is anyone else doing a calorie intake of 1200?

dom300186

when i set mine up for my weight etc and age its told me my calorie intake needs to be 1200? i hvaent been finidng it hard just wondering what you are cooking and eating to hit this target?

teetee1281

My calorie intake is also 1200. I really do not do too much cooking because I am overseas and most of our meat is frozen anyway, but for breakfast my usual is oatmeal (the weekend I treat myself to waffles)
Lunch: wrap with mustard no mayo or cheese. Lately its been peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole honey wheat
Dinner: Healthy choice complete meals (have a very tasty dessert too) or I make meatless spaghetti or sometimes add turkey sausage. My snacks throughout the day are sometimes protein shakes or fresh fruit.

Also remember, that when you work out, that increases your calories too. Alot of people have different opinons about eating those. Me, I normally do not try to eat all, but I will go over about 2-3 times a week, (by 100-200 calories) but normally, I would have burned like 600-800 calories during cardio that same day also.

Hope that helps. Eventually, you get used to eating smaller meals. Tonight I haven't added all the calories yet, (still trying to calculate the homemade sauce) but I am baking t eriyaki chicken and some green veggies.

Also, I use that little weight esitmate at the end of the day to help guide me, if my weight stays within the same range then (5 week out estimate) then I know I did pretty well, if it goes up or down, I compare with previous days.

dom300186

thanks for the reply, its my first time doing this sort of diet, i have done the weightwatchers diets etc and i hated it.

I have been having weetabix for breakfast and lunch which is very filling sometimes i add fruit etc and then having a homemade meal in the evening only been going 3 days but im not feeling hungry as i was on weight watchers.

Joanneh

Hi there
I am on 1200 also. I find it hard to keep it to that, so I avoid fried stuff and I should be ok. Also doing some exercise in the evening resolves that problem. I normally have some granola for breakfast, an egg and soda bread for mid morning, a balanced meal at lunch time and then something light like a fresh soup or salmon and a salad for dinner.

I've been dipping in and out of it over the last year, but its a new years resolution of mine to get control of my fitness and weight so I plan to stick to it this time.

teetee1281

Dom: I've done WW too.

I've learned that with any kind of diet, having snacks in between meals are always helpful and prevents you from eating a lot. I'm not one of those to eat 6 small meals a day, but I do have a snack between breakfast and lunch and also before dinner. It helps.

bubbles6

I am also on 1200 calories a day and do not find it hard (except for the holidays!) I have a neat breakfast recipe if you like oatmeal. It is a complete meal and very easy to make for the whole week. That way, I don't feel tempted to make anything new each morning.
I mix 2 cups of quick oats with one package of maple and brown sugar oatmeal in a large microwaveable bowl.
I add 1 cup of apple sauce, 1 cup of pears (which I puree first in the blender), 5 tbsp of flax seed, 40 grams of raisins and 2-3 cups of water.
Stir and cook in microwave for about 3-5 minutes depending on how you like your oatmeal.
Then I divide it up into tupperwares and let cool...works out to about 6-7 servings for the week.
When I am ready to eat it, I heat it up, add 1/4 cup vanilla soy milk and 1/2 cup of blueberries on top. YUUUMMMYYY!!
I also find that when I am running out of calories for the day, I get on my treadmill or I dance around the house!!! It becomes almost a game to balance out each day, but I am enjoying the challenge and I love this Fitnesspal.com!! It keeps me in line! Good luck.

hmmmm

I am at 1210........ my diary is public if you want to view it from my profile. (Keeps me more accountable anyway) I try to plan my meals the day before based on what I have in the fridge. I usually adjust it a little bit the next day but this way I know just how many calories I have to play with.
I tend to eat a lot so hopefully this will help you from starving yourself.

dom300186

how often do you way yourself? every day every week? or monthly?

hmmmm

I just started doing MFP again, and have decided to weigh myself (officially) every Sunday,
Originally I had lost 38 lbs but life took over and I gained back some. I am going to log in the 10lb at a time challenge thread (in motivation and support) every sunday. I think my first weigh in will be really good too. I am excited to see although I have peeked a bit already.:blushing:

dom300186

lol you cant help it, im excited about doing this sort of plan its more easier i think than weightwatchers plus all their foods taste of water!
ive just had my second batch of weetabox that will keep me going till after work and then i can have something nice for tea.

hmmmm

before I started, this time, I bought a couple of staples (cereal, almond milk, 100 calorie english muffins, fat free cheese and 10 different weight watchers meals) guess what is still in my freezer lol my 10 WW meals, I am saving them in case of emergency I guess

jbuffan218

I am also allowed the 1200 calories. This is only my 2nd day so not much input. I was WAY under yesterday, had 372 leftover. Not good, almost as bad as going over. Plus I haven't started the execise yet, trying to talk myslef into it for today.
The only other experience I have with weight loss is WW and I beleive that was also 1200 cals.
For me this seems like plenty, as long as I dont go out to eat or just use common sense and do what we all know we should be doing. Thats the hard part.
Doing what we already know and making good choices. Not much fun but better results.
We can do this,
Beth

Belle84

Im doing the 1200 as well or trying to ... trying to keep out of my exercise cals gained as well.....not too hard as im doing slim fast in moring and lunch and thats 220 each so with my snacks being about 300 throughout the day i can eat nicely at night x

dom300186

what are exercise calories??

raleigh

the extra calories you burn (that get added on to your net) after exercise.

eafrancis10

I also find that when I am running out of calories for the day, I get on my treadmill or I dance around the house!!! It becomes almost a game to balance out each day, but I am enjoying the challenge and I love this Fitnesspal.com!! It keeps me in line! Good luck.

I love that quote!!!!! Sounds good to me!

teetee1281

how often do you way yourself? every day every week? or monthly?

I weigh on Thursdays, because where I am our workweek ends on Thursday, so it allows me a week to undo any damage I might do on the weekend. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I use the machine at the base gym which measures your height, weight, BMI, and body fat. Before I start to use MFP regularly, I referred to the scale as the lying device, because I was working out everyday but not seeing any changes. The first week after logging my food and watching what I ate, I was running around showing everyone my ticket because I lost 3 lbs, and the second week, the number was even lower. I'm almost excited looking forward to tomorrow morning!

dom300186

sounds like everyone is doing weell then, so if i exercise and i know how many calories ive burnt can i eat a little more afterwords?

thecheese

My intake is 1200 I list my food in my blog daily so feel free to check it out. I cook almost every day as I am pescetarian (vegetarian who eats fish eggs milk). I list it simply so I have a plan for the day. I also tend toward natural and organic...I'm trying to make a health change more than go on a diet.

DrBorkBork

I'm at 1270 before exercise. Does that count?

Anyway, most mornings I have a banana or Ensure, or both. Lunch is usually a low sodium Healthy Choice frozen meal. Dinner is home cooked. My diary is public if you ever want to check it out.

jennbissonnette

Im on 1200. It wouldnt be that hard if i didnt like to eat so much! lol Some weeks i go 100-200 over every 3rd day or so. I feel like staggering your calories is a great way to get past the last 5-10lbs. It worked for me because it showed on my scale!

BroiledNotFried

I'm doing it. But, I go over by about 400 calories on the days I exercise.

To hit 1200,here's what i tend to eat:

Breakfast:
Whole wheat toast with almond butter, or
oatmeal with almond butter, or
egg substitute omlet with veggies (onions, zuchinni, squash, etc), whole wheat bread with tad of smart balance.

Lunch:
salad with some type of leftover meat (small amount) or 1/3 cup of beans
1 cup of lower calorie (i.e. not a cream) soup
or bean burrito (measured out the beans) and topped with onions, salsa, sour cream, peppers, etc.

Dinner:
Grilled fish or 1/2 chicken breast or 4 ounces of lean meat
salad or cooked veggies
potato w/ salsa or just 1 teaspoon of sour cream.

Evening snack:
tea, sweetened with stevia.

Snack:
tangerine or apple or string cheese

The trick is to measure your food. Figure out what you really love (for me is sour cream), and work in just enough of those foods so you aren't deprived. Also, change up your food. Don't let it get boring.

teetee1281

I definitely agree with the string cheese as a snack, if you pull it, it makes it last longer and I seem to savory it more because I had to work for each little piece :laugh:

Also, my little weakness is my crave for chocolate and I don't care for dark chocolate which are fewer in calories, so I eat the 100 calorie back S'mores and it is just enough to cure my craving.

And yes, when you exercise, when you log it, it will add more calories (including it would also increase your protein, carbs, and etc). Exercising will increase your daily limit.

Iceprincessk25

I'm 1200 calories as well. I try to exercise daily and aim to burn anywhere from 350-500 calories at a time so I have a little wiggle room with the calories.

I weigh myself once a week on Fridays totally naked and after a trip to the bathroom! :bigsmile:

Breakfast
Syntha 6 protein shake

Snack
Cheese

Lunch
Turkey Sandwich
Fuji Apple

Snack
Carrots, or granola bar or edamame beans

Dinner
Salad
Chicken
Green Beans

Desert
Non Fat Fro-yo

littletiger972000

I am doing this also and just started a few days ago. I have decided that a good alternative when eating breakfast cereal is to use "Almond Dream Almond Milk" instead of regular milk. It tastes good, however it is watered down tasting. I find that it is better that skim milk and it is only about 50 calories for a full 8 oz. This helps me to actually eat breakfast because I usually don't have time to cook anything and I can't drink regular milk because I am lactos intolerant. Hope this helps others w/ the same problem of not having breakfast, it is a hard habit to break!

bridget911

Yes I have been doing 1200 for some time trying to off the weight. However, it is a slow loss. Anyway, what I do to keep satisfied is eat more protein than carbs. I am not into a no carb diet, just know that protein keeps me full longer and I don't get cravings. Have you customized your percentages within that 1200 calories? I have mine set at 60% protein, 25% carbs and 15% fat. This way at the bottom of everyday I can also check whether I maintain that percentage as well as the calories. Don't get me wrong though, most days I venture over the 1200, but at least I check it before the evening and try to make the overage up in extra excercise. Good luck and glad I found someone with this in common, thanks.

greeneyedgirl829

I'm at 1200 as well before exercise. I've been using MFP for a year off and on, and I find that when I'm fully dedicated it works for me. This is the final time that I will say off and on lol I'm sticking with it for good. I lost 20 pds last time by eating 1200 when I don't exercise and then eating about half of my exercise calories.

1.) I make breakfast my largest meal of the day, always high in protein and fiber. Use egg whites, veggies, meat, oatmeal, whatever.

2.) Before you eat, drink at least one glass of water. Keep drinking water throughout the meal, this makes a really big difference.

3.) Lunch is a salad or soup and protein.

4.) Snacks are veggies or fruit.

5.) Try to make dinner exciting and flavorful so you don't have an urge to snack later.

6.) If you have a sweet tooth, take care of it. I have a peice of dark chocolate a day, otherwise I could totally see myself late night binging on chocolate hahaha

Hope this helps a bit :flowerforyou:

miaangel345

I am guessing the reason you guys are eating 1200 is because you're trying to lose MORE than 1 pound a week?? 1200 is fine every now and then but I think 1400-1500 calories is much better for your health, u need certain nutrients and vitamins and I don't think 1200 is good especially when you factor in exercising? Let's say you burn 300 do you eat 1500 that day since you gained extra calorie points or no?

Iceprincessk25

I am guessing the reason you guys are eating 1200 is because you're trying to lose MORE than 1 pound a week?? 1200 is fine every now and then but I think 1400-1500 calories is much better for your health, u need certain nutrients and vitamins and I don't think 1200 is good especially when you factor in exercising? Let's say you burn 300 do you eat 1500 that day since you gained extra calorie points or no?

Nope, my goal is 1 pound a week and they said it was 1200 calories a day.

I eat about half my exercise calories back.

greeneyedgirl829

I could see someone eating 1200 a day when they don't work out and if they don't lead an active lifestyle. As long as it's a meaningful 1200, not filled with junk and empty calories. If I burned 600 calories during exercise, I would most likely eat about 1600 calories that day. If you don't eat at least the majority of your exercise calories, you won't lose the weight, or at least you only will at first.

fitinyoga14

i'm set to have 1240 a day. although i go over my about 100-200 on most days but i also go to gymnastics practice for 2 hours (i assume that i burn about 100-200 calories there.. hopefully).

Breakfast is 1 cup special k protein plus cereal or some kind of kashi cereal sometimes with a banana, or yogurt and a banana (around 250 calories)

Lunch is a salad (plain with maybe a sprinkle of chopped fresh vegetables and light vinigarette), with a piece of fruit, a small carb (like whole grain crackers), and a dairy (string cheese or yogurt)
(this is my biggest meal, usually around 400 calories)

Snacks are generally nuts and tea (150 calories)

dinner is usually very low cal (300-400 calories). chicken and vegetables, soup and salad, a frozen meal