Before you can understand what constitutes a 1200 calorie diet, it is imperative to understand certain basics of weight loss and how the human body processes food.
Metabolism can be coarsely described as the procedure of conversion of consumed food into usable energy. This energy which is derived from digestion of food is called as calorie.
More About Calories and Body Weight
Human body requires energy or calories for several purposes. Calories are necessary to carry out the countless basic physiological functions of the body and preserve all the body systems appropriately. They are crucial to lead a normal, healthy and fit life.
These basic facts help us logically conclude that all individuals will have a unique daily calorie requirement based on their body structure, eating patterns and lifestyles. What is right for you need not be right for your spouse or anybody else for that matter.
Medical research proves that you will need to burn off 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound of body weight in a week. There are 2 ways to do this. Obviously you can either kick yourself to be more active and do exercises that burn up 500 calories or you could simply subtract the same amount from your daily calorie intake.
Whatever you do you have to remember that 1200 calorie diet is the safest limit where your body will still function properly in spite of calorie restriction. Reducing your daily consumption anything below 1200 or 1000 calories can push your body into stress mode and then it starts to source the deficient calories by breaking down muscle, which obviously is dangerous for health.
1200 Calorie Diet
A 1200 calorie diet is a low calorie diet, designed solely for obese folks and intended to create rapid weight loss within a very short period of time. The other crucial thing about planning your daily intake of calories is that just because your body needs at least 1200 calories to function optimally, you cannot source all of these calories from carbs or fats or proteins.
There has to be a disciplined segregation between the components and the best results are obtained when 60 % of the daily dietary components are carbs, and fats and protein form 30 % and 10 % respectively.
It is not always possible to obtain all the necessary vital nutrients and vitamins in an adequate amount when your diet is so low on calories and your diet choices are limited. So it is best to use a multivitamin and calcium supplement as long as you are on this diet plan.
Foods Safe to Eat on 1200 Calorie Diet
Irrespective of whether you are attempting to follow a 1200 calorie diet or a 2500 calorie diet, you must always attempt to eat healthy. So the basic rule to ensure that your diet is indeed healthy is to learn to differentiate between the right and wrong foods, and choose only the right ones.
For instance amongst carbs, you have the healthier carbs that are also called as complex carbs. These take a bit longer to convert into glucose and therefore are a better choice when compared to simple carbs like candy, sugar, white bread etc.
Amongst proteins, it is always healthier to avoid both red meat and organ meat as these are heavily endowed with LDL cholesterol that is dangerous to your heart and entire cardiovascular system. White and lean meat can be had in moderation and fish or white of eggs are also good alternatives.
Amongst fats, learn to steer clear of the transfats, animal fat and polyunsaturated fats. The better choices are olive oil and fatty fish like salmon.