Tips on a 1200 cal meal plan

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  • mallygirl420
    mallygirl420 Posts: 66 Member
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    My diary is open. 1200 is my target but I rarely stay within that because I eat back at least half of workouts and workout every day. Plus I'm on Whole 30 right now and you're technically not supposed to count.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    mallygirl420 wrote: »
    My diary is open. 1200 is my target but I rarely stay within that because I eat back at least half of workouts and workout every day. Plus I'm on Whole 30 right now and you're technically not supposed to count.

    How do you eat back half your workouts when you don't count calories?
  • lucys1225
    lucys1225 Posts: 597 Member
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    trigden1991 wrote: »
    mallygirl420 wrote: »
    My diary is open. 1200 is my target but I rarely stay within that because I eat back at least half of workouts and workout every day. Plus I'm on Whole 30 right now and you're technically not supposed to count.

    How do you eat back half your workouts when you don't count calories?

    She didn't say she didn't count she said that "technically" she isn't supposed to count.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I did 1250 for about 90 days on course to lose 2lbs per week (I have 100+ to lose). I was consistently losing between 1.5 and 3lbs per week, so after those 90 days of vigilant compliance, a week ago I changed my goal to lose 1.5lbs per week, which gave me 1310 calories to work with.

    I noticed when I was at 1250, I aimed to keep just under it, so I figured that mentality would carry over to the 1310 allowance, and I would still see the results I want. It's only 60 calories difference, but it feels like 200, and I definitely have a little more oompf to get through the day and more desire to exercise. It's only been a week, so it's too soon to see anything on the scale (plus I had an over-maintenance day this week that I planned which will keep real results from showing for a few more weeks than usual).

    You can look at my diary, but typically my day was like this:
    Breakfast: boiled egg, an orange, low sodium v8, a crispbread cracker or toast that was under 50 calories). all of breakfast under 300 calories
    Lunch: a bowl of soup, more crispbread crackers, laughing cow cheese spread, an apple or watermelon (all of lunch between 300-400 calories)
    PM Snack: a piece of fruit; usually watermelon with feta cheese (under 100 calories)
    Dinner: a meat, a carb, a veggie; usually fresh or grilled between 400-500 calories.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    hayleyf6051 wrote: »
    Can anyone share their diary or post how they stick to 1200?

    Pre-logging is key. Try to snack throughout the day instead of having large meals, tends to keep the stomach growls at bay (this is what worked for me, larger meals less often may work better for you)
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    hayleyf6051 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    hayleyf6051 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    What are your stats (height, weight, goal weight) and what rate of loss did you select? With MFP you are meant to be eating back exercise calories so 1200 should be the minimum if you do no exercise at all. Most people can lose weight eating more than 1200 yet many people enter stats and goals that result in that being the number they are provided.

    I tried 1200 NET for about 2 weeks and was miserable and after reading the good advice on these boards that I could probably still lose eating more, I raised it to 1400 then 1500. I'm 5'2 for what it's worth, and lost my weight eating between 1500-1800 cals.

    For meal suggestions I would recommend focusing on finding foods that fill you up for relatively few calories if you're going to stick to a lower goal. A mix of lean protein, vegetables, and some starchy carbs works well for me.

    Mfp says 1200 to lose a pound a week :(

    I understand, based on people's stats and what rate of loss they select, most females especially petite ones end up with the 1200 cal target. What I'm saying is it may be possible for you specifically to lose while eating more, but without knowing your stats that's hard to say and to know if 1200 is an appropriate goal for you.

    How much weight are you trying to lose total? Do you exercise? Do you eat back some of those calories?


    I see. I'm 5"6 and 79.5kg. Want to lose 10kg ideally. I do exercise but tend to eat half back. In fairness lately I'm struggling to keep calories down (emotional eating).

    It gave you 1200? I'm also 5'6", 162 lbs, and I'm at 1310 cals for me to lose 1 lb/wk, and that's with sedentary selected. Do you have your stats entered correctly?
  • hayleyf6051
    hayleyf6051 Posts: 52 Member
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    dragon_girl26 wrote: »
    hayleyf6051 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    hayleyf6051 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    What are your stats (height, weight, goal weight) and what rate of loss did you select? With MFP you are meant to be eating back exercise calories so 1200 should be the minimum if you do no exercise at all. Most people can lose weight eating more than 1200 yet many people enter stats and goals that result in that being the number they are provided.

    I tried 1200 NET for about 2 weeks and was miserable and after reading the good advice on these boards that I could probably still lose eating more, I raised it to 1400 then 1500. I'm 5'2 for what it's worth, and lost my weight eating between 1500-1800 cals.

    For meal suggestions I would recommend focusing on finding foods that fill you up for relatively few calories if you're going to stick to a lower goal. A mix of lean protein, vegetables, and some starchy carbs works well for me.

    Mfp says 1200 to lose a pound a week :(

    I understand, based on people's stats and what rate of loss they select, most females especially petite ones end up with the 1200 cal target. What I'm saying is it may be possible for you specifically to lose while eating more, but without knowing your stats that's hard to say and to know if 1200 is an appropriate goal for you.

    How much weight are you trying to lose total? Do you exercise? Do you eat back some of those calories?


    I see. I'm 5"6 and 79.5kg. Want to lose 10kg ideally. I do exercise but tend to eat half back. In fairness lately I'm struggling to keep calories down (emotional eating).

    It gave you 1200? I'm also 5'6", 162 lbs, and I'm at 1310 cals for me to lose 1 lb/wk, and that's with sedentary selected. Do you have your stats entered correctly?

    Sadly yes!

  • TMW2119
    TMW2119 Posts: 178 Member
    edited December 2016
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    Tomorrow marks one month of eating 1200 calories. I've lost 11 lbs, including a 3 week period before calorie counting where I cut out all bread/grains. I stay around 1200 other than 2-3 special occasions and the days when I eat back some of my workout calories. I'm working on lowering my cholesterol so my meal plans also revolve around that. Here are a list of my "go to" meals.

    Breakfast:
    Oatmeal w/ almond milk, walnuts, 1/4 gala apple, raisins, and 1 tsp chia seeds
    OR
    1/2 c of Fiber One, 1/4 c blueberries, 1/4 cup almond milk
    OR
    Baked Oatmeal cups (various recipes on Pinterest)

    Lunch:
    Starkist tuna pouch w/ almonds, cranberries, and brown mustard. I roll it in thinly sliced cucumber. So good!
    OR
    1 cup of black beans and 1/4 cup of corn
    OR
    Various salads with oil and vinegar...more vinegar than oil.
    (I typically have a cheesestick or side of veggies with lunch if I eat Fiber One. The oatmeal is so filling that I eat a small lunch on those days)

    Snacks:
    50 cal serving hummus and 50 cal veggies. Typically bell peppers and carrots
    OR
    2 cups air popped popcorn
    OR
    1 apple (Smucker all natural PB if I have the calories for it)

    Dinner:
    5 bean soup: veggie broth, cayenne, variety of beans, can corn, spinach (I change it up and add different spices)
    OR
    Salmon w/ a green veggie on the side (usually broccoli or okra)
    OR
    Pizzas made with flatbread, turkey pepperoni, and loaded down with sauteed veggies.
    OR
    Oven roasted veggies with turkey sausage or chicken
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Note that if you are using kg you will get a 600 calorie deficit for 1/2 a kilo, not 500 like when you set your loss to 1 pound a week. To really lose 1 pound a week try to set your calories to maintenance then, then subtract 500 calories from that number and set your calories manually. If it still gives you 1200, you could manually change to something that sounds reasonable to you (like 1300 or 1400 calories) and accept a slightly slower loss.

    That said, I sometimes do 1200 calories for a week or so and here is an old example of what I ate one day (exercise calories went into snacks):

    z726qq1c7b64.png
  • starfruit132
    starfruit132 Posts: 291 Member
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    I like to "drink" my snacks to fill in hours not minutes of stress time. Sipping on a sugar free vanilla protein drink with coffee (or decaf via powder) added helps curb desire to mindless snack. Hope this makes sense.
  • janicelo1971
    janicelo1971 Posts: 823 Member
    edited December 2016
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    my diary is open and i range from 1200-1350 calories. i am 5'6 small frame, weigh ranges 119-127

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