By a 1200 calorie diabetic diet, it means that this diet is recommended for diabetics to eat not more than 1200 calories of food every day. This diet is especially catered to diabetics, as they need to control their blood sugar and maintain a manageable weight. In turn, following this diet may also lead to success in battling other potential health problems such as heart disease.

1200 calorie diabetic diet is designed to control blood sugar level while losing weight. Since it is low in fat and calories, this diet allows you to limit the amount of proteins and carbohydrates that you consume.

A 1200-calorie diabetic diet plan gets 50% of its calories from carbohydrates, 30% from fat and 20% from protein; so it would contain 600 calories from carbohydrates. That translates to 150 grams of carbohydrates, where 1 gram equals 4 calories, or just about 10 carbohydrate exchanges or choices for the day.

A 1200 calorie diabetic diet is designed for diabetics, aims to limit how much carbohydrate, fats, and protein are present in what a diabetic eats. This diet, as it only contains 1,200 calories is obviously low in calories and fat as well. Following this diet must not only involve the diabetic patient, but those who take care of him or her as well. Serving sizes are important in this type of diet, as even if the correct food is given, if the serving size is bigger than recommended, then the total calorie content of the diet will not be followed.

Example of 1200 calorie diabetic diet:

• For breakfast, a slice of bread or ¾ cup of cereal (preferably bran or oatmeal), a small banana, a cup of skim milk, 1 poached egg or 1 serving of meat.

• For lunch, 2/3 serving of meat, 1 teaspoon of dressing, one serving of leafy greens, one serving of tomatoes and one slice of bread, all of which can be combined for a sandwich. Add a fruit.

• For dinner, 2/3 serving of meat, (1/2 cup of starch e.g. pasta), 1 teaspoon fat, 1 serving of vegetable, 1 serving of fruit and one cup of skim milk.

Finally, after learning the basics of a 1200 calorie diabetic diet, make sure you get moving. Although it may sound common, exercise is definitely important in any kind of diet plan. This is especially true if you are living a sedentary lifestyle. You may be at risk of acquiring or developing health problems. As such, it is important that you do regular exercises at least 3 times a week while maintaining your diet plan.