Eating the "wrong" things but staying at 1200

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nicolacx
nicolacx Posts: 25
in Food and Nutrition
Just wondered peoples opinions on the above. I have put on 3 stones in the last 6 months through eating badly and not excising.

I have increased my exercising now and decreased my calories to 1200 but still not eating healthy - example

Breakfast - Bacon Roll
Lunch - microwave meal under 400 cals
Dinner - Salmon and veg
During the day 3 cups of tea with sugar.

This comes to just over 1200 but doesn't look very healthy to me - is eating this rather than less carbs more protein going to increase my weight loss - or does it not really matter as long as its in the 1200 range?
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Replies

  • Boofuls
    Boofuls Posts: 47 Member
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    Honestly that doesn't look that bad to me - is there any veg in the lunch? Could you swap the roll out for a couple of eggs at breakfast time? Or just add the eggs actually.

    For weightloss it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you are in a calorie deficit.
  • nicolacx
    nicolacx Posts: 25
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    thats good then

    so therotically i could have 2 mars bars duos = 1200 calories and I would still lose weight
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    thats good then

    so therotically i could have 2 mars bars duos = 1200 calories and I would still lose weight

    Yeah if you don't mind starving and having no energy, lol.
  • VelveteenArabian
    VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
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    thats good then

    so therotically i could have 2 mars bars duos = 1200 calories and I would still lose weight

    Just go on the Twinkie diet.
  • bmqbonnie
    bmqbonnie Posts: 836 Member
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    I'm a big fan of baby steps. You've already taken a couple huge steps by cutting back your calories and by getting more active. I wouldn't fret too much about the details at this point or you may overwhelm yourself.

    That said, I'm eating like 1340 a day and I would be STARVING if I wasn't filling up on a ton of veggies and lean protein and having lots of snacks.
  • nicolacx
    nicolacx Posts: 25
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    Lol that's what I was thinking on the Mars bars diet - ok then for now i will just eat what i want as long as i stay in the 1200 boundary - i'm tending to excercise every day and weigh everything - wouldn't it be nice if it all came off as easy as it went on lol xx
  • missrussia74
    missrussia74 Posts: 18
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    I am the same way. Sometimes i fell off track, and eat couple "bad" things. But as long as I eat no more than 1200 calories-I am still losing weight
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Lol that's what I was thinking on the Mars bars diet - ok then for now i will just eat what i want as long as i stay in the 1200 boundary - i'm tending to excercise every day and weigh everything - wouldn't it be nice if it all came off as easy as it went on lol xx

    You will lose weight on just 1200 cals, but keep in mind it is difficult to get the required micro and macro nutrients on anything less than 1200 cals (Fat, Protein, vitamins and minerals), meaning if you only eat 1200 of crap you will most likely be deficient on most of what your body needs, you can get away with it much easier at 2000 cals, but at 1200 you should be eating nutrient dense foods. Malnutrition and/or muscle loss are not fun to deal with.

    So for weight loss yes, health no.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    Don't forget to eat back your exercise calories.
  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
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    Are you also eating back the calories you burned exercising, or 1200 total calories a day? 1200 is pretty low for most of the population, so it's suggested you eat your exercise calories back (for a net of 1200, rather than a total 1200 a day) to keep your body healthy.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    thats good then

    so therotically i could have 2 mars bars duos = 1200 calories and I would still lose weight

    Yes.

    You might want to eat some more filling foods with nutrients, but it'll work.
  • NeverCatchYourBreath
    NeverCatchYourBreath Posts: 197 Member
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    Law of conservation of energy says calories in must be < calories out to lose weight. Period.
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
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    If you eat fewer calories than you burn during the day, you will lose weight. At 1200 you are almost certainly eating at a deficit, and possibly at a bigger one than you need to.

    For your health, you would want to be more concerned about hitting your macro goals (protein, fat, carbs) and your micro goals (fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc). It won't make the weight come off any faster, but would make the process more pleasant for you. That being said, if you need 23g of protein and would rather have a cheeseburger than a chicken breast and can afford it with your calories and fat, etc., there's no reason not to.
  • WhoHa42
    WhoHa42 Posts: 1,270 Member
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    You could eat 1200 calories of straight fat and lose weight but your body composition would be terrible and you'd feel terrible
  • mcibty
    mcibty Posts: 1,252 Member
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    I think the main misconception with this topic is that there's those screaming calories in versus calories out (which I subscribe to), and those screaming about clean eating, and the problem is that they're not mutually exclusive. Yeah, eat your Mars bars and lose weight, that will work. What you eat affects how you feel **and function**, not how your weight gets distributed.
  • lauraspberry
    lauraspberry Posts: 655 Member
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    I think the main misconception with this topic is that there's those screaming calories in versus calories out (which I subscribe to), and those screaming about clean eating, and the problem is that they're not mutually exclusive. Yeah, eat your Mars bars and lose weight, that will work. What you eat affects how you feel **and function**, not how your weight gets distributed.

    THIS :flowerforyou:

    "eating the "wrong" things but staying at 1200" is what I call as cheat day :smile:
    Most days I eat clean at 1200 + some exercise cals and it's been working out well for me :drinker:
  • tddevlin
    tddevlin Posts: 2 Member
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    All calories are not equal in the weight loss scheme. If you eat 250 cals of veg it won't result in weight gain in the same way 250cals of chocolate would. Because one is made up of protein and fibre and some carbs, the other is sugar and fat and will be stored as suce.
    I would maybe change the breakfast to a slice of grilled bacon with a couple of scrambled eggs and not have the bread. Heat up a meal but make it one you have previously cooked yourself if you can so you know what is in it. Your dinner sounds fine though, but you could add veggies to make sure you are really full if you need to
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Staying below caloric needs will allow you to lose weight.

    But making poor food choices will not make you a "healthier" lighter you......

    So if you can get in some veggies (and some fruit) I would encourage that.
  • kellybellyjellyn
    kellybellyjellyn Posts: 83
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    Yeah, Yeah you will still lose weight.

    When I first started counting calories I didn't pay much attention to the food I was eating, I lost weight but I was cranky and irritable and always tired !!!

    Since then I am still eating 1200 most days but I try fill it up with low calorie nutrient rich foods and I feel better than ever !!! SOOOO much more energy.

    Also when I was simply eating 1200 calories worth of food, I often binged because the food choices I made weren't filling enough!

    Now I hardly ever binge !!

    Good Luck ! x
  • midnight_dazzle
    midnight_dazzle Posts: 1
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    Is staying below the the 1200 goal line the net calories or total calories consumed in the day? I'm doing hour runs everyday which burn average 500 calories from my total caloric intake. So my net is usually around 600-700 calories a day, but in reality I actually consume around 1200 a day.

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