What to eat!?

jasay79

Ok, so I understand there's an adjustment period and I'll feel hungry for a while.. eat more fiber, blah blah blah (today it actually says I've had "too much" fiber so far, so eating filling foods isn't the issue) ... but seriously - what do you all eat for 1200 calories/day!?
I'm so used to counting weight watchers points (where several things were "free" even if they had a few calories), whereas counting calories, every single tiny bite counts! I ate what I thought was a pretty healthy lunch, and spent 458 calories! I dunno... that just seems like a lot, when I'm still feeling so hungry. LOL

Any recipes or tips anyone has, would be appreciated. Thanks!!

PS - is there seriously a way to break even in every category??? (ie: I was negative for my "allowed" carbs yesterday, and I'm already in the red for protein today... WTH?)

fireflyangel22

I have the same trouble. I've found eating soup helps because it fills me up and the calories are not outrageous. You can also do all different types of soup to help from getting bored. I've also found that veggies are quite low in calories, but my problem is I hate veggies! I add the zero calorie spray butter and just a bit of cheese to help disguise the veggie taste.

gnlglory

I just try to snack on low calorie snacks to help me maintain 1200 a day. Grapes have helped when I'm hungry. That way you have enough calories for your meals! It's workable, you can do it!! Good luck!

Valtishia

I would think extra fiber is okay as long as you are drinking enough water to offset it. I have never had a problem with it and I go over pretty much daily, but from what I understand if you have too much fiber (really excessive amounts) and not enough liquid, that could back you up too.

I personally think it would be a little difficult to get all the metrics on the nutrients exact on any given day, especially since really... who wants to eat the same thing everyday??

Oh and as far as the calories... thats not a bad meal at all if you aren't snacking. I snack all day long though so generally my meals are about 300ish, then some snacks. Sometimes I sorta skip lunch as a "meal" and just have a few more snacks. Really depends on how hungry I am that day.


Something else you can try is to maybe sit down and plan a day with what you may want to eat, then when you see any problems with it, make changes. This way you already know what you are eating and feel okay with it.

Shua456

I typically eat a lot of the same foods every day - I'm a creature of habit.

Breakfast for me is 3 hard boiled egg whites - I toss the yolks but they don't add too many calories if you want them. This is a good filling breakfast because protein fills you up and keeps you from getting so hungry.

Mid-morning snack is 1 cup of fiber one carmel delight cerieal - no milk. I eat this at my desk while I'm working so having it dry just works best as I can munch on it all morning if I want to.

Lunch is a slimfast shake made with skim milk, I'll usually add some fruit to it. Lately I've been on a strawberry kick.

I usually don't have an afternoon snack but if I do I'll grab some pretzels or a yogurt. I try to keep this to about 100 calories or so.

Dinner varies but a good fallback for me is some grilled chicken and a baked sweet potato. I also really like grilled chicken salads. Again the protein carries me through the evening so that I don't get the munchies.

I typically finish my days right around 1200 calories but about twice a week I'll bump that up to about 1500-1600 to kind of fool my metabolism. Look for posts about zig-zagging your calories, it does work and helps to keep you from feeling so deprived.

jasay79

Thanks, everyone!! I know I can do this.. I just don't want to start feeling discouraged... I'm only on day 2, so I'm ok still - just don't mind me if I'm asking for a bunch of tips and tricks! LOL

JillyCornwall

Get some exercise in, walking, swimming, going to the gym...then you can have more calories....

Jenni268

Hey Jen! I couldn't do the 1200 calories a day. I tried for a couple and it just wasn't happening. So I changed my goals. I was only allowed 1200 calories when I set my goal at 2 lbs a week. And even then that was only about 1.7, since MFP won't suggest anything lower than 1200. So I changed it to a goal of 1 lb. a week. I felt like I was giving up at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the decision. I just WASN'T going to be able to stick to 1200. I knew that I'd end up being hungry and then I'd binge. I'd rather lose the weight slower but be less miserable and have a more realistic calorie per day count.

I know that you're different from me, and probably have more will power. But I just couldn't get my head wrapped around 1200. Just having that number in the back of my mind made me feel like a failure even before I started the day!

spackham

I agree with Jenni268. Change to 1 pound a week and then always stay under that amount.

The best thing I am doing for life-style food changes is to find new and yummy recipes. I bought the Cooking Light cookbook and the calories are right there. We have found some meals that the family LOVES!!! My picky-eater daughter even ASKED to have the left-overs for lunch one day! The Biggest Loser Cookbook also has printed cals but these are VERY low cal idea. I find that a recipe with known cal amounts before I cook it works best for me.