1200 CALORIES IS ALL I GET?!?!?! HELP - NEED IDEAS

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Replies

  • itsjusdanielle
    itsjusdanielle Posts: 3
    there are salad dressings that have no calories and no fat or try salsa for dressing if eating salads that cuts calories back big time. Measure your meat to 100 grams at a time and add lots of green leafs that makes you feel like you're eating more and cuts calories too!! I have trouble even reaching 1200 and i'm twice your weight. you can do it!
  • Francesca3162
    Francesca3162 Posts: 520 Member
    Feel free to take a look at my food diary. Started at 1200.... lotsa veggies and fruits, recently upped mine because I was plateaued for more than a month.
    If I want something extra to eat, I have to burn it off through exercise.. mostly walking briskly...

    Add me as friend if you want!
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
    The more you exercise, the more you get to eat... Thats how I cope. I stay active and work out to burn at least 500 calories a day and then you get to eat 1700! Celery and cucumber can be eaten in copious amounts and add up to next to nothing on your diary...

    exactly, work out more and you can eat more.
  • jwilli16
    jwilli16 Posts: 4 Member
    I carry small lunch bags of carrots, sweet peppers, turkey/chicken, melon of all kinds, raspberries, broccoli, etc in a big lunch bag all day. I also buy in bulk and watch a program while chop up everything and put it into small lung bags, there are also reusable lunh bags and tupperware if your earth conscious, so a whole watermelon may cost five bucks but then you cut it up and it gives a nice snack for a whole week, I hope some of his was helpful
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    If you eat back your workout calories you will have more than 1200.

    And if you are stuck upping your calories usually works better.
  • jenniejengin
    jenniejengin Posts: 784 Member
    I play around with my calories, give or take 200, but never under 1200. I am finally going down in weight after being stuck for a while. I also increase the amount of calories I burn per exercise. That is what helped me.
  • jkrim941
    jkrim941 Posts: 226 Member
    If the problem is being full, check out shirataki noodles :smile: I just ordered some, so I can't vouch totally for them, but I'm hearing good things so far.

    They are a little chewy, so if you are wary- buy the angel hair style. The macaroni actually reminds me of the consistancy of a very tender calamari. Something that i don't mind one bit.

    Check out Hungry Girl. You can sign up for the newsletters or google search recipes. I am a chinese food nut and her EZ Egg Fauz Young is amazing. It tastes like the real thing (only better IMHO) and you can have a HUGE portion for less than 200 cals. When I say huge, I mean huuuuuuge.

    I also like baked sweet potatoes with black bean and corn salsa. I nuke the potato wrapped in paper towel for 4 mins, then flip and another 4 mins. It's really easy to store at work and quite tasty with a texmex flair.

    Fresh fruit is always a good idea. Berries are very low calorie and super nutrient dense.

    I don't like vegetables very much, but i like the detox salad that Whole Foods has on their buffet line. There is a great copycat recipe out there from eat-spin-run-repeat. I use it all the time.

    I agree with eating more of your calories instead of taking them in liquid form. I often find that I lack in certain areas and make myself a protein shake on those days. I use almond milk and a lower calorie sustained release protein powder. It comes out to about 200 cals per shake, about what I would eat for an evening snack.
  • Leslie85
    Leslie85 Posts: 265 Member
    MFP put me at 1200, which I later found out was below my BMR- not by much...but still under. I calculated my BMR at 1309, so I changed my calories to 1309. I had no idea that just 109 extra calories a day would make me feel so much better! I also exercise, and eat the majority of my calories back. Honestly, if I were you, I would calculate my BMR and eat that plus your exercise calories.
  • ArtGeek22
    ArtGeek22 Posts: 1,429 Member
    Make sure you eat lots of protein and fruits and veggies are really low cal. Also, drink plenty of water. If you divide it up you get roughly 300 calories for every meal, plus extra cals for snacks, which can be a lot if you fill up on the good stuff. I am also on 1200 calories and it has worked well for me. Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • emnk5308
    emnk5308 Posts: 736
    Apples, cucumbers, carrots =) Mmm <3
    I eat 1100 a day. Recently I started using protein shakes to replace a meal, VERY filling. I've also got fat free peanut butter and wheat bread for snacks. For dinners I usually eat a Lean Gourmet frozen dinner. I haven't gone over yet =) There have been days where I had to exercise so that I could eat more though.
  • octony
    octony Posts: 4 Member
    I walk a mile at lunch, 30 minutes+ on the treadmill at an incline and can pick up 300-500 calories at day.

    You can fit a lot of yummy stuff in 500 calories. Sometimes its better to eat more to lose.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Do 800 calorie a day workouts. Exercise more = eat more =D
  • BaileyMom17
    BaileyMom17 Posts: 11
    I'm constantly getting yelled at by MFP to up my calories because I usually end up at 1190 and I'm suppose to be at 1290 but anytime it's under 1200 it yells, LOL. I do lots of salads, watch my portions and limit myself to only 1 serving of most things. To up my protein I make sure to add things like almonds to salads. I also do a lot of granola and anytime I'm hungry I try to drink a glass of water first. But exercising more does give you flexibility in your intake, you can up your exercise by dancing while doing dishes or putting laundry away, make yourself go up and down the stairs for every little things rather then making one trip for all of it. I have to keep to a low salt diet and that has made me keeping the calories down much easier too because so many high calorie things are also high in salt. There's tons of great suggestions here though :)
  • noirnatural
    noirnatural Posts: 310 Member
    my list:

    air popped popcorn
    jello

    free foods:
    lettuce
    cucumbers
    raddishes
    mushrooms
    bell peppers
    red peppers
    jalapenos
    I make salads or wraps

    also string cheese (weigh watchers brand)
    or laughing cow cheese

    grapes
  • Kell_Smurthwaite
    Kell_Smurthwaite Posts: 384 Member
    Make the bulk of your menu fresh veg, with some fresh fruit thrown in to boot - you can have loads and it takes up very few calories. Make sure your carbs are complex ones, and make your protein lean (turkey is great - low fat and very tasty).

    Also, make sure your lifestyle is set correctly - you may not be as sedentary as you think - I originally had mine set to sedentary but then someone pointed out that I run around after a 3-y-o all day and that's far from sedentary - LOL! Also, if you're set to lose more than a pound a week, consider reducing that amount - you can still lose weight and plenty of it, but you'll be more likely to succeed if you can eat what you want and having a few extra calories to play with can make all the difference.

    Finally, EXERCISE. Walk everywhere, take up running or cycling, hell, log your housework too - it all counts! If you feel up to it, join a gym and use the machines there - they can make it a lot of fun. The more you burn, the more you can eat and still lose the weight. And if you join the gym, make sure you hit the weights too, as they'll help tone everything up and even with a lesser weightloss, you'll look slimmer.

    I stalled at the same weight for almost a month but I look trimmer than I did 4 weeks ago because of the cardio and weights combo I'm doing, so even though I haven't dropped much lately, I still look (and feel!) way better than I did a month ago.

    If you want to add me, feel free. :)
  • Marcillene
    Marcillene Posts: 484 Member
    I've just found that they make a light 50% less fat popcorn by Orville Redenbacher that I believe is 83 for the bag. AND it doesnt taste Light!!!

    Another snack I choose is sugar free jello topped with fat free cool whip. Definitally very good, low calorie, and can't taste that its light much at all!
  • saraya12
    saraya12 Posts: 13
    I'm on 1200 calories, you can look at my diary. I don't like veggies much either, but I do love mushrooms. Mushrooms are quite filling and a good substitute for meat; you can grill them or sautee them with olive oil and garlic- yum. Bell peppers are good also.
  • ladyace2078
    ladyace2078 Posts: 460 Member
    I recommend eating more, not less. Calculate TDEE. Calculate BMR. Eat about 10-20% less than TDEE to lose weight. This is a good calculator. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Also check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less for some great info and success stories. You don't have to starve yourself to lose weight.
  • cheesy_blasters
    cheesy_blasters Posts: 283 Member
    I like making pasta out of zucchini. I also LOVE Bok Choy, Kale, spinach, experimenting with mushrooms and asparagus. I add peppers to almost everything I eat (chili peppers/jalapenos/etc.). I like tomatillos too to give my veggies a kick. I like making steak from eggplant too.
  • cannonsky
    cannonsky Posts: 850 Member
    I recommend checking out the group Eat More to Weight Less...
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I suggest you ignore the 1200 calories a day and do some reading in the Eat More to Weigh Less group :)
  • kayleesays
    kayleesays Posts: 564 Member
    Make sure 1200 calories is correct for you. Calculate your BMR and TDEE and in between the two. You should not be eating under your BMR. Good luck!

    This. Please don't just assume MFP is correct - their calculations are unhealthy! Be sure to at least be eating your BMR!
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I recommend checking out the group Eat More to Weight Less...

    Creepy dude, creepy.
  • susannahcooks
    susannahcooks Posts: 293 Member
    If it were me, I'd make'em count. High Protein makes you feel fuller and makes you less munchy - try egg omelette with turkey. Eating cucumbers just make me hungry - or tempted to dip them in something naughty (which is okay if you have the room).

    go high fiber on your vegetables - popcorn is filling, but if you find cravings, maybe look for other proteins to replace. try weight watchers brand string cheese - low cal, high protein.

    last - don't load it on one meal - stretch it over the day as best you can - 300 calories into 4 meals will keep you feeling fuller longer. Don't do 200 and 200 and then 800. By the time you get to the 800, you'll make bad choices.
  • LisaBeateith2012
    LisaBeateith2012 Posts: 346 Member
    bump
  • hollmank
    hollmank Posts: 1
    Why not get out and walk for an hour a day. That will add a bump in calories and increase metabolism for the rest of the day, thus you'll feel better, burn faster and meet your goals.
  • Thesoundofwolf
    Thesoundofwolf Posts: 378 Member
    Popcorn is forgiving, don't forget it.

    Hummus, if you want something dip like, is great and you can do like 100 calories worth of peta chips to dip them.

    I love getting what's in season, the food tastes better- and I go from there. Check out wahts in season for your local area and go from there!
    http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/seasonalingredientmap
  • cherrybomb_77
    cherrybomb_77 Posts: 411 Member
    I suggest you ignore the 1200 calories a day and do some reading in the Eat More to Weigh Less group :)

    This. Trying to eat 1200 put in a bad starve and binge cycle and left me stuck after an initial loss. Now I'm eating my TDEE-15% (2329 calories a day for me at my current weight) and losing. I started doing EMTWL May 1st and I've lost 6 pounds so far. You don't lose as quickly as you do if you're not eating enough, but it's easier and more maintable. Plus I get to eat, and I like to eat.
  • QuirkyPanda
    QuirkyPanda Posts: 44 Member
    I hit my goal of 1200 net nearly every day by being very active -- even on my rest days, I try to squeeze in a brisk walk over my lunch hour. Many days, I eat around 1600, but only net 1200 due to exercise. I'm not sure what "free foods" are, but I love to snack on watermelon and cucumbers. Apples and strawberries are really great, too! I rarely drink anything other than water (I have coffee some mornings) because I feel like other beverages are empty calories. Try flavoring water with slices of cucumber, mint leaves, or other herbs or berries if you get tired of the taste. Drink water if you feel hungry! I down between 8 and 10 glasses a day. If you're looking for filling, low-cal recipes, try SkinnyTaste.com -- I'm in love with her food blog. Try her loaded potato or chicken pot pie soup. Mmmmmm! :) I know 1200 sounds difficult, but you can do it!
  • QuirkyPanda
    QuirkyPanda Posts: 44 Member
    I have the opposite problem, that i have a hard time eating to 1200 after excersize (300-350 cals a day), total 1500. i almost have to cheat with snacks some days.....

    I'm the same way because of my workouts! Peanut butter or cheddar cheese slices have been my favorite "cheat" snacks to make up for the exercise cals. I also love Ben & Jerry's FroYo -- Phish Food is the best!

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