1200 calorie diet

I am allowed to have a little more than 1200 per day but once you start changing the things you eat you will be surprised how much you can really eat and only use 1200 calories just really watch what you are eating, lean proteins like chicken and fish are really good just watch portion sizes and also myself I have started buying pre portioned snacks this just works for me im sure everyone is different but it does cost a little more but in my busy life it really helps me keep my portions under control when Im not able to have a measuring cup or scale. I have switched from regular eggs to egg beaters that also helps cut a good bit of calories and do skim milk instead of 2% I have just made some adjustments and I am able to eat all day and not feel hungry:)

I'm doing 1500 now but I've done 1200 and I don't find doing 1200 cal much harder than doing 1500. I found that choosing high fiber, high protein foods and avoiding sugar helped me stay full. Beans were probably my favorite thing to eat since they kept me full the longest. Lean chicken as well. The easiest way I found to stay on track was to come up with a few 300 calorie meals and rotate those. At 300 cal a meal that left me 300 for snacks. For example oatmeal and 1 cup of blueberries for breakfast (very filling and high fiber), homemade chicken chilli for lunch, and fish and lentils with oven roasted veggies for dinner.

As far as cutting things out the only thing I'd try to cut out aside from sweets is bleached/refined starches. White breads/pasta/rice. If you switch to whole wheat/grain/unbleached you'll find they usually have a lot more fiber, and the fiber will help you feel full. I cut out corn for the most part as well.

I was doing 1200 and cut back to 1100 because I really could not get to the 1200 without being too full. Sounds crazy, but I have been eating a ton of vegetables, both raw and cooked. You would be amazed how few calories are in two cups of steamed broccoli! My typical day would be a veggie/fruit smoothie for breakfast. Lunch a big salad with protein (chicken or tuna) with balsamic light dressing. Dinner would be a lean protein like grilled chicken or sirloin with two cups of steamed broccoli. Throughout the day I would have two snacks, either fruit or an Atkins bar (snack bar was only 150 calories, meal replacement bar is 240 -260). I wold sometimes throw in some Lactaid or Fat Free milk. I have been doing this for about three months and I do every once in a while eat a dessert or something extra. And yes, if you add in exercise, you can adjust, but I did not do that because my caloric intake included me being sedentary, because I was recovering from back surgery so I had limitations. But I believe the weight loss has dramatically increased my recovery time and the walking has really helped to strengthen my back. In the beginning all I could do was walk 2 miles. I added about 1/2 a mile a week and now I can walk 4-5 miles no problem. I still walk at a slower pace then most because I am still recovering, but my therapist said he didn't care about the pace, just keep walking!!
Hope this helps.

I will go anywhere from 1000 - 1500 cal in a day. Some days I'm not very hungry and other days I'm more hungry. As long as I have an 800 - 1000 calorie deficit each day I'm good. If I eat 1500 I may have to work a little longer on the treadmill, but I'm totally ok with that. As a previous poster said once you start eating healthier foods it's easy to finish your day on 1200 calories a day without feeling too hungry. One of my sample days that is roughly around 1200 calories...

Breakfast:
Coffee with fat free creamer (this is one of my "I WILL NOT GIVE UP" items - I love my coffee and creamer)
Jack Links Jumbo Beef Jerky (beware this has a lot of sodium so I have to watch the rest of the days intake when I eat this, but great protein source)
1 Cup raspberries mixed in Yoplait Greek Yogurt (again Greek yogurt is great protein source)

Morning Snack:
String Cheese

Lunch:
1 whole sliced cucumber, 2 roma tomatoes sliced, 1 regular can of tuna with 1 TBSP Kraft Olive oil mayo. I put the tuna on top of the veggies.

Afternoon Snack:
Black Bean Chips (beanitos) and 1 cup mild salsa

Dinner: (yes I love to eat breakfast for dinner sometimes...LOL)
3 egg whites scrambled with chopped bell peppers and spinach with 1/8 cup shredded cheese (sometimes less) on top
1 cup grapes
1 cup 1% milk


Now I try to stay away from grains as I have tummy problems if I eat so much of it so that's why you don't see any breads or rice. I just try to stay away from it. Even those Black Bean Chips are something I do rarely. Also my dinners are usually a meat and veggie. With summer here now I do a lot of grilling.

I've been trying to meet 1,350 a day until my trainer recently calculated how much I need to lose weight (working out 6 days a week) and it's 1,690! Your body needs a lot more than you think. I'm 5'7", 150 lbs, 27% bf currently, and I need 1,690 to lose, not to maintain... I suggest you go get it calculated but just a friendly reminder that 1,200 is not a magic number... it's actually the number of kcals suggested for a sedentary 6-7 year old girl, or a moderately active 3 year old girl according to my nutrition text book which is based off of EER and activity level (0-30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity is sedentary, 30-60 is moderate, and active is anything over 60). I don't know where 1,200 came from but you should try calculating your BMR and never drop below that number. Even if it's just online with one of those calculators, it'll give you much better number. Just make sure you're eating whole/healthy foods still! Don't forget that whatever calories you steal from what your body won't allow your body to function at it's maximum! You might lose weight from 1200 but you won't be healthy over all. Yes, the exact number depends on the person (and I admit to being below 1200 some days myself but I try eating as much as I can!) but I personally don't agree with a 1200 goal for any adult.

*rant over*

I'm at 1200 but I'm vegan so that cuts out a lot of fatty, high cal foods out of my diet.

Usually breakfast consists of sprouted grain toast with homemade almond butter, or a meal replacement shake, or a bowl of berries and banana.

Lunch will be a combination of vegetables turned into soup with beans, or stir fry with brown rice, or tofu with veggies.

Dinner is most likely going to be almost all raw. A plate full of veggies, rolled up in a sprouted tortilla or salad loaded with veggies and tofu or beans.

I'm not a huge fan of creating elaborate dishes so keeping it simple allows me to eat whole foods getting the necessary nutrition while keeping cals on target. Eating this way also is great if you travel a lot. You can eat almost anywhere.

Eat foods that are high volume but low in calorie.
A 400 calorie salad with chicken & tons of vegetables is much more filling & satisfying than a 400 calorie cookie.
AVOID GRANOLA BARS. They are very tasty but they're gone in a few bites and quite unsatisfying for 200 calories.

I ate at 1200 for two weeks and I found it super hard to keep all my micro's. I also found it really affected my workouts. For me at least I didn't lose any weight those two weeks and after I bumped it up to 1400cal I started losing again (this I think is completely personal, and probably won't apply to everyone).

My only advice is to be super picky about what you're eating in order to get the right nutrition. Choose lean meats, eat egg whites instead of whole eggs, and skim milk instead of 2%. Everything will be about getting cal down while keeping the nutrients. Also, try using spices in your cooking to keep things interesting. Adding curry powder to baked sweet potato fries, just as an example.

Take care, and good luck!