To encourage fat reduction and reach their desired weight as rapidly as possible, some people stick to 1,200-calorie diet regimens.So we will focus on how to eat less calories.
While it’s true that decreasing calories can help you lose weight, research suggests that doing so too dramatically can harm your health and weight loss in the long run.
A 1,200-calorie diet is what it sounds like.It is a manner of eating in which you consume 1,200 calories each day. Because it delivers much less calories than most ordinary adults require to maintain their weight, this diet is classified as a low calorie diet.
Low-calorie diets are commonly prescribed by healthcare providers, such as doctors and dietitians, as a weight-loss approach.Reducing calorie intake by 500–750 calories per day is a popular tip to kickstart weight loss.
1,200–1,500 calories per day
Adult women should consume 1,200–1,500 calories per day, while adult men should consume 1,500–1,800 calories per day.It’s worth noting that 1,200 calories is on the lower end of the low-calorie diet recommendations for women.
Low calorie diets are defined as those that provide between 800 and 1,200 calories per day, whereas very low calorie diets provide less than 800 calories per day, according to some researchers.
To achieve rapid weight loss, these diets are usually followed for a few weeks or months.Low-calorie and very-low-calorie diets are frequent in therapeutic settings under medical supervision, such as weight-loss facilities, but they’re also popular among the general public.
In fact, many weight reduction coaches, personal trainers, and prominent dieting websites promote 1,200-calorie meal plans as a way to “slim down fast.”
These diets mainly encourage dieters to eat “low calorie,” “fat-free,” and “reduced-fat” meals to assist them stay under their daily calorie limit, and they also include calorie tracking to ensure dieters stay below their daily limit.
While a 1,200-calorie diet may be adequate for some people in the short term, it is considerably too low for most individuals.
Furthermore, while drastically cutting your calorie consumption may result in rapid weight loss at first, research suggest that low-calorie diets rarely work in the long run to keep weight off.
Is it able to assist you in shedding pounds?
To lose weight, you must first create a calorie deficit. Cutting calories by 500–750 calories per day, as recommended by some health specialists, is likely to result in weight loss in the near term.
Many studies have indicated that eating low-calorie diets, such as 1,200 calories per day, can help people lose weight.A medically supervised 1,200-calorie meal replacement diet, for example, led in an average fat loss of 4.7 percent over 12 months in 2,093 obese persons.
Adults in another trial followed a commercial weight-loss programme that offered 500, 1,200–1,500, or 1,500–1800 calories per day.The 1,200–1,500 calorie per day diet resulted in a 15-pound weight loss on average after a year (6.8 kg).
However, of the 4,588 participants who followed the 1,200-calorie diet, 23% dropped out
While initial weight loss on low-calorie diets, such as 1,200-calorie diets, is often swift and considerable, studies have revealed that when compared to diets with only moderate calorie restriction, weight return is frequently larger.
In the commercial weight loss study noted above, the researchers discovered that quick weight loss in the first three months was linked to increased weight return throughout the nine-month weight loss maintenance phase in all three diet groups.
Another study of 57 overweight or obese persons found that after following a very low 500-calorie diet for 5 weeks or a low 1,250-calorie diet for 12 weeks, study participants recovered 50% of the weight they lost over the course of 10 months.
Low-calorie diets generate physiological changes that preserve energy and prevent weight loss, such as increased appetite, loss of lean body mass, and calorie burn reductions, all of which make long-term weight management challenging.
Many health professionals now propose eating patterns that use just small calorie reductions to aid weight loss while limiting the detrimental metabolic adaptations associated with low-calorie diets.
A 1,200-calorie diet may have some advantages.Although there are certain health benefits to eating a 1,200-calorie diet, it’s crucial to remember that these benefits are linked to calorie restriction in general, not just 1,200-calorie meal plans.
Consuming more calories than your body requires on a regular basis can lead to a variety of health problems, including weight gain, increased risk factors for heart disease, and diabetes.It is critical to provide your body with the appropriate amount of calories to maintain good overall health.
Is Calorie Restriction Safe?
Calorie restriction, in general, has been found to improve health by boosting weight loss, lowering heart disease risk factors such as LDL (bad) cholesterol, and lowering blood sugar and inflammatory levels.
There’s no doubt that lowering excess body weight is good for your health, and that remaining within your particular calorie demands is the best thing you can do for your body.
However, the strategies employed to assist weight reduction are important, and following a very low-calorie, restricted diet is significantly linked to an increased risk of weight return over time.
While lowering excess body weight might enhance your overall health, it’s crucial to prioritise healthy, long-term weight loss over more severe food practises.
It’s worth noting that some studies have found that persons with obesity or morbid obesity who follow low-calorie or extremely low-calorie diets under medical supervision lose weight and improve their blood sugar and lipid profiles, which can improve general health.
Nonetheless, due to their restrictive character, these diets are usually only followed for a short time and are associated with significant dropout rates.However, if you want to lose weight by eating a low-calorie diet, you should seek guidance from a skilled healthcare expert.
Drawbacks that might occur
Calorie requirements vary greatly depending on a variety of parameters, including body size, age, and amount of exercise. For most adults, even smaller women, a 1,200-calorie diet is insufficient.
Though calorie demands vary from person to person and can only be estimated with specific equipment or calculations, the average adult woman need roughly 2,000 calories per day to maintain her weight, while a male requires around 2,500 calories per day.
Optional improvements
Diets are frequently chosen by healthcare practitioners and people trying to lose weight primarily on how soon they can provide the desired outcomes, rather than the long-term health effects of calorie restriction.
While a restrictive, low-calorie diet that provides well below your daily calorie demands is likely to result in rapid weight loss, keep in mind that some of that weight loss will come in the form of muscle mass. RMR can be reduced as a result of muscle loss and other metabolic changes.
Large calorie deficits not only cause undesirable changes in your body that make weight reduction more difficult to maintain, but they can also have a negative impact on your mental health.
Dieting, according to the majority of research studies, does not work, and that choosing healthier, less drastic weight loss approaches is a superior option for long-term weight loss and maintenance.
Try a couple of the following evidence-based, healthy weight loss techniques instead of reducing your consumption to 1,200 calories, which usually entails documenting every bite of food that passes your lips:
Whole foods should be consumed?
The majority of your calorie consumption should come from whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, seafood, nuts, seeds, and eggs. Whole foods are high in fibre, protein, and healthy fats, all of which are essential for good health.
Remove sugar and fats from your diet?
A healthy strategy to aid weight loss is to reduce your fat and added sugar intake. Soda, cakes, ice cream, candy, and sugary cereals are examples of sugar- and/or fat-laden foods.
Cooking at home is a great way to save money.
Cook more meals at home instead than relying on takeout, restaurants, and fast food. People who make more meals at home weigh less and eat a better diet than those who consume more meals out of the house.
Daily activity should be increased
Creating a calorie deficit by increasing your calorie expenditure is one of the most effective approaches to support healthy, long-term weight loss. Consider taking daily walks outside, joining a gym, or participating in exercise programmes.
Cooperate with a seasoned medical professional
Losing weight can be a daunting and frustrating experience. A skilled dietician or other healthcare professional can assist you in losing weight in a healthy and non-restrictive manner.
While reducing weight with healthy, long-term dietary choices takes longer, it avoids the negative adaptations that occur when dieting severely and can help you keep the weight off for good.
Again, these figures are averages and do not account for variations in calorie requirements owing to age, exercise level, or height. These typical calorie needs estimates, on the other hand, offer you a notion of how few calories 1,200 calories are.
Dizziness, intense hunger, nausea, vitamin shortages, weariness, migraines, and gallstones are all possible adverse effects of a 1,200-calorie diet.
A 1,200-calorie diet may set you up for failure.
Calorie restriction affects your body’s metabolism. Increases in hunger-inducing hormones such as ghrelin and cortisol, as well as a decrease in resting metabolic rate (RMR), or the number of calories burned while at rest, are among these factors (12Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source).
This increases the likelihood of weight regain over time, as well as the vicious cycle of weight loss followed by weight gain that so many chronic dieters encounter — which often leads to despair.
Repeated dieting and weight cycling can stress the heart and raise the risk of eating disorders, type 2 diabetes, and mortality, according to study.
