Can't seem to consume enough to meet 1200 calories... Help!

princessd84

Carbs are not the enemy! I am sick to the back teeth of this "war on carbs" - your body NEEDS a certain level of carbs for energy. Choose low GI carbs - plain porridge, wholemeal bread, brown rice. Potatoes are fine, just watch your portion control as it;'s very easy to convince yourself that a large potato is "small". Sweet potatoes are nutritionally more valuable than regular potatoes, but not everyone likes them.

Enjoy

SkimFlatWhite68

I usually eat 1200 calories by my afternoon snack so I don't see how it's a problem, but I know some days if I eat a lot of protein and fibre and drink lots of water I am really full all day.

Why don't you read other people's diaries who are at your goal and see what they eat?

For breakfast, you could add a piece of grain toast to your eggs.

To the salad, add nuts, cheese, sun dried tomatoes, avocado, all the suggestions given above.

Have a couple of small snacks.

Weigh everything and make sure calories are correct. Your chicken count might be off if you aren't weighing it. I am constantly surprised by what I THINK something might weigh - or what a serving size really looks like.

Drink a low carb/sugar high protein shake. Make pancakes with protein powder, cottage cheese, egg whites and real oats, keep them in snap lock bags and have them as snacks. Check out the recipe threads.

And eat well, don't fill up on junk just to get some extra calories in. Good luck!

HealthWoke0ish

Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwhich: That's typically 400 calories right there.

jessa271

Try peanut butter. Just a couple of tablespoons will help.

Walnuts and almonds are also excellent choices & very good for you.

Or treat yourself to a couple of hershey's miniatures as a dessert!

runwmeNC

Dominos is your friend

quiksandy

I must be totally clueless or naive because I have a hard time believing that it would be a struggle to consume 1200 calories...even if you are choosing healthy options.

Get yourself a juicer and juice some veggies and fruit. That way you'll be packing in the macro-nutrients and getting plenty of calories.

Heck, eat an avocado drizzled in olive oil. I mean, I could eat 1200 calories for breakfast alone if I tried. Most of us struggle even with just healthy options to stay within our calories.

TrainSweatEatSleep

Get a digital scale

alishacupcake

Dominos is your friend

Great now I want pizza... and I have nooooo problem eating over 1200 calories.

linda6032

Stay with it! I had that problem. I wasn't losing weight at 1200 calories or even when I cut down to 800 calories a day. So I went to see a nutritionist, who did a metabolism test and told me I should be eating at least 1450 calories a day. (Or more when I exercised) My metabolism had shut down on 800-1200 calories a day. So I did that and voila! I started to lose weight. When you get down to 1200 or fewer calories, you have to watch to be sure you are eating enough. I sneak in a treat every so often to keep the total calories boosted up enough to keep me losing weight. A 3-ounce glass of wine with supper, a mini (50-calorie) York peppermint patty or two, blueberries on my oatmeal, black olives on my salad, toast with a spoonful of honey and cinnamon on it (I read an article about the health benefits of honey and cinnamon), an occasional hot chocolate, etc.

LorinaLynn

My dinner tonight was nearly 1200 calories. And soooooo frickin' good. I had to put the rest of the pan of yeast rolls away, because I could eat all of them. Then I'd have a 2300 calorie dinner. :blushing:

bikinibeliever

I'm just here hoping that problem will rub off onto me....I could only wish!

taylorwaylor

Add healthy fats.... But i think you'll find in a few days that 1200 is not enough..

capriajo

Add peanut butter with your banana and up your breakfast calories with toast, almond milk and a piece of fruit for more balanced meal. Try to eat a card, protein and fat with each meal.

juliec33

Nuts, peanut butter, full fat dairy, oils, avocado, eggs, cheese, food in general. Losing weight doesn't have to be all lettuce and chicken breasts.

yep, this!!!! Try adding some eggs or avocado into your salad. Peanut butter is a great way to get in more calories. Heck, have another slice of pizza - probably not the healthiest choice but it's better than always eating under your calorie goal.

cljabusc

-eat oatmeal for breakfast. or add whole grain toast with natural peanut butter to your eggs, or english muffin. big breakfast fuel you for the day and start your metabolism
-have 2 snacks, one after breakfast and one after lunch
-protein shakes for snacks
-power bars
-whole grain rice
I don't completely cut out high carb foods like brown rice or whole grain bread. they fill me up, are full of fibre and other good stuff, and add much needed calories.

chrisdavey

just ate 2000 ish cals for breakfast. HTH

DebbieLyn63

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the suggestions!

I am not a big salad fan, but when you really only enjoy pasta, breads and lots of mexican food, there isn't much room to consume all of that.

Someone commented on 1-2 tbsp being low for 2 cups of salad.... I was actually really shocked at how much it actually covered. I was quite satisfied. Normally I would drench my salad, but it was cool seeing that it wasn't necessary.

I find that nuts make my face break out (maybe I'm crazy and there is no correlation, but it sure seems that way).

I'm only 3 days into this whole process.... and I want to start on the right foot. I've never been a beacon of healthy and never made really good food choices, either.

If you like Mexican food, buy some Mission Carb Balance flour tortillas. They are just like reg tortillas, but have lots of fiber in them so very low net carbs. Use them for breakfast burritos- scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa, guacamole, onions, etc
Fajitas- grilled chicken or lean ground beef seasoned with taco seasonings, cheese, guacamole, lettuce, salsa, etc.
You can also make great wraps with chicken and salad with ranch dressing.

You can also make quesadillas with them. Microwave instead of fry them if you don't want the fat calories. Or toast them in the oven if you want them crispy. Top with salsa, and whatever else you want.

Take the normal foods you like and just tweak them to make them healthier.

If you like fried chicken, use shake and bake instead.

You will burn out on salads quickly, especially if you don't normally like them. Try various steamed veggies as a side. You can even use a little cheese or cream sauce on them, just look for lower cal recipes. If you like Italian, stew some zucchini squash, mushrooms, onions, carrots, etc in marinara sauce with some chicken, and throw a little mozzarella on top.

Moderation is the key. Making drastic changes all at once will set you up for failure. Sounds like you just need to work on portion control and healthier choices.

StaceySuperfly

Go get yourself new cookbooks for healthy pasta and mexican food! The only way you will lose weight and keep it off is to eat what you like! I go to Subway, Burger King and Pizza at least once a week. I read the web site nutrition before I go so I can fit a whopper with cheese and onion rings into my calorie goals for the day. Stop limiting yourself to salad and eat!

sam_the_girl

Alot of people would love to have your problem of having tons of calores left over! avocados? health shake? A big mac (J/k!!)

Kathy_Noring

I'm just here hoping that problem will rub off onto me....I could only wish!

Bahaha! Me too!