How do you people stay at 1200 a day??

I try to be around 1200 calories (my dr. said 1200 - 1300).
Breakfast is bagel thin with laughing cow strawberry cream cheese, 2 pc Kraft fat free cheese slice
and banana

Snack is 100 calorie pack of chex mix

Lunch is sandwich thins with turkey, frozen peas, salad w/ fat free itialian, snack size no sugar added mandarain oranges

Dinner varies - suggestions are
baked chicken breast with frozen vegies and a little ice cream cup
smart ones frozen dinner
progresso light soups
chinese carryout - white rice with hot and sour soup or won ton soup
Popeyes jambalaya and 1 or 2 chicken strips

If I still have extra calories I will eat some peanut butter, nuts, popcorn, glass of milk or vanilla silk soy milk.

I only eat back about half of my exercise calories because i think the MFP counts are a lot higher than actual.


If I am still under calories i will eat a little peanut butter or some nuts. Maybe some light popcorn.

Years ago I lost a lot of weight very quickly by only eating 1200. NOW, there's no way. I follow the tdee, and it is working wayyy better for me I'm never starving, I have a decent amount of energy, and I'm not as crabby (win-win for everyone, haha). I like it this way... don't think I could eat 1200 if I tried, now!

I agree that losing the soda is a major plus and will make you feel better in general. Walking, dancing, and even cleaning (yes, cleaning, and you will get something else accomplished in the meantime) are great ways to exercise without even feeling like you are exercising and getting burnt out when you are starting out.

Oh sure, I can stay at 1200 a day...for about three days after the inevitable 2,000 - 3,000 calorie binge. LOL.

When I first started losing weight, I stayed at around 1200 and got used to it - probably because I wasn't exercising too much. I would have a 1300 calorie day every few days though sheer mismanagement though.

I now eat between 1200 - 1500 per day.(I grunt and bear with those 1200 calorie rest days) and exercise very intensely on the others.

I am losing more weight on higher calories than on 1200 per day because I am not very tempted to binge.Mu hunger is manageable or minor now.

If you want to try 1200 calories a day, here are a few hints that I found vital to doing it:

Eat small meals often, not large meals a few times a day that will trigger appetite later.

Avoid stuff heavy in added sugar, go for low calorie substantial high fiber foods like a sweet potato half or a 100 calorie popcorn bag.

Try to eat foods high in volume.

Avoid added fats (nothing wrong with fat, but it is dense so your food will be higher in overall calories)

Take vitamins. Learn to love fruit & veg.

Practice overestimating your calories every now and then, since people are prone to underestimate. Assume that piece of pie is just a bit larger than you remember it. Add vegetables to your rice mixes so the overall calories are lower per cup than just the rice mix alone. If you try this you will likely be more accurate in calorie counting since as human beings we are prone to underestimate what we eat.

Simple: Do a forum search for "In Place of a Road Map" - it's likely you aren't meant to be @ 1200 calories a day!

I haven't read all these replies, but my goal is net 1200 calories. have a look at my food diary to get an idea of what I eat - I don't go hungry, I have protein and carbs at every meal, 2 pieces of fruit a day and veges with at least 2 meals per day. I don't really snack, if I do its just almonds

P.S. I forgot to say that as you lose weight, you will then have to adjust (lower) your calories to still be able to continue losing weight, but I think the MPP will calculate that for you.

Thread from the dead? I'll bite. I'm getting close to a proper weight, I'm middle aged, I'm extremely sedentary except when I work out. I'm unemployed, I have no life, I rarely leave the house, and I don't chase small ankle biters around trying to keep them out of dangerous chemicals and whatever else kids get into when you aren't standing right over them.

So yeah, 1200 is fine for me. In fact, if I always ate my exercise calories back I'd lose weight so slowly on 1200 that I would go stark raving mad. So unfortunately right now I'm netting less than that. I sometimes do eat my exercise calories back, depending on how many innocent people will die if I don't.

I have a pretty small frame and I can not manage to stay at 1200. Never. So I work my butt off and work out so that I have more calories to eat without getting fat.

Log everything. Drink lots of water. Chew sugarless gum. Get busy doing something non-food related. After a while it will become second nature. Good luck!

I have been doing this for a long time and I can not stay under calories, no matter how hard I try. How do you people do it??? I looked at some of your diaries and that ones I looked at.....one ate one meal a day and some vitamins, one ate protein shakes twice a day and a salad for the other, the others complain about not being able to get to 1200 a day, one eats pizza and goes over and still says he/she loses two lbs a week.

My diary is private but I can tell you just of what works for me.

I've never been a breakfast person, but I do try to have something, even if it's just soy milk, juice or a yogurt. So my breakfast calories are typically under 200cal. Sometimes I have cereal but I try to make sure it's high in fiber. I do take 2 gummies for vitamins and another 2 for fiber each day.

I keep a reusable cup full of ice water on my desk at all times. I drink water pretty much non stop while I'm at work. Yes, this means I have to pee frequently, but my desk is near the bathroom, so I don't mind.

For lunch, I have either a salad (I like those artisan salads from Publix deli (I sent them an email and they replied back with a PDF of the estimated calorie and nutrition info for me) or I make a lunch and bring it to work with me. The Artisan salads are big, so I often get 2 lunches out of those. As long as I get dressing on the side, they stay crisp for the second day. They have a good baja salad (like the taco one at Wendy's), a sweet apple with sugared pecans and balsamic glaze, and my favorite--shanghai chicken with spicy peanut dressing and crunchy noodles.

When I make my own lunch, I try to make it snack-able. That is, I try to make it something that I can snack on so that it takes me awhile to eat. For example--Bread that I toast and then spread with hummus, Nutella, or laughing cow cheese; cucumbers or carrots with dip; hard boiled eggs with salt and pepper. I also use Lean Cuisines, but not the meals. I get the appetizers instead, like pita pocket with cheese dip (I toast the pita) or fajita rolls (3 for 200cal or a whole box for 400cal) that I can dip in hummus.

My biggest meal is dinner with hubby and it's often my least healthy meal of the day. I try to watch my portion size and have something green/veggie with each dinner. I often only put half of "my" dinner on my plate. For example if dinner is chicken parm, I'll cut a breaded chicken breast in half instead of putting the whole breast on my plate. I go back for the other half only if I'm still hungry after finishing the 1st half. I often find I'm not hungry for the entire other half. The leftovers end up in my lunch the next day, or hubby eats it later, or I eat it on leftovers night.

Don't you people get hungry???

Yes, but then I usually realise my glass is empty. I refill it and see if a glass of water fixes my problem. Sometimes I get into part of my lunch early (fine because I made it snackable) or I don't eat my whole lunch and instead I use the rest of my lunch as an afternoon snack. I usually log it as lunch no matter when I eat the different parts of it.

For the evening, when I get the urge to snack, I just start cooking dinner instead. Normally, hubby gets the urge to eat before I do, so I'm often cooking before I'm really hungry. So it's rare for me to want a snack before dinner.

After dinner, if I have room in my budget, I will allow myself a treat (Hersey's kisses, ice cream) etc. If not, I try to distract myself--water, a walk, a book, etc. It doesn't always work, but most of the time it does.

In general though, veggies tend to be low in calories, so I try to have as much of those for lunch and dinner as I can. That way I get more food for less of my calorie budget.

I try to keep my biggest temptations out of the house or at least out of my reach (Soda, crackers/cookies, etc). I'm short and anything I can't see I tend to forget exists--which makes the top of the fridge the perfect place for hubby's stuff---chips, pretzels, etc. When he gets into those I'll have a bite or two, but not much. He might give/feed me a frito or two with salsa while I'm cooking or while he's watching TV but as long as he keeps control of the bag, I can think of them as just for him and I'll stay out of them.

Eating 1200 a day is a good idea if either you are very small and sedentary or you want to be skinny-fat and miserable.

I eat almost 2k.

If you have been a big eater for a long time trying to cut to 1200 all at once might just be too much to ask. Try cutting back a bit more slowly to allow your tummy to shrink and remember any deficit is a good thing, you don't have to loose lbs and lbs every week you just have to loose something!!!

It is very different for everyone. What works for some, may not for others. I am a shorty at 5'1"... so I need to keep it real low. I eat LOTs of veg/fruit/lean protien. I dont worry about going over a little. Loosen up a little on the weekends. and I eat my exercise calories, since 1200 is so low to begin with... I figure my body needs to, to keep it happy/losing. But everyone is different. activity level, nutritional value of food, and your own bodies ability all come into play. I have a sluggish thyroid and suspected insulin resistance... so I keep it low... but believe me I'd love to eat 1600 calories a day... but I would gain there.

I try and stick with raw veggies, egg whites, lean meats... But I'm human and will mess up and have chocolate (more often than I would like to admit.) I go over my calories almost every day... But I make sure I get a small workout in everyday so I can make up for the calories.