1,200 calorie diet plan with Pakistani food: is it right for you?

Is a 1,200 calorie diet safe?

For most adults, 1,200 calories a day is low. Some people can follow it safely for a while with guidance, but it's well below what most bodies use, which makes it hard to keep up and easy to get wrong.

The NHS says an average man needs about 2,500 calories a day and an average woman about 2,000. Your own number depends on your age, weight, height and how much exercise you do. On those averages, 1,200 calories is 800 fewer than a woman needs, and less than half of what a man needs.

That's why so many 1,200 calorie charts passed around on WhatsApp end the same way: a hungry week, a big plate of biryani at the next dawat (a meal at someone's home), and the feeling that diets don't work for you. Usually the cut was too big, and you weren't the problem.

Who should eat 1,200 calories a day?

A small group of people, for a limited time. A 1,200 calorie plan can suit a shorter, older or less active woman whose body uses less energy, as a short phase with a doctor or a qualified nutrition professional checking in, not a number to live on for years.

It usually isn't the right target if you:

• are a man, or a woman who is tall, young or active all day;
• are pregnant or breastfeeding;
• are a teenager or still growing;
• have had an eating disorder, or find that strict food rules make you anxious;
• take insulin or diabetes tablets such as gliclazide, unless your doctor agrees and helps you plan it.

And if your weight is already in a healthy range, you may not need a calorie cut at all. South Asians face health risks at a lower BMI than many people expect, so check where you stand with our guide to healthy BMI for South Asians.

What happens if you eat too few calories?

Cut too hard and your body pushes back. The problems aren't usually dramatic, but they're why so many strict diets don't last.

• Hunger. A plate that's too small leaves you thinking about food all afternoon, and the evening ends with rusks, biscuits or leftover paratha. The NHS warns against skipping meals for the same reason: you might end up snacking more because you feel hungry.
• Low energy. Feeling tired and short-tempered makes work, cooking and looking after children harder, and the evening walk is the first thing to go.
• Too little protein and nutrients. The less you eat, the harder it is to fit in enough protein, fibre, iron and calcium. That's why every meal in the sample day below includes eggs, daal, chicken, milk or yoghurt.
• Muscle loss. When weight comes off fast on too little food, some of it can be muscle rather than fat. Protein at each meal and some strength work, such as squats or climbing the stairs, can help you keep it.
• Weight coming back. The NHS advises against losing weight suddenly with diets and suggests aiming for 0.5 to 1 kg a week. The CDC says people who lose weight at a gradual, steady pace of about 1 to 2 pounds a week are more likely to keep it off.

Our Pakistani diet plan for weight loss has more on why crash diets backfire, with a full week of meals.

What does a 1,200 calorie Pakistani diet plan look like?

Here's an example day that comes to about 1,200 calories. It shows the pattern, not a prescription: your own number depends on your body, your routine, your health and any medicines you take. Each roti is made from 30 g of chakki atta (stone-ground whole wheat flour), with no ghee on top.

Figures are rounded from USDA FoodData Central, and they include the cooking oil, the part most people forget to count. If the evening is when hunger hits, move the guava there.

Weigh things once (the atta, the daal and the oil) and you'll soon judge them by eye. Our guide to roti and weight loss shows how to work out the size of your roti.

How can you feel full on fewer calories?

Build each meal around protein and sabzi, then add the roti. Protein and fibre are filling, so a smaller portion of roti or rice feels like enough.

• Fill half the plate with sabzi or salad. Palak, lauki, tori, bhindi, gobhi and kachumber add bulk without many calories. This is the plate method from the US CDC: half vegetables, a quarter protein and a quarter roti or rice.
• Measure the oil. A tablespoon of ghee or oil is about 120 calories and a teaspoon about 45. On a 1,200 calorie day, one extra tablespoon in the salan is a tenth of your whole allowance.
• Watch your drinks. Sugar in chai, cold drinks, packaged juice and sweet lassi all add up. Cut the sugar half a spoon at a time so your taste can adjust.
• Don't skip meals. Three meals and a planned snack make a late-night raid on the fridge less likely.

Should you eat 1,400, 1,600 or 1,800 calories instead?

For many people, yes. A slightly bigger plan can still mean eating less than you use, and it's far easier to live with at work, at home and at a shaadi (wedding).

You can build up from the sample day above, using the same figures:

• About 1,400: add a second roti at dinner (about 100 calories) and a medium banana as a snack (about 105).
• About 1,600: add those, plus a 250 ml glass of full-cream milk (about 155) and one more teaspoon of oil in your cooking (about 45).
• About 1,800: add all of that, plus a small handful of peanuts, about 30 g (about 170).

Going slower isn't failing. A plan you can follow through Ramadan, Eid and the next family wedding beats one you drop by Friday.

Which level suits you depends on your size, age, activity and health, and that's the number a qualified nutrition professional works out with you.

When should you talk to your doctor or a qualified nutrition professional?

Talk to your doctor before cutting calories if you have diabetes or take any regular medicines. If you take insulin or tablets such as gliclazide, eating much less, especially less roti and rice, can make your blood sugar drop too low, and your doses may need to change. Never stop or reduce a medicine on your own.

It's also worth getting advice if you have PCOS, a thyroid condition, high blood pressure or kidney problems, or if you've lost weight without trying. Our guides to a diabetic diet plan and a PCOS diet plan go into more detail, and you can see how we work with blood sugar and weight.

NutriZaika is a virtual nutrition clinic, and our online weight loss clinic doesn't hand out a fixed 1,200 calorie chart. Each 28-day plan sets calories for you, with every ingredient in grams, and is reviewed by Nida Tu Sehar, Senior Nutrition Consultant and Clinical Lead. See our plans and prices, or if you'd like a plan built around your own kitchen, choose your plan.