Who else is on 1200 calories per day?

thomakg

I try to keep it to 1200 - but sometimes get thrown off by a few glasses of wine. I've ended up eating relatively low carb, because I've cut out most refined foods, breads and junk food. Eating cleaner definitely makes staying under the limit easier. Now if I could just find a no-cal substitute that tastes as good as wine....

PLUMSGRL

Double that and then some...yep 2550 a day...what do you think happens when you go back to eating normal? Or are you planning to eat 1200 cals the REST OF YOUR LIFE? Oh yeah, my exercise is some light walking (the dog) and lifting 2-3 times a week.

smcneely121

I am on 1200 calories a day. It's weird though because since I started this site and realized how much I was eating before, I don't get as hungry. It has been hard for me to even eat 1200 calories. I keep coming up like 400 calories short everyday The site says I may be putting me body into starvation mode but I am not hungry, so I don't know what to do.

chivalryder

I eat about twice that much in a day.

Then again, I'm 6' and weigh over 220 lbs. :P

tugers2

i like making wraps... just using tortillas... chicken or steak... ( u could also use fish or turkey or whatever ) and any kinda veggie u want usually ends around 260 calories and so filling and so tasty!

pursuitoffitness

Me! Exercising allows you to eat more.

Kitten2629

I am as well, but I still eat anything I want within my goals.. That includes booze. My meals are usually between 200-400 each.

skinnytaste.com has a lot of wonderful recipes that can fit into your calories. Everything in moderation.

aaz271

I've been really busy with classes and have found it easy to stick with 1200 calories. One day I eat 1400, and the next day I will eat 1000. I like to switch it up (:

The thing that makes or breaks me is breakfast. If I eat 300 calories, I end up barely hitting my goal. I like to drink the new V8 smoothies in the morning (strawberry banana!) for 120 calories. That keeps me going for 6 hours! I haven't had time to exercise which is why I'm probably not very hungry :P

mysweetestdreams

I am as well. Though I don't find it that hard to follow it, as I exercise part of them back. I think I on average eat around 1600, which is more than enough to prepare healthy, nutritious AND diverse meals, plus have a snack, as I burn those 400 off.
Also, for me, filling on fruit works, I'm in UK as well atm and canary melons and nectarines seem to be in season, and gosh they are filling

MizSaz

I'm on 1200 as well and it was a little tough at first, but I've learned a lot about the way I WAS eating. Calories are much more precious to me now.

I do a LOT of cardio, I aim for about 45 minutes a day, so I end up coming in under 1200 frequently, especially with the fresh veggies coming into season. Really filling and nutritious without a ton of calories. I was concerned that I was often coming in over my protein, but when I did a little more research into it, I discovered I could actually safely be eating far more than MFP had me set for. Do a little outside investigating; it pays off!

wftiger

I have been on under 1200 plus low carb for over 8 months. I can't always fit a snack in but most days I can have a few squares of dark chocolate or an extra piece of fruit for a treat. I also have gotten pretty good at making food. Since it is super hot out right now my biggest treat lately has been protein popsicles (http://dashingdish.com/recipe/cheesecake-frozen-yogurt-pops/).

I find if I keep my meats lean (chicken breast) and since I am low carb don't do grains, I have more calories for treat items. I get plenty full on all the protein I eat so I am almost never hungry (sometimes I am on big workout days but those days I "might" go over by 100 calories and have a few nuts).

Donnatb1

I try to remain in the 1200's (but will vary that occasionally with a day in the 1300's and a day in the 1400s as a friend who is a dietitian said it's a good thing to do so your body doesn't get used to a certain calorie intake)...I break my meals up with bfast, a.m. snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, & an evening snack (I try not to snack after 7 tho), & eat a lot of veggies as they are filling

I agree with Sbeheimer. Throw in an occasional day of higher calories and that will "mix up" your metabolism. Yesterday I went a smidge over 1200 and today I was at about 1,000 because I skipped lunch. I had a nice sized dinner, I feel full, yet I'm under 1,000. I believe in the mixing it up theory... let's see if it works for me.

javagsd

I'm on 1200 and am finding it pretty easy, but I think that's because I don't do any processed/packaged foods. I find I do better with the larger portion sizes I can have cooking fresh veg, etc. myself. The past few days I've been doing nuts like roasted almonds for snacks. Though relatively high in calories, they're very filling and having 10 or less gives me a lot of chewing, Also check your health foods store bulk section for things like dried carrot or beet chips. I LOVE them and find that a lot of the snack urge is for crunchy texture rather than hunger itself.

Runner50266

I calorie cycle. I worked with my dietitian on it. Started at 1200 and lost a little, upped my calories to 1400-1600 and started losing serious weight.

I finally figured out that for me 1200 calories is nothing for me to pin my hopes on and expect that to be sustainable for the rest of my life. I have 2 days a week I go up to 1900 cals and stay the rest in my target range and work out 5 days a week and I'm getting this flipping fat OUTTA HERE! :-)

themommie

I do 1200 cals a day for the most part every once in awhile i may hit 1300 , but for the most part I find it pretty easy to do, but we all have those days when we are hungry or just want to eat something we know we shouldnt or just want to munch. I try not to give into this times, I try to distract myself. Anyway my diary is open if you want to take a peek....

Trice367

I am on a 1200 calorie diet as well. I eat six times a day which is breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. I am totally stuff and full since I usually only ate once or twice a day. I am having a hard time eating this much so maybe splitting calorie intake into every two hours. I also consumed about 9 cups of water a day.. Today was my very first day and I met my goal of 1159!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Katanthus

I suggest upping your calories a little. The loss will be slower but you won't damage your metabolism. To be honest, I did this whole weight loss thing a year ago, lost probably 13 or so pounds, but that was never enough for me--so I kept going. I've been eating at net 1,200 or net 1,350 for a year now..and during the last 5 months, I've put all the weight back on (still eating that amount). My metabolism hates me, I've tried eating more, eating less, and nothing is really working. I work out a lot, so when it comes to actual food intake, I'm at like 1,500 or 1,600 for the day. When I don't eat my exercise cals back, I'm starving, and even when I do--I never feel satisfied.

Your metabolism doesn't hate you, you are probably trying to lose weight you simply do not have to lose. Your ticker says a total of 11lb is your goal.. Maybe your body is telling you.. you do not need to lose it. What is your height an current weight?

You say... you "work out a lot". Well then, you are probably building muscle. Muscle is denser than fat, and therefore, you may never get to the weight you WANT to be. What is your current BMI?

TrishaGuy

I was since March and lost 20 lbs pretty easily but then.....NOTHING. I upped my cals to my BMR which is 1373 and that seems to be helping. I have lost 4 lbs in the past 9 days. Good luck

HelloSweetie4

My daily goal is actually 1630, but on the average day I usually hover around 1200. I probably should try to stick closer to my daily goal though...

gotcabinfever

I try to do around 1200 per day too. I eat egg white omelettes w/spicy salsa in the morning and you can throw veggies in for flavor without adding many extra cals. Sweet potatoes and squashes are very filling and tend to be low cal. They're my favorite option for lunch. I'm sure you have McDonald's over there (since it's everywhere) I've discovered that their salads are relatively large and are anywhere from 300-400ish calorie-wise too. I also make JellO sugar free fat free pudding with almond milk so that I can have a treat and it doesn't blow my calorie intake.

Heather_Rider

I am on 1200 a day, and (other than today... saturdays are my cheat days) i have a hard time actually eating that much. alot of the days i end up -400 or so and i have to try to find a carb loaded snack to fill the void.

i use a protein shake (body by vi is the one i use) for breakfast and lunch, which leaves me open to about 1000 calories (before workouts) from about 7pm-midnight (my schedule is later than mosts people.

TanzaMarie

I was on 1200, but I changed my weight loss goals so now I'm up to 1230. I'm 5'2", 157. I'm sure why I have to eat so low to lose weight and I think I've plateaued since I haven't lost any weight in nearly 2 months. I'm getting a little tired of agonizing over every single calorie.

alfpalmer

<raises hand> i am pegged for 1,200 and that seems to be about right and sometimes its hard to hit that many. Most of my meals are fresh fruits and veggies - not much of a meat eater and i struggle most days to get much in the way of protein. I never figure in my exercise cals... its a controversial subject here and all i know is this is working for me to stick to the 1200 cals and work out and ignore all the exercise cals i could eat back if i wanted to. Having said that, I also know that because of that, if i do go over a little every now and again or want / need a snack or something else - i can occasionally go down that little bunny trail and not fret about it.

Helloitsdan

You all mean 1200+cals burned right? So you eat about 1400-2k a day.....right?

paintlisapurple

I do about 1200 a day. You can have a look at the food diary for some ideas if you like.

mgaither

I highly recommend checking out the Eating More to Weigh Less group on here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

After eating less than my BMR for a couple years, I did damage to my metabolism that is going to take time to fix.
Unless you're being monitored by a physician, I would recommend you really consider the length of time you plan to eat that few calories.

EmilyPamEastman

I did 1200...
then 1000...
then I got anorexia.
now i've got to eat 1900 so I can gain weight back. it seems at 5ft 6 in, weighing 113-115lbs is underweight and makes ur arms and ribs and spine look like a starving child. It also depleats ur boobs (which were small to being with :):sad:

nnylee

I eat 1600 calories and up.

salfally

Im a vegetarian also. Actialy, vegan. Lets b friends. Im salfally.

Mollyanna79

You've all been very helpful, thank you!

I do drink a lot of water, carrying around a 75cl bottle of water around helps.

I run a fair bit. Training to do a few more half marathons in a few weeks time. Although I need to up my game here as I'm only doing 5/6k at a time at the moment...

Regarding the comment about sticking to 1200 for the rest of my life, I think counting calories forever will drive me insane but I've learnt a lot about portion control. I hadn't realised quite how big my portion sizes were! Even though it was healthy food, I was eating far too much of it! I'm hoping after a few months of calorie counting I will learn the approx portion size I should be having.
Its also taught me those massive bags of Maltesers I was able to get through (easily) are nearly double my daily calorie intake :-O
Naughty naughty.

Anyway, yesterday was a bad bad day. I was desperate for Eggs Benedict (avec hangover) so went to the lovely little deli/restaurant near me with a friend. Had my Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and it came on delicious brioche bread - Nom! I totted up the calories when I got home and imagine my surprise when it clocked up a good 800 calories. One meal!
It was delicious but not hugely filling (sad face) After that I thought sod it, and binged for the rest of the day.
Now I've woken up feeling disgusting. Yuck...
We all have days like this though, don't we?!

To the poster who suggested avocado and tuna, thank you, I will try it. I hate avocado but like guacamole so I'm thinking, if it's mushed up, I should like it.

I'm trying my best to avoid wheat if I can as it seems to bloat my belly out somewhat.
I ADORE porridge but find it surprisingly calorific. Oatibix seems to be a good cold alternative with a very small amount of shopped apricots/dates and Alpro Almond Milk which is weirdly lower in cals than skimmed cow's milk (can't get my head around that)

I snack on cherry tomatoes, raw mushrooms and cucumber between meals but I've not been logging them as they're so low in calories and I don't eat that many.
Also Miso soup is very low so can tide me over whilst the children are eating their tea (when I get a rumbly tummy)

I'll make my food diary public so you can all see what I'm having but please ignore yesterdays, and Friday evening's for that matter!

Any new meal/snack ideas are very welcome. I've tried the recipe section here but like I've said on a previous topic, it a lot of it seems to be American ingredients we don't have over here.