Food regulations and food restrictions are the primary things that come in mind when it comes to the subject of weight loss. The road to losing weight while staying healthy and keeping the body and mind sane is long and often misguided. The bulk of health plans that claim diet charts and weight loss are either too vague to indicate exactly how much to eat or too general to not take into consideration the dietary habits of the person.
Undirected portion restrictions are also a deterrent to a diet plan. Knowing what to eat and eating too much of the same thing is not going to help weight loss in any way. The portion of each meal has to be regulated and this can be done very effectively by counting the amount of calorie consumption in a day.Take a look at the 1200 calorie diet – a comprehensive diet plan which not only includes the healthy and delicious food options, but also the specific portions of how much to eat.

First, it is important to determine your eating schedule, because you may know what to eat, but if not taken at the right time these food items can cause a counter effect and wreck havoc with your diet plan. Eating time would be:

Early morning: This is basically the time that you wake up. For some this may be early morning before a gym session or late in the morning for a few. Whatever time you choose to wake up this is going to be the first thing that you eat or drink.

Breakfast: The time of breakfast again can be different for different people but the broad spectrum of this is going to be anytime earliest that you wake till 12 Noon. Since breakfast contains energizing food, eating all that afternoon would not show a similar result.

Lunch: The lunchtime starts from about 2-3 hours after you have had your breakfast and should not be stretched beyond 3 pm.

Post lunch: This is an optional course of meal that you can take if you do not feel full after the lunch and there is still a lot of time for the evening snack.

Evening Snack: This is usually the time between lunch and dinner when hunger really catches up.

Dinner: Dinner has to be before 9 pm as anytime after that the metabolism is at such a low that weight loss is a no chance situation.

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Now that you have gained a basic understanding of the recommended food schedule, it’s time to go through the food items and portions constituting the 1200 calorie diet plan.

Early morning: 75 Calories

• A mixture of 1 tablespoon honey and half a lime in a glass of warm water.

Breakfast:

• One bowl of vegetable quinoa that may include carrots, radish, peas, beans and cauliflower. (421 Calories).
• One glass of fat-free milk with 2 slices of toasted multigrain bread with low fat butter (360 Calories).

Lunch

• Vegetable sandwich with 2 slices of multigrain bread and whichever vegetable and 1 tablespoon mayonnaise (195 Calories).
• 2.5 ounces of chicken grilled with half a cube of cheese and 1 tablespoon of ranch salad dressing (310 Calories).
• 2 ounces of tuna mixed with 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise and five rye crackers (245 Calories).
• Broccoli, spinach and lentil soup (216 Calories).

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Post-lunch (250 Calories)

• A bowl of fruits of your choice such as watermelon, strawberries, kiwi, melon or banana.

Evening Snack

• Green or black tea with a small bowl of without butter popcorn (40 Calories).
• 1 cup of low-fat yogurt with one banana (110 Calories).

Dinner

• 1 serving of low in fat vegetable lasagna (310 Calories).
• 2.5 ounces of grilled chicken cooked in 2 teaspoons of olive oil along with half a cup of sweet potatoes (340 Calories).
• Half a cup of steamed broccoli on the side of 2.5 ounces of grilled salmon cooked in 2 teaspoons of olive oil along with half cup of brown rice (395 Calories).

As long as you stay measure your portion size and maintain the calorie count, a positive outcome is assured.

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