How to stay full at 1200 calories

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  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    Sugar free jello by the bowl full. Entire box is only 40 cals
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I'm just starting with the plan, and I'd like tips on what to eat to stay under 1200 calories a day and still feel full. I will try to add in exercise every day to gain some calories back, but I'm sure there will be days I can't exercise.

    Make sure each meal has some protien & fiber:

    A very typical (American) breakfast is a bowl of cold cereal. Most cereals are low protien, and many are low fiber as well. Kashi Go Lean has good protein & good fiber numbers.... there are others too. Special K ORIGINAL has a decent amount of protein.... then add an apple (or berries, banana, whatever) & you have fiber too.

    Swap out Greek yogurt for regular yogurt ... much higher in protein

    Swap out whole grain bread for white bread - bleached flour is stripped of protien & fiber.

    Just make swaps that give you the most bang for your calories & you can stay full on 1200 a day.
  • theteamarie
    theteamarie Posts: 17 Member
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    today I had a 300 calorie fried egg sandwich for breakfast (egg, toast, 60 calorie sliced cheese, small amount of low fat mayo) , a nectarine for a morning snack (80 calories). fajita chicken salad for lunch (300 calories with chicken breast, sauteed pepper/onions/mushrooms, lettuce, lowfat sour cream, lowfat cheese, salsa). Dinner will be grilled prawns, brown rice, and roasted cauliflower (280 calories). This still leaves me 240 calories for other snacks. I like cheese strings (60 calories) with a piece of fruit, or a piece of weight watchers bread with light shredded cheese melted on it (130 calories) .
    Also, I know lots of people will say this but drinks lots of water, I fill a jug and add one cut up lemon and have a glass beside me all day at work.
    Hope this helps!

    I second the lemon water idea! I have the hardest time drinking water because it's so bland but I just put some "Real Lemon" juice from the bottle in and I end up drinking tons of water every day!
  • melodylyn73
    melodylyn73 Posts: 505 Member
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    bump
  • kingofcrunk
    kingofcrunk Posts: 372 Member
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    Just keep at it for a few months and you'll become really savvy and learn which foods you can eat loads of and they don't add too many calories.
    Because you're always looking out for 'great finds' (low calorie foods that fill you up) you can come across some amazing things that you've never even noticed before. Also food combinations you wouldn't have thought to ever try together suddenly make loads of sense.
  • bcf7683
    bcf7683 Posts: 1,653 Member
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    I snack on nuts, seeds and dried fruits. Make sure i dont exceed 100 cals. I know this is bad - diet coke can keep you full. Drink loads of water. Weight watchers yogurt pots. I love Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt as an indulgent yet low cal desert option for that something sweet at night. Have loads of veg during meals. Hope this helps :)

    ^^^^This is why you shouldn't take people's advice without doing your own research and educating yourself.
    1. Diet Coke = NO.
    2. Dried fruit = FULL OF SUGAR
    3. Weight Watchers food = LOW CALORIE, BUT FULL OF SUGAR TO MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE.
    4. Anything Ben & Jerry's (frozen yogurt or otherwise) = SHOULDN'T BE INCLUDED IN A REGULAR DIET.

    ............:noway:
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    What helped me was during the week I had a protein bar for breakfast and then mid morning I had a piece of fruit. Lunch varied, sometimes I would have lean cusine, sometimes I had a toasted bagel with peanut butter, sometimes I would have a wrap just depending on what I was hungry for. I made sure I ate the biggest part of my calories at noon and then I ate small snacks the rest of the day like popcorn and yogurt and more fruit or nuts, crackers etcs.

    On the weekends I have boiled eggs and yogurt for breakfast or egg beaters on a wrap.

    Cereal did not fill me up so when I was eating 1200 I didn't eat that. You will just have to find what keeps you from getting hungry. Cuecumbers are suppose to be very filling and also give you energy so try snack on that with a low fat dip
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
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    I'm not 100% sure of this, but I read & heard that eating food high in fiber makes you feel more stuffed with less calories


    That IS true - but it works best if you eat foods with protein and fiber together to maintain that fullness longer.

    Also, most people should eat more than 1200 calories per day - have you calculated your TDEE? If not, try these links:

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/ (calculate body fat percentage the military way)...

    then, http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ (calculate your basal metabolic rate but USE YOUR CURRENT WEIGHT AS YOUR GOAL WEIGHT - the number of calories your body needs if you were in a coma to keep your organs healthy)... My BMR is 1314 calories which means I should NEVER eat less than this number in a day.

    When you do that calculation, it will show you, based on your activity level, how many calories you should eat to maintain your current weight (mine is 1808 based on my lightly active 1-3 day per week exercise).

    In order to lose weight with these numbers, you should eat 400-500 calories LESS THAN what it says to maintain (so long as it is not less than your BMR number). This will give you about 1 pound per week weight loss. I eat 300 less than my suggested number because I am down to my last 10 pounds and running a lot.

    IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW: when using this method, DO NOT EAT BACK YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES. MFP will want you to because it does not use this method. The TDEE method already factors in your exercise when it sets the goals.
  • 1holegrouper
    1holegrouper Posts: 323 Member
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    When considering a food or drink don't just judge it by its calories. Judge it by its ability to fill you yet not trigger further hunger. Judge it by its amount of processing. If its not a whole food then be very cautious. Things like sugar free jello and Diet Coke seem great and smart but the artificial sweeteners will trigger a hormonal reaction that has been proven clinically to stimulate your appetite. Not to mention the unhealthy chemicals. You just cannot fool nature. You can even swish them in your mouth and spit them out and the damage is already done since the receptors on the back of your tongue have given your brain the message that high calorie food is on the way and then your brain tells your body to prepare for it. When the food doesn't come you then get hit with hunger. Also remember that starches are almost just as bad as sugar. True they have some bulk and you will feel full for a while but they also over stimulate your appetite.

    Good hydration, leafy greens, (lean proteins, lower glycemic fruits, good fats- these in controlled amounts) will satisfy and will make it easier to limit your calories (less hunger pangs).

    There is no magic to 1,200 calories. Your intake should be planned as a function of your current body weight, composition and goals. This could mean 1,100 calories or 2,800 calories. Don't get caught up on this 1,200 calorie thing. It is not a panacea and for you, and for others, could actually be harmful.
  • Fit_And_Heathy_Goalie
    Fit_And_Heathy_Goalie Posts: 55 Member
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    I load up on vegetables and I try to make smart carb choices that are also high in fiber. I usually add 2 cups spinach to my blueberry protein shake and I can hardly taste the spinach! Also, I highly recommend adding some good fat (nuts, seeds, avacado, olive oil, etc) to each meal. My food diary is open if you need ideas.
  • Skoochy19
    Skoochy19 Posts: 34
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    I eat more than 1200 calories, but I find that if I'm hungry at night eating a huge salad of lettuce and veggies with a bit of low fat/cal dressing really does the trick. Good luck!

    My goal is 1640, but I eat a huge salad for dinner most night the size of a full plate, lettuce and veggies low cal dressing and if i skip the cheese I'm all in for less than 60 calories and I am stuffed, sometimes I don't finish.
  • ma_peeps
    ma_peeps Posts: 3
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    Thanks for the posts. You've all given me a lot of good ideas to try. I want to lose about 18 pounds--I guess I need to check into the 1200 calories that MFP recommended for me.
  • katiejarr
    katiejarr Posts: 251 Member
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    I'm just starting with the plan, and I'd like tips on what to eat to stay under 1200 calories a day and still feel full. I will try to add in exercise every day to gain some calories back, but I'm sure there will be days I can't exercise.

    Ive been on 1200 calories for over 10 months and ive lost 41 pounds...feel free to read my diary to get ideas...I feel full every day and I never eat Weight Watchers foods...I eat real foods, not diet foods.

    Feel free to friend me if you want :bigsmile:

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