1200 cal menu anyone?

plaffo786

hey guys, I'm trying to stick to a 1200 a day high fiber diet, does anyone have a day menu they follow that meets this? Also I've seen ppl mention homemade protein bars any good recipes, I'm in Ireland so foods readily available here would be great. My macros are set here to 50 carb 30 fat and 20 protein, I'm running 7k five days a week is that a good balance? Thanks in advance

velmada

Given that you're trying to stick to 1200 calories I'd say your split is likely to be very hard to stick to.
First of all, what is the reason for picking 1200? I ask because for a majority of people that would be too low, even when the aim is weight loss. To manage on 1200 calories you'd need to be pretty short (I know this, I'm 5'1!) and quite sedentary to boot! If you're running 5 days a week I'd strongly recommend you look again at your calories target.
If you are determined to do 1200 a day you will find it doesn't go far, especially with carbs. Carbs are energy, so naturally carby foods tend to be high calories for the volume of food. Eating a lot of carby foods without much protein is likely to give you boosts of energy followed by a slump in energy, which means hunger cravings and an unrealistic diet plan. I'm definitely not advocating carbs are the enemy, but for low calorie you need food that will satisfy you and is high in nutrients.
I tend to aim for 1300-1500 a day and the way I've found it manageable is by taking ideas from paleo/lower carb diets. Eg:

Breakfast options
scrambled eggs + veg/bacon
Apple
Glass of milk
Small full fat yogurt

Lunch - roast chicken breast + salad + cheese

Tea - meat or fish panfried in butter with with green veg, tomatoes

Snacks - carrot sticks & almond butter, nuts

Those kind of meals can easily come in under 1200 calories per day. I add in calories by not being too strict, eg with some meals out, odd bits of convenience food, chocolate etc. I do a lot of exercise in the evenings so around 4-5pm il add in something specifically high carb to ensure I have energy for training (eg a small portion of porridge) or I'll add a spoon of rice to my salad.

gerardokeefe

Hi Plaffo,

I agree with velmada - 1200 calories is likely far too low given your exercise (7k 5 days a week is great- well done - also in Ireland so if you are braving the weather - fair play!) - have you calculated your basal metabolic rate (BMR)? Basically this the number of calories required to support vital body functions if you lay still all day and did nothing. If you do any activity more than this, you will require more calories. You are running 7k 5 days a week, so you will almost certainly need a lot more calories. So really if we were to maintain weight, the amount of calories we would need would be our BMR+the number of calories we burn through daily activities and exercise. This number of calories is your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

If you consistently eat at a level thats below your BMR, you are almost certainly losing lean body mass (muscle), and your metabolism will slow down a lot meaning losing weight will be more difficult and you may do more harm than good in the long term. You seem to be doing great with the exercise, so consider the following;

Work out your BMR here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

From what you describe you would be moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) (some might say very active), so to calculate your TDEE its your BMR x 1.55. This is the amount of calories you need per day if you were to maintain your weight. 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories, so if you subtracted 500 calories from your TDEE every day you would lose 1pound fat per week without any of the problems mentioned above.

For your macros, they look ok, but I think 50 carb, 30 protein and 20 fat would be better on days you run. Then you could try lower carb, higher protein days when you are not running, so 40 carb, 40 protein, 20 fat. If you have hard time getting enough protein in, it would be worth maybe investing in a protein supplement a good site here is discountsupplements.ie. Other things that are great are tesco now sell egg whites and although the pricey they a good low calorie source of protein.

For breakfast I usually eat the same thing - two weetabix, 200ml skimmed milk, 15g milled flaxseed (any supermarket) - 325 calories.

Lunch - grilled chicken breast (add any spices you like to it), fall a packet of (65g) broccoli tips, half pack of asparagus tips (40g) (dunes sell packets of these) + 100g baby potatoes (tesco) - (not to confirm any stenotypes or anything!)

Dinner - something similar to lunch or brown pasta with salad, chicken..

Snacks - here I usually have the following; protein shake, egg white omelette, apple, banana, 25g mixed nuts (tesco) - just adjust to suit yourself.

Any questions, ask away and good luck.

plaffo786

Wow thanks gerardokeefe and velmada, huge amount of information there thanks a mill, I'm 5'9 and have been working up in the running but have found I have binged a couple of times which would make sense now since I'm not eating enough calories, I didn't know about the loss of lean body weight Gerard so I'm going to up my calories Defo don't want to cause problems trying to be fitter, it's been 5 weeks and I've lost nearly a stone with half a stone to go I think I'll up the calories slow the weight loss make it a healthier weight loss
Totally appreciate the time you took to reply cheers

gerardokeefe

No bother - 14 pounds in 5 weeks is great! Unless someone had a lot to lose, 2 pounds per week at the most is considered more of a sustainable, "healthy rate" (everyone has views on this so I'm sure someone will disagree). You mention 7llbs to go so yes you could definitely slow a small bit. It also makes it much more sustainable in the long run to keep it off. For long term sustainability the weekly "cheat meal" is perfectly fine once you hit your targets 6 of7 days.
Good luck!

whmscll

I am on 1200 calories a day and don't have any trouble finding foods to eat. I've sustained this for 11 weeks and lost about 1 pound a week. It is certainly doable. That said, I am on 1200 because I am older (55).

What makes 1200 easier for me is changing my macros to increase protein and decrease carbs. This has helped me feel full longer and reduce cravings. I am at 30-30-40 (protein-fat-carbs).

I do exercise almost each day and eat those calories back, which does make 1200 a lot easier.

My basic menu:

Breakfast
One egg
6 Tbsp egg whites
25-30 grams of broccoli in the eggs
28 grams of feta cheese in the eggs
Coffee with 2/3 to 1 cup of nonfat milk in it

Lunch
100 grams of raw baby spinach (basis for a spinach salad)
30-40 grams of raw broccoli
30-40 grams of raw red bell pepper
15 grams toasted slivered almonds
5 ounces canned or grilled chicken breast
2 Tbsp Trader Joes Light Champagne Vinaigrette salad dressing
200-250 grams of fruit OR a piece of pita bread, plain

Snack
Piece of pita bread or a piece of fruit (medium sized peach, apple, etc.)
And/or a Quest bar

Dinner
This varies. Usually 4-5 ounces of chicken breast or ground turkey cooked various ways. Sometimes a green salad (similar to the one for lunch but with full fat ranch dressing). Sometimes quinoa and lentil salad. Sometimes red kidney bean and feta salad. Sometimes steamed vegetables and long grain rice. Or many different combinations of all these foods.

After-dinner snack
Fruit, sometimes another piece of plain pita bread, sometimes a square of dark chocolate, every once in awhile a chocolate mug cake...the snack depends on how many calories I have left, which depends on what exercise I've done that day.

plaffo786

Whmscll thanks a lot looks like an interesting mix

melimomTARDIS

i recommend quest bars.

plaffo786

Cheers melimomtardis, I haven't seen them here ( that's not to say they aren't) might have a look online
Thanks