Low-Calorie Diet Meal Plans

Low-calorie regimens like the 1,200 calorie diet are not impossible to follow. Keeping an accurate record of the day's calories and planning meals in advance can help a dieter stay on the path to better health. Selecting low-calorie foods and organizing meal plans are easy ways to accomplish these dietary goals.

Low-Calorie Eating

It is important when choosing a low-calorie diet to remember that a woman should not eat below 1,200 calories a day, and that a man should keep his daily calories to at least 1,500. Eating less than that amount can make a person sick, and prohibit weight loss.

Remember to divide the daily calories equally between three meals and any optional snacks that may be desired. For example, a 1,200 calorie diet would require at most 400 calories per meal.

Breakfast

According to the Mayo Clinic, breakfast is important to help reduce hunger later in the day and avoid overeating, as well as regulate insulin levels in the body. Skipping breakfast can actually cause weight gain and decrease energy levels.

Eat a breakfast that is both healthy and satisfying. Breakfast options include; oatmeal, yogurt, fresh fruit, low-fat cottage cheese, skim milk and whole-wheat toast.

Lunch

Many people prefer lunches to be portable to fit into active lifestyles. Easy lunch options include sandwiches and pita pockets. Chicken-and-grape-salad stuffed pitas, tuna salad with apples on whole-wheat bread, turkey sandwiches with light mayonnaise and low-fat provolone cheese, and cucumber sandwiches are all easy low-calorie lunch options.

Dinner

If possible eat dinner early. It is important not to sleep on a full stomach. This can cause weight gain. Dieticians often recommend waiting at least two hours after eating before going to bed.

Dinner should be a light but healthy meal. Skinless chicken breast with mixed vegetables, sirloin steak medallions with a spinach salad, and grilled ahi tuna with a three-bean salad are good low-calorie dinner choices.

Snacks

Almonds, walnuts and Brazil nuts make good snacks. Fresh fruit such as apples, peaches, plums, bananas and pears are also good choices for snacking. Vegetables like celery, carrots, radishes, broccoli and cauliflower are not only low-calorie snacks, but provide an enormous amount of vitamins. Make every calorie count -- eat only those things that are both low calorie and nutritious.

Tips

A meal plan can be easily created if a few things are remembered. Select foods that are low in calories, instead of their high-calorie counterparts (e.g., low-fat cottage cheese instead of regular cottage cheese). Replace recipe ingredients with low-calorie foods to reduce the total caloric count of a recipe, and keep portion sizes small to eliminate extra calories.