
• The 1200 Calorie A Day Menu Cookbook: Quick and Easy Recipes for Delicious Low Fat Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners and Desserts by Nancy S. Hughs.

A Word of Caution

Before beginning any diet plan, it is always best to check with your medical practitioner..

Resources

The web is full of free resources for calculating calorie needs, nutritional content and food logging, which is one of the most effective ways of losing weight.

The U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture has a particularly useful food logging site (see Resources) available at www.mypyramidtracker. Here, you can plug in your food choices for the day, and get a running total, not only of calories, but also other nutritional content.

Nutritional Content

The Institute of Medicine recommends getting 45 to 65 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 20 percent to 35 percent from fat, and 10 to 35 percent from protein. While a reduced carbohydrate diet results in short-term weight loss, this is mostly as a result of reduced water retention, and is not recommended as a long-term nutritional plan.

The easiest way to assemble the building blocks of a balanced meal is to top a mixed vegetable salad with lean protein. A large salad containing half a cup of tuna, some grated cheese, cold boiled potatoes and green beans, and topped with a homemade olive oil vinaigrette--a classic Nicoise--contains about 320 calories, 31 percent from protein, 49 percent from carbohydrates, and 20 percent from fat.

Most health experts also recommend taking a daily multivitamin, and this is especially important when a reduced calorie diet is likely to result in lower nutrient intakes.

Meal Plan

The sample meal plan below contains just under 1,200 calories but is high in nutritional content and includes balanced snacks in the morning and afternoon. Overall, the plan derives 28 percent of its calories from protein, 60 percent from carbohydrates, and 12 percent from fat.

Breakfast

Oatmeal (150 calories)

Morning snack

String cheese and a pear (166 total calories)

Lunch

Nicoise salad (recipe makes two servings, each with 322 total calories)

Toss 1.5 cup potatoes, 2 cups green beans, 1 can tuna, 3 cups lettuce, 1 serving grated cheese, 1 tbsp. olive oil and vinegar to taste.

Afternoon snack

Nonfat Greek-style yogurt with fruit (140 total calories)

Dinner

Shrimp fra diavlo (recipe makes one serving containing 390 total calories)

Saute nine large shrimp in half a tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick pan until pink; add 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes and red pepper flakes to taste, serve over 2 oz. of cooked whole-wheat spaghetti.

Build Your Own Meal Plan

Using food labels and the USDA Nutrient Database, found at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/, you can build your own 1,200-calorie meal plan. The database, or any other nutrient content source, helps you identify foods you like that are low in calories and high in nutritional content.

Food logging will help you learn, for example, that while your fish chowder may be tasty with salmon, it's just as good with cod, which contains half the calories. Similarly, you'll find that cereal choices vary widely in the amount of calories they contain.

Armed with a little knowledge, it's easy to build a plan that fits your needs.

Expert Insight

Many popular books and websites recommend against reducing calories to a level that results in weight loss exceeding a pound or two a week, and most also recommend that diet be combined with regular physical activity, so that you burn more calories than you take in on an average day.

In "You on a Diet," authors Michael F. Roizen, MD, and Mehmet C. Oz, MD, write, "Eating isn't all about calories, it's about staying satisfied."

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