New to Myfitnesspal.. Calorie intake shows 1200

Options
Does anyone have advice or any ideas to what I should eat to consume those calories on a daily basis. I tend to go over the calories or way under..

Replies

  • cygnetpro
    cygnetpro Posts: 419 Member
    Options
    One thing that helps me at times is logging your day's food ahead of time, in the morning. That way you can adjust accordingly. And if you switch something out, no biggie, just change it on MFP. I found that at times I would have half my calories left by dinnertime, and on other days have almost nothing left. When I log ahead of time, I avoid that. Good luck!
  • KimR87
    KimR87 Posts: 295 Member
    Options
    One thing that helps me at times is logging your day's food ahead of time, in the morning. That way you can adjust accordingly. And if you switch something out, no biggie, just change it on MFP. I found that at times I would have half my calories left by dinnertime, and on other days have almost nothing left. When I log ahead of time, I avoid that. Good luck!

    This is what i do before i eat breakfast I log everything that i plan to eat for the day in so I can see how many calories I have
  • merez
    merez Posts: 5
    Options
    Hi! I'm not a nutritionist or anything but I would say there are a number of ways you could approach this. First I wood "allot" calories to each meal of the day/snack based on how you tend to eat already. You should definitely have breakfast and try to find a few options for mid day snacks.

    Eat something substantial at breakfast like an egg or oatmeal. This will give you a good energy foundation for the rest of the day. Try to pick snacks that also give high quality energy. Walnuts or other nuts tend to be good for this. I've recently started doing Chobani Greek Yogurt as an afternoon snack but that may be outside your calorie budget for a snack.

    You could also ask your doctor for a sample weekly diet. I have a feeling he may tell you 1200 is too low. Your doctor can also do a metabolism test which pretty accurately tell you how many calories you burn in a day.

    Also I just found this link by googling 1200 calorie diet. Hope it helps! Good luck!
    http://www.womenandweight.com/1200-calorie-diet-plan/

    I strongly urge you to make sure you are eating enough calories in a day. Going way under is worse than going over once in awhile. In addition to losing weight you are trying to teach your body a new way of living normally. Too many days of too little calories and your body will start to fight back.

    Good luck!
  • ninjapixie87
    ninjapixie87 Posts: 124 Member
    Options
    One thing that helps me at times is logging your day's food ahead of time, in the morning. That way you can adjust accordingly. And if you switch something out, no biggie, just change it on MFP. I found that at times I would have half my calories left by dinnertime, and on other days have almost nothing left. When I log ahead of time, I avoid that. Good luck!
    Yes! "Pre-logging" has really helped me stay within my goal of 1200 calories the past few days.

    Also, try to find some "friends" or people with open diaries on MFP who have similar goals and look at their food diaries for examples. Mine is open, but isn't the best example. I started a few weeks ago and I'm still adjusting.