1200 cal without exercising??

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  • westcoastSW
    westcoastSW Posts: 320 Member
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    so just what can you eat thats not full of calories??
    Fruits and vegetables. Skim milk. Lean meats and proteins, such as eggs or egg whites. Smaller portions of grains and breads. Cutting down on processed and pre-packaged foods, high-calorie condiments (mayo, ranch dressing, oils), sodas and sugary juices, and snacks when you aren't actually hungry.
  • MeganRhea_x
    MeganRhea_x Posts: 57 Member
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    Since I've started MFP I've been eating around 1500-1700 calories with my workouts, and that's probably why it seems hard to go down to 1200. I'm just not sure what to do about this pulled muscle.. maybe I can train myself to go with 1200 for a week or so and then get back to working out. You all's tips seem helpful though!
  • coreytess
    coreytess Posts: 7
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    look at different people's diaries to see what they are eating... that helps. I am able to do it.
  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
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    I do not eat enough. I find it difficult to eat 1200 cals a day. In the past it was because I skipped breakfast, didn't snack & had small lu & processed dinners. Now, I eat mostly veggies, whole foods, yogurt, nuts, etc. & drink at least 8 glasses of water. I'm hardly ever hungry & usually force myself to eat to get over the 1200 cals. I exercise at least 3 days a week and I do not have an active job (I think that helps me not crave food as much because I use fewer calories). Personally, I think sitting on my butt all day & eating the wrong foods made my butt expand & not eating enough food made me store it as fat. Totally off topic, but thought I'd throw that out there.

    TOTALLY agree. If you do a moderate amount of excersise consistently (say 30 min every day without fail), eat high fibre and high protein at every meal (egg white for brekie, tuna or lean meat, spinach and any type of green vege at lunch, and cooked vege and some lean meat for dinner, with snacks of fruit or veges) you will be more than full and struggle to get to your 1200. My 1200 are mostly filled up with indulgences these days (champagne! or dressings/sauces or chocolate covered organic nuts!)
  • juliep1974
    juliep1974 Posts: 222 Member
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    My daily goal is 1350 and I find it hard to do that without eating my exercise calories. I cook for myself and eat lots of fresh veg but I'm still hungry a lot of the time. Maybe just doing something really low impact to give yourself a chance to recover will help (like walking). Though it doesn't burn a huge number, it is usually enough to get me through the day without feeling like i'm starving myself.
  • Puddykat1026
    Puddykat1026 Posts: 164 Member
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    so just what can you eat thats not full of calories??

    For snack I have baby carrots, celery, or I slice up cucumber & have that instead of chips. I like those sensible porions veggie straws if I MUST have a chip like product. When I make eggs, I scramble peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc into it to add extra veggies and fiber. I try to have salad every day & mix up the veggies. I use hillshire farms low sodium turkey or ham if I MUST have deli meat. My grocery store sells reduced calorie multigrain bread, and I like multigrain wheat thins for crackers when the craving comes. I use mrs dash to season meat to avoid the added sodium. I also cut out mayo (I use mustard a lot) and I don't use salad dressing. I squeeze a tomato slice on top of my salad & it seems to do the trick.
  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
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    Breakfast ideas: (around 200-250 calories)
    - 1/4 cup oatmeal cooked with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup egg whites scrambled, handful of almonds
    - 2 slices light wheat bread, 1 tbsp natural peanut butter, 1/4 cup egg whites cooked
    - 1/2 cup greek yogurt topped with fresh berries, high-fiber cereal and almond slices

    Snack: (100 calories or less)
    - almonds
    - plain popcorn
    - celery
    - carrots
    - sugar peas
    -sunflower seeds

    Lunch: (around 300 calories)
    - salad with grilled chicken and no dressing, cheese or mayo, sugar peas, serving of sunflower seeds, apple slices
    - sandwich with light wheat bread, light tuna, veggies and lettuce, carrots with peanut butter

    Snack: (100 calories)
    - 1/2 cup high fiber cereal
    - apple
    - packet of tuna
    -almonds
    -sunflower seeds
    - greek yogurt and fruit
    - protein powder mixed with milk, egg beaters, yogurt or peanut butter

    Dinner: (300 calories)
    - 3 oz grilled tilapia, 1 can salt free green beans, handful of almonds
    - similar to lunch
    - wrap with low carb tortilla, veggies and chicken/tuna, almonds, apple slices
    - low fat hamburger or light bread, peanut butter and celery
    - cup of chili and sunflower seeds

    Snack:(100 calories)
    - Whatever you want!
    - Banana ice cream (frozen banana pureed)
    - Protein shake
    - Veggies
    - Fruit
    - Plain popcorn

    That's about 1200 calories a day... Hope this helps! :smile:
  • TrimThinTonedTight
    TrimThinTonedTight Posts: 69 Member
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    Lots of fruit, veggies, soup, and fat free yogurt or cheese or milk.

    It's pretty easy to have cereal, yogurt with fruit, a large salad, a can of soup, a whole wheat roll with a slice of cheese, and an apple with peanut butter for around 1200 calories. I had something similar to this a while ago, a little low on bread/starchy food but I was still full the whole day.

    Salad (My personal favorite):
    2 cups of green leaf lettuce
    5 medium slices of tomato
    1/2 cup of cucumber (with peel)
    1/2 cup of shredded carrots
    3 radishes, chopped.
    10 sugar snap peas
    1/4 fat free, sharp cheddar cheese
    1/4 shredded boneless, skinless chicken breast
    2 tbsp of fat free ranch
    18 croutons
    This equals 333 calories

    Chunky soup:
    Chicken noodle, whole can.
    Is 220 calories

    A whole wheat roll, with one slice of fat free, cheddar cheese
    Is 100 calories.

    Gala apple with 2tbsp of light peanut butter
    Is 232 calories

    Cheerios, 3/4 cup with 1 cup of skim milk is:
    161 calories

    175 grams of Greek yogurt with 1 cup of chopped strawberries
    Is 150 calories
  • nighthawke
    nighthawke Posts: 45 Member
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    Exercising lowers the hormone ghrelin which contributes to hunger (along with numerous other mechanisms) by exercising at the same time as dieting you are greatly increasing your chances of not being hungry on a 1200 calorie diet. As someone else said, eat lots of nutrient dense foods (Fruits and veggies), not calorie dense foods (carbs, chips, packaged foods etc)
  • missjelika
    missjelika Posts: 115 Member
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    make everything yourself. substitute anything that adds unnecessary calories.
    eat low calorie dense foods like veggies. because the weather is getting cooler, stews and soups are a great way to have low cal filling foods.
  • NorthRiver
    NorthRiver Posts: 35 Member
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    I found it completely and utterly impossible to only eat 1200 calories. I do not find it hard to eat healthy, but if my breakfast doesn't have at least 400 calories, my stomach growls again 2 hours later. I tried it for a while, exercised excessively to have more calories to eat, and lost a few pounds excruciatingly slowly. I took that as a message from my body that it simply couldn't get by on 1200.

    I finally gave it up, accepted my weight to be my ideal weight, and now eat 1800 to maintain. Now I don't think about food all the time and I feel great. I do try to tone up though, because I still feel too flabby. Maybe after a break I'll try to build in some calorie deficit again... But I'm definitely not going back to 1200.
  • ssbr
    ssbr Posts: 1
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    I was truly amazed today, I went over my 1200 calories by 83 calories and burned 221 by putting in an aerobics dvd and giving my all. Eating less is depriving your body of much needed energy. It is a good balance of making healthy choices of healthy carbs and lean protein. The weight watchers diet says fruits and veggies are free choices. IDK not exercising for me isn't good. Any weight loss plan recommends some exercise, and exercise can be broken down in segments. Look at the exercise options, many are easy to do without "messing the hair" on the head. I just know for myself I need to rally up!
  • soccerella
    soccerella Posts: 623 Member
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    Lots of fruit, veggies, soup, and fat free yogurt or cheese or milk.

    It's pretty easy to have cereal, yogurt with fruit, a large salad, a can of soup, a whole wheat roll with a slice of cheese, and an apple with peanut butter for around 1200 calories. I had something similar to this a while ago, a little low on bread/starchy food but I was still full the whole day.

    Salad (My personal favorite):
    2 cups of green leaf lettuce
    5 medium slices of tomato
    1/2 cup of cucumber (with peel)
    1/2 cup of shredded carrots
    3 radishes, chopped.
    10 sugar snap peas
    1/4 fat free, sharp cheddar cheese
    1/4 shredded boneless, skinless chicken breast
    2 tbsp of fat free ranch
    18 croutons
    This equals 333 calories

    Chunky soup:
    Chicken noodle, whole can.
    Is 220 calories

    A whole wheat roll, with one slice of fat free, cheddar cheese
    Is 100 calories.

    Gala apple with 2tbsp of light peanut butter
    Is 232 calories

    Cheerios, 3/4 cup with 1 cup of skim milk is:
    161 calories

    175 grams of Greek yogurt with 1 cup of chopped strawberries
    Is 150 calories

    i dislike yogurt, but this sounds like a yummy day to me and alot more food than i normally get in

    I dont know about everyone else, but to me hot foods seem more filling. My english muffin with turkey seems to satisfy me much more when it comes out of the microwave than straight out of the fridge
  • almccreary
    almccreary Posts: 6
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    @crzyone - I hear ya. I still have trouble feeling 'full' if I don't include carbs or potatoes or something like that in my meal, but honestly, it's something you get over. The need for carbs is really a habit your body has to break. It's hard, but you can do it. For example, for dinner tonight I had salmon, brussle sprouts and a salad. My body wants carbs, but I know that it doesn't need them. The more I eat like this, the less I crave carbs. You just have to push through, you CAN do it.

    Like the other posters have said, stick with veggies and lean meats, and you'll have no problem staying within your calorie limits.
  • LJGmom
    LJGmom Posts: 249 Member
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    I rarely eat over 1200 calories, except last week...I couldn't resist the Thanksgiving treats. I have fiber one 90 calorie bar, or egg white omellette for breakfast. I by low calorie whole grain bread, and Dilusso turkey and cheese every day for lunch. Fills me up!

    I eat lean meat, cottage cheese, and veggie for supper. I eat a good dessert each nite. I even have an apple and another snack during the day. You can do it! Just plan your meals ahead of time, so you don't grab a high cal snack, bc you don't know what to eat.
  • Puddykat1026
    Puddykat1026 Posts: 164 Member
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    I was truly amazed today, I went over my 1200 calories by 83 calories and burned 221 by putting in an aerobics dvd and giving my all. Eating less is depriving your body of much needed energy. It is a good balance of making healthy choices of healthy carbs and lean protein. The weight watchers diet says fruits and veggies are free choices. IDK not exercising for me isn't good. Any weight loss plan recommends some exercise, and exercise can be broken down in segments. Look at the exercise options, many are easy to do without "messing the hair" on the head. I just know for myself I need to rally up!

    She mentioned she couldn't exercise because of an injury, not because she didn't want to exercise :smile:
  • alofay
    alofay Posts: 127 Member
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    On good days I can easily stay around 1200 calories and be satisfied. My secret; When I feel like I am extremely hungry I I get something hot to drink! Whether it's tea or coffee, something with little to no calories, it seems to satisfy my rumbling stomach!!
  • hatescows
    hatescows Posts: 69 Member
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    I like a chicken breast with honey mustard (I mix spicy southwest with honey in equal parts) and steamed broccoli

    Salad with sliced chicken

    Fajita (yes, made with chicken lol) meat on salad

    I also like veggie soup- cabbage, onion, broccoli, celery, chicken broth, garlic. You can eat a ton of this for very few calories- like 30 cal per cup)
  • aklitten
    aklitten Posts: 237 Member
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    Thanks for asking this question. It's tricky for me, too. And I'm very sick, so I haven't worked out in a week! I feel like I need to take all of these ideas and print them out and tape them to my fridge (or my forehead!).
  • goblue443
    goblue443 Posts: 50
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    I lost my first 10lbs without exercise and only ate 1200 calories a day for about a month. After the first 5 days or so your body gets used to less food, at least mine did. My tips would be to eat lots of fiber and drink tons of water. It's amazing how it fills you up. I also drink 2 cups of water before my meals. It fills you up a bit before so you aren't getting as many calories but still feeling fuller. My typical 1200 calorie day included lots of lean cuisines (processed food, bad i know, but i'm a college student...), hummus and veggies. My typical night time snack was 100 calorie bags of popcorn. It feels like your mindlessly snacking but it's so much better for you than chips!

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