1200 Calorie Diet & Exercise Goals.

NauticalGypsy

Calling all 1200 Calorie Dieters! What's working for you? What exercises are you focusing on? Any Simple recipes and meal suggestions the whole family would agree on?

I'm barely 5'2, weighing in at 166lbs.
(Normally I fluctuate between 120lbs in the summer time and 140lbs come the end of Winter)

I wouldn't say I'm necessarily new to the dieting world as I've been an on again off again type, however previously I would just short up my portions or just go without eating a meal, every time I got hungry I would go for a walk to forget I was hungry. I never usually have problems maintaining a comfortable weight range, but since recent Anti-Epileptic meds and the 7 Month streak of when I quit smoking I've since gained almost 30lbs over my maximum weight limit, and have started smoking again unfortunately.That being said, this time the diet is in serious overdrive and up keep.


And let's face it, even in my smallest frame I always had a big *kitten*, that being said I'd like to focus weight loss in my legs and stomach portion, because losing my butt is a loss cause, and I don't necessarily hate it either haha.

TiffanyR71

I'm eating 1200 and doing various exercises (walking, stationary bike, Zumba) 5-6 days a week, and some light weights & push-ups... I've lost 12lbs so far (~6 weeks), and have ~30-35 to go to get to a healthy weight. I'm rarely hungry- I make the most of my calories (plenty of protein, fat, and moderately low carbs). Feel free to add me - my diary is open to friends.

NauticalGypsy

Thanks! I'm still trying to understand the whole intake of Carbs Vs. Calories haha, I'm definitely a noob when it comes to this sort of thing! I've been reading lots of diaries trying to see what every one else is doing but I haven't been able to find a ton of 1200 calorie dieters

astralpictures

What made you pick 1200 calories though? You should go with a computed number to match your goals rather than an arbitrary one.

whmscll

I am a 1200 calorie person. I focus on lean protein, lots of veggies, "good" fats like avocado, olive oil and nuts, little or no cheese, limited dairy in general and nonfat milk only, few or no grain-based carbs, carbs from fruits and veggies almost exclusively, and NO processed food except for the occasional veggie burger. Most important is reading labels to choose foods LOW in sugar, especially added sugar. And when I eat something with fat I choose the full-fat version and just eat less of it, rather than low or nonfat versions (except for milk). Very importantly, I do not go hungry. If I am truly hungry, not just bored or having cravings, I eat a small portion of something healthy, like a small piece of fruit or a small handful of almonds, even if it puts me slightly over my 1200 calorie guideline. Being constantly hungry will sabotage your efforts more quickly than anything else. Also, sometimes your body tells you it is hungry when what it really wants is more fluids. So I also drink a glass of water when I am hungry. If I am still hungry a few minutes later (again, truly hungry), then I eat something.

AlisonH729

astralpictures wrote: »

What made you pick 1200 calories though? You should go with a computed number to match your goals rather than an arbitrary one.

There are a lot of 1200 calorie threads, if you wish to search for them. But you'll find a lot of users who advocate eating more. The reason being in most cases 1200 is not enough to effectively fuel your body & workouts. But also because 1200 is HARD. And you're more likely to stick to a plan and achieve your goals knowing you can still get there without being hungry all the time. Try this calculator and see what it says. I set it to 'desk job with little exercise' so that it doesn't allot me extra calories for exercise- I like to manage those on my own. And when in doubt. since you're on medication ask your doc what he would recommend.

When I first joined MFP I went balls to the walls and said I wanted to lose as much as possible as quickly as possible, and it told me to eat 1200. (I lost weight, and I should have been happy, but I was usually just miserably hungry.) But the more I've hung around on the boards I learned that those goals were too aggressive especially for the amount of weight I had to lose. When I reevaluated I realized- hallelujah!- I could (and should) be eating more.

And as far as exercise goes: you can't go wrong with adding in resistance training. Lift stuff, heavy-ish stuff, if possible.

Gska17

I had the same experience as @AlisonH729. At 5'8 with 20 pounds to lose I was assigned 1,200 calories. I stuck to it and it worked (17 lbs lost) but I wasn't happy. A few weeks ago I bottomed out and just felt weak. I've adjusted up to about 1,350. It was a crazy lesson learning I could eat a bit more. Some days it still feels wrong.

cazbit

Hits,

I'm on the 1200 calorie diet. So far I have found it ok, my dinner is lean meat and veg which seems to keep me quite happy, I have porridge for my breakfast and then soup and a sandwich for lunch. I'm not much of a snacker and I was hungry the first couple of days but this is the end of my second week and I seem to be adjusting. I find the 8 cups of water really helps me and I tend to keep them for the afternoon, i also have stopped adding salt to my veg as I felt that was making me retain water.

In terms of recipes, chilli with those stand and stuff tacos is really low in calories, I just forgo the rice and have salad instead and it's a big hit with the family. Also rotisserie chicken and thin frying steak topped with peppers and mushrooms means I don't have to eat anything different from the rest of the family.

In terms of exercise I do 30 minutes a night on the treadmill, every other night on an interval programme the treadmill has, and the other nights 30 minutes of walking at 5.5mph. It's not much in terms of exercise, I know but I want to build that side up slowly so I feel good about what I have achieved. In June I'll extend the time to 45 minutes and add an exercise class once a week. Then increase in ?July, I'm hoping that the increase will keep my body losing weight.

I've also put my scales on lockdown for the month of May, I'm trying to focus on how much healthier I feel rather than what number the scales tell me, so the big weigh in day will be 31st May.

I'm hoping slow and steady will help me win the race

Hope that helps
Caroline x

forgtmenot

You can't spot reduce fat. Some people naturally carry their fat in their bum or their thighs or their stomach or whatever, and need to get very thin to lose significantly from those areas. It's genetics and you can't do anything to change it. I've always had naturally thicker thighs. Even in high school when I weighed under 100lbs my thighs were always big for my body. As you lose weight you will naturally lose from wherever you are genetically prone to lose it from.

Regarding 1200 cals, did mfp tell you to eat that much or did you choose it? You need to allow it to dictate how much you eat calorie wise based on your daily activity level/height/weight if you haven't yet. I'm on 1200 because I have a fairly sedentary lifestyle other than intentional exercise and my bmr is around 1500 so I need to keep it around 1200 to lose weight. However, I will say that the only days I actually only eat 1200 is when I don't exercise at all which is very rare. Most days I eat 1350-1550 calories, but I still net 1200 due to those exercise cals. Are you eating back your exercise calories?

NauticalGypsy

AlisonH729 wrote: »

astralpictures wrote: »

What made you pick 1200 calories though? You should go with a computed number to match your goals rather than an arbitrary one.

There are a lot of 1200 calorie threads, if you wish to search for them. But you'll find a lot of users who advocate eating more. The reason being in most cases 1200 is not enough to effectively fuel your body & workouts. But also because 1200 is HARD. And you're more likely to stick to a plan and achieve your goals knowing you can still get there without being hungry all the time. Try this calculator and see what it says. I set it to 'desk job with little exercise' so that it doesn't allot me extra calories for exercise- I like to manage those on my own. And when in doubt. since you're on medication ask your doc what he would recommend.

When I first joined MFP I went balls to the walls and said I wanted to lose as much as possible as quickly as possible, and it told me to eat 1200. (I lost weight, and I should have been happy, but I was usually just miserably hungry.) But the more I've hung around on the boards I learned that those goals were too aggressive especially for the amount of weight I had to lose. When I reevaluated I realized- hallelujah!- I could (and should) be eating more.

And as far as exercise goes: you can't go wrong with adding in resistance training. Lift stuff, heavy-ish stuff, if possible.

Thanks for all the feedback guys! the 1200 Calorie diet is something MFP Generated for me. I work 8hrs at a Desk Job and spend at least an hour every day commuting, By time I get home it's roughly 6pm, and I have to start dinner, take the dogs for there walks, laundry, shower, miscellaneous cleaning and in bed by 8:30, 9:00PM .

Recently though I've been using my 30 minute lunches as a time to squeeze in some walking time.

One of the biggest struggle I've found is paying for Healthy food versus the cheaper unhealthy food, (Don't get me wrong I actually love Veggies and fresh produce, but I love money more) I've been a penny pincher my whole life and with the wage I get paid it's not easy to spend a lot on food when there's other bills. (It's also hard to break the habits you were raised on of unhealthy eating)

So far though, I've definitely been eating less then I normally did, which I feel is progress, I can't say how accurate the calorie readings are as I've been trying really hard to measure everything out, normally I would eat until everything was gone on my plate because I hate wasting food so now I either throw it out, or take smaller portions to start with. Most days I don't get hungry until I get out of work then it's like a feeding frenzy. Or at least was.

I definitely need to drink more water though, I think I've had 1 full Cup of Water within the last month, I usually drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning and every now and then a glass of Koolaid or Apple Juice every other day ( I know, I'm awful, but I hate water, and I'm never really all that thirsty until it gets too hott out)

forgtmenot

I use those water flavor squeeze bottles like crystal light or mio to encourage myself to drink water. I like the lemon flavor personally because it tastes more like lemon water instead of something artificial, but they have lots of flavors. I used to hate drinking a lot of water or fluids in general but as I've started making myself drink more I crave it now. I have no problem reaching 8 cups a day now. I also have a jug that is 4 cups of water that I fill up twice which I've found helps because it doesn't seem like as much when I'm not just filling up a glass 8 times a day.

SezxyStef

MFP generates 1200 based on current stats and weekly weight loss goal...typically if you put in 2lbs a week and your aren't more than 75lbs overweight it will default to 1200 because it doesn't go lower.

If you did choose 2lbs a week change it to 1lb a week.

I work a desk job and still manage 8-10k steps in pre exercise...

And there is no such thing as healthy vs unhealthy. Yes veggies and lean meats have nutrients and lower calorie counts then lets say potatoes and a steak but they are all good foods.

You don't need exercise to lose weight you just need a calorie deficit...measuring won't give you accurate counts...

Weight solids (meats, veggies, breads etc) measure liquids (milk, beer, wine etc)

NauticalGypsy

cazbit wrote: »

Hits,

I'm on the 1200 calorie diet. So far I have found it ok, my dinner is lean meat and veg which seems to keep me quite happy, I have porridge for my breakfast and then soup and a sandwich for lunch. I'm not much of a snacker and I was hungry the first couple of days but this is the end of my second week and I seem to be adjusting. I find the 8 cups of water really helps me and I tend to keep them for the afternoon, i also have stopped adding salt to my veg as I felt that was making me retain water.

In terms of recipes, chilli with those stand and stuff tacos is really low in calories, I just forgo the rice and have salad instead and it's a big hit with the family. Also rotisserie chicken and thin frying steak topped with peppers and mushrooms means I don't have to eat anything different from the rest of the family.

In terms of exercise I do 30 minutes a night on the treadmill, every other night on an interval programme the treadmill has, and the other nights 30 minutes of walking at 5.5mph. It's not much in terms of exercise, I know but I want to build that side up slowly so I feel good about what I have achieved. In June I'll extend the time to 45 minutes and add an exercise class once a week. Then increase in ?July, I'm hoping that the increase will keep my body losing weight.

I've also put my scales on lockdown for the month of May, I'm trying to focus on how much healthier I feel rather than what number the scales tell me, so the big weigh in day will be 31st May.

I'm hoping slow and steady will help me win the race

Hope that helps
Caroline x

Thank you so much for sharing your meals! I've been looking for things my small family agrees on, we constantly have friends stopping by, (even when we're kinda busy they'll stop in lol) and I like to make sure they never leave on an empty stomach (Italian family tradition)

I've been going through all my P.T Training I did from a Criminal Justice Course I took, looking back I can't believe I was ever able to do all that! I'm starting out slow with some fast pace walks, Sit-ups, Wall Sits, Poorly attempted push ups, and jump'n jacks. and Yoga right before bed.

maidentl

SezxyStef wrote: »

MFP generates 1200 based on current stats and weekly weight loss goal...typically if you put in 2lbs a week and your aren't more than 75lbs overweight it will default to 1200 because it doesn't go lower.

If you did choose 2lbs a week change it to 1lb a week.

I work a desk job and still manage 8-10k steps in pre exercise...

And there is no such thing as healthy vs unhealthy. Yes veggies and lean meats have nutrients and lower calorie counts then lets say potatoes and a steak but they are all good foods.

You don't need exercise to lose weight you just need a calorie deficit...measuring won't give you accurate counts...

Weight solids (meats, veggies, breads etc) measure liquids (milk, beer, wine etc)

Well, OP and I are the same height and she weighs a bit less than I do. Even a 1 pound per week goal still gets me 1200 calories. She is a lot younger though, I don't know how much that affects it.

NauticalGypsy

forgtmenot wrote: »

You can't spot reduce fat. Some people naturally carry their fat in their bum or their thighs or their stomach or whatever, and need to get very thin to lose significantly from those areas. It's genetics and you can't do anything to change it. I've always had naturally thicker thighs. Even in high school when I weighed under 100lbs my thighs were always big for my body. As you lose weight you will naturally lose from wherever you are genetically prone to lose it from.

Regarding 1200 cals, did mfp tell you to eat that much or did you choose it? You need to allow it to dictate how much you eat calorie wise based on your daily activity level/height/weight if you haven't yet. I'm on 1200 because I have a fairly sedentary lifestyle other than intentional exercise and my bmr is around 1500 so I need to keep it around 1200 to lose weight. However, I will say that the only days I actually only eat 1200 is when I don't exercise at all which is very rare. Most days I eat 1350-1550 calories, but I still net 1200 due to those exercise cals. Are you eating back your exercise calories?

MFP recommended the 1200 Calorie diet, I have a Desk Job so most the day I'm sitting down, so far I haven't gone over that goal. I just started MFP but before I started I would squeeze in small workouts on the weekends Lot of walking, sit-ups, measly push ups, wall sits, Jump n jacks and yoga before bed, during the week seems I only have time to walk during my lunch breaks and a little bit more when I get home, I as well have larger legs and a bottom, but it was never as awful as they are now I feel. and I've never really had a gut, but now It looks like I carry a fanny pack equipped with slight muffin top

SezxyStef

maidentl wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

MFP generates 1200 based on current stats and weekly weight loss goal...typically if you put in 2lbs a week and your aren't more than 75lbs overweight it will default to 1200 because it doesn't go lower.

If you did choose 2lbs a week change it to 1lb a week.

I work a desk job and still manage 8-10k steps in pre exercise...

And there is no such thing as healthy vs unhealthy. Yes veggies and lean meats have nutrients and lower calorie counts then lets say potatoes and a steak but they are all good foods.

You don't need exercise to lose weight you just need a calorie deficit...measuring won't give you accurate counts...

Weight solids (meats, veggies, breads etc) measure liquids (milk, beer, wine etc)

Well, OP and I are the same height and she weighs a bit less than I do. Even a 1 pound per week goal still gets me 1200 calories. She is a lot younger though, I don't know how much that affects it.

Yah short people problems...however my sister is 44 and 5 ft 3 and weighs 123...her TDEE is 2200...

OP as long as you have it set to 1lb a week and eat back exercise calories great...otherwise re-evaluate.

And if you are looking for menus I eat 1200 a day in my meals (maybe a bit extra some days) but without snacks it's pretty close...feel free to take a look.

For example my fav thing in May is always bbq cheese burgers with light marble cheese, guac and maybe a salad...or egg salad sandwich with cheese and guac etc. Tuna fish salad, crab salad, DQ grilled chicken salads are only 360 calories with the bacon and very filling.

Parkercomom

I am on a 1200 calorie a day plan. Feel free to add me. My family likes wraps in low carb tortillas and pizzas made with pita bread.

maidentl

SezxyStef wrote: »

maidentl wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

MFP generates 1200 based on current stats and weekly weight loss goal...typically if you put in 2lbs a week and your aren't more than 75lbs overweight it will default to 1200 because it doesn't go lower.

If you did choose 2lbs a week change it to 1lb a week.

I work a desk job and still manage 8-10k steps in pre exercise...

And there is no such thing as healthy vs unhealthy. Yes veggies and lean meats have nutrients and lower calorie counts then lets say potatoes and a steak but they are all good foods.

You don't need exercise to lose weight you just need a calorie deficit...measuring won't give you accurate counts...

Weight solids (meats, veggies, breads etc) measure liquids (milk, beer, wine etc)

Well, OP and I are the same height and she weighs a bit less than I do. Even a 1 pound per week goal still gets me 1200 calories. She is a lot younger though, I don't know how much that affects it.

Yah short people problems...however my sister is 44 and 5 ft 3 and weighs 123...her TDEE is 2200...

OP as long as you have it set to 1lb a week and eat back exercise calories great...otherwise re-evaluate.

And if you are looking for menus I eat 1200 a day in my meals (maybe a bit extra some days) but without snacks it's pretty close...feel free to take a look.

For example my fav thing in May is always bbq cheese burgers with light marble cheese, guac and maybe a salad...or egg salad sandwich with cheese and guac etc. Tuna fish salad, crab salad, DQ grilled chicken salads are only 360 calories with the bacon and very filling.

Yeah, I do wear my Fitbit and I will eat more if I can get my TDEE up higher. I shoot for 10K steps a day. Although, I have been told by some on here that walking burns next to nothing and I should not eat more just because I've made myself more active with steps. I guess I will find out soon enough.

NauticalGypsy

forgtmenot wrote: »

I use those water flavor squeeze bottles like crystal light or mio to encourage myself to drink water. I like the lemon flavor personally because it tastes more like lemon water instead of something artificial, but they have lots of flavors. I used to hate drinking a lot of water or fluids in general but as I've started making myself drink more I crave it now. I have no problem reaching 8 cups a day now. I also have a jug that is 4 cups of water that I fill up twice which I've found helps because it doesn't seem like as much when I'm not just filling up a glass 8 times a day.

I'll definitely try the lemon flavor, I've tried a couple of the Mios and absolutely hated them because of how nasty they tasted!