This 1200-calorie weight loss meal plan is high protein, low carbs, and low dietary fat.
Table of Contents
- What are the macros and total calories for this meal plan?
- How does 1200 calories look
- 1200 Calorie Daily High-Protein Template
- Keep the variety, but reduce your grocery shopping!
- The Daily 1200 Calorie, High Protein Meal Idea
- 7 Day High Protein outline:
- What foods should I prepare
- The 1200 Calorie Diet Shopping Guide!
Meal planning is a key habit to weight loss success. It doesn’t have to be difficult and will help you stick to your diet. You can read my weight loss story here.
MyFitnessPal is my daily companion. I log in my meals and then adjust the macros to match my goals.
My weekly goal this week was to eat 1200 calories with high levels of protein and low amounts carbs. Because I like foods low in fat, the low fat part is easy.
What are the macros and total calories for this meal plan?
Weight loss has been demonstrated by a low-calorie diet, even with the inclusion of macros. 1151 calories / 153g protein, 86g carbohydrates, 16g fat. This 1200 calorie is high in protein and low in carbs. This is 55% protein, 30% carbs and 15% fat if you add macros.
I make calorie-focused meal plans so that the calories are under than over. There are a few reasons I don’t eat the recommended calories.
One, it is difficult to measure the calories in foods that you eat. There are many factors that can affect the calorie range, including different tools and reporting methods.
The main reason that the plan has slightly less than 1200 calories is because of the many things we eat and the fact that they are often not tracked. Calories can be found in bites, snacks, sauces and vegetables, as well as vitamins, gum, and sugar-free foods.
Even if you think that you are eating more, your daily intake will likely be close to 1200 calories.
IMPORTANT Products may differ in nutrition information. You can find a report in MyFitnessPal that shows the nutrient counts for calories, carbs and protein.
High protein: Why might you want to eat it?
It’s important that you eat a balanced diet. I also discuss this topic in my Choose MyPlate articles. However, protein can be the most difficult micronutrient for you to include in your diet. (But if this is your list of favorite high-protein foods, it will help.
Protein is important if you are looking to lose fat. A higher-protein diet has shown me that:
- I feel more satisfied. This was not possible for me. It didn’t really matter how satisfied I felt, as I rarely ate from hunger. It turned out that I was wrong. I was actually more focused on food when I ate higher protein.
- Protein builds muscle! This is what I tell my students in nutrition classes. Protein is essential for muscle building.
- Your metabolism will be more efficient if you eat more protein.
Carbohydrates: Why do you need them?
Even if you’re trying to lose weight, there is no need to cut carbs.
- Carbohydrates are the fuel for your workouts
- Give yourself energy
- Make you feel better
Why fats are important
While my diet was low in fat for a long time, I believe that fats are crucial for weight loss. Dietary fats have shown many benefits, such such
- support your hormones
- Give yourself energy
- Stimulate cell growth
They don’t have to go away. They are still present in this high-protein, 1200-calorie plan.
What does 1200 calories look and feel like?
After planning a 1200-calorie day, I took some photos this week! Here’s how a day of 1200 calories looked for me. I like to eat three meals per day, with one desert, so here’s a picture of what I ate in one day.
1200 Calorie Daily High-Protein Template
After I had eaten the food I planned, I went back through the list and changed the vegetables and fruits each day to make them more interesting, but to keep the macros and calories constant.
Keep the variety, but reduce your grocery budget!
Although I enjoy variety in my diet, I don’t like having to buy groceries for every meal. My meal plan will be updated weekly rather than daily. This is a much more economical way to eat!
The Daily 1200 Calorie, High Protein Meal Ideas
Breakfast:
373 calories, 52g protein, 31g carbs, 0 g fat
- 1 cup egg whites
- 1 ounce low fat mozzarella cheese, or fat free cheese
- 1 cup plain Greek nonfat yogurt. This must be plain and nonfat at 100 calories per 140g
- fruit
Lunch:
328 calories, 51 g protein, 21 g carbs, 5 g fat
- 8 ounces Chicken Breasts (must be chicken breasts to get the calories to match mys)
- 2 cups greens (can include any variety – romaine or iceberg, spinach or a combination)
- 2 cups additional vegetables (I added a variety to the printable 7-day meal plan).
- 2 TBL Light dressing. I love Bolthouse dressings at 45 calories per 2 tablespoons or the Light Olive Garden Italian at 35 calories
Dinner:
240 calories, 23 g protein, 10 g carbs, 9 g fat
- 4 ounces 93% Ground turkey
- A variety of cooked vegetables should yield approximately 2 cups
- Low-calorie pasta (this one, Healthy Naoodle) I found at Costco and it’s now my new favorite! The Liviva Brand is also my favorite. However, I don’t like Magic Noodles. You can substitute spiralized zucchini (zoodles), or spaghetti squash if you don’t want low-calorie pasta.
Dessert!
210 calories, 27 g protein, 19 g carbs, 2 g fat
- Protein ice cream!! This is something I look forward too after dinner! A protein powder with close to 100 calories per serving is a good choice to keep your macros and calories the same as mine. I used ISOProtein (all flavors are delicious! This recipe is for strawberry protein Ice Cream, however I used vanilla almond milk in this meal plan.
- One day I did use peanut butter powder.
Download the 1200 Calorie High Protein template
The 7-Day High Protein outline
Download the 7-Day 1200 Calorie, High Protein Meal Planning here
What foods should you prepare?
Preparing food is a great way to stay on track with your weight loss plan. ( Check out my high-protein meal prep post
It was really easy to prepare this meal. This is all you need to prepare a day of 1200 calories. Here’s how I prepared it:
- My fruit was added to the yogurt. Here, I used frozen blueberries. So, I put it in the yogurt and then in the fridge.
- So I could freeze the strawberry protein Ice Cream, I made it.
- After cooking all the ground turkey, I divided it into seven days. Then, I added the vegetables raw to the meal preparation containers. They didn’t need to be cooked.
- Then, I cooked the whole chicken on my George Foreman charcoal!
- Next, I portioned my salad!
That’s it! Do not overcomplicate meal preparation!
The 1200 Calorie Diet Shopping Guide!
Finally, let’s get to the shopping!
I did not include sauces, seasonings, or any other similar items. You can use fat-free sour cream or mustard to top my food.
