1200 CALORIE PEOPLE

Options
lauryn86
lauryn86 Posts: 86 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, I have a question. I need to lower my calories but I am not sure how much to eat for each meal or WHAT to eat to only eat 1200. I am used to 1500 or more :(. Please let me know what your days look like or how you plan each meal and what you eat. Any info is appreciated in advance, thanks!
«134

Replies

  • TwinsRaGift
    TwinsRaGift Posts: 37 Member
    Options
    Hi! I find that with only having 1200 calories it helps to eat smaller and more frequent "meals". I am terrible about writing down my last meal of the day, so my diary will not be much help. However here is what a typical day looks like for me.

    Breakfast: Oatmeal or Cereal - Between 150 and 200 cal
    Snack: Apple slices, Cutie orange, sm banana - between 50 and 100 cal depending on breakfast
    Lunch: Some sort of frozen ready made meal or soup - 300 cal or less
    Snack: Usually greek yogurt, fresh veggies like carrot sticks or cumcumber slices - 100 cal or less
    Dinner: Something like Chicken Breast with steamed veggies - 500 cal or less
    Snack: If I have any calories left (I usually do), then I have a late snack like 100 cal popcorn or a 50 cal cheese stick

    Basically I don't feel like I am missing out because I am eating all day long! :tongue:
  • liddienicole
    liddienicole Posts: 45 Member
    Options
    Hey!:) I manage it because I don't eat breakfast, & I just have a small lunch. I have porridge for lunch & big dinners that are 800+ calories. That alone plus my big cups of tea usually make up 1200 calories, so if I want a snack I have to earn more food by exercising. If you have healthier dinners than me you will more than manage it!
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    Options
    I am gonna get wailed on by the macro/nutrition police...

    I do it different ways. Some days I do follow some balanced plans. But often I have a piece of fruit for breakfast, a salad with imitation crab or a pepper stuffed with salmon and hot sauce for lunch, no dressings, and a normal family dinner that has the bulk of my calories. Snacks are usually an orange and maybe a small handful of almonds and raisins. Some days I substitute a protein shake for lunch. I don't log and track every day, but when I do I usually come in over 1000 and under 1400. I have had blood panels done and I am doing fine (some numbers much better than before). I have lost about 10 lbs a month. I don't plan that much; I just made eating unimportant. It was hard and still is sometimes, but I look and feel a lot better. Having the one normal meal and a couple of very low cal "meals" works better for me than having a bunch of small meals (the myth of the metabolism boost from frequent feedings was busted by science anyway).

    EDIT - Another MFP heresy on my part is that I do not "eat back" calories. I run 10-15 miles a week.
  • liddienicole
    liddienicole Posts: 45 Member
    Options
    Having the one normal meal and a couple of very low cal "meals" works better for me than having a bunch of small meals (the myth of the metabolism boost from frequent feedings was busted by science anyway).

    EDIT - Another MFP heresy on my part is that I do not "eat back" calories. I run 10-15 miles a week.

    You're exactly the same as me, and to be honest it must work for some of us. I've always had a small lunch (toast, cereal etc) and then a big dinner at night. It means if I go home for a weekend I don't have to say no to one of mums big family meals. And I always look forward to my big meal at the end of the night. I lose weight doing it too so it must work! I'll probably get shouted at on here for not having breakfast - but my digestive system doesn't usually wake up for a few hours in the morning, if I eat straight away I get ill. So I just wait til I'm hungry which is usually lunch time anyway!:P
  • Callmecookie88
    Callmecookie88 Posts: 16 Member
    Options
    Try to find some substitutions for things you normally eat, like fish for chicken, carrots and ranch for chips and dip, ground turkey for beef, strawberries with sugar for bacon with your morning eggs, one glass of wine for a few beers, when you first feel hungry drink some water first... And you may have to start learning to like foods you've never been into before.

    When you have a meal with your family or in a restaurant, just keep it down. Ask for your food 'dry', meaning without butter or oil. Eat until you're not hungry, but not until you're full. If you're hungry at night, ask yourself if you got enough nutrients that day that you don't need any more. Try to keep all your meals under 300 calories and keep the sugar as low as you can. Do not eat pasta, bread or potatoes more than once every few days.
  • summersbest
    summersbest Posts: 194 Member
    Options
    My diary is open if you want to check it out. ~
  • KellysDiet78
    KellysDiet78 Posts: 80
    Options
    I can eat 5 times a day and still manage less then 1000 calories a day...
    Fat free yoghurt and fruit every morning for breakfast is less then 200, mid morning and mid afternoon snacks are either chopped carrots / peppers etc for about 100 calories ... have your main meal during hte day for less then 400 calories.. like a grilled chicken breast wrapped in bacon with lots of steamed veggies and then for dinner eat something very light.. maybe low fat soup...
    My friend has just started doing this diet too and lost 18lbs in 3 weeks just from the small changes..
    She says she's never eaten so much in her life, and she's still dropping weight.
    Good Luck.
  • kaubin97
    kaubin97 Posts: 56 Member
    Options
    Hi! I find that with only having 1200 calories it helps to eat smaller and more frequent "meals". I am terrible about writing down my last meal of the day, so my diary will not be much help. However here is what a typical day looks like for me.

    Breakfast: Oatmeal or Cereal - Between 150 and 200 cal
    Snack: Apple slices, Cutie orange, sm banana - between 50 and 100 cal depending on breakfast
    Lunch: Some sort of frozen ready made meal or soup - 300 cal or less
    Snack: Usually greek yogurt, fresh veggies like carrot sticks or cumcumber slices - 100 cal or less
    Dinner: Something like Chicken Breast with steamed veggies - 500 cal or less
    Snack: If I have any calories left (I usually do), then I have a late snack like 100 cal popcorn or a 50 cal cheese stick

    Basically I don't feel like I am missing out because I am eating all day long! :tongue:

    I'm very similar to this^^^^^
  • Maris_Swan
    Maris_Swan Posts: 197 Member
    Options
    I do about 1200 everyday. My diary is open for friends, feel free to add! :)
  • MBCook2
    MBCook2 Posts: 34 Member
    Options
    Bump
  • lilbearzmom
    lilbearzmom Posts: 600 Member
    Options
    My diary is open as well. Keep in mind I am a special case because I have had WLS, so it is difficult for me to eat more than 1200, although I have on occasion. I also try to limit carbs- no hamburger bun, limited pasta, haven't had a sandwich since December, etc.

    -Kendra
  • JellyBelly1978
    JellyBelly1978 Posts: 22 Member
    Options
    I normally have Fiber One cereal or eggs for breakfast. I found eliminating bread from my diet really cut back on the calories. For lunch, normally one of these: a diet meal, tuna, fruit, etc... Dinner is meat with veggies.
    tons of fruit, veggies, water and Fiber One oat and chocolate bars or brownies they help with chocolate cravings :)
  • lenore304
    lenore304 Posts: 17
    Options
    You shouldn't skip meals, especially breakfast. If your body goes into starvation mode it will start eating muscle and storing fat and that's obviously not what you want. I have a few tips starting with the obvious: Do a little bit of exercise every day to gain yourself some extra calories for the day...even if it's just vacuuming or cleaning up a bit.

    For breakfast you can put yourself together a low cal bowl of cereal by using fat free milk and a TON of fresh fruit (strawberries and blueberries are my favorite). As for the cereal itself I'll do 2/3 multi-grain cheerios to 1/3 ratio of a filling (diet) granole like Kashi GoLean Crunch. If you get a flavor like cinnamon it will add a lot of flavor to the mix and help you feel more full. If you can drink coffee black that will help stave off hunger for longer, also.

    Lunch I've found easier to handle by buying diet bread like the Sara Lee 45 calorie/slice wheat bread. Most bread is 100 calories a slice so you can have 2 for less than the price of 1. Also, 2 ounces of chicken breast lunchmeat is only like 60 calories.

    The lowest calorie easy dinner I've found is to get a fully cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, a nice 1 cup portion of steamed broccoli and some starch with it whether that be rice, potatoes, etc. Don't deprive yourself of the carbs or you will have no energy to face the next day!

    Hope that helps!
  • siobhanaudrey
    siobhanaudrey Posts: 3
    Options
    Hi!

    I'm only new on this but have been eating roughly this amount of calories for a while now and I find the best things to do is eat a lot more fruit, lean meats (turkey is amazing as a breast of turkey can be as little as 34 calories depending on the size) and reduce the amount of carbs I have. Reducing carbs has been the hardest, what helps me is making my meal more protein and fruit/veg oriented and buying the wraps/pittas/bagels from the Weight Watchers range as they are generally smaller portion sizes than the other products out there! Oh and drink a glass of water before each meal! It'll help fill you up and you'll soon realise you don't need as big a portion doing this.

    Hope this helps!

    Anyone is welcome to add me as I'm a newbie looking for some good tips and motivation!
  • tschaff04
    tschaff04 Posts: 296 Member
    Options
    You shouldn't skip meals, especially breakfast. If your body goes into starvation mode it will start eating muscle and storing fat and that's obviously not what you want. I have a few tips starting with the obvious: Do a little bit of exercise every day to gain yourself some extra calories for the day...even if it's just vacuuming or cleaning up a bit.

    For breakfast you can put yourself together a low cal bowl of cereal by using fat free milk and a TON of fresh fruit (strawberries and blueberries are my favorite). As for the cereal itself I'll do 2/3 multi-grain cheerios to 1/3 ratio of a filling (diet) granole like Kashi GoLean Crunch. If you get a flavor like cinnamon it will add a lot of flavor to the mix and help you feel more full. If you can drink coffee black that will help stave off hunger for longer, also.

    Lunch I've found easier to handle by buying diet bread like the Sara Lee 45 calorie/slice wheat bread. Most bread is 100 calories a slice so you can have 2 for less than the price of 1. Also, 2 ounces of chicken breast lunchmeat is only like 60 calories.

    The lowest calorie easy dinner I've found is to get a fully cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, a nice 1 cup portion of steamed broccoli and some starch with it whether that be rice, potatoes, etc. Don't deprive yourself of the carbs or you will have no energy to face the next day!

    Hope that helps!

    It's a myth that you need to eat breakfast. Your body isn't going to go into starvation mode because you chose to eat your first meal at noon rather than 6, 7, or 8am.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    Options
    Having the one normal meal and a couple of very low cal "meals" works better for me than having a bunch of small meals (the myth of the metabolism boost from frequent feedings was busted by science anyway).

    EDIT - Another MFP heresy on my part is that I do not "eat back" calories. I run 10-15 miles a week.

    You're exactly the same as me, and to be honest it must work for some of us. I've always had a small lunch (toast, cereal etc) and then a big dinner at night. It means if I go home for a weekend I don't have to say no to one of mums big family meals. And I always look forward to my big meal at the end of the night. I lose weight doing it too so it must work! I'll probably get shouted at on here for not having breakfast - but my digestive system doesn't usually wake up for a few hours in the morning, if I eat straight away I get ill. So I just wait til I'm hungry which is usually lunch time anyway!:P

    The studies done on 8:16 IF pretty much busted the myth that skipping breakfast is bad. People tell me "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" and I ask "Did you seriously just quote a McDonald's commercial as nutrition advice"? :bigsmile:
  • GallwayGrl
    GallwayGrl Posts: 60
    Options
    My diary is open and you are welcome to add me as a friend if you like. I'm usually right at or over my 1200 cals until I exercise. Then I struggle to eat half of my exercise calories
  • cherryd69
    cherryd69 Posts: 340
    Options
    My diary is open, just take into account the calories burned an your all good.

    I dont find it a struggle on my no exercise days to stay under the 1200... majority of healthy stuff are very low calorie from what i can see.....
  • footiechick82
    footiechick82 Posts: 1,203 Member
    Options
    When I see peeps asking about 1,200 calories I want to shake them... no offence.

    I did it in the beginning and got NO WHERE FAST!

    I checked my TDEE in February and have been eating according to that (1,850 instead of my 1,480) and I've lost 9lbs.

    If you want to do 1,200, go ahead, but check the forums for people where that little food has worked.

    Good luck!
  • DaniJeanine
    DaniJeanine Posts: 473 Member
    Options
    It's much easier to accomplish when you work out every day and earn a few back...I find that if I have a meal over 350 calories or too many snacks it can really add up to 1200 quick (well, I do 1250). So I'd say do at least 30 mins of cardio as much as you can and earn back some of those calories :)

Categories