1200 calories/day is SO HARD, can anyone share their meal plan?
Options
Replies
-
You're pretty short, and depending on what you weigh, 1200 isn't unreasonable. My daily goal is also 1200 but I usually eat back exercise calories too. On days that I don't exercise, and that I actually meet my goal (which I agree is hard!!), here's what my meals look like.
Breakfast - a couple cups of coffee + low-fat milk plus either a fried egg or a spinach/fruit/bit of protein powder smoothie = ~150-200 cals
Lunch - either a big spinach salad with chopped bell peppers, 4 oz of grilled lean meat, and balsamic vinegar, or a reasonable portion of healthy leftovers, or a Lean Cuisine / 6" Subway sub in a pinch = ~250-350 cals
Dinner - my FAVE is a big plate of oven roasted veggies (dice and toss broccoli, asparagus, beets, or brussel sprouts with a little olive oil and a lot of garlic, bake at 375 for ~20 minutes, broil for a couple minutes, HOLY GOOD!) plus 4 oz lean grilled meat, or some homemade veggie-rich stew or soup = ~400-500 cals
Snacks - apple, mini sweet peppers, snap peas, carrots, low-fat string cheese, Laughing Cow cheese wedges, raw almonds, etc = ~200 cals
Total = 1100 - 13500 -
Maybe consider alternate day fasting. I find it easier to alternate 500 calorie days with unrestricted, 2000+ calorie days than to hit 1200-1400 for months on end. There are three good books on the health benefits of ADF. Look for Johnson, Mosley and Farady authors on the topic.0
-
365andstillalive wrote: »I'm 5'1, 32, female, and I'm 15 lbs away from my goal.
The first 12 lbs took me 4 months. And I actually gained 5 of those back, and spend another month and a half to get rid of it. So I've been going at this for almost 6 months now, and I'm getting vey impatient.
I'm having a lot of problem staying within the 1200 calories/day diet. The only time I could do it is when I did a lot of exercise, so I have extra calories to work with. But I can't exercise that much everyday, and on the days I didn't exercise enough, I can't seem to stay in my calorie goal. Part of the problem is that I don't want to keep eating the same stuff everyday.
Does anyone have a good 1200 meal plan that's simple to follow?
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack...
Any idea will help.
Thanks
I know you're fairly petite, but the real question is, how quickly are you trying to lose that final 15lbs?
I'm not sure what your BMR/TDEE is, but it might be worth looking into. With so little weight to go, you're likely already at or near a healthy range for your height and frame, which means that you need to lose slowly to do it in a sustainable manner. The closer you get to your goal weight, you should be moving gradually towards maintenance calories.
I know you're already fed up with how long it's taken, but the reality is, you didn't put on the weight this quickly and you need to take it off slowly unless you want to just yo-yo diet for the rest of your life. With 10-15lbs to go, most people are losing around 0.5lbs per week, 0.75lbs at most.
I agree with this. I'm at a low amount left to lose and .5 a week is what I aim for. It doesn't feel like a lot but I feel like it's safer. If it takes a little longer, so be it.
If you set your settings to lose a pound a week, it's just forcing you to be down to 1200 a day when you should be higher. I've got 8 pounds left (could stand a little more though) and mine is around 1400 a day. That works for me. Some days a net under with my exercise. Some days I net right around it with exercise (meaning I'm eating 1500-1600). It's easier to maintain and I don't feel restricted.0 -
I'm 5'3" with 1250/day. I try to exercise every day to get a couple hundred extra calories. I also try to get protein in the morning - my diary is open so have a look, it's boring but it's getting the job done so far
0 -
I'm 5'1, 32, female, and I'm 15 lbs away from my goal.
The first 12 lbs took me 4 months. And I actually gained 5 of those back, and spend another month and a half to get rid of it. So I've been going at this for almost 6 months now, and I'm getting vey impatient.
I'm having a lot of problem staying within the 1200 calories/day diet. The only time I could do it is when I did a lot of exercise, so I have extra calories to work with. But I can't exercise that much everyday, and on the days I didn't exercise enough, I can't seem to stay in my calorie goal. Part of the problem is that I don't want to keep eating the same stuff everyday.
Does anyone have a good 1200 meal plan that's simple to follow?
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack...
Any idea will help.
Thanks
Protein with every meal eg.
Breakfast
50g muesli
No fat yogurt
Snack
banana
Lunch
Salmon/tuna/baked chicken and salad
Snack
Carrot and low fat cheese
Dinner
Meat and veg
Currently doing it myself. It's not hard when you think of the end goal.
Good luck!0 -
You're pretty short, and depending on what you weigh, 1200 isn't unreasonable. My daily goal is also 1200 but I usually eat back exercise calories too. On days that I don't exercise, and that I actually meet my goal (which I agree is hard!!), here's what my meals look like.
Breakfast - a couple cups of coffee + low-fat milk plus either a fried egg or a spinach/fruit/bit of protein powder smoothie = ~150-200 cals
Lunch - either a big spinach salad with chopped bell peppers, 4 oz of grilled lean meat, and balsamic vinegar, or a reasonable portion of healthy leftovers, or a Lean Cuisine / 6" Subway sub in a pinch = ~250-350 cals
Dinner - my FAVE is a big plate of oven roasted veggies (dice and toss broccoli, asparagus, beets, or brussel sprouts with a little olive oil and a lot of garlic, bake at 375 for ~20 minutes, broil for a couple minutes, HOLY GOOD!) plus 4 oz lean grilled meat, or some homemade veggie-rich stew or soup = ~400-500 cals
Snacks - apple, mini sweet peppers, snap peas, carrots, low-fat string cheese, Laughing Cow cheese wedges, raw almonds, etc = ~200 cals
Total = 1100 - 1350
+1
0 -
You can add me and look at my diary if you like. I usually aim to do 1200-1500. I eat a lot of soups for dinner/lunch that I make in the crockpot which are usually low in calorie but really filling. My snacks include yogurt, fruit, Kashi/K bars and breakfast is usually oatmeal or a green smoothie.0
-
I've been eating 1200 calories for two months. It's not easy, but it works. You can look at my diary if you want; it's open.
Eating fewer carbs and more protein and fat helps me not be distracted by hunger. I do feel mildly hungry a lot. That sensation probably has to be OK with you if you want to eat at a 1200 cal. level.
I'm 5'8' tall and I'm 59 years old. Lightly active. I don't log exercise unless it's the kind that leaves me seriously out of breath, like an uphill bike ride. If I do log exercise, then I usually eat extra calories.
0 -
Have you calculated your TDEE? With only 15 lbs to lose you likely have set too aggressive of a calorie deficit.
I am 5'2 and lose 0.5 lb/week netting around 1650 cals. You can likely eat more than 1200, still lose weight, and have better luck adhering to your plan.0 -
I have lost weight consistently by eating 1200-1400 cals a day. This dieting alone helped me lose about 20lbs of post-pregnancy weight, then I did it along with exercise and lost 20 more. Now I am in the high range of a normal weight BMI so in order to lose more I am back to exercising in addition. But if you have a lot of weight to lose, you should lose doing this even without exercising a lot. Here's a sample meal plan of mine-
BREAKFAST
Coffee & creamer- 30
1 egg, 1 cheese slice, 1 100cal slice of bread- 260
or
1 oatmeal with honey- 150
or
1 banana & 1/2 oz almonds- 160
SNACK
1/2 oz Almonds (about 13)- 80
LUNCH
Frozen entree or soup- 200-400
SNACK
1 square of dark chocolate- 50
1 cheese stick- 50
DINNER
Small plate of meat, veggies, cheese, grain- 200-500
SNACK
Popcorn with fresh parmesan melted on top- 140
or
1 cookie- 75-130
or
Slice of cheese- 80
or
Protein shake with unsweetened almond milk- 140
Some combination of these usually keeps me between 1100-1450 calories a day. Most days I am right at 1200, I let myself go up to 1400 some times. I never aim for less than 1200, but if i'm not particularly hungry it happens.
What I eat during my after dinner snack solely depends on what I ate earlier in the day. If I had a big dinner I may skip the after dinner snack entirely.
I never feel super hungry...and usually by the time I am hungry, it is time for my next snack or meal.0 -
I have been on here since June 30 and I have been doing okay with 1200 calories. It did take me a while to figure out what kept me full at the number. Feel free to look at my diary--it's open. Aim of really calorie dense foods--fat free greek yogurt, one tablespoon of fresh ground peanut butter on a slice of lite bread/toast, green smoothies. I have been pretty good at measuring portions, although I do not have a food scale. By and large I have not been STARVING on the 1200. A little not full, but I used to go to bed feeling stuffed and get up feeling sluggish, so this is better. Think about lots of volume for not many calories-cherry tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, berries. I find I make choices much more carefully when I don't have as much to "spend" on food.0
-
I know this isn't what you asked but as others have eluded to, 1200 is likely to low for you. It could be part of why you gained back some of that weight easily. There's a term called "body-fat overshooting", you should look it up. But in-short, it's related to very low calorie consumption for weight loss.0
-
Haven't read all the responses. You'd be surprised how low TDEE is for us shorties,but 1200 is still too low. I am 5'1" and 134lbs and my bmr is 1332. On non exercise days I eat 1400.
At our height it is very difficult to lose 1 lb per week especially as we near or goal.0 -
Factoring in when you gained weight back, you averaged half a pound a week loss. This is actually reasonable considering how little you have left to lose. I'd recommend changing your goal to half a pound a week, which should give you more calories to work with. You've already shown you can lose at that rate, but with more calories every day you won't have one week at 1200, then the next week much higher and you feel guilty about it. Instead, you have a reasonable level every day that you'll be able to stick with.0
-
Feel free to peak at my diary for ideas 0
-
Ok this is just what helps ME stick to 1200 calories
Basically I set my fat percentage quite low (20%) which basically means that I'm getting a larger volume of food from vegetables and high fiber foods, lowering the fat makes me aware of not splurging on ice cream all the time - and I feel more full.0 -
Just make sure each meal is 400 calories and under, and make everything from scratch.
My 400 calorie meals are sausage (quorn) casserole, chilli con carne (quorn), any vegetable soup, chicken (quorn) wrap with cous cous and salad, falafel wrap, jacket potato with fried tomato and onion, chicken (quorn) salad with nuts and Mayo. I find it easy to make big meals under 400 calories as long as I'm cooking from scratch.0 -
Hi! The only way I have been able to continuously meet 1200 or less is by consuming meal replacement shakes. I am doing Herbalife and I really enjoy it. The shakes are around 150 calories but when I add protein and almond milk I am just over 300 calories. I have three small snacks per day and two shakes. Then I have 400 calories remaining for dinner.0
-
UmmSqueaky wrote: »
This.Liftng4Lis wrote: »How aggressively is your goal set? Also, can you open your diary?
I am 5'3 and have around 15-17 lbs to go. I am eating to lose .5 lbs a week and was given 1520 calories by MFP.
Those extra two inches give you a lot more. Using MFP calculations, 5'1 sedentary around this weight (I'm assuming 130 lbs) wouldn't lose anything at 1500 calories.
I didn't say she should be eating 1500 calories. I am saying that if eating to lose .5 lbs a week she can eat a little more. At least 1300. It will always be slower toward the end and the aim should be for .5 lbs a week at this point. It does not take a lot to burn 100 calories a day to add to your daily intake. You can also eat at tdee daily with your workouts already calculated into your deficit.
0 -
BREAKFAST- 1 WHOLE EGG, 1/4 C EGG WHITE, 1 TBSP COTTAGE CHEESE, SPINACH, LAUGHING COW, COFFEE WITH CINNAMON AND CREAMER.
LUNCH- A BUNCH OF GREENS (KALE/SPIN/ROMAINE) TOMATOES, A BIT OF CHEESE (PARM/GOAT/ FETA), DELICIOUS VEGGIES, AND HOMEMADE VINEGRETTE WITHOUT TOO MUCH EVOO.
DINNER- BIG BOWL OF LIGHTLY STEAMED BROCCOLI, 1-2 TBSP CREAM CHEESE, 1 HANDFULL CHOPPED CHICKEN, FRANKS BUFFALO SAUCE
SNACKS- RED GRAPES, MELON, FIBER ONE BAR, TURKEY PEPPERONI,0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 939 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions