How do you eat 1200 calories?!

ctwachal

I don't. I hit about 1400. When I started it was almost 1600, and the first couple weeks I gave myself a break, so if I didn't meet it, I didn't beat myself up, because I was still learning about the calorie content of foods, choosing better foods, and exercising more than I was the week before. After a few weeks it wasn't so hard to eat 14oo, so I suggest allowing yourself the adjustment time,
Also I did 1200 for a while, and didn't really lose weight, but when I bumped it back up to 1400 I lost right away. For me I think 1200 was too low to keep my metabolism working effectively.
And drink a lot of water. It's repeated over and over, but it helps. Sometimes I think I'm hungry but I'm really just thirsty.

meeper123

When I first joined I ate 1200 cals hated it so badly! I now eat 1600 with exercise and feel way better.

Cindyinpg

I don't. Not even when I first started on the healthy jounrey. 1,200 is way low and most likely for a person who wants to lose 2 pounds a week with no exercise.

I eat between 1,750 and 1,850 every day, but I also exercise every day.

This. I am tall, very active and only aiming to lose 1lb a week at the very most, so I average around 2,000 everyday. :drinker:

dellaquilaa

It's pretty easy to maintain 1200 calories on a whole foods, plant based diet: unsweetened oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, a huge salad with no oil, dressing or meat on top for lunch with a baked potato, and brown rice with a veggie stir fry for dinner. Drink only water, snack on plain veggies or fresh fruits and voila! I maintained that for a few weeks before refined sugar crept its way back into my life. Even with the sugar, though, I usually stick around my 1500 goal :-) :-)

Littlestandrews

Breakfasts: 160 calorie oatmeal. 100 calorie banana. 200 calorie yogurt and granola. 250 calorie fruit/spinach smoothie.

Lunches: 285 calorie PBJ. 260 calorie avocado and tomato sandwich. 190 calorie turkey sandwich. 250 calorie lean cousine.

Dinners: 400 calorie chicken and veggies. 350 calorie fish and veggies. 500 calorie steak and veggies. 400 calorie chicken salad.

Snacks: 160 calorie Oreos (3 cookies). 90 calorie ounce of cheese. 200 calories of tuna and crackers.

These are just a few but I find I have a lot of variety. I still eat practically anything I want...it's all about moderation.

froeschli

how to eat 1200 calories? easy, make yourself a generous peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
seriously, i don't think i could manage on 1200. i'd rather run my behind off so i can eat more :-)

xmysterix

I don't find 1200-1500 too hard. Today I've had:

b: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1 piece of toast, half a pear, 3 coffees w/ a splash of milk
l: 1.25 cups seafood jambalaya (mostly veggies, a bit of rice and fish)
s: a seriously badass banana-walnut muffin I baked up today
d: 150g corned silverside w/ a dollop of peppercorn gravy, 1 cup mashed potatoes (made w/ skim milk, no butter), and somewhere between 50 and 100g of peas (haven't had dinner yet). Will probably have a cup of decaf coffee or two w/ milk afterward.
My total for the day is almost dead on 1200, more if I go for the extra peas

Heck, yesterday's lunch only came to 169 and it was a giant bowl (2 cups) of minestrone loaded with veggies.

My lunches are often mostly veggies (soup, salad, wrap/sandwich, raw w/ hummus) a> to get in my nutrients for the day and b> because Iike big/rich dinners and need to budget the cals hehe. Being mostly veggies, you get a lot of bulk in the meal without a lot of calories.

geekyjock76

I am really struggling with how to plan out meals that lead up to only 1200-1500 calories...I feel like I could eat that in one meal! I know that my old habits need to change, OBVIOUSLY...I would really appreciate any sort of meal plan or advice, tips or guidance on how to even begin!

Thank you!!

Is your weekly weight loss goal suitable for you? How much do you weight? What's your goal weight? How many days a week do you exercise? It is very possible that you could lose fat mass by eating more.

Yooperm35

I did eat 1200 calories when I first started MFP - and knew NOTHING about dieting - this is why I came to MFP - it was all mapped out for me and all I had to do was follow it. I lost #38

I kept that weight off for about 1½I went up into a maintenance level - and within 6 months, I gained back #18. From only eating 1200 calories for so long, I'm pretty sure I slowed my metabolism down, so when I started eating 'normal' again - My body couldn't handle it. Not to mention I was losing my hair, I was tired, and my nails were tearing and brittle on the 1200 calorie diet. Lost weight, yes, felt great? NO!

xmysterix

Yanno, some of us are genuinely sedentary, short, etc, and eating at 1200 isn't a death sentence. Feeling great, here! And if I want more food I just make sure I go for a long walk/jog/swim/whatever to burn it off!

2910s

I eat 1000-1200 and I don't feel like it's restrictive at all. If you eat in moderation, it is doable and for me, easy to maintain. If you feel like it's too restrictive and not something you can maintain, then maybe you should try eating 1400-1600.

jmkmomm

I know a lot of these people are telling you it's easy. Well it is eventually but it sounds like you are a beginner and it's not easy at first. It's just something you have to plan for, work yourself into. Your stomach will shrink as you get used to eating less and eating 1200 will be easier. I try to stay at 1300. When I first started a year ago that was HARD. But now I am not hungry at all.

Yooperm35

Yanno, some of us are genuinely sedentary, short, etc, and eating at 1200 isn't a death sentence. Feeling great, here! And if I want more food I just make sure I go for a long walk/jog/swim/whatever to burn it off!

But could you eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life? Wouldn't you rather do something that is sustainable? It really sucks to get to your goal weight only to start gaining it back because you 'eat normal' again - JMO Cuz I've been there!

stb1234

I eat anywhere between 1100-1300 calories a day, I try to look at the bigger weekly picture when I know I have an event coming up or an outing where I can't prepare my own food

My diary is Public if you'd like to check it out for some ideas.

I leave my largest calorie allowance of the day for when I'm the hungriest, dinner time, and I either run 5/6km before or after dinner to avoid that heavy feeling at night.

xmysterix

Yanno, some of us are genuinely sedentary, short, etc, and eating at 1200 isn't a death sentence. Feeling great, here! And if I want more food I just make sure I go for a long walk/jog/swim/whatever to burn it off!

But could you eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life? Wouldn't you rather do something that is sustainable? It really sucks to get to your goal weight only to start gaining it back because you 'eat normal' again - JMO Cuz I've been there!

Sure I could, if I kept my activity level as craptastic as it is now. But I imagine plenty of us start at 1200 and increase food as we increase activity. Just saying, no need to doom-and-gloom every 1200-er 1200 can be a LOT of tasty food if you plan it out right.

Lleldiranne

I'm short (5'0") and pretty close to my goal (currently 130 lbs, would like to get to around 125). I am maintaining on about 1800 calories daily right now (I'm set to 1600, but I don't measure stuff and I'm sure I estimate poorly, so I'm guessing around 1800). So I would lose 1/2 pound a week on 1600. I work out about 4 times a week, but use TDEE method so I don't eat back exercise calories (they're already accounted for).

My mom is on 1200 calories (to lose). But she's in her 60s and is a couple of inches shorter than I am. (Yep, she's 4'10" or possibly shorter now)

My point is, 1200 calories may not be the most appropriate goal for you. I notice from your profile you have 40 pounds to lose. You probably want to set your goal to 1 pound a week loss. Then eat back your exercise calories.

And I agree with other posters who said that it takes time to adjust. Take small steps. If you were normally eating 3000 calories a day, dropping right to 1200 would be hard. You could probably drop to something like 2000 for a few weeks, then *kitten* if you need/want to drop again, maybe to 1800, etc. (If you were eating around 2000 before, try 1600 or so). You'll find the amount that satisfies you while allowing you to lose weight.

And there's a lot of good ideas for lower calorie meals that may suit you, as well. Good luck!

Yooperm35

I'm not trying to 'doom and gloom' your diet. If it's working for you - great. If you keep the weight off, GREAT! The whole idea of the message boards is to help each other - just trying to share my experience, and from I've read - the experience of many

Jewlz280

Well, your profile is pretty blank so we don't know any info. But I will start off saying that truthfully 1200 may be too low to start out with. Especially if you are new to this. Maybe start higher around 1500 to give yourself a big of wiggle room and learn the ropes. 1200 could eventually be spot on since we don't have all of the facts, but for anyone starting out, it's better to work your way to it with a little bit of trial and error first so you don't get discouraged when you go over a bit. Anyways, just a few basic tips to get you going. Try not to drink your calories. I'm guilty of this at times as I love flavored coffee! I don't drink soda or juice really, but I could tear up some coffee with a quickness. LOL But I try to either sip it black, work it into my cals, or drink water. So far, I have the coffee and work it in unless I am having something sweet and then I don't add the creamer. But I love coffee period so I can do that. Buy a scale. Measuring food by weight (in particular grams) will really not only keep your food on track, but will help to train your mind to true portion sizes. When eating, what helps me isn't to cut out any one food group, but instead to have what I want mixed with fruit or veg. An example is that my fave pizza place has a cheesy pizza that is 310 per slice. So, if I want pizza, I have that slice but then I have a good chunk of cucumber (100g is right at 16 cals for seedless) and 1tbsp of ranch bringing me to 391. It can work with that with all of your meals. You can have a couple of frozen waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped topping for under 300. You can have yogurt with fresh blueberries and toasted oats. You can have some dried fruit and nuts for a snack or just dried fruit and cheese. My snacks are usually something that goes with coffee, though, so mine has been these little Quaker Oats bars in Cinnamon Pecan and they're like 140 cals. That alone or maybe with some apple. Mostly, I try to have a smaller portion of what I want, dressing or whatever on the side, and a big helping of fruit or veg. I don't always hit the mark, but that is what I go for. Today I just wanted toast but I had it with butter and fresh 100% preserves. Lunch was pizza and an apple. Snack was a peppermint because that is what I wanted. Dinner was a good sized bbq sandwich with 'fried' corn and green beans. I'd have been well under 1200, but then I decided on a double bowl of vanilla froyo. That put me just over 1300 but my cal allowance for the day is 1600. My point is, be patient and a bit lenient with yourself while you are still learning and getting into it. You can do it and still enjoy life in moderation. Just give yourself time and don't be afraid to prowl some people's food journals!

callmedottie

I eat whatever, but I just exercise to add like 300 calories. If you don't exercise, then it's not really possible if you're a stubborn eater. Then do the things people say above. But really, make sure you exercise.

OMGeeeHorses

o.o I am loosing 2lbs a week and have 1530 for my calories. This to me is a challenge sometimes. I had to break myself of the 1200 calorie goal as I would dread seeing it go over 1200 calories and freak out. SO I told myself that as long as I don't go over 1500 calories I would be fine. I range in the middle 1300-1450. I do TDEE as well and use a body media core armband to help me track my burns. My meals consists of what I am mainly craving for that day. I make it work into my macros and no worry about meal planning and such. TO me if I did a meal planner I would so go over in calories as I would feel ( in my mind) restricted.