Help maintaining 1200 calorie intake

glopez_dance · October 2010

Hello

I am new to the site (joined last week) and am having trouble sticking to my assigned 1200 calorie plan. I seem to almost always go over the allotted calories unless its one of my work out days when I end up eating back my burned calories.

I am 127 wanting to loose between 7-9lbs (I am currently in my healthy weight range and still would be at 118-120) My problem is I seem to know how to eat to maintain my weight but apparently not to loose weight.

I don’t eat “junk” and work out regularly. A normal day for me would be… Breakfast: oatmeal & coffee (or only coffee in todays case) Lunch: Quiznos choose 2 deal (turkey club bullet & chicken soup) Dinner: sandwhich & a can of veggies. ATLEAST 8 cups of water & snacks consist of apples (when I do have them) And I take spin class about 3 times a week.

Does anyone out there have a better eating plan that would be easy enough to duplicate for someone on the go. I would really appreciate any feed back!

sabes2631 · October 2010

I would take out the quiznos and chicken soup because of the sodium levels.
At spin you burn at least 500 calories per class - i wonder if you are eating enough?
Also, the sandwiches and oatmeal make up for alot of carbs - try frontloading yourself with more protiens, will help you stay full longer...
cottage cheese with a single serve apple sauce stirred in
cheese stick with your apple
egg white omelette
chicken or fish with a veggie instead of a sandwich at night.

your post sounded like mine used to - i added in protein - seems to help.
good luck

Bellemadame16 · October 2010

Based on your activity level, the problem may be that 1200 is simply too few for your body to survive on. Remember if your body is starving it will slow your metabolism so you can live longer with less food (im sure you've heard that before). I would try to increase intake by 100 or 200 calories.

janderson31 · October 2010

How are your portion sizes? Maybe for lunch just eat the sandwich and no soup? Leave out things like mayo and cheese. I am also on a 1200 plan. If you want to eat more maybe just go on a half hour walk on days that you don't have your spin class. That's what I do. Hope that helps.

amscobra · October 2010

I suggest eating a more filling breakfast since it is the most important meal of the day and I HIGHLY suggest making a lunch and taking it with you. You may be eating soup and turkey but that doesn't mean everything in it is low calorie. The bread alone is WOWSA. Try to eat 6 small meals rather than 3 major ones. This has helped a lot of people, and keep up with the exercise.

kate205gti · October 2010

i have "simply porridge" for breakfast some days thats only 145cals including the milk, i then have a rice cake (38 cals) and some almonds (48 cals) as snacks and that ties me over nicely till lunch

leaving 400 cals for lunch and 400 cals for dinner and 170 cals for some afternoon munchies and/or coffee

and on the days i exercise i eat more snacks!

bpayne78 · October 2010

I can't say too much about staying with 1200 cals as I'm having trouble too (I'm having medical issues that aren't helping matters). What I DO know is that the closer you are to your goal the harder it is to take it off. Also, in my opinion, coffee isn't enough for breakfast. If you're "eating on the run" something like a "breakfast cookie" or a nutrition bar like Luna would be a better choice with you're morning coffee. You could even sub out the coffee and food for a smoothie with some protein in it.

All I can say is that since you are aiming at less than 10 lb loss, it's going to be difficult. Try to keep away from sodium as much as possible as that could add to the scale in water weight and just keep plugging at it. You'll get there eventually. BUT you may also have to face the fact that maybe your body is happy at that weight......then you might consider working on toning and muscle building as that will reduce inches but no necessarily weight.

Hope this helps some and Good Luck! :flowerforyou:

fitterpam · October 2010

Agree with Sabes. Definately missing enough protein and I would also up the veggie content. Dump the Quiznos. The sodium probably isn't doing too much for you and it's high on the calories for what you're allotted.

I'm at 1241 and generally stick to it (although I do like to do some zig zagging too). I don't find that I'm overly hungry at night. What my meal plan should look like (although I haven't quite gotten back onto it yet):

Breakfast: Oatmeal or Cereal, Tea, Almonds & Apple
Lunch: 2 cups bagged salad with grilled chicken on top with homemade dressing
Snack: Veggies (carrots today, broccoli ready to go for tomorrow) & Yogurt
Dinner: 3 oz. Meat with 1/2 cup Starch & Two Veggies (1 cup each)
"Dessert": Peanut Butter & Crackers (I only have dessert if I'm still hungry).

Also, don't worry about going over by 100 or so calories. If you were to do that every day, you'd probably lose just shy of whatever goal you set (it would be about 0.8 pounds a week and it would be more consistent than not).

emersoam · October 2010

I'm also at the 1,200 calorie level, and it is VERY HARD to meet. When you think about it, it's not really that many calories!! I'm typically fine on days I workout (which the key to it all, of course), but on "rest days" (which the body NEEDS) I do go over. That's OKAY! Just don't go crazy and eat junk that day.

Remember that on rest days, it is important to "refuel" your body, so it can repair itself and restore energy!

carbonboy · October 2010

Eat more. Seriously...the easiest way to look at is like this. If you're an "average" woman, with an average activity level, you need roughly 1800 calories/day to stay alive. If you consume 1500 per day, that gives you a deficit of 300. Then, find a way to workout everyday burning about 400 calories each workout. That's a total daily deficit of about 700 calores. 700 X 7 days a week, you would be losing about 1.5 pounds a week. Of those 1500 calories a day, try eating more protein. You should be consuming about .7 - .9 grams of protein per pound of body weight. For you that would be approximately 400 calories from protein. Then add in about 20% (300 calories) from healthy fats, and fill in the balance with carbs. Protein is the most filling of the three, so you could even increase that proportion and eat less carbs, but try to keep the fat around 20% generally speaking. This is all just general guidance though. But really, more protein will keep you feeling fuller, longer.

glopez_dance · October 2010

Thanks for the replies/suggestions everyone. I have heard that maybe Im NOT eating enough & that’s why my body refuses to shake the weight. While this may be the case for some people I really don’t think its mine. Especially when I go over my carbs/sodium limits. I think I agree with “sabes”

My problem is eating healthier things when Im always on the go (I work full time, go to school full time, am single mom to a very active 6yr old & I volunteer) Agree with “amscobra” on packing lunch. Wonder if I could install a mini fridge in my car

glopez_dance · October 2010

“Fitterpam” I heart you. I think your meal plan is doable for me. Im writing down items on my grocery list right now. Why didn’t I think of bagged salad before??

txchic_73 · October 2010

I am kind of in the same boat as you are. I can maintain my weight really well, but I have a problem with losing these last 20 lbs! I eat well, on most days, but do not work out regularly. I am trying to work on that so that maybe I will see more results. It is hard to fit it in everyday but I am working on it. Other than exercise I am not sure what else I can do to lose mine. Let me know if you have any advice on how to change eating habits to help you in your journey!

FavDaughter1 · October 2010

Below is a day from my food diary that totaled 1213 calories (I usually do about 1400-1500). I can only speak from my personal experience, but I used to eat out ALOT, which means processed foods. When I started MFP, I started eating "cleaner" and preparing as much of my own food as possible, but for lunch it's still Lean Cuisines, etc. I also tend to eat a larger breakfast, a decent lunch, and a smaller dinner. On the day below, I didn't intend to go under my calorie goal, it's just what I happened to eat that day, and I wan't hungry in between meals. I do usually have 2 snacks a day. Best of luck you in hitting your goal!

Breakfast Calories Carbs Fat Protein
Nature's Own - 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Rounds, 1 roll 100 20 1 5
Jimmy Dean - Turkey Sausage Links (Fully Cooked), 2 Cooked Links 80 1 5 9
Coffee - Brewed from grounds, 1 cup (8 fl oz) 2 0 0 0
Coffeemate - Peppermint Mocha Creamer, 2 tbsp 70 10 3 0
252 31 9 14

Lunch
Yoplait - Greek 2x Blueberry Yogurt, 6 oz 130 19 0 12
Ethnic Gourmet - Chicken Tikka Masala, 1 package (283 g) 260 32 6 19
Mangos - Raw, 1.5 cup, sliced 161 42 1 1
551 93 7 32

Dinner
H-E-B - All Natural Poblano Cheddar Chicken Sausage, 1 Link 170 4 10 15
Bird's Eye Steamfresh Singles - Fresh Frozen Vegetables - Super Sweet Corn, 1 single bag 80 14 1 3
250 18 11 18

Snacks
Planter's Nut-Rition - Antioxidant Mix (Almonds, Banana, Peaches, Blueberry, Cran), 1/4 cup 160 15 11 4

Totals 1,213 157 38 68

fitterpam · October 2010

Oh - also, try upping your water if you do go over on the sodium (for me, i consider going over being more than 1500mg sodium - tight, but it works for me). It'll make sure the water weight doesn't stick.

brityn · October 2010

Hey there, I feel your dilema. I'm 5'6" and currently at 135 lbs. I would love to get down to 125, but I think 130 is more reasonable. When I started on MPF I was eating betweent 1800-2000 cals a day. I'm now down between 1200-1500 depending on exercise. Friend me and check out my food diary. You might get some good ideas. I love to cook and work at a restaurant so I have a pretty good range of foods thoughout my week. If you have any questions just let me know!

Help maintaining 1200 calorie intake

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