1200 Calorie People... How do you do it and stick with it?

Protein, protein, protein. If I include Detour or Pure Protein bar for breakfast, chicken and vegetable for lunch, a skinny steamer (milk) for a snack or a Crystal Farms light string cheese, I am able to reel in my hunger. Although I love carbs and include them in my diet as well, they leave me stranded with respect to hunger.

For me, 1200 calories can be a meal but most of the people I know who eat low calories eat a ton of veggies and low calorie snacks.

haha THIS. If I really wanted to eat low cal, it would be fruits and veggies all day. 3 oz of lean meat per serving, not so many nuts and nut butters, egg whites only, and fat free errythang.

Keep the activity light so you don't pass out.

I am up higher in calroes now, but I did do 1200 cals for about 6 weeks or so back in March. I found the best way to stick to it was to find low calorie recipies that had lots of veggies and proteins. The protein really does make you feel fuller longer. Breakfast was often egg white omelets or greek yogurt with a lower calorie fruit like strawberries or blueberries. I would often have a slice of 50 cal bread too. For lunch, salads with lower calorie dressing and chicken or tuna for protein were good. Or wraps with high fiber/low card tortillas. For dinner I ate a lot of chicken cutlets, turkey cutlets, and shrimp. Lots and lots of steamed veggies, and just a little carb (1/2 of some sort of grain - brown rice, couscous, etc). For snacks I would have one veggie snack (carrots, bell peppers, carrots, etc) and a fruit (apple or orange).

The number one key to sticking to 1200 calories and being happy about it - portion size!!! Weigh and measure your food and stick to an actual serving of food. If you are still hungry, get more vegetables!

Replace Rice and Pasta with veggies and candy and cookie with fruits and protein bars and low cal yogurt or a welch's fruit snack here and there you'd be surprised how easy 1,200 calories really is.

I eat lots of protein and relatively low carb. It fills me up and I have no trouble staying at or below 1200.

Breakfast, a banana or a cereal bar about 9am, lunch at 1pm might be tuna salad, seasoned rice with salad, or pasta. Then dinner at 6.30/7pm might be Chicken and veg, a healthy curry or whatever i fancy really! i usually have enough left for pudding or a sweet treat in the evening. I don't snack, and i don't feel i need to. If i do need a snack i will have snackajacks rice cakes or a piece of fruit.

oh and forgot to mention, my key is portion size. i eat slowly and stop when i am full

Cut down on white carbs and eat protein and fibre. Less calories, more satiety.

Green Tea ...hot or cold in between meals helps. Also it took....takes awhile to work through those times of hunger. It helps me to focus on calorie dense foods high in nutrients and some fat. Nuts....lean meat....fish.....quinoa......extra virgin olive oil. Look up different eating plans .....not sure if you exercise but short bursts of intense cardio vs long steady state cardio has helped curb the hunger. Working out smarter not longer... Hope some of these suggestions help. : ) I focus on eating for nutrition. Took me awhile to tap into that mindset but 30 lbs less of me....that focus has worked.

I eat more than 1200 calories a day, but only so I could have more crunchy (whole wheat crackers or organic tortilla chips) or sweet things (think berries and whipped cream) when I want them. If I had to stay at or under 1200 I would avoid empty food that is high in sugar and/or other simple carbs with nothing to keep you full long term. I find protein and high fiber foods to be the most filling and help me stay on track. I love eating tons of veggies and fruit!!

I plan out my day in advance and stick with it. Usually have a ton of protein.

I eat lots of protein and relatively low carb. It fills me up and I have no trouble staying at or below 1200.

^this, I eat my exercise calories back though. I also prefer to break it up into 300c for breakie, 400 for lunch, and 500 for dinner. I pass on the snacks. I try and make things I enjoy so I am more satisfied too.

Hi,

Seriously. It's easier now that I weigh less but I don't stick to 1200 calories everyday. If you workout i.e. do some cardio you can increase the amount you eat. I ride my stationary bike sometimes for an hour (that adds about 400 calories) to my diet.

Your body doesn't isn't on 1200 calories a day schedule. You are setting that limit and that is an estimated limit at that. If you overeat a couple hundred calories one day you can make it up the next. Make sure the calories you eat are from high quality foods no high sodium, starchy white flour or greasy fatty food. Fats in food is not your enemy. Avocados, olive oil and other fats are satiating and good for you too.

Green coffee and or the raspberry ketones tablets worked wonders for me. Definitely helped curbed my appetite. Make sure you check out Dr. OZ show website on how to take them and read the labels because not all brands meet the criteria he suggests.

Good luck :-)

Lots of water. Lots of veggies. Lots of fruit. Plenty of protein.

Hey,

Pick your favourite meal of the day - mine is dinner, and try to leave about 600 calories for that meal.

I'm not a morning person so I tend to force feed myself a yoghurt ( http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=268805156 ) before I dash for the train. I drink a lot, whether its tea, diet coke or just water. Lunch is soup (http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=258147391) or a really low calorie sandwich (http://www.urbaneat.co.uk/products/everyday-sandwiches-wraps/gammon-ham-tomato-salad)

Which leaves me half my allowance for dinner, which usually consists of protein and salad or roast veg. Prawns are fantastic.

You really have to plan ahead - I like to do my grocery shopping after some exercise, that way I'm still buzzing and don't really want the good stuff (ie chocolate or CAKE)

Also, if I get a craving for something yummy after dinner I eat yoomoo frozen yoghurt ( http://www.yoomoo.com/the-yoomoo-famooly/devilmoo-home/ ). They average about 150 calories a pot and man are they worth it.

It involves a lot of packet reading and maths but you can do it

Exercise is once a day for twenty minutes cardio based - do it in the morning, you aren't going to want to do it after work! Rise and grind!

What I did was cut out the junk food, white bread, white rice, and pasta altogether and found a salad dressing I love to replace it with. It was a HUGE eye opener when I had some mega stuff oreo's once and saw the numbers in MFP app. 4 cookies was 800+ freaking calories. Needless to say I threw out the rest of the package and wasted the money.

If I want a cookie I'll have one regular chips ahoy cookie to kill the sweet tooth craving. If I want something salty I'll have a few chips. I'm not as strict as some but it's the only way I can stick to it.

Plus replacing carbs with protein will give you the same calorie count but protein digests much slower so you wont feel as hungry, and therefore eat less.