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1200 Calorie Low Carb Meal Plan

This 1200 calorie low carb meal plan should help you with ideas on what to eat if you are trying to follow a low calorie, low carb plan for weight loss!

If you are like me, you love printable meal plans! I have been collecting healthy meal plans from magazines for at least 2 decades. Whenever I see a meal plan in a fitness magazine, I rip it out and save it. I don’t always use them, but for some reason, I love collecting them!

So, I wanted to create as many meal plans as I could for my blog to add to my collection.


This 1200 calorie low carb meal plan is the actual meals I’m currently eating to get ready for a bodybuilding/ bikini show this summer! 

before and after with amy roskelley

I went through a recent few weeks worth of tracking in MyFitnessPal and created this 1200 calorie low carb plan. The nutrients here average:

  • 1200 calories
  • 45% protein (about 130 grams)
  • 30% carbs (around 80 grams)
  • and 25% fat (around 35 grams)

It was unbelievable some of the low carb meal plans out there, because most of them were NOT low carb! My goal the last few months has been to get more than 100 grams of protein, and around 100 grams or less of carbs. Doing this, I’ve been able to drop 15 pounds in the last 3 months. I feel great where I am!

Who is 1200 calories appropriate for

There isn’t usually a reason to drop your calories to 1200. However, if you are small (I’m 5’1 and under 110 pounds), than 1200 calories is probably plenty. In fact, I’m not hungry most of the time.

If you are trying to create a calorie deficit, and your normal calories are around 1500, than 1200 calories would be appropriate.

Most experts recommend not going below 1200 calories, which is why increasing the protein and decreasing the carbs is a great way to get you closer to your physique goals.

What are the meals for 1200 calories

This list actually took me several weeks to put together. I was documenting everything I ate in MyFitnessPal. I was increasing the protein for some foods to hit these macro goals. I don’t have photos for everything, but I did get a few!

I have Amazon links for products I used when I calculated the nutrition info. For example, the syrup was zero calories, and I used the Walden Farms. The protein powder was 130 calories and low in carbs, so I used Optimum protein powder. And the tortillas were the 80 calorie Maya tortillas.

1200 calorie low carb high protein low fat meal plan

Monday: 1183 calories, 145 g protein, 90 g carbs, 27 g fat

8:00 AM (scrambled eggs with cheese and a banana)
Egg Whites – 1 cup,
Egg, 1 large
Mozzarella Cheese, 1 ounce
Banana, 100 g
10:00 AM (Peanut butter yogurt)
Greek Plain Nonfat Yogurt, 1 cup
Walden Farms – Sugar Free Pancake Syrup, 2 tablespoons
Peanut Butter Powder, 2 tbsp
12:00 PM (Rice with beef and mushrooms)
Jasmine Rice, 80 gram
Mushrooms – 1 cup
Beef Ground – 95% Lean Ground Beef, 4 oz cooked
3:00 PM
Optimum Protein Powder – Protein Powder, 1 scoop
Jello – Sugar Free Jello Cup, 1 snack
5:00 PM (Chicken with sweet potatoes and sauteed zucchini in butter)
Butter – 2 tsp
Zucchini, 1 cup, sliced
Chicken – Tenders, 4 oz
Sweet potato, mashed 100 grams

Tuesday: 1148 calories 130 grams protein, 85 grams carbs, 32 grams fat

8:00 AM (scrambled eggs and oatmeal)
Egg, 2 large
Egg Whites – 1 cup
Oats – 1/3 cup dry
10:00 AM (Berries in yogurt)
Greek Plain Nonfat Yogurt, 1 cup
Frozen Mixed Berries, 100 g
12:00 PM
Chicken-Ground, 4.5 oz(s)
Sweet Potato, 100 gram
Cucumber – 1 medium
3:00 PM
Optimum Protein Powder – Protein Powder, 1 scoop
5:00 PM
Chicken Thighs, 4.5 ounce
Jasmine Rice, 75 gram
Mushrooms – 1 cup

Wednesday: 1147 calories, 127 g protein, 81 g carbs, 35 g fat

8:00 AM (Scrambled eggs with cheese, on toast)
Egg Whites – 1 cup
Egg, 1 large
Mozzarella Cheese, 28 gram
Whole wheat Bread, 1 slice
10:00 AM
String Cheese, 1 stick (28g)
Grapefruit, 1 medium
12:00 PM (A lettuce wrap with cheese and turkey inside)
Strawberries – 200g Strawberries, 0.5 cup
Laughing Cow – Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese Wedges, 21 g (1 Wedge)
Lettuce Leaf, 1 leaf
Deli Turkey, 4 oz
3:00 PM
Protein Bar – High Protein Bar – S’mores, 1 bar (50 g/1.76 oz)
5:00 PM (Spaghetti squash with chicken and cheese – IG PIC)
Chicken – Tenders, 4.5 oz
spray butter, 1 spray
Parmesan Cheese, 1 oz
Spaghetti squash, 1 cup

Thursday: 1167 calories, 126 grams protein, 87 grams carbs, 35 grams fat

8:00 AM
1 tortilla (80 calories tortilla)
Egg Whites, 1 cup
Mozzarella Cheese, 28 gram
10:00 AM
Walden farms calorie free Syrup, 1 tbsp
Peanut Butter Powder, 2 tablespoon
Greek Yogurt, plain, non fat 1 cup (Kirkland or Great Value)
12:00 PM
Jasmine Rice, 80 gram
Mushrooms, 1 cup
Beef Ground – 95% Lean Ground Beef, 4 oz cooked
3:00 PM
Deli Turkey, 3 oz
String Cheese – 1 String Cheese, 1 stick
Quaker Rice Cake – Rice Cake – Lightly Salted, 1 cake
5:00 PM
Steak, 4 oz
Bolthouse – Ranch, 2 tbsp
1 Tossed Green Salad or 2 cups
Sweet Potato, 100 grams

Friday: 1146 calories, 137 grams protein, 73 grams carbs, 34 grams fat

8:00 AM
Cheese, 1/2 oz
Egg, 1 large
Egg Whites – Egg Whites, 1 cup
10:00 AM pink salad snack
Low fat Cottage Cheese, 1 cup
Jello – Sugar Free – Fat Free – Chocolate – Packet Only, 0.25 Package (10g)
Berries, 1 cup
12:00 PM (Chicken wrap)
Canned Chicken, 5 oz
1 tortilla (80 calorie)
Light Mayo, 1 tbs
3:00 PM
Optimum Protein Powder – Protein Powder, 1 scoop
5:00 PM (Taco salad, IG Pic)
Ground Beef – Ground Beef 96%, 4 oz
Cheese – Cheese, 1/2 oz
Corn – 1/2 cup
Bolthouse – Ranch, 2 tbsp
1 Tossed Green Salad – Salad, 2 cups
1200 calorie high protein low carb low fat day

Prepping your 1200 calorie meals

People love meal prepping, and I don’t blame them. If you plan ahead, you can make sure you’ll eat what you have on your meal plan. I prep two things. My proteins, and I will put a sweet potato in the oven in the morning if it’s on my plan for the day. The proteins I prep include:

  • Cooking chicken tenders
  • Cook the ground beef
  • Cook ground chicken
  • Cook chicken thighs

I will also plan on making:

  • Rice
  • and the sweet potatoes.


THAT’S IT!!


Pin this pin on Pinterest to your favorite fitness board and share with a friend who may be looking to learn how to start working out.

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