1200 Calorie Keto Meal Plan: Fueling Your Body with Keto

In recent years, high-protein, low-carb eating plans have been garnering more and more attention from people who would love to shed a few pounds.

The 1200 calorie keto meal plan is an example of such a diet. However, despite all the hype around this weight loss approach, is a ketogenic diet good for you?

1200-Calorie Keto Meal Plan Example

Here is an example of an easy-to-follow keto diet plan. Keep in mind that you can swap ingredients! If you are not a fan of salmon, opt for mahi-mahi or flounder, and if you don’t eat cauliflower, try broccoli, cabbage, or zucchini instead. Be creative!

Breakfast:

• Scrambled eggs with spinach and mushrooms cooked in coconut oil (2 eggs, 1 cup spinach, 1/2 cup mushrooms, 1 tablespoon coconut oil)
• 1/2 avocado
• Coffee with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, MCT oil, or heavy cream

Snack:

• 1 ounce of macadamia nuts or almonds

Lunch:

• Grilled or air-fried chicken breast (4 ounces)
• Caesar salad (2 cups romaine lettuce, 1 tablespoon keto-friendly Caesar dressing, 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese)
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

Snack:

• Celery sticks with 2 tablespoons of almond butter or peanut butter

Dinner:

• Grilled salmon (4 ounces) with lemon and dill
• Roasted asparagus (1 cup) with olive oil
• Cauliflower rice (1 cup)

Keep in mind that this is just a sample meal plan, and you should always consult with a healthcare professional before starting a new diet or making any noticeable changes to your diet. Additionally, it’s essential to ensure that your macronutrient and micronutrient intake is balanced and appropriate for your individual needs.

What is a Ketogenic diet?

While most of us are just learning about Keto, its benefits, and multiple variations, the ketogenic diet is not something new. This diet has been used in medicine for almost 100 years to treat illnesses such as drug-resistant epilepsy. The Keto diet is highly restrictive of carbohydrates, and it relies on protein and high-fat contents to keep people going throughout the day. Specific plans vary, but usually, Keto dieters aim to eat less than 50 grams of carbohydrate per day.

In short, once you reach ketosis, your body will start breaking down and using its stored fats for energy. This is said to help burn fat faster thus helping you lose weight quickly.

What kinds of foods are allowed on a 1200 calorie easy keto meal plan

Seeing as keto itself is quite a restrictive diet, here are some foods to avoid and some that are allowed while under this dieting plan:

#1 Dairy

You are allowed to have full fat natural/plain yogurt and cheese, butter, and cream. However, stay away from milk, ice-cream, non-fat and sweetened yogurt.

#2 Nuts and seeds

You can enjoy a variety of nuts and seeds such as macadamia, almonds, chia seeds, pecans, flax seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts. However, you should avoid cashews and any sweetened and chocolate-covered nuts.

#3 Meat and poultry

Chicken, grass-fed beef, organ meats, pork and turkey, are allowed on Keto. However, processed and breaded meats are not.

#4 Vegetables

Asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, celery, eggplant, leafy greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers are okay while starch-filled vegetables such as butternut squash, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin are off the table.

#5 Oils and fats

Do not consume processed vegetable oils or margarine. You should replace these with avocado, coconut, olive, and sesame oils. Healthy fats such as avocados are also highly encouraged.

#6 Fruits

This is a hard one for any fruit lover. Since most fruits are packed with carbohydrates, you are not allowed to consume them. The only exceptions are such berries as raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.

#7 Fish and eggs

You can have eggs on this diet just try and ensure that they are organic. As for fish, you can choose either herring, mackerel or wild salmon.

All beans and legumes are forbidden from this diet. If you would like to have condiments, make sure that they are fresh or in powder form. Do not consume any pre-made condiments as you cannot tell the amount of sugar added to them. When it comes to salad dressings, it is best to make your own and do not add any sugar to them.

#8 Drinks

Almond or flax milk, bone broth, unsweetened teas, and coffees are considered okay while sugary alcoholic drinks, beer, soda, and fruit juice are discouraged.

Is the 1200 Keto meal plan healthy?

Yes and no. Generally, the keto diet has a lot of advantages. This diet has been used in seizure treatment in children with epilepsy. Aside from that, it is said to have significant results in weight loss. In 2004 a study found that a long-term ketogenic diet was beneficial to a group of obese patients.

In 24 weeks, not only did the patients lose a significant amount of weight, but they also experienced a decrease in the level of total cholesterol. Levels of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and blood glucose also decreased.

While Keto has been proven to be effective, limiting yourself to a 1200 calorie Keto meal plan might not be sustainable long-term. While it will help you lose your weight, it should be noted that an average adult requires 1,600 – 3,000 calories every day to sustain their body weight. Always discuss with your physician before embarking on a very low-calorie diet to make sure that it is safe and appropriate for you.

What are the benefits of the 1200 calorie keto meal plan?

• Rapid weight loss
  • Sedentary adult women require about 1600 – 2000 calories a day while sedentary adult males need approximately 2,000 and 2,600 calories each day. The 1200 calorie meal plan for weight loss significantly cuts down on the number of calories required in a day.
  • If you would like to bump up the number of pounds lost, remember to exercise while on this diet. A physically active person is bound to lose more weight than someone who lives a pretty sedentary lifestyle.
• Reduced appetite
  • Ketone bodies are said to have an effect on appetite control hormones and are appetite suppressants. Since the eating plan is also high in proteins, you will remain fuller for longer.
• Reducing the appearance of acne
  • While there are many reasons and causes of acne, the cure to it can not only be found in topical treatments, but also in your diet and blood sugar levels. Deciding to go on a 1200 calorie easy keto meal plan can be the answer to your acne problems.
  • Since the diet will significantly decrease the number of refined carbohydrates that you consume, it may help balance your gut bacteria and reduce your blood sugar levels. This in turn might reduce some acne symptoms.
• Provides certain kinds of relief to cancer patients
  • It should first be noted that more research is required to ensure that this is true. That being said, a review published in 2014 discussed that Ketogenic diets have been shown to reduce tumor growth and improve survival in animal models of malignant glioma, colon cancer, gastric cancer, and prostate cancer.
  • In two human patients with advanced-stage malignant astrocytoma who were fed a calorie-restricted keto diet coupled with normal treatments, their tumors reduced by 21.8%. This diet has also helped cancer patients by improving their emotional functioning, and bouts of insomnia.
  • An easy Keto diet will quickly reduce the amount of glucose in your body. This is thought to be a good thing because cancer cells have been known to grow by depending on the glucose in our bodies. Cancer cells are unable to metabolize ketone bodies as they would blood sugar or glucose. Also, the lack of blood glucose reduces the levels of insulin. This in turn is thought to make it harder for cancerous cells to grow in our bodies.
• Improved heart health
  • Keto is a diet that is quite high in fats, and this would lead one to assume that the diet would spike your cholesterol levels. While this is true, it is also important to understand that we have two types of cholesterol; ‘bad cholesterol’ aka low-density lipoprotein, and ‘good cholesterol’ aka high-density lipoprotein.
  • Being on the 1200 calorie Keto meal plan could significantly reduce the ‘bad cholesterol’ in your body while simultaneously increasing the ‘good cholesterol’. This would reduce your chances of heart diseases and complications.
• Prevention and treatment of nervous system diseases
  • Research has found that a Ketogenic diet can be beneficial to patients with Parkinson’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. This high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet brings about the state of ketosis, and ketone bodies may have a neuroprotective impact on the aging brain cells.
  • However, more research is needed to prove whether this diet can be effective and provide relief to such patients.
• Improves PCOS symptoms
  • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS is a hormonal disorder that affects numerous women and causes uncontrollable weight fluctuations, among other symptoms. The good news is that being on this 1200 calorie Keto meal plan may not only help reduce your weight, but it could also alleviate other PCOS markers such as balancing your hormones.

Conclusion

The 1200 calorie keto meal plan is an effective and quick way to lose those extra pounds. However, it may not be a sustainable long-term weight loss plan.

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to weight loss. You need a Keto meal plan that fits your body type, nutritional needs, and personal recommendations.