1200 calorie meal plans

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mfrog7
mfrog7 Posts: 7
in Food and Nutrition
Anything is appreciated. :)
«1

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  • emirror
    emirror Posts: 842 Member
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    Feel free to see my diary for the past 3-4 weeks. If you exercise, you can eat those exercise calories back.
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    before you go on a 1200 calorie meal plan. why dont you start eating on a deficit. I would like to share some protocols where you can stick to and adopt it to your lifestyle. 1200 cals may be for you but it all depends. you may be setting yourself up on a rubber band effect and lose control on eating.

    use this for reference only

    calculate your BMI and find out your normal weight range. you can do that here...
    http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

    once you know your target weight, now you can calculate your BMR. you can do that here....
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    next - update your diet profile on MFP.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    - type in current weight
    - adjust goal weight
    - adjust activities

    - adjust goal (i.e lose 1lb/week)

    for example if you have a 2400 calories suggested by MFP, eat 100-500calories deficit 5x/week and stay within your cals on weekend or feast.

    have mini goals. for example i want to lose 15lbs, once you reach that, set another goal and adjust MFP.
    for the next 6months, stay away from processed foods and just eat whole foods either it came from a tree, the ground or an animal/fish.
    stay away from soda and fruit juice drinks. drink water only, if you want flavor , squeeze a lemon.

    hope this helps on your weight loss journey
  • Dawson_4
    Dawson_4 Posts: 9
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    Honestly, from my experience diets that contain this little of calories should not even be considered. You are no way meeting your daily needs of your macro and micro nutrients. Having a diet with this low of calories will leave you feeling tired, week and lethargic with barely enough energy to get through your day. It is also not very realistic because no one can stick to a diet that aggressive the rest of their life. You need to make a lifestyle eating plan that is maintainable and sustainable because being healthy is not about totally restricting yourself from everything, it's about making better choices day by day and by being consciously aware of what your putting in your body. It's also not going to happen overnight but with some determination and will power, it can be done!
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    Honestly, from my experience diets that contain this little of calories should not even be considered. You are no way meeting your daily needs of your macro and micro nutrients. Having a diet with this low of calories will leave you feeling tired, week and lethargic with barely enough energy to get through your day. It is also not very realistic because no one can stick to a diet that aggressive the rest of their life. You need to make a lifestyle eating plan that is maintainable and sustainable because being healthy is not about totally restricting yourself from everything, it's about making better choices day by day and by being consciously aware of what your putting in your body. It's also not going to happen overnight but with some determination and will power, it can be done!

    very wise there young grasshopper...very wise!
    2 thumbs up!
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    Honestly, from my experience diets that contain this little of calories should not even be considered. You are no way meeting your daily needs of your macro and micro nutrients. Having a diet with this low of calories will leave you feeling tired, week and lethargic with barely enough energy to get through your day. It is also not very realistic because no one can stick to a diet that aggressive the rest of their life. You need to make a lifestyle eating plan that is maintainable and sustainable because being healthy is not about totally restricting yourself from everything, it's about making better choices day by day and by being consciously aware of what your putting in your body. It's also not going to happen overnight but with some determination and will power, it can be done!

    Wow very impressed this is coming from an 18 year old! Took me 47 years to figure it out and many yo-yo diets of all kinds.

    The previous post above was also very good. Please follow the advice.
  • Dawson_4
    Dawson_4 Posts: 9
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    Thanks guys, literally just joined this site, this was my first post! Haha just trying to save some people from going through all those crash diets!
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    not to shaby there too mockchoc!

    keep motivating Dawson_4!... good job!
  • coppertop_4
    coppertop_4 Posts: 258 Member
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    MFP recommends 1200 to all women because of one small thing....
    The option to lose 2lbs a week. If you select it and are sedentary.... that's the goal it gives women.
    Then if you don't exercise... that's all you get. So without the "education" the women who chose those two things
    are set to 1200 a day.
  • jigsaw_me
    jigsaw_me Posts: 616 Member
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    MFP recommends 1200 to all women because of one small thing....
    The option to lose 2lbs a week. If you select it and are sedentary.... that's the goal it gives women.
    Then if you don't exercise... that's all you get. So without the "education" the women who chose those two things
    are set to 1200 a day.

    Um, no .. I chose that setting and got over 1200 ...
  • huv123
    huv123 Posts: 54 Member
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    I have no problem with sticking to 1200 calories during the weekdays. I eat whole eggs for breakfast with either low-calorie cheese or vegetarian sausage, for lunch I eat low-calorie grilled vegetables with either pasta or couscous or quinoa, and for dinner I have smoked chicken, potato salad (with low-fat mayo dressing) and garden salad (lemon juice, salt dressing). Snacks are either junk food if I exercise or fresh fruit. Sometimes I will also have frozen vegetables stir fried with oil spray, garlic, onion powder and paprika - it's very tasty for less than 100 extra calories. That's more than enough for me, especially when I am so busy - except for maybe a little more calcium. It's only when I get to the weekend that I have more of an issue because I tend to eat out and can't always control what I am eating. I definitely hit my fat and protein macros. I need to retrain myself to recognise what full feels like (not the nauseated feeling I used to have from overeating).
  • lioooba
    lioooba Posts: 105 Member
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    eat on a deficit of max 500kcal, so 1200kcal a day is not really appropriate and healthy.
    You can go lower then that for about 2weeks, but then your metabolism will slow down and you'll hit a plateau. fun.
  • erin8389
    erin8389 Posts: 16 Member
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    right on :) I dont know why so many people are getting up in everyones face when they say they want to eat 1200. this post wasnt asking for your opinion about how much she should eat it was to get meal ideas.

    OP: my favorite snack is peanut butter and carrot sticks very satisfying and only 90 calories :)
  • lioooba
    lioooba Posts: 105 Member
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    @erin8389 because we care
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    @erin8389 because we care

    YES !!!
  • jessicah36
    jessicah36 Posts: 11
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    I have

    breakfast - hard boiled egg, banana, almonds

    snack - carrot, corn thins with peanut butter

    lunch - greek yoghurt, canned tuna

    snack - air popped popcorn, pear

    dinner - salmon wrap with lettuce tomato

    snack - apple
  • huv123
    huv123 Posts: 54 Member
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    If you are short, generally inactive and female then 1200 really isn't that extreme.
  • donnymom
    donnymom Posts: 32 Member
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    I'm set for 1200 calories a day and find it extremely hard to stay within that range. I usually go over, but don't get too upset because it is still lower than what I was eating before I started and still makes me accountable.
  • saradewhurst
    saradewhurst Posts: 2
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    It's all about portion size....

    Reduce your fat intake

    Bulk out meals with non-starchy vegetables

    For a quick fix try buying weight watchers frozen meals and adding a portion of salad. If you ate one for lunch and dinner every day for a week with only a bowl of cereal and maybe an apple as a snack, you would lose a pleasing amount of weight and train your stomach to accept smaller portions.
  • gloriaeffe
    gloriaeffe Posts: 75 Member
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    I'm very small (154cm for 49Kg) and I'm set at 1200Kcal/day - which is my BMR.
    I exercise a lot and always eat back those calories.
    I don't find it difficult at all to keep within that limit, I actually feel like I'm always eating. Healthy and in small portions but continuously.

    An average day for me is:

    BREAKFAST
    - oatmeal with 15g oats, 1tsp chia, 1tsp flaxseed meal, some fruit, 100ml almond milk, 85g chobani
    - egg white muffin = 1 egg white, 20g ham, 5g baby spinach, 1 cherry tomato

    AM SNACK
    - 1 apple
    - 50g chicken breast slices (deli type)

    LUNCH
    - carrot, tomatoes, cucumber + 100g turkey breast
    - 1 wholemeal cracker
    - 1 fruit

    PM SNACK
    - protein shake OR protein bar OR cottage cheese + fruit
    - green tea

    DINNER
    - 100g chicken or salmon or prawns... + lots of veggies
    - 1 or 2 wholemeal cracker

    AFTER DINNER
    - 85g chobani + frozen bluberries + 1tsp honey if I really need something sweet

    THROUGHOUT THE DAY
    - almonds
    - a bit of fruit (fresh, frozen or dried)
    - green tea or almond milk

    EXERCISE
    - typically around 60min. of vigorous activity, alternating cardio (running / spinning / HIIT / boxing) and strength (conditioning, circuit)
    - at least 3.5Km walk every day
    - I normally burn around 400-500 calories from exercise
  • gypsyone96
    gypsyone96 Posts: 61 Member
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    it really just depends on your weight and height

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