1200 Calories?!

ChantalGG

Eat fish and chicken breast it is so low in calories (except salmon) and filling. If you cut out or cut down, as much as you can, on the potatoes, white rice, and white breads you will have lots of calories to play with.

takemeaway10

Good point! The only liquid calories I have come from protein shakes and milk.

Tuna439

I try to keep every meal at about 300 calories. I have been doing Jenny Craigs food but you could do lean cuisine or something simular as well. Make the meal about 200 calories and supplement the rest of your calories with veggies. I always make a huge salad at dinner. My snacks are about 100 calories (if more than 100 I make lunch a few less calories). I need to have something sweet and enjoy skinney cow ice cream bars! If you want to look at my food diary let me know!

keggen

I'm on my third week of 1200 now and it does seem tough sometimes. But basically what everyone else said: water, produce, exercise. I don't eat meat so I found I was actually not eating my "allowed" amount of fat. I tried adding stuff like avocado and I think that actually helped my hunger. But don't make yourself miserable. Maybe try working down to 1200 instead of going straight there.

beckyann858

I don't really have anything new to add, just chiming in with everyone else recommending exercise! MFP recommends 1300 calories for me, but that's completely impossible, I would STARVE to death!! Lol. So i exercise almost every day so I can eat more! Plus, all the time I spend in the gym is time I am NOT spending mindlessly snacking or really even thinking about food at all, so it's a win-win

webfootcajun

im a guy who started at 262 lbs. i started the medifast program eating 5 of their meals a day and one home cooked meal. I almost never get over 900 calories a day. after 2 or 3 days the head game is over. you only need that much to thrive and lose, the rest in in your head. Its got to be about more than the food. Thats what i tell myself anyway. 36 lbs down so far.

Tuna439

I try to keep every meal at about 300 calories. I have been doing Jenny Craigs food but you could do lean cuisine or something simular as well. Make the meal about 200 calories and supplement the rest of your calories with veggies. I always make a huge salad at dinner. My snacks are about 100 calories (if more than 100 I make lunch a few less calories). I need to have something sweet and enjoy skinney cow ice cream bars! If you want to look at my food diary let me know! Also it took almost two weeks before the hunger pains went away....but it does

ckclontz

I'm supposed to be on 1400 calories a day, but by eating only *real* food, no processed stuff or the"low-fat" or "lite" stuff, I have issues even getting to 1200. I'm always full! As a 300+ pound woman, that has *never* been an issue before, that's for sure!

I weighed in today after my first week on the plan my doctor has prescribed for me, and I was worried about getting blasted for not eating enough calories. Surprisingly, she wasn't concerned at all, and so long as I stick to the really good stuff and don't have many fillers (cereals, pasta, white rice) as a main part of my food, I'm grand! (Please note, she is a board certified bariatric surgeon, not just a primary care.)

Stick with good, lean proteins and fresh, not-so-starchy vegetables and fruits, and make sure you get enough dairy. Your body needs all of it, and you will feel full! I don't eat a lot of grains, despite being a serious carb addict, because they don't hold me more than an hour, tops. Test yourself out, see what works and what doesn't, and be really diligent about logging your food and how you feel when you had it. After about two weeks, you'll find trends in your eating and how you are feeling.

Feel free to friend me!

Kelly_Wilson1990

Eat protein first, then vegetables and fruits and carbs (bread, corn, peas, tortillas) last if you are still hungry. You can also eat 6 small meals a day about 200 calories a meal. Stay away from processed food and only whole grains. Do not eat anything white: no white bread, potatoes, rice, etc.

librarydieter2010

Make sure you are getting fiber rich low cal foods like red, or navy beans, whole grains, and vegetables. I love red pepper and garlic hummis served with baby carrots and blue corn chips as a snack; I get tons of fiber and little calories and fill up. Eat fruit instead of fruit juices, but remember not all fruit is equal: you can have tons more watermelon and feel full than you can with bananas. Wrap 1/2 of thin ham slices around asparagus spears, cantalope slices, or scallions with just a dab of cream cheese on each to hold them together..very low in calories yet seems like a party food.

If you are not vegetarian opt for fish when you can instead of beef or pork. They will fill you up with very little calories. Also drink water and herbal teas, they fill you and help increase weight loss also. If you are eating high sugar and high fat foods you will get less volume for you caloric budget and you will be hungry!

Then remember, the more you excercise the more you can eat.

shonasteele

i tried 1200 cal for about a week but it was miserable so I set my goal to maintenance for a week just to adjust to a different way of eating, then I set goal for 1/2 pound/week for a few weeks, then down to 1 pound/week which gives me 1300 calories. I did okay with that for a while but fell off the wagon big time this past week and am having a hard time getting back on. So I'm going to go back to 1/2 pound a week for a week and see if I can ease my way back into eating less.

charityk1980

Thanks, everyone! I think I just need a little more time and to figure this out. With three young kids it is hard to find low calorie meals that everyone can enjoy. I know that eventually I will be able to do it. Anyone have any good suggestions for exercises though. The neighborhood I live in isn't ideal for walks with the kids (no sidewalks or side roads close by) and no babysitter for me to get out by myself.....

charityk1980

I just can't feel full with fruit and vegetables. I need something solid to get that feeling...from the way everyone talking I am the only one that can't get that full feeling with produce : (

tramaine81

IT TAKES A WHILE. I started at 2000, then scaled back slowly. I spent a few weeks at 1800, 1600, and now I am averaging 1300-1400 calories. I expect to hit 1200 consistently in a few weeks. However, if I were you, I would spend the first few weeks just writing down what you eat because, if you are eating over 2500 calories, like I was, it might be difficult (if not impossible) to immediately create a 1300 hundred calorie deficit AND exercise. Your body might feel like like you are starving and rebel if you drastically cut back too soon. Then you might feel UNNECESSARILY like a failure when you are not, you are just human. GOOD LUCK!

hedwardsb

I started out at 1200 calories to lose a pound a week, and I decided because I have less than 20 pounds to lose, it just isn't realistic for me even when I exercise and even though my protein consumption regularly is twice to three times what MFP recommends. Prior to joining MFP, I realize that I was regularly consuming in excess of 2200 calories a day. I changed my settings to 1/2 pound a week, and I can mostly stay within my calories or even under.
I'm also a mother of three, and I have a joined a gym with childcare. In terms of things you can do at home, I use Netflix to do yoga. There's a large variety of workouts available. I go through some times when I use Wii Fit, but it's more for strength training like plank challenge. Tonight after working out on the elliptical at the gym, I took my daughter to the pool and played with her swimming while towing her on a noodle, etc. You can actually burn a lot of calories doing things like that, if you kids are smaller. I'm usually lazy at the pool when my older kids are around because they play with the little one, but they're at camp, and I got a workout.
Yardwork is also a really good workout. I'm not a fan of squats at the gym, but weeding works the same areas. I live in the south (it's above 90 degress outside right now!) so certainly being out in the heat is burning some extra calories!
Good luck!