struggling with a 1200 calorie allowance

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  • battybecks
    battybecks Posts: 147 Member
    1200 seems okay but at night when I want a snack, it pushes me over the limit. Anyone have a suggestion for a healthy snack? I have tried celery and peanut butter which is okay, but I want other good choices. Fruit puts my sugar intake too high and peanut butter adds too much fat. Any suggestions?

    Salted popcorn! Homemade, or look at the calories on bought varieties. My local shop does one that is 200kcals for a huge share bag :)

    nomnomnom
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Hi try to use this..will give your daily calorie requirements.. =)

    scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    So proud of you sis! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
    Yes use this for an accurate calorie count. :flowerforyou:
  • Shoechick5
    Shoechick5 Posts: 221 Member
    i find it hard sticking to 1200 calories if i make my own foods.. ive started eating weightwatchers meals with a bag of steam veg! it usually fills me up & its easier to keep track x

    Weight Watchers meals are full of sodium. Becareful.
  • Shoechick5
    Shoechick5 Posts: 221 Member
    hey guys, ive been doing the 1200 cals a day for about a year now - but i allow myself atleast one blow out cheat meal a week! think it stops me from going insane. i also dont eat back the calories i burn off,
    i find really good foods are eggs, tuna, skinny pasta, loading bologneses/stir frys/chillis with LOTS of vegetables and small amounts of meat! i also weigh pretty much everything as it is so easier to go over the weight of pasta etc.

    there are some days when im starving and some when im stuffed! very strange.

    keep at it :) produces amazing results. xxxxx

    Isn't this a bit misleading? aren't you consuming a lot of your calories that you burn in your one cheat meal?
  • bumblebreezy91
    bumblebreezy91 Posts: 520 Member
    1200 calories is going very well for me. I am constantly eating low-cal, healthy foods to make sure I don't get to the point of feeling deprived. With my medical condition, I am not always able to exercise, so this really helps me still lose weight as if I were working out. Another friend with the same condition I have is planning on doing some light strengthening exercises together that may not aggravate my problems/pain, though. So we'll see if I can start adding exercise and slightly increasing calories if needed. my doctor does know I follow a 1200 calorie diet and actually recommends it for me.
  • meaganrh19
    meaganrh19 Posts: 20 Member
    I've been eating a tone of fruits and veggies and I usually come in under
  • meaganrh19
    meaganrh19 Posts: 20 Member
    I think it all comes to food choices. You need to find lower calorie food that will fill you up and stay with you. I eat a lot of homemade soups. I enter the ingredients on "My Recipes" and it calculates the number of calories per serving. I recently made a clam chowder that was 53 calories for one cup. I kept some in the fridge and froze some for workday lunches. With so few calories, I eat one and a half cups and some times add crackers. Just be creative. You can do it!:smile:

    Can you share the recipe?! I love clam chowder!
  • baltimorewriter
    baltimorewriter Posts: 5
    1200 is unhealthful and way too low. Do some Googling for a Huffington Post article written by a former diet coach who 'fessed up to her clients. Do some Googling for your age and height and current weight for what you really should be taking in. 1.200 calories is a joke unless you've got an event next week.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Anyone else following a 1200 routine? If so, how did you make it work for you? Right now i am following it pretty closely but if i go over by 100 or so i don't sweat it.

    Thanks!!

    Go here to get a better estimate of what you should be eating to lose weight: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    You may be able to eat more calories and still meet your goals.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    1200 is unhealthful and way too low. Do some Googling for a Huffington Post article written by a former diet coach who 'fessed up to her clients. Do some Googling for your age and height and current weight for what you really should be taking in. 1.200 calories is a joke unless you've got an event next week.

    Not true if the user fits the necessary requirements.
  • raw_meal
    raw_meal Posts: 96 Member
    in
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    hey guys, ive been doing the 1200 cals a day for about a year now - but i allow myself atleast one blow out cheat meal a week! think it stops me from going insane. i also dont eat back the calories i burn off,
    i find really good foods are eggs, tuna, skinny pasta, loading bologneses/stir frys/chillis with LOTS of vegetables and small amounts of meat! i also weigh pretty much everything as it is so easier to go over the weight of pasta etc.

    there are some days when im starving and some when im stuffed! very strange.

    keep at it :) produces amazing results. xxxxx

    You are not eating 1200 calories a day if you allow yourself one 'blow out' meal a week.

    And yes, maintaining a reasonable deficit will net you amazing results.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    You don't have to stick with 1200 calories. There are a lot of folks that can't and don't and still lose weight.
  • whatitd013
    whatitd013 Posts: 6 Member
    I started at 1200 too but increased to 1400 because I make sure to burn 500 calories a day through exercise. I don't leave the gym until my heart rate monitor says so. I ate a banana with peanut butter today after almost two weeks of only eating broccoli, kale, cucumbers, tuna, sunwarrior protein, flaxseeds and coconut oil. The banana was delicious. Like eating a desert. Worth it and I'm still within my 1400 calorie limit!
  • sway1080
    sway1080 Posts: 45 Member
    It's hard for me to do 1200 a day. The way I make it work is about 1600 a day and I do a 400 cal workout = 1200 net.
    I've always ate back ALL or almost all exercise calories and i've lost about 25lbs since August :)
  • nebrasch
    nebrasch Posts: 6 Member
    What I do is I plan my whole days meal the night before. I plan out about 1000 of my calories and then leave 200 for that cookie i just have to have or the granola bar I had because I was starving. I have been doing the 1200 calories for a while, what I found works best is cutting out breads and pasta. Really I only have breads and pasta 1-2 times a week. Other than that I buy the low calorie foods, I watch how much butter I put in things. Also switching to fat free milk saves A LOT of calories. Eat lots of veggies. I hate plain veggies so I make sure to allocate calories for peanut butter or hummus.
  • raw_meal
    raw_meal Posts: 96 Member
    1200 calories ? Are you all crazy?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk This is great video for all of you who think that 1200 calories diet will help lose fat :) Thanks to this video and all knowledge that Layne Norton gave me, i'm losing fat despite eating 3000 kcal every day !

    Cool, let's see your diary and how do you do it?
  • Shoechick5
    Shoechick5 Posts: 221 Member
    Its interesting that many of you say you don't worry to much about the natural sugars in fruit. I used to do weight watchers ( lost 50lb, but its maintaining where I fall down ) and on the weight watchers plan mostveg and fruit are considered free to eat I.e. not counted in your food intake and it used to work too. So the question question is... Is fruit andveg worth counting/should you count it? Any thoughts?

    Absolutely have to count it. Weight Watchers Points Plus where fruit and veg is free is set up to expect that you're consuming at least 200 calories a day in fruit and veg.. it bases it's points that it gives you on this.
  • stretch0823
    stretch0823 Posts: 35 Member
    I do the 1lb program and hit the gym 4 times a week might be a better trade off:smile:
  • mamahannick
    mamahannick Posts: 322 Member
    1200 is too little for most people. Definitely look into the TDEE method. I struggle with binging, but when I actually eat enough and don't starve myself the urges to binge magically reduce and become much more manageable.
  • Binnee95
    Binnee95 Posts: 93 Member
    I've been averaging about 1500 calories and have lost 3 pounds in my first week. I'm eating a bit of everything in moderation. If I want cookies I just eat a portion. I don't want to lose the weight that fast so this method is working for me. I am a stress eater and used to eat a lot of calories so the 1500 is not so much for me.
    I was given 1250 calories when I first signed on... Is there any way to change that amount to 1500 so I don't go over every day?
  • red_road
    red_road Posts: 761 Member
    eat more. i find a good balance between results/satiety at 1500.
  • gemaquaries
    gemaquaries Posts: 79 Member
    Most people try to jump in and start with the "Lose 2lbs" a week program. Start at a lb or 1/2 a lb until your stomach shrinks, and you get use to the smaller portion sizes, then lower your calorie count. Determination isn't a bad thing, but don't make the boulder too big to push up the hill. Start with a smaller stone, then when you are use to pushing it, make the stone bigger. Don't set yourself up for failure. JMO

    So true! This is my 4th attempt at MFP and the first time I've stuck with it for that exact reason. You have to ease into the deficit to let your body adjust :)
  • emobert97
    emobert97 Posts: 1
    What I do to help is exercise. If I exercise from 30 to 40 minutes a day and add that to my exercise diary, then it adds however many calories I burned to how many calories I can eat. That's what helped me. :) good luck!
  • MsMacL
    MsMacL Posts: 75 Member
    That's a good idea. Too strict too soon and you won't last the pace.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    Its interesting that many of you say you don't worry to much about the natural sugars in fruit. I used to do weight watchers ( lost 50lb, but its maintaining where I fall down ) and on the weight watchers plan mostveg and fruit are considered free to eat I.e. not counted in your food intake and it used to work too. So the question question is... Is fruit andveg worth counting/should you count it? Any thoughts?

    They have calories, so yes, they should be counted.
  • LovingLifeInCalifornia
    LovingLifeInCalifornia Posts: 9,362 Member
    I can't eat that little. Makes me CRAZY angry and hungry. HAHA.

    When I first started on MFP (in July 2011), the system told me to eat about 1200-1300 calories/day in order to reach my goal weight. I was horrified. It wasn't enough. I changed the settings to 1600...and I ate back all my exercise calories. At one point, I even changed it to 1700 calories....

    I lost 25 lbs. in 6 months.

    Hope this helps.
  • lyndor90
    lyndor90 Posts: 11
    Hi!

    I get what you're saying, that it's not enough, and depending on the foods you're eating, it would be difficult.

    If you want to eat more, you should probably exercise to compensate

    A chocolate bar alone takes up a quarter...


    try following one of my days

    protein shake with trim milk (250mls) - 200cals
    mandarin Satsuma & 1/2 cup blueberries - 108cals
    rice crackers with 20g peanut butter, 100g of banana and cinnamon - 250cals
    Carb-less snack bar - 120cals
    1/2 tin of vege soup - 84cals
    2 slices of wholegrain bread - 150cals
    5 dried prunes or apricots - 100cals
    1/2 cup blueberries - 46cals
    lyndor chocolate truffle - 70 cals
    fresh peach - 65cals

    total - 1193

    I have lost 24kg/55lbs since early september

    Eat little and often :)
  • bonitaneko5
    bonitaneko5 Posts: 2
    going up to 1500 or even 1700 is okay concentrate on what foods you are eating how to make good food choices
  • sue_stef
    sue_stef Posts: 194 Member
    I think it all comes to food choices. You need to find lower calorie food that will fill you up and stay with you. I eat a lot of homemade soups. I enter the ingredients on "My Recipes" and it calculates the number of calories per serving. I recently made a clam chowder that was 53 calories for one cup. I kept some in the fridge and froze some for workday lunches. With so few calories, I eat one and a half cups and some times add crackers. Just be creative. You can do it!:smile:
    I'd love that recipe for Clam chowder if you are willing to share

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