1200 Calorie Vegetarian Diet

At the first glance, 1200 might seem like a big number. Do you know that we consume around 1500 calories daily or sometimes a lot more than that? These days, various diet plans are available for healthy and quick weight loss. Depending upon your overall health, urge to lose weight, eating habits, age and your daily physical activities, you should choose the best diet to lose weight.

As a result of the increasing awareness about stopping the killing of animals and maintaining the biodiversity of our earth, billions of people all over the world are following vegetarian diets. They do not eat animal flesh (meat, poultry and fish). Vegans do not consume animal flesh as well as products derived from animals like honey and milk. Lacto vegetarians consume dairy products but do not consume meat, fish, poultry and eggs. Lacto ovo vegetarians consume dairy products and eggs but avoid eating meat, poultry and fish.

Benefits of Vegetarian Diet
These days, many people willingly opt for a 1200 calorie vegetarian diet plan, as it helps maintain weight.

• A properly designed 1200 calorie vegetarian diet plan can provide the body with maximum vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are required to maintain the overall health. It can keep you fit and energetic.
• The diet would help lose weight fast without fasting.
• 1200 calorie vegetarian diet is a high fiber diet that contains items that are very low in saturated fat. The body is benefited by the anti-cancer properties of the phytochemicals present in the vegetables. Do you know that the chances of developing any form of cancer is 40% less in vegetarian people?
• 1200 calorie vegetarian diet helps control high blood pressure and diabetes, and helps reverse the effects of these two disorders, to some extent. However, these ends can be achieved provided that the diet is followed under the guidance of a physician and it is accompanied by necessary and proper exercise.
• Several researches have proved that the life expectancy of the people following vegetarian diet is quite higher than the life expectancy of the people following non vegetarian diets.
• As a vegetarian diet contains comparatively less fat, the body mass index of the people on vegetarian diet is closer to the standard BMI than those of the non-vegetarians.
• Cholesterol is mainly responsible for most of the heart problems and it is abundant in animal products. A vegetarian diet helps keep heart diseases at bay.
• The nutritional value of vegetables help minimize bone loss and helps prevent osteoporosis.
• Vegetarian diet helps in avoiding gall bladder or kidney stones.

1200 Calorie Diet Plan
Here is a 1200 calorie vegetarian diet plan for you if losing weight fast naturally is your goal.

• A variety of food items like vegetables, fruits, whole grains,nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs and dairy products should be consumed.
• Fatty, sweet and heavily refined food items should be avoided. Eat only whole and unrefined food.
• Low fat versions of dairy products should be consumed.

The following table will help you in implementing a 1200 calorie vegetarian diet plan.

Type of Food	Servings
Fruits (sections, juices, pulps)	2-3 servings
Vegetables (raw, baked, soups, cooked, purees)	2-3 servings
Dairy Products (milk, cheese, butter, yogurt)	2-3 servings
Grains (whole grains, flours and other products of grains)	1-2 servings
Beans, nuts, seeds, lentils and eggs	1-2 servings

1200 Calorie Vegetarian Diet Menu
Here is a sample 1200 calorie vegetarian diet menu for you. The figures in bracket indicate the number of calories.

• Breakfast: Unsweetened fruit juice (60), 1 bowl of cereal with skim milk (250).
• Morning Snack: 1 banana/ 1 apple/ 1 orange (100).
• Lunch: Baked potatoes and baked beans with 100 gm of cottage cheese (400), low fat yogurt (60).
• Evening Snack: Carrots, cucumber or 1 large mixed vegetable salad (100), unsweetened fruit juice (60).
• Dinner: Rice, peas (430), melon (40)

If you replace a fruit or fruit juice with hard-boiled egg (80) or scrambled egg (90), the total calorie count will be approximately 1200. You can adjust the food items according to your choice and availability. A 1200 calorie vegetarian diet can be very healthy for those who are facing weight problems as well as for those who feel uneasy to eat food which involves killing of an animal.