Eating plan guide for 1200 calories

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muskat3
muskat3 Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
Hi,
Ok, I going to give it a proper go and rid myself of this weight.

I'm going to start off with a 1200 calorie intake, but I need some guidance as to how to break up the 1200 calories into meals and snacks. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
Katrina.
«1345

Replies

  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    My suggestion is to eat more. Good luck trying to make any progress on such a low calorie intake.
  • ariesz
    ariesz Posts: 5
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    This is how I do it:
    Brekky - 300cal
    Snack - 100 - 150 cal
    Lunch - 300 cal
    Snack - 100 - 150 cal
    Dinner - 400 cal

    Roughly. On days I exercise with some sort of intensity I eat more as I am hungry but I never eat back all of my exercise calories, only some. Good luck, and remember if your body stops responding, up your calorie intake :)
  • Salkeela
    Salkeela Posts: 367 Member
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    I'm sticking to 1200 a day and it's not a lot of food. Really how you cope is up to personal preference. The days I do best I start lean and eat more in the evening.

    However make sure 1200 is not to low for what you are doing. I am already at a BMI of 23 and due to ill health am physically inactive, therefore burning very few calories. I could not eat this little and do a day's work.

    It may be a higher target intake is more achievable. Remember you won't be doing this for just 2 or 3 days but months or more. If the target intake is too low you will simply blow it and then you are setting yourself up for the wrong sort of eating altogether.

    A higher target, lets your body have enough cals to cope with your day without the starved feeling. Therefore you will be much better able to achieve on a long term basis.

    Of course, you may be like me and have very good reasons for being on such a low cal diet.

    (If you want to friend me - friends can see my diary....)
  • joyceellison
    joyceellison Posts: 20 Member
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    look at my menu if you want to I try and stick below 1100
  • GuybrushThreepw00d
    GuybrushThreepw00d Posts: 784 Member
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    To answer your actual question; Just see what works for you. Some people have a big breakfast some have 6 smaller meals a day. Keep an eye on your food diary and see where your "empty" calories are going.

    To give you advice you didn't ask for ;)
    Make sure your do your reading about eating less than BMR. If you don't know what TDEE is, look it up.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    This is how I do it:
    Brekky - 300cal
    Snack - 100 - 150 cal
    Lunch - 300 cal
    Snack - 100 - 150 cal
    Dinner - 400 cal

    Roughly. On days I exercise with some sort of intensity I eat more as I am hungry but I never eat back all of my exercise calories, only some. Good luck, and remember if your body stops responding, up your calorie intake :)
    You should have to worry about having your body "stop" responding. The problem is people immediately go bare bones and cut every thing out. You have to look at weight loss as peeling an onion. You have to strip each layer from the onion when you reach a sticking point.

    At 1200 calories you have NO room to make any adjustments and you're on way to metabolic rehab. This is not a scare tactic, this is real life. Even if the original poster is severely obese 1200 calories is still not advisable.

    The whole point is to make your meals filling. Meal frequency is not an issue, so you don't need to eat 6,7, and 8 meals a day. IMHO, snacks make you fat, and are an indication that your meals are not filling.

    1200/3 = 400 calorie meals or 1200/4= 300 calorie meals. Both are a much better choice then having a 100-150 calorie "snack" which will leave you hungry.
  • GrannySparkle
    GrannySparkle Posts: 225 Member
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    My suggestion is to eat more. Good luck trying to make any progress on such a low calorie intake.

    Seriously? A good number of people eat only 1200 calories a day and loss weight. I was on 1200 prior to my surgery and lost 48 pounds. Of course since gastric bypass I only eat 600-900 calories...and am still losing.
  • guzelnarin
    guzelnarin Posts: 1
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    Make sure you eat enough protein and fibre. It keeps you full and you do not crave food. I'm not a protein person. I prefer salads and carbs. I love frozen yogurts and sauces and I hate meat chicken cheese and stuff like that. Its so difficult for me to consume the 45gr protein mfp suggests! So, I eat my fruits every morning, and then, as snack, I hit a tuna can. In the morning I have the most cravings, so tuna fills me up and helps me not to eat other stupid things! and of course it gives me the 27 gramms protein in very low caloric intake! So I can, the rest of the day to consume whatever I do like! my salads, and my soups, and my bread, and my biscuit in the afternoun, and for dinner again salad with raw vegetablesand fruits and sauce in it, or a frozen yogurt, without thinking all the time "do I eat enough protein?" Thats good for me. If you are a meat pearson forget it. Its easy for you to consume protein. Forgive my terrible english, it isn't my mother language! Good luck and determination!
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Options
    My suggestion is to eat more. Good luck trying to make any progress on such a low calorie intake.

    Seriously? A good number of people eat only 1200 calories a day and loss weight. I was on 1200 prior to my surgery and lost 48 pounds. Of course since gastric bypass I only eat 600-900 calories...and am still losing.
    Yeah seriously, cause it's not all about losing weight. Losing weight is just one part of the puzzle. You should be concerned about:
    1. How much lean body mass.
    2. Your metabolic rate.

    These are not only concerns of bodybuilders, they should be concerns of everyone. It's not about WEIGHT loss. It's about losing bodyfat and keeping your metabolism healthy.

    Anyone can lose weight. The question is can they do it in a safe and effective manner.
  • karen4ever
    karen4ever Posts: 46 Member
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    My calorie allowance for the last 6wks has been 1350cals, And have almost always stayed under that. and have lost 10lbs.

    I had set my MFP for losing 1 1/2 lbs a week.


    I have now changed this setting to losing 1lb a week so am now allowed 1560cals aday, Still haven't managed it yet.
  • ariesz
    ariesz Posts: 5
    Options
    This is how I do it:
    Brekky - 300cal
    Snack - 100 - 150 cal
    Lunch - 300 cal
    Snack - 100 - 150 cal
    Dinner - 400 cal

    Roughly. On days I exercise with some sort of intensity I eat more as I am hungry but I never eat back all of my exercise calories, only some. Good luck, and remember if your body stops responding, up your calorie intake :)
    You should have to worry about having your body "stop" responding. The problem is people immediately go bare bones and cut every thing out. You have to look at weight loss as peeling an onion. You have to strip each layer from the onion when you reach a sticking point.

    At 1200 calories you have NO room to make any adjustments and you're on way to metabolic rehab. This is not a scare tactic, this is real life. Even if the original poster is severely obese 1200 calories is still not advisable.

    The whole point is to make your meals filling. Meal frequency is not an issue, so you don't need to eat 6,7, and 8 meals a day. IMHO, snacks make you fat, and are an indication that your meals are not filling.

    1200/3 = 400 calorie meals or 1200/4= 300 calorie meals. Both are a much better choice then having a 100-150 calorie "snack" which will leave you hungry.

    I don't disagree with your main point, I just responded to her original question. Snacks for me are a must. I'm not talking a mars bar. I'm talking fruit, cheese, wholegrain crackers, nuts, yogurt etc. I can't eat the volume I would need to at a meal to keep me going until the next meal. They don't leave me hungry at all. And as I said, the days I do more exercise, I eat more. I listen to my body and eat what I need, but I make sure its clean.

    I say start with a plan and tweek it to suit you. If you're always hungry, up your calorie intake or switch the types of foods you are eating. Etc.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    My suggestion is to eat more. Good luck trying to make any progress on such a low calorie intake.

    Seriously? A good number of people eat only 1200 calories a day and loss weight. I was on 1200 prior to my surgery and lost 48 pounds. Of course since gastric bypass I only eat 600-900 calories...and am still losing.

    yes you can loose weight by eating 1200cals, but it may not be good for a lot of people health wise. its good to be cautious with an intake that is this low as people who are new to healthy weight loss may end up hurting themselves because they don't have the knowledge.
  • rachaelfisher1
    rachaelfisher1 Posts: 69
    Options
    My suggestion is to eat more. Good luck trying to make any progress on such a low calorie intake.

    Seriously? A good number of people eat only 1200 calories a day and loss weight. I was on 1200 prior to my surgery and lost 48 pounds. Of course since gastric bypass I only eat 600-900 calories...and am still losing.
    Yeah seriously, cause it's not all about losing weight. Losing weight is just one part of the puzzle. You should be concerned about:
    1. How much lean body mass.
    2. Your metabolic rate.

    These are not only concerns of bodybuilders, they should be concerns of everyone. It's not about WEIGHT loss. It's about losing bodyfat and keeping your metabolism healthy.

    Anyone can lose weight. The question is can they do it in a safe and effective manner.

    ^^ This guy knows what he is talking about.
    Admittedly, I used to stick to <1200 per day and didn't take into account macro-nutrients. Now that I have upped my calories and protein intake and decreased carbs, I have seen more results and muscle mass has increased!
  • muskat3
    muskat3 Posts: 2
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    Wow, thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect my question to cause so much conversation.
    1200 calories is what I was recommended by MFP, perhaps from all the comments this is going to be too low. I haven't done a calorie counting weight loss/healthy eating plan before so I had no idea whether this would be too low or not.

    I'll look into it a bit further as to what number of calories would be best.

    Thanks again.
  • Michellereducf
    Michellereducf Posts: 168 Member
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    I"m short and technically a desk jockey during the day. I'm doing pretty good on 1200, sometimes eat less and sometimes eat more, but I'm losing weight. So don't listen to guys who say you can't maintain 1200 per day. How you break it up during the day is completely up to you, no one can guide you.
  • flajocar
    flajocar Posts: 37
    Options
    This is how I do it:
    Brekky - 300cal
    Snack - 100 - 150 cal
    Lunch - 300 cal
    Snack - 100 - 150 cal
    Dinner - 400 cal

    Roughly. On days I exercise with some sort of intensity I eat more as I am hungry but I never eat back all of my exercise calories, only some. Good luck, and remember if your body stops responding, up your calorie intake :)

    What she said. :smile:
  • Salkeela
    Salkeela Posts: 367 Member
    Options
    .
    1200 calories is what I was recommended by MFP,

    Probably okay then..... if you find it tough just aim for a slower loss. Better slow and steady than boom and bust!
  • aimiee88
    aimiee88 Posts: 47 Member
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    Hey

    MFP set me up with 1200 calories and it suits me fine.
    This is beacuse I have a desk job, and I set my loss at 2lbs a week.

    I have about 250cal for breakfast, 350 for lunch. If I am peckish I have a bannana or an orange mid afternoon so have between 500-600cal for tea depending on the snack.

    I hardly snacked before MFP so I dont find myself wanting to snack now, just keeping an eye on the cals to make sure I am eating the correct amount as my portion size is my down fall, now I 'know' what I can have I can limit it.

    Its working for me at the moment =)
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    Options
    .
    1200 calories is what I was recommended by MFP,

    Probably okay then..... if you find it tough just aim for a slower loss. Better slow and steady than boom and bust!

    1200 is the hard deck of MFP. usually its reached when the weekly loss is too high, which doesn't give it a great rep for being ok.

    best thing to do for people who are not obese is Katch-McArdle BMR and then use that to get a safe deficit or use it to calc your TDEE if you like TDEE.

    Katch-McArdle BMR:Considered the most accurate formula for those who are relatively lean.

    Use ONLY if you have a good estimate of your bodyfat %.

    calculate your body fat here
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/

    KM BMR
    http://www.calculatorpro.com/calculator/katch-mcardle-bmr-calculator/
  • Salkeela
    Salkeela Posts: 367 Member
    Options
    I don't think (perhaps I'm wrong) that we can aim for a weight loss of more than 2lb per week using MFP guidance.

    Folk who are nearer goal, female, and not too tall can easily get a recommendation of 1200. Indeed at 1200 I'm told I'll loose 0.8lb a week. That's hardly aiming for too rapid a weight loss.

    And I am not starving on 1200 either.

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