Can't seem to consume enough to meet 1200 calories... Help!
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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.
Second on the avocados. They also provide healthy fats that your body needs on a low fat diet.0 -
Ice cream. Tsblespoon of peanut butter. Slice of cheese. Ounce of perfect dark chocolate. Eat something delicious....you're not being punished here, you're living.0
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ok so I would do the following
change your breakfast two scrambled eggs with some salmon, spinach and feta cheese
for lunch loose the dominos pizza! have a healthy salad sandwich instead and add a yoghurt or apple
for dinner add some more things to your salad, add some tomato, red onion, cucumber and add some diced cheese instead of parmesan.0 -
Chicken and eggs (protein) is very filling. Maybe try replacing those with something else.0
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Dairy is helpful. Add a glass of 1% milk to ur breakfast.
Maybe a snack of nuts and cheese - very satisfying.0 -
i used to have the same problem. i had a very limited diet but hey it doesn't help that i am a very extremely picky eater!!!! what helped me was switching from fat-free & low fat products to full fat. i always used to eat fat free cottage cheese, recently i switched to the 2% kind, i don't know why i didn't switch sooner the 2% dairy fat cottage cheese tastes 100% better than the fat free one!!! i always thought (eating) fat was the culprit so i ate fat free or low fat for the past few yrs. now that i know its not i pretty much will eat anything if it fits in my macros.
dont just limit yourself to diet foods- don't just eat it because it says its fat free. take a look at the ingredients, diet foods often have ingredients added to them. its much better to eat the full calorie version. if you have a problem with the full calorie version just reduce the serving size. i would do this with peanut butter, only eat a tablespoon but since i have started using pb2 i don't eat peanut butter anymore!!!
i eat eggs, nuts- pistachios are my favorite, cheese, lean protein, peanut butter, cottage cheese, full fat salad dressing & olive oil/coconut oil.0 -
just ate 2000 ish cals for breakfast. HTH
You are the devil in disguise. That's just evil. :sad: :laugh:0 -
It takes 3500 calories BURNED to lose 1lb. for example:
if you ate 2800 cal a day x7days = 19600 calories consumed a week
if you burned 3200 cal a day x 7days = 22,400 calories burned a week
22,400 -19600=2,800 net burned for the week it's not quite a lb lost but it's .8 lost
How do you know what you burn a day? look up BMR and enter your body data. I know all the pills and stuff the world promotes sound great, none of them work, they only increase the amounts of calories burned a day by small amounts and supress your appetite, but if you don't know your basic calorie intake or your basic burn a day, nothing can help you manage the outcome. I explain this to say that I have lost 45lbs in 6 months and I work out roughly twice a week, but walk 3 miles 3 days a week in the summer............hope this helps.................0 -
I'm finding it very difficult to reach 1200 calories a day (and I feel like I'm eating a lot!) Any suggestions?
Today I had:
Breakfast:
2 hard boiled eggs (130 calories)
Lunch:
1 slice of Domino's Hawaiian pizza (280 calories)
2 cups romaine lettuce (15 calories)
1 tbsp Caesar dressing (40 calories)
Parmesan cheese 1 tsp (20 calories)
Dinner:
2 cups romaine lettuce (15 calories)
1 tbsp Caesar dressing (40 calories)
Parmesan cheese 1 tsp (20 calories)
Diced grilled chicken breast (100 calories)
Diet Pepsi (0 calories)
Snack:
1 medium banana (84 calories)
Other:
10 calories from crystal light
8 cups of water
The dinner salad was to help consume more calories but I wasn't hungry. I have 463 calories remaining. Help?! As it stands currently, I feel like I am having to force myself to eat more often... and that's rare for me. My diet had been piss-poor, I won't lie, and my calorie intake was probably massive. I would eat once a day and maybe munch on a few things here and there. Perhaps my body is just trying to adjust to 3 meals+ a snack?
Any food recommendations would be fantastic. It isn't healthy to eat less than 1200, and it shouldn't be a struggle to hit that! I am just over paranoid and want to make healthy decisions. I obviously want to lose weight, but I want to do it in such a way that it's 1) healthy, 2) safe, and 3) something I can sustain long-term. There's no need to drop a ton of weight without being able to maintain it once it's gone!
umm, diet coke is 0 calories? Since when? That stuff is poison anyway, should't have it at all!
and are you sure about the serving size of chicken? remember, measurements are important!
Maybe try snacking on some nuts, they have many good things in there for your body and the fats are GOOD fats so don't get scared! Or some more fruit, as long as you don't get toooo much sugar from it. .And I don't agree with others that you should add bread/pasta. Gluten just 'aint that good either so if you don't feel you have to have it, please just don't. Nothing wrong with that
But you need to watch your protein intake, looks like it would probably be quite low which can be a concern :S
Good luck 0 -
OMG WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND JUST POSTED THE SAME DILEMA .0
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I have days like that - they're very few and far between, mind you!
My advice, for what it's worth, is to incorporate the foods you like - in moderation of course - back into your diet. You can't eat caesar salads twice a day for ever; and you need to be making changes that you can live with over a lifetime, if you don't want to gain the weight back. And, you need to give your body fuel!
Here are some suggestions that are working for me - Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, oatmeal, hummus, leaner meats, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains instead of processed grains, brown rice/barley/farro. And, as much as possible, cook for yourself so you know what goes into your meal.
Good luck!!0 -
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.
I agree with this0 -
Eat a couple Tablespoons of peanut butter.
Not very filling and an easy 200 calories.0 -
Dominos is your friend
Sprinkle red peppers and Parmesan dipped in hidden valley light ranch... Yum.0 -
I'm finding it very difficult to reach 1200 calories a day (and I feel like I'm eating a lot!) Any suggestions?
Today I had:
Breakfast:
2 hard boiled eggs (130 calories)
Lunch:
1 slice of Domino's Hawaiian pizza (280 calories)
2 cups romaine lettuce (15 calories)
1 tbsp Caesar dressing (40 calories)
Parmesan cheese 1 tsp (20 calories)
Dinner:
2 cups romaine lettuce (15 calories)
1 tbsp Caesar dressing (40 calories)
Parmesan cheese 1 tsp (20 calories)
Diced grilled chicken breast (100 calories)
Diet Pepsi (0 calories)
Snack:
1 medium banana (84 calories)
Other:
10 calories from crystal light
8 cups of water
The dinner salad was to help consume more calories but I wasn't hungry. I have 463 calories remaining. Help?! As it stands currently, I feel like I am having to force myself to eat more often... and that's rare for me. My diet had been piss-poor, I won't lie, and my calorie intake was probably massive. I would eat once a day and maybe munch on a few things here and there. Perhaps my body is just trying to adjust to 3 meals+ a snack?
Any food recommendations would be fantastic. It isn't healthy to eat less than 1200, and it shouldn't be a struggle to hit that! I am just over paranoid and want to make healthy decisions. I obviously want to lose weight, but I want to do it in such a way that it's 1) healthy, 2) safe, and 3) something I can sustain long-term. There's no need to drop a ton of weight without being able to maintain it once it's gone!
Eat more protein, more veggies and fruits and more snacks in general.
It's not that hard.0 -
Hi Jennybean,
I hope you don't mind me throwing in my $.02!
To start with, 1200 calories is really low, I mean really, not-exactly-healthy low. And even the ACSM recommends that women *never* eat less than 1200 calories a day. Other than an occasional fast day or a cleanse - you need to get your calories *over* 1200!
People here had some really great suggestions, they recommended nutrient & calorie dense food like almonds, avocados, nut butters - and veggies!
What are your stats (height, weight)? What is your target weight? Do you know your BMR (I suspect it's going to be closer to 1400-1500 calories)? Do you cook? Are you exercising - if so, what kind of exercise do you do and how often?
what about the rest of the time - is your life active, do you have a desk job?
L.0 -
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.
This was incredibly helpful! I've added a lot to my grocery list 0 -
You are kidding right? You ate 2 cups of lettuce in an effort to get MORE calories?!
Eat some bread.
Don't eat bread! Eat protein: beef jerky, cottage cheese, string cheese...0 -
My advice would be to throw in a handful of nuts or so each day. They don't take up much room in your stomach if you're not hungry, have lots of healthy fats and protein, and will bump your calorie count up a big notch.0
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Mixed nuts or peanutbutter0
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