What do you eat to stay at 1200 calories a day?

Options
13»

Replies

  • jsdholland
    jsdholland Posts: 77 Member
    Options
    I do zucchini with Egg whites and Parmesan.....a great fried zucchini...lust bake it instead!
  • Debutante55
    Debutante55 Posts: 72 Member
    Options
    Eggs are my best friends. ;-) On days when I don't have an egg for breakfast I'm much hungrier than usual. Tuna and string cheese sticks are other choices that I've found helpful. I've been doing 1200 calories for about 5 or 6 months and don't find it that difficult. Must admit though that I'm not hugely successful in the exercise department. :-( Check out my diary for ideas if you like, it's open. You'll also see that I ***completely*** miss my 1200 cal target on 'special occasion' days but am still continuing with slow but steady weight loss.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    Options
    I am on 1200 a day and yes, it sucks... Just remember to exercise then it's not so bad...
  • Cillamail
    Cillamail Posts: 21 Member
    Options
    this sounds so yum!
  • petitehealth
    petitehealth Posts: 148 Member
    Options
    Hello I'm 5'2 with a 1200 calorie goal. I workout most days. Recently plateaued for over a month and this week I began trying to make sure I eat about 1600 and the scale has started moving down again. Any other 1200ers please add me as a friend to share diaries. I'll take all the motivation I can get. Also i started a healthy cooking blog with calorie breakdowns to keep me motivated www.petitehealth.com
  • akkimberly
    akkimberly Posts: 63 Member
    Options
    I make sure to eat alot of veggies, usually cooked and flavored with garlic and other spices.
  • KristinLeAnn252
    KristinLeAnn252 Posts: 136 Member
    Options
    I'm pretty good at staying around 1200 calories - feel free to check out my diary :)
  • wendybird5
    wendybird5 Posts: 577 Member
    Options
    When I was doing the 1200 calorie thing, I came up with this dish that I had for lunch every day and still love:

    Brown rice (I used the microwaveable long grain brown rice pouches from Trader Joe's - either 3/4 of a cup or 1 1/2 cups.)
    1-2 oz. sliced turkey breast (not the deli slices made of pressed turkey parts, Columbus brand low sodium turkey slices are great)
    4 tbsp. of pico de gallo (or adjust to suit your taste, use fresh made, not bottled which has more sodium)

    Sometimes I also added 1/2 of an avocado (diced) or used 3 tbsp. of guacamole in place of the salsa for a healthy fat.

    Just heat the rice, mix it in a bowl and enjoy.
  • StArBeLLa87
    StArBeLLa87 Posts: 1,582 Member
    Options
    I eat a high protein high fiber diet consisting of chicken and salmon , eggs , leafy green veggies, grape fruit, apples and peanut butter ( all natural) a weight watchers bar to feed my sweet tooth the giant fudge bar is o yummy!! No more then a cup of brown rice or sweet potato .
    If I do have a hamburger Instead of bun I use Boston butter lettuce ( I can't eat wheat or white potato due to allergy so this is a lifestyle for me!

    Once a week ill sneak in a snickers haha
  • EstherZue
    EstherZue Posts: 39
    Options
    I bought a panini press from Philipps and I am now abusing it to cook whatever I like without much hastle. Whole fish or fish fillets, chicken breasts, all sorts of vegetables, bread, tortillas, potatoes.

    You dont have to use any oil and everything gets crunchy and tasty. Most nights I just put my marinated chicken breast and corn on the cob in the press and have a great meal 15 min later.

    Other than that, I also keep my meals simple with 3 ingredients or less. My favourites

    Seabream with cauliflower
    Steak and corn on the cob
    Spinach lasagne
    Greek salad with Quinoa
    Chili con Carne
    Smoked salmon bagel

    I also love pasta with cream sauce, which I make from water, philadelphia fat free cream cheese and some shredded parmesan, fresh garlic and basil, mmmmmhhhh.
  • thestrawberrysays
    thestrawberrysays Posts: 31 Member
    Options
    My deficit is also 1200 calories, but I always exercise so I can eat more.

    Breakfast is usually two eggs and a piece of fruit, or oatmeal w/ almond milk and fruit. I like to eat Natures Path oatmeal packets, the flax kind, because I'm totally lazy in the A.M. and don't want to cook oatmeal. LOL! I also like green smoothies, and typically when I make them I'll drink it for breakfast and lunch because I make so much.

    Lunch is soups (I'm doing a lot of lentil and veggie soups right now), always homemade. I also like hummus on whole wheat with different veggies (roma tomatoes and spinach, usually). Depending on what I'm eating I might add a glass of almond milk. Today for lunch I had some homemade chili with a handful of tortilla chips- it was pretty hearty and about 550 calories for the whole thing.

    Dinner could be anything. Good rule to live by is at least half your plate should be vegetables. Most of the dinner dishes that I'm good at are vegan (tofu spinach lasagna is amazing, so is the engine 2 "raise the roof" lasagna), and if they do have meat they are pretty basic- chicken breast with some rosemary or lemon pepper, rice or potatoes, veggies with seasoning.

    There is nothing that I have cut out of my diet other than processed food and dairy. I still eat a lot of the same foods just homemade versions and in smaller portions.
  • StArBeLLa87
    StArBeLLa87 Posts: 1,582 Member
    Options
    My allergies make it hard to even get up to 1200 cals a day which I know is dangerous to go under my body just can't process high starches it makes me miserable feeling so I load up on lean meats and greens and fruit which doesn't seem bad but you have to eat double to the eye of a persons normal meals with starches to get to 1200 cals a day
  • nomorebingesgirl2014
    nomorebingesgirl2014 Posts: 378 Member
    Options
    Bump
  • Lindsayryk
    Lindsayryk Posts: 71 Member
    Options
    Lean cuisines
  • ghaup13507
    ghaup13507 Posts: 1
    Options
    OK, my 17 year old daughter and I just started (and she's not held to 1200 calories). I am going to try to stick to 1200 calories a day, net of exercising (so of course eating more than 1200 calories). Today we made a food network recipe by Ellie Krieger: Buffalo Chicken Salad. We had calories to use, so we each ate closer to 1.5 servings. But it was really delicious. The whole family ate it, with no complaints (rare in our home!), and it's only 254 calories per serving.
  • verhunzt
    verhunzt Posts: 154 Member
    Options
    Try to make cottage cheese salads. Just add some spices to cottage cheese and mix it up with all your favourite veggies, you choose! Since cottage cheese has only (depending on what type you get though) around 100 calories per 100 grams, one huge serving of this is only around 200 calories, 300 at the most depending on what you put in it. And suuuuper healthy and filling! Keeps me filled for hours. Good luck! :)
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Options
    Just eat more than 1,200 calories.....
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    Options
    A ton of fresh/raw veggies or cooked veggies in general. A lot of protein. Very limited fruits usually just berries in the morning. Dairy e.g., greek yogurt, string cheese. Almond milk. The only bread carb I eat is one slice of whole grain/oatmeal (country kitchen) in the morning and with dinner I will some times have a Josephs flax low carb lavash. I am big on egg whites and hard boiled egg whites, they seem to satisfy me and I am a big snack person vs. a meal person so I am usually eating something small about every two hours or so. Most days I can keep it under or at 1200. Other days I am over by a hundred or so but I don't care because I don't go by my "Net", only by the 1200 limit. Some days I end the day with a 200 calorie net after my exercise even if I go over by two or three hundred.

    OR, yeah, just eat more than 1200 a day :)
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    Options
    My goal is 1200 calories a day, and so far, I have had no problem staying that low. However, I find myself grazing on low calorie snacks and eating chicken with no sides, etc. I don't have actual low calorie MEAL plans that I can eat, other than weight watchers meals. I would like to start cooking and experimenting a little. I have two small children, so I like quick and easy meals. However, I am trying to learn to enjoy new foods and cooking them. Can anyone share their recipes for simple, not a ton of ingredients, low calorie meals? Thanks!

    You might want to figure out what your TDEE and BMR are.. this post can help you do that. If 1200 is actually around what is a good level then all power to you.

    Otherwise this post can help work out what your TDEE and BMR are http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    ^^^^^ This

    I'm 5'2 and on 1500 cals a day and losing. IMHO 1200 is too low for most people. just my two cents but I'm happier now, (don't judge todays diary!)
    Yes, 1200 is too low for basically everyone. But when you tell them the proper way to do it, they ignore it since they just want a quick fix.

    Don't worry, everyone that posted in here is going to come back in a few months posting in a thread titled "ZOMG IM EATING 1200 CALORIES AND BURNING 1000 A DAY AND I AM HITTING A PLATEAUUUU - HELP"
    :grumble:

    ETA: spelling.
  • Turtlesallthewaydown
    Turtlesallthewaydown Posts: 64 Member
    Options
    I drink a smoothie made out of 50% greens and 50% fruit in the morning with a tablespoon of chia seeds in it.
    this ends up at about 300 - 500 calories depending on what goes in and if I'm having a larger portion.

    Lunch is a salad made with greens and vegetables with a 30 calorie dressing. 2 cups of greens are only 25 calories and then just choose low calories vegetables for the salad. With the salad I have a soup made chicken broth that also has veggies in it like bok choy, snow peas, mushrooms, etc as long as it's low calorie it goes in the pot. without the chicken broth it has very few calories but the chicken broth only adds 70 calories.

    Snacks are more fruit or veggies

    Lots of water

    Dinner is usually more caloric and is not really planned out. Some days I pig out a bit. So dinner is where things get a little harder.

    Of course I still slip up and don't always follow this plan perfectly but when I do weight loss is easy.

Categories