1200 calorie meal plans

mfrog7
mfrog7 Posts: 7
in Food and Nutrition
Anything is appreciated. :)

Replies

  • emirror
    emirror Posts: 842 Member
    Feel free to see my diary for the past 3-4 weeks. If you exercise, you can eat those exercise calories back.
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    before you go on a 1200 calorie meal plan. why dont you start eating on a deficit. I would like to share some protocols where you can stick to and adopt it to your lifestyle. 1200 cals may be for you but it all depends. you may be setting yourself up on a rubber band effect and lose control on eating.

    use this for reference only

    calculate your BMI and find out your normal weight range. you can do that here...
    http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

    once you know your target weight, now you can calculate your BMR. you can do that here....
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    next - update your diet profile on MFP.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    - type in current weight
    - adjust goal weight
    - adjust activities

    - adjust goal (i.e lose 1lb/week)

    for example if you have a 2400 calories suggested by MFP, eat 100-500calories deficit 5x/week and stay within your cals on weekend or feast.

    have mini goals. for example i want to lose 15lbs, once you reach that, set another goal and adjust MFP.
    for the next 6months, stay away from processed foods and just eat whole foods either it came from a tree, the ground or an animal/fish.
    stay away from soda and fruit juice drinks. drink water only, if you want flavor , squeeze a lemon.

    hope this helps on your weight loss journey
  • Dawson_4
    Dawson_4 Posts: 9
    Honestly, from my experience diets that contain this little of calories should not even be considered. You are no way meeting your daily needs of your macro and micro nutrients. Having a diet with this low of calories will leave you feeling tired, week and lethargic with barely enough energy to get through your day. It is also not very realistic because no one can stick to a diet that aggressive the rest of their life. You need to make a lifestyle eating plan that is maintainable and sustainable because being healthy is not about totally restricting yourself from everything, it's about making better choices day by day and by being consciously aware of what your putting in your body. It's also not going to happen overnight but with some determination and will power, it can be done!
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    Honestly, from my experience diets that contain this little of calories should not even be considered. You are no way meeting your daily needs of your macro and micro nutrients. Having a diet with this low of calories will leave you feeling tired, week and lethargic with barely enough energy to get through your day. It is also not very realistic because no one can stick to a diet that aggressive the rest of their life. You need to make a lifestyle eating plan that is maintainable and sustainable because being healthy is not about totally restricting yourself from everything, it's about making better choices day by day and by being consciously aware of what your putting in your body. It's also not going to happen overnight but with some determination and will power, it can be done!

    very wise there young grasshopper...very wise!
    2 thumbs up!
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Honestly, from my experience diets that contain this little of calories should not even be considered. You are no way meeting your daily needs of your macro and micro nutrients. Having a diet with this low of calories will leave you feeling tired, week and lethargic with barely enough energy to get through your day. It is also not very realistic because no one can stick to a diet that aggressive the rest of their life. You need to make a lifestyle eating plan that is maintainable and sustainable because being healthy is not about totally restricting yourself from everything, it's about making better choices day by day and by being consciously aware of what your putting in your body. It's also not going to happen overnight but with some determination and will power, it can be done!

    Wow very impressed this is coming from an 18 year old! Took me 47 years to figure it out and many yo-yo diets of all kinds.

    The previous post above was also very good. Please follow the advice.
  • Dawson_4
    Dawson_4 Posts: 9
    Thanks guys, literally just joined this site, this was my first post! Haha just trying to save some people from going through all those crash diets!
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    not to shaby there too mockchoc!

    keep motivating Dawson_4!... good job!
  • coppertop_4
    coppertop_4 Posts: 258 Member
    MFP recommends 1200 to all women because of one small thing....
    The option to lose 2lbs a week. If you select it and are sedentary.... that's the goal it gives women.
    Then if you don't exercise... that's all you get. So without the "education" the women who chose those two things
    are set to 1200 a day.
  • jigsaw_me
    jigsaw_me Posts: 616 Member
    MFP recommends 1200 to all women because of one small thing....
    The option to lose 2lbs a week. If you select it and are sedentary.... that's the goal it gives women.
    Then if you don't exercise... that's all you get. So without the "education" the women who chose those two things
    are set to 1200 a day.

    Um, no .. I chose that setting and got over 1200 ...
  • huv123
    huv123 Posts: 54 Member
    I have no problem with sticking to 1200 calories during the weekdays. I eat whole eggs for breakfast with either low-calorie cheese or vegetarian sausage, for lunch I eat low-calorie grilled vegetables with either pasta or couscous or quinoa, and for dinner I have smoked chicken, potato salad (with low-fat mayo dressing) and garden salad (lemon juice, salt dressing). Snacks are either junk food if I exercise or fresh fruit. Sometimes I will also have frozen vegetables stir fried with oil spray, garlic, onion powder and paprika - it's very tasty for less than 100 extra calories. That's more than enough for me, especially when I am so busy - except for maybe a little more calcium. It's only when I get to the weekend that I have more of an issue because I tend to eat out and can't always control what I am eating. I definitely hit my fat and protein macros. I need to retrain myself to recognise what full feels like (not the nauseated feeling I used to have from overeating).
  • lioooba
    lioooba Posts: 105 Member
    eat on a deficit of max 500kcal, so 1200kcal a day is not really appropriate and healthy.
    You can go lower then that for about 2weeks, but then your metabolism will slow down and you'll hit a plateau. fun.
  • erin8389
    erin8389 Posts: 16 Member
    right on :) I dont know why so many people are getting up in everyones face when they say they want to eat 1200. this post wasnt asking for your opinion about how much she should eat it was to get meal ideas.

    OP: my favorite snack is peanut butter and carrot sticks very satisfying and only 90 calories :)
  • lioooba
    lioooba Posts: 105 Member
    @erin8389 because we care
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    @erin8389 because we care

    YES !!!
  • jessicah36
    jessicah36 Posts: 11
    I have

    breakfast - hard boiled egg, banana, almonds

    snack - carrot, corn thins with peanut butter

    lunch - greek yoghurt, canned tuna

    snack - air popped popcorn, pear

    dinner - salmon wrap with lettuce tomato

    snack - apple
  • huv123
    huv123 Posts: 54 Member
    If you are short, generally inactive and female then 1200 really isn't that extreme.
  • donnymom
    donnymom Posts: 32 Member
    I'm set for 1200 calories a day and find it extremely hard to stay within that range. I usually go over, but don't get too upset because it is still lower than what I was eating before I started and still makes me accountable.
  • saradewhurst
    saradewhurst Posts: 2
    It's all about portion size....

    Reduce your fat intake

    Bulk out meals with non-starchy vegetables

    For a quick fix try buying weight watchers frozen meals and adding a portion of salad. If you ate one for lunch and dinner every day for a week with only a bowl of cereal and maybe an apple as a snack, you would lose a pleasing amount of weight and train your stomach to accept smaller portions.
  • gloriaeffe
    gloriaeffe Posts: 75 Member
    I'm very small (154cm for 49Kg) and I'm set at 1200Kcal/day - which is my BMR.
    I exercise a lot and always eat back those calories.
    I don't find it difficult at all to keep within that limit, I actually feel like I'm always eating. Healthy and in small portions but continuously.

    An average day for me is:

    BREAKFAST
    - oatmeal with 15g oats, 1tsp chia, 1tsp flaxseed meal, some fruit, 100ml almond milk, 85g chobani
    - egg white muffin = 1 egg white, 20g ham, 5g baby spinach, 1 cherry tomato

    AM SNACK
    - 1 apple
    - 50g chicken breast slices (deli type)

    LUNCH
    - carrot, tomatoes, cucumber + 100g turkey breast
    - 1 wholemeal cracker
    - 1 fruit

    PM SNACK
    - protein shake OR protein bar OR cottage cheese + fruit
    - green tea

    DINNER
    - 100g chicken or salmon or prawns... + lots of veggies
    - 1 or 2 wholemeal cracker

    AFTER DINNER
    - 85g chobani + frozen bluberries + 1tsp honey if I really need something sweet

    THROUGHOUT THE DAY
    - almonds
    - a bit of fruit (fresh, frozen or dried)
    - green tea or almond milk

    EXERCISE
    - typically around 60min. of vigorous activity, alternating cardio (running / spinning / HIIT / boxing) and strength (conditioning, circuit)
    - at least 3.5Km walk every day
    - I normally burn around 400-500 calories from exercise
  • gypsyone96
    gypsyone96 Posts: 61 Member
    it really just depends on your weight and height
  • samacooper
    samacooper Posts: 28 Member
    Pretty sure as long as the food you chose is nutritious, a 1200 calorie per day diet is perfectly okay in the short term, especially if you are not getting much exercise/activity. But others may be right that if you rarely eat more than that, your body starts to "adjust" and you would actually be better off throwing in some days a few hundred more calories to keep your metabolism revved up.

    http://www.weightlossforall.com/1200-calorie-diet-sample.htm

    http://www.freedieting.com/1200_calorie_diet.htm
  • niya90
    niya90 Posts: 1
    Thanks so much! this helped me get an idea
  • sixxkitty
    sixxkitty Posts: 27
    I am also on a 1200cal/day lifestyle. I seem to eat constantly, just so I can actually eat all my calories otherwise it "fusses" at me for eating too few a day. I do workout daily and I'm using a Fit-bit now, which I love. I rarely am able to eat back my exercise calories, basically I am not going to eat up until midnight just to do so, especially when I'm not hungry. I have plenty of energy and sleep so good now that I am eating better. You can add me if you like, my diary is open to read so check it out.

    I DON'T eat diet foods, frozen or otherwise. NO prepackaged TV dinner type meals since they are jacked up with sodium and never filled me up before (plus I gained weight on them). I don't do protein shakes, whey powder or any of the like, makes me gag. I eat a hearty omelet and grapefruit every morning along with my coffee, have several snacks in between, a huge plateful of lunch which usually consists of chicken and various steamed veggies and a fruit. My supper always varies depending on whether I cook or my husband cooks :) Always Always Always choose 3 servings of veggies and 2 fruits a day at the very least.

    I have looked at several diaries here and find that too many people eat very little and the "wrong/fattening" kind of food or they are on a ridiculous amount of protein shakes and laboratory engineered powders (that btw aren't meant for humans to survive on) but they must be starving and that kind of change is unhealthy and will lead you to never change your eating habits and bounce back to your old weight or above quickly.

    RULE OF THUMB: It's all about discipline not deprivation and when you learn how to control yourself then you will set good habits for life and thats what the whole purpose of MFP is, learning new habits and changing your life for the better. I'm serious though, check out my diary if you want. Good luck and I hope this helps, Tammy:happy:
  • hlthyn2014
    hlthyn2014 Posts: 1 Member
    Please consider skinnytaste.com The site gives loads of recipes that are light and delicious. Whatever you like, they generally have a light way of preparing it. All calories, fat g, etc. are counted for you. Many of their recipes are already in the MFP data base so it's pretty easy to log them in.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member

    OP: my favorite snack is peanut butter and carrot sticks very satisfying and only 90 calories :)

    A tablespoon of peanut butter is at least 100 calories.. and that's not a lot, you probably eat 2 as that is considered a serving anyway, then you need to add in the calories from carrots. I think You are under estimating your intake a bit..

    OP:

    I agree that 1200 calories isn't enough for most people

    Google scooby's calculator and fill in the blanks to get a better idea how much you should be eating.

    Skinnytaste.com has amazing recipes so does chocolate covered katie
    I am also a fan of stir fry
    and cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit, jelly or protein powder mixed into it.
    Carrot sticks, celery sticks, other cut up fruits and veggies with hummus or other dip you made
    hard boiled eggs by themselves or mixed with avocado
    I actually like low sodium rice cakes with PB & J on them or just one or the other. Or hummus
    Make protein cakes
    add egg whites to eggs, rice and other recipes for a low calorie way to make them more filling and higher protein
    make stuffed peppers or mushrooms (less cheese and the right ingredients and you have low calorie ones)
    Use lettuce wraps instead of wraps

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