This is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider for a diet and nutrition plan that’s right for you, especially if you have preexisting medical conditions.
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Is a 1,200 Calorie Diet Right for You?
Before you decide on a diet, it’s important to do the proper calculations (see below) and make sure you have the right strategy to achieve your goals.
It’s not always advisable to jump straight into a popular low-carb diet. You don’t want to be skin and bones. It’s much better (and more physically attractive) to maintain a healthy weight with a nice physique.
In this case, we’re examining a very low-calorie diet that’s intended to help burn fat while maintaining proper protein intake.
Why Follow a Macro Meal Plan?
A well-balanced diet will promote optimal fat burn and lean muscle growth. If you’re ready to get serious about changing your physique, then you need to be tracking your macros with a meal plan.
For people focused on weight gain, you need to be in a caloric surplus. For those trying to cut fat or lean out, you need to be in a caloric deficit. But there’s more than just the calories.
You also need to track macros to ensure you’re ingesting the proper balance of nutrients. Doing this will dramatically increase your body’s ability to build muscle and burn fat.
What are Macros?
The three macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates, and fat. These are the primary nutrients that impact your diet, muscle mass, and body fat percentage.
Protein
The proper daily protein intake is 0.8g-1g of protein per pound of body weight. You can go even higher if you’re really trying to put on muscle.
Protein is the most important macro to track. When losing weight, you want to keep your muscle and burn the fat. If you don’t get enough protein, your body will burn muscle for fuel.
Yes, you will still be losing weight, but you won’t be improving your physique as much. Many people think they want to lose weight, but what they really want is an improved physique. This happens by increasing lean muscle mass and reducing your body fat percentage.
Food is your friend! Do not shy away from protein! Instead, focus on eating low-fat meats like chicken breasts, lean cuts of beef like top sirloin, or pork tenderloin. Eating lean protein sources means you can enjoy more carbs and fat in your diet.
For beginners, you can start by only tracking your calories and protein. Meaning, if your goal is 1,200 calories a day, make sure you’re hitting the necessary protein within your calorie count and don’t worry about the rest.
Carbs
When your carb intake is low, the body looks for other sources of fuel like body fat and muscle. When carbs are high, the body uses them as fuel instead of burning fat.
Cutting back on carbs is the easiest way to sustain a low-calorie diet, but even more important is the type of carbs you ingest. Avoid simple carbohydrates and opt for complex carbohydrates. You’ve probably heard it a million times, but it makes a world of difference.
Simple carbs are sugars and starches that typically lack the fiber and nutrients that your body needs. Think white bread, candy, soda, syrup, ice cream, and juice.
Complex carbs are foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. They are usually unprocessed and act as a more complete source of nutrition. Eat things like wild rice, sweet potato, apple, and whole grain bread or pasta.
Carbs are also hiding in a lot of foods you might not expect. Things like dairy products don’t seem like they’d be full of sugar, but they are. Even ketchup, burger buns, and many flavorful sauces contain sugar. Watch out, because these things can really set you back.
A low carb count is a good start, but if it all came from sugary food like donuts, don’t expect to see the results you’re looking for. Eat foods with high nutritional value, and you’ll see results much faster.
Fat
This may come as a surprise, but fat can also be your friend. Fat burns slower than carbs and can provide a good source of energy in place of carbohydrates.
Like carbs, the important thing to remember here is that the source of your fat is just as important as the total grams you ingest each day.
Look for things like avocados, nuts, and olive oil.
Avoid vegetable oil, fried foods, and saturated fats.
A lot of the time when I’m trying to cut, I’ll go higher on fats and lower on carbs. This happens naturally because of the amount of protein I eat. The more protein and fat you consume, the less you’ll crave carbs.
Best Way to Track Macros
Download the 1st Phorm app
A good friend of mine introduced me to 1st Phorm when I first started tracking macros and I’ve used it ever since.
This isn’t just a useful tool, it’s an absolute game changer.
They have an entire library of almost every food and beverage you can imagine. It saves so much time and it’s easy to use. No more having to type in every gram of protein or carbs every time you eat. Just pick the food and the amount consumed. The app does all the rest.
The database is extensive. Pizza, wine, Indian food, tacos, ice cream, it’s all in there.
But there’s more!
The entire point of tracking your Macros is to measure them up against the calories you burn every day. That’s how you know you’re progressing toward your goal. There are two key metrics you need to track.
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
This is the number of calories your body will burn each day while at rest.
For example, I weigh 180 lbs. Based on my weight, age, and height, my RMR is roughly 1,800 calories a day. That means I can sit in bed the entire day and still burn 1,800 calories. The 1st Phorm app can also help you calculate your RMR.
Active Calories
Get an apple watch, a Whoop, a Fitbit, or something that can track the calories you burn throughout the day. This will NOT include your RMR.
These will track your movement and heart rate to calculate the calories you burn while being active.
You should wear this device from the moment you wake up to the moment you turn in for bed. It should be tracking the steps taken, stairs climbed, and all your exercise.
Before bed, you want to add your RMR and your active calories burned, then measure that against the calories you consumed throughout the day.
Example: RMR (1,800 calories) + Active Calories (800) = 2,600 calories burned in total.
If you’re trying to lose weight, you want your calorie intake to be 300-500 calories below the amount burned. If you want to gain weight, you should be 300-500 calories over.
Physical Activity
The more exercise and physical activity you do each day, the more you can reward yourself.
For example, let’s say you had an extra long workout one day. It’s almost dinner time, you do your calorie count, and you notice you’re on track for a 1000-calorie deficit. If your goal is a deficit of 500 calories, now you can eat a larger dinner than expected.
You can also compensate for moments of weakness. If you overeat at breakfast, put in an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill to burn the extra calories. Physical activity is what will set you free.
Seasoning
Season your meats and vegetables however you like.
I recommend switching it up regularly so you don’t burn out. When it comes to sauces, watch out for those with a lot of carbs or sugars. Low sodium is also preferred.
Measuring Food Intake
Many apps will make you track in ounces, but who keeps a food scale around? I always found it much easier to track things in cups. You can track almost anything by measuring in cups.
1,200 Calorie Meal Plan
Monday-Wednesday
Breakfast
(.5 cup) Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
(.25 cup) Granola
Lunch
(1) Chicken Breast
(.5 cup) Sweet Mashed Potatoes
(6 Florets) Broccoli
Snack
(1) Protein Shake
Dinner
(1 Filet) Tilapia
(.5 cup) Brown Rice
(8) Brussel Sprouts
Calories – 1,179
Protein – 122g
Carbs – 95g
Fat – 35g
Thursday-Friday
Breakfast
(4) Egg Whites
(1 Slice) Whole Grain Toast
(.25) Avocado
Lunch (Chicken Caesar Wrap)
(1) Chicken Breast
(1) Low Carb Flour Tortilla
(1 cup) Romaine Lettuce Chopped
(2 tbsp) Caesar Dressing
Pinch Parmesan Cheese
Snack
(1) Protein Shake
Dinner
(4oz) Top Sirloin Steak
(.5 cup) Brown Rice
(.5 cup) Mixed Vegetables
Calories – 1,211
Protein – 118g
Carbs – 65g
Fat – 52g
Saturday-Sunday
Breakfast
(.5 cup) Oatmeal
(6) Strawberries Chopped
(1) Protein Shake
Lunch
(4oz) Pork Tenderloin
(.5 cup) Brown Rice
(5 Spears) Asparagus
Snack
(.25 cup) Raw Almonds
Dinner
(.5 cup) Whole Grain Pasta
(.5 cup) Red Pasta Sauce
(4oz) Lean Ground Beef (substitute ground turkey)
Pinch Parmesan Cheese
Calories – 1,2275
Protein – 101g
Carbs – 91g
Fat – 57g
Pro Tips
- Block out 1-2 hours twice a week to cook the meals for the next 3-4 days.
- Pre-portion meals into meal prep Tupperware so that you don’t have to think about it.
- Season the food however you want but beware of sauces with high sugar or fat content.
- Vegetables like onions, garlic, peppers, and greens have very low carbs and calories. Spice things up and add some extra ingredients like cheese to improve the flavor.
- Get a grill if you can. You can cook your food in bulk and cleanup is way faster.
- If you crack on your diet, don’t throw in the towel. Pick it back up tomorrow and don’t beat yourself up. We all crack.
Final Thoughts
The most important things to track in a macro diet are your protein and calories. If you can stay in a caloric deficit and ingest enough protein, you won’t just lose weight, but you’ll improve the shape of your physique as well.
Track your resting metabolic weight and total calories burned, and that’s what you must beat every day. If you work out extra hard to burn more calories, then you can eat a little more.
Also, remember that the quality of the food you eat is critical. 100g of carbs from sugar is not the same as 100g of carbs from oats.
Best of luck!
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