We are always looking for the best way to keep our health in top condition, and a proper diet is one of the best ways to make sure everything keeps running smoothly in our organism.
Fad diets have gone the way of the Dodo. Most of them have proven to be unreliable and unhealthy.
People are looking for the best solution that works for real while offering true balance to our overall health.
One of the best programs to lose weight is the diet plan proposed by world-renewed Dr. Nowzaradan.
The plan is actually a very basic structure of meals that reduce the number of calories in our food to 1200 calories a day.
This is a diet that won’t make you give up any food groups.
You won’t make painful sacrifices that will likely bounce back the minute you get derailed.
Dr. Nowzaradan’s 1200 calorie diet plan is the best way to lose a lot of weight without putting our health at risk.
There is a lot to take in about who is this man and why his diet is not a fad or something that will affect your health in the long run.
Let’s get started on this guide learning the essential facts about the man with the plan.
So Who is Doctor Nowzaradan?
His full name is Younan Nowzaradan. He built his reputation as one of the most successful vascular surgeons in the state of Texas in the United States of America.
His name will be familiar for fans of reality TV since he plays himself as “Dr. Now” in the show “My 600Lbs Life.”
In this reality show, we see him treat overweight patients who have to endure a rigorous weight program before getting vascular procedures.
The good doctor has been doing this for a long time now. He obtained his medical credentials back in Teheran in the ’70s.
He perfected many of the techniques used in modern vascular surgeries such as gastric bypasses, gastric sleeves, band systems, and other revisionist surgeries.
He created the 1200 calories a day weight loss plan to help morbidly obese people shed weight before facing these procedures.
Dr. Nowzaradan is a firm believer that vascular surgeries can’t be effective if we don’t align our organism with a new reality.
A lot of these procedures have failed in the past with people gaining the lost weight again and putting their health at risk because they didn’t help their organism get used to the idea of receiving fewer calories.
His diet is known for being rich in nutrients and helpful in improving our health.
What is a 1200 Calorie Diet Plan – How it Works and Its Benefits
The proposal of 1200 calories a day weight loss plan probably sounds like a real challenge for people who are looking for safer alternatives.
If you are used to eating whatever comes your way, this will indeed look like something truly difficult to achieve.
The original plan is best suited for people who are undergoing vascular procedures, but it can be applied by anyone willing to lose some weight.
The 1200 calorie diet plan can be applied by regular folks at rates that are not invasive to their organisms. The overall program will help reduce your daily caloric intake slowly.
The low number of calories can make you think that you will be eating very little, but that’s not how the strategy works.
The Dr. Nowzaranda diet is a path to learning how to eat correctly and get the most out of every meal with all the established food groups.
Many people keep wondering how this is possible since no dietary plan can achieve this without some severe restrictions in place.
The perception is right to some point since 1200 calorie a day diet can’t have sugar, but there are a lot of substitutes for that ingredient.
In the long run, lesser calories a day can help anyone burn fat faster and shed excessive weight.
It’s a sound strategy that has a proven record of assisting overweight patients, and slender people can apply it.
The Secret Behind Dr. Nowzaranda’s Diet – Never Consume Under 1200 Calories in a Day
The diet plan of a good doctor is not a foolproof method. You need to manage the dietary plan with medical supervision.
The main secret behind the 1200 calories a day weight loss program is to never consume less than that precise number of calories a day.
This is a particularly critical point if you don’t know how to keep track of calories, You could face poor nourishment and get minimal nutrients of your meals.
There has been researching that proves how the human body can endure a day full of work with just 1200 calories a day.
Those same studies have shown that if you are used to consuming more than that, you will be hungry as your body adapts to this particular new reality.
The 1200 calorie diet plan is also a way to adopt new habits when it’s time to eat and finding the right balance when it comes to your choice of food groups.
The primary purpose of doing this diet by a lean person is to find new grounds to build better notions about the right type of diet that can help them find their correct weight.
Since hunger might be an issue at the beginning, it’s essential to plan our choice of snacks between meals.
The right 1200 calorie meal plan includes three main meals a day and three separate snacks between meals.
It’s up to you to distribute those calories the way they serve you for the best.
A-List of the Foods Allowed in Dr. Nowzaradan’s Diet
As we have stated at the beginning of this guide, the Dr. Nowzaradan diet plan allows all the food groups we can find, but it favors those who are high on proteins over those who are high on calories.
You can still consume carbs up to some very popular sources such as bread, pasta, and rice.
Sugar is completely cut off and replaced by facsimiles or natural options. According to the science behind the 1200 calorie meal plan, we need 6 to 8 ounces of protein a day to live.
Some of the most popular sources of protein are low-fat meat cuts, fish, and seafood in general. Poultry is also a popular option, as well as dry beans and nuts.
The choice of meats is always based on lean cuts since they don’t have any fat on them.
It also favors fish since the caloric intake of most species is very low.
With poultry, it becomes crucial to take away the fat and the skin before consuming them. Pork is not precisely banned, but it’s not recommended.
If we were to classify the food groups in the most accessible way, these are the best choices you can have when you go for a 1200 calorie diet plan:
- Dairy
You can have milk in your 1200 calorie diet plan. Depending on the type of milk you drink, you can have no more than three cups a day.
If you consume low-fat options, skim milk or other types of milk-based on seeds and nuts, you will have to consult your doctor about the best measure that accommodates your diet plan.
- Fruits and Green Vegetables
As you can expect, a 1200 calorie a day diet will increase your consumption of fruits and green vegetables. After all, they are one of the finest sources of fiber and nutrients in the plan.
Servings that are the size of a regular cup will do the trick here. When it comes to vegetables, the best ones are the options low on starch and greener, such as any leafy green, from lettuce to spinach.
Broccoli will also do the trick. Try to keep potatoes to a minimum and be mindful of the sugar content of some fruits, such as watermelon.
- Fats and Oils
Fats are an essential part of any diet, and as such, they should be overlooked in a 1200 calorie meal plan. You need 7 to 9 teaspoons a day. There is a rather large selection of oils to choose from to cook your meals.
Olive oil is probably the healthiest option, but there are a lot of derivatives from nuts as well as other seeds.
You can also have your share of fat from an animal source such as the fat contained on certain meats and a few fishes.
- Grains and Carb Sources
We already told how great beans are as a source of protein. They are also fantastic to fill your stomach and keep your calories count very low. A serving of 5 or 6 ounces a day can do the trick.
Pasta, rice, and bread are not forbidden, but you will have to cut down on their consumption quite a bit if you want to meet the 1200 daily quota. Half a cup of these carbs is more than enough.
A single regular-sized slice of bread is the daily recommended consumption. You can also have quinoa, spelled, or amaranth as substitutes.
- Salt and Seasoning
No one likes food with no flavor, salt and seasonings are not off-limits on this diet, but they have to be incredible well-measured in your meals.
Most humans can tolerate intake of 2300mg of sodium a day. A single dash of salt will offer 150mg, so you need to distribute the portions accordingly.
- Quick Rundown on the Food you Can’t Have with Dr. Nowzaradan’s Diet
Like most diets, there are a few ingredients that are a big no-no for the duration of the program. Remember that the purpose of the 1200 calorie diet plan is to create new habits.
The best thing you can do about most of these ingredients is to gradually decrease their use until you feel like you don’t need them anymore.
- Refined Sugars
This is probably the hardest ingredient to let go of. There are no exceptions among the most well-known variations of sugar, which means you have to get rid of brown and white sugar, any variations of syrups and molasses.
Dr. Nowzaradan states that the human body doesn’t need sugar to function properly, and the natural sugar included in most fruits is more than enough. You can still use low-calories sweeteners such as stevia but with some heavy moderation.
- Pastries and Other Derivatives
If you have a sweet tooth, this can be pretty difficult for you. The Dr. Nowzaradan diet demands that you forget about pastries in general, such as donuts. You also have to avoid ice cream, pudding, jam, jellies, and chocolate.
- Processed Snacks, Cereals, and Fried Foods
If you are overweight, you are probably prone to have a lot of processed snacks such as chips, crackers, or cookies. You probably are also a fan of high-calories nuts and seeds such as almonds, merely, cashews, and popcorn.
You will have to lay them off along with any fried food such as potato fries or hashed browns and cereals as well since they contain a lot of sugar.
- Processed Drinks
Water will become your best friend with this diet since you will have to let go of most sodas, juices, and any other processed drinks.
Even Gatorade will have to go since all of them have a high count of sugar and sodium. Also, forget about meal supplements and shakes since they usually have a very high caloric intake
Final Thoughts
The 1200 calorie diet plan of Dr. Nowzaradan is a custom diet that should be arranged accordingly to the nutritional needs of the person whiling to do it.
While the program has a structure, the execution is very different for most people.
The diet could be done by anyone needing to shed some extra weight even if it was designed for bariatric patients.
If you want to try it out, make sure to consult your doctor to make sure your system can take it.
