1200 Calories... What are you eating?

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  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 4,994 Member
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    Feel free yo look at my diary.....
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    1200 Calories... What are you eating?

    ....1750 because 1200 is well below my BMR.

    Yep - this!

    My BMR is lower than yours (I'm old) ....but same principal. I need to keep all the muscle mass I can.
  • bgarganera
    bgarganera Posts: 22
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    I've never low as 1200 before, when I am in the lower caloric intake I have tons of veggies: (spinach, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli) basically green vegetables help provide more volume to my meals and help in satiating me

    Secondly, protein sources are pretty lean as fat macros can add quickly: egg whites (I suggest buying the egg white or egg beater bottle - they sell these at Walmart) lean chicken, lean ground beef 96%, etc.

    Then fill in the gaps with maybe 100 calorie snack packs, fruits, and drink LOTS OF WATER!!!!

    (Last suggestion, I also tried Intermittent Fasting when on lower calories, and it allows u to have "bigger" meals, just have them within a certain time period if your schedule allows for it)
    Good Luck!
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
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    1200 Calories... What are you eating?

    ....1750 because 1200 is well below my BMR.

    Yep - this!

    My BMR is lower than yours (I'm old) ....but same principal. I need to keep all the muscle mass I can.

    Well some of us have low BMR's. Mine is only 880 - 911
  • ashlando
    ashlando Posts: 125 Member
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    Greek yogurt and eggs are my best friend! They are low cal and super filling.

    Also, a lot of veggies, either steamed or roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. For protein, I eat a lot of eggs (did I mention that already) and roast chicken, pork chops, and broiled steaks.

    Rice cakes fulfill that need to crunch on something for me and when I want something sweet, I'll have an apple or banana with all-natural peanut butter (Trader Joe's is my fav!). Hope this helps!
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    For me, I find that the more whole foods I eat (e.g. whole eggs instead of beaters, chicken with skin instead of just the breast, no breads, no pastas, etc.) the easier it is for me to stay at 1200 without wanting to stab and eat anyone near me. ;-) Fruits, vegetables, all kinds of unprocessed meats (e.g. steak not sausage), avocados, whole eggs, raw almonds all keep me really satisfied. I have a harder time keeping to those calories if i'm eating breads, cheeses (even low fat), and other processed foods. Good luck! Oh, and by the way, other than roasting vegetables (which are awesome!), I rarely use my oven. Most things are most easily cooked in a saute pan on a burner.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    Breakfast

    2 cups coffee with 2T sugar free creamer 30 cals. Plus one of these:

    Whole grain oats, either old fashioned or steel cut. 1/2 cup uncooked, plus 1/2 cup frozen berries that I thaw and mash, then add the cooked oatmeal to
    2 whole egg, 1 white egg omelet, sometimes with bacon, always with tons of peppers, onions, mushrooms.
    A container of low fat Greek yogurt with nuts and/or fruit.
    Scrambled eggs and toast made with 35 calorie Healthy Life brand bread.
    A sandwich made from low cal English muffins, turkey sausage, egg.

    Lunch

    Sandwich made with 2 slices of Healthy Life bread, turkey, lots of lettuce, tomatoes and spicy, salt free mustard. 1 cup or more of raw veggies with low cal ranch dressing.
    For convenience, since I don't like the sodium, I sometimes have Lean Cuisine lunch meals.
    Homemade soups.
    Grilled chicken and salad.
    Grilled chicken with grilled veggies, brown rice.

    Dinner

    Any lean meat (we use fish, chicken, top sirloin) grilled, 4 oz. More if I had a heavy cardio workout. Tons of veggies, raw or grilled/sautéed.
    Whole grain pasta.
    Margherita pizza
    Kabobs
    Brown and wild rice

    Snacks

    Yogurt, nuts, fruits, raw veggies,cottage cheese, boiled eggs, sugar free jello with 2T whipped cream, hummus, guacamole.

    When I first started this, I ate a lot of boiled egg whites. One large has only 17 calories vs 70 for a whole egg, and its very filling.

    If I exercise a lot, I pretty much eat what I want but try to keep the portions under control. I always give myself a 'treat' on the weekend. That way I don't feel deprived.

    I also look at this as a lifestyle, not a diet or anything restrictive. Otherwise, Id crave stuff 24/7.
  • zeal26
    zeal26 Posts: 602 Member
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    I've very recently upped my calories to 1400 but here's an example of a day I age 1200 (this was a day I didn't have any exercise calories to eat back, usually I would have more than this)

    Breakfast:
    Potato waffle with 1 poached egg

    Morning snack:
    Toffee cereal bar
    Pot of sugar-free jelly/jello

    Lunch:
    Chicken sandwhich made with wholewheat bread
    10 grapes, 10 raspberries, 12 blueberries & 2 strawberries

    Afternoon snack:
    Clementine
    2 x Rivita Crackerbread

    DInner:
    3 cod fish fingers
    30 g garden peas
    1/2 carrot
    30g broccoli
    30g sweetcorn
    1 baked potato

    Dessert:
    50ml vanilla icecream
    3g chocolate chips
    1 teaspoon sprinkles

    Other snacks:
    2 Wheat Biscuits with 120ml fat-free milk
    2 x Rivita Crackerbread
  • healthykaitlin
    healthykaitlin Posts: 91 Member
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    I eat pretty low carb 5 days/week, and that helps keep under 1200 (sometimes I do go over, usually no higher than 1500). I eat A LOT of salmon, eggs, veggies, and this week I started having a protein shake in the morning (I got the recipe base from a website dashing dish I think? It has Designer Whey, cottage cheese, ice, water, and then flavorings - it's satisfying and DELISH). 1200 seemed REALLY limiting at first, since I was probably at around 2000 DAILY before I tightened to 1200 several months ago, but what I realized is that, if I were to eat a pasta dish each day or something with a lot of bread, those calories I could consume fast - veggies, seafood, chicken, etc. still leave me with the occasional leeway for a margarita or two :)
  • mrsl90
    mrsl90 Posts: 31
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    Breakfast: a sachet of my Special K porridge made with skimmed milk or water
    Lunch: salad with fat free cottage cheese, or a slice of ham, or portion of tinned mackerel , a potion of fat free yoghurt and a portion of strawberries or blueberries
    Dinner: chicken with lots of carb free veggies and small portion of sweet potatoe or chicken or fresh tuna stir fry with small portion of rice or noodles
    Snack: banana or skinny popcorn
    Hope this helps
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    This is what I ate yesterday

    Breakfast - small bowl of dried fruit compote, wholewheat bread, bit of butter and marmalade
    Lunch - Salad I made with farro, preserved lemons, celery, parsley, olive oil, cannellini beans and a bit of cheese (it was lurking in the back of the fridge.. gross, I know)
    Dinner - egg fried rice (cooked rice with a tsp olive oil, 1/3 egg), with steamed pak choi, bell peppers, capers, a couple of anchovies and toasted pine nuts, 1/2 an apple

    Snacks - 1/2 cup of skim milk (usually in tea and coffee) and a small glass of fizz in the evening

    This probably isn't exactly 1200 calories, but I think I'm usually reasonable at guessing. The calories are usually evenly spaced throughout the day, I usually cook pretty much everything (I work from home so I can) and I don't usually feel hungry.
  • mermaid00
    mermaid00 Posts: 8 Member
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    I've been averaging between 1200-1400 so far.
    I make a batch of steel cut oats in the crock pot and have it for breakfast over a few days.

    1/4 steel cut oats
    1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
    1/2 banana
    2 tbsp half & half for my coffee (unsweetened)

    For lunch:
    tofu "scramble" made with 4 oz. firm tofu
    3 oz. yellow potato
    1 c mushrooms
    1 small roma tomato
    cooked in 1 tsp organic coconut oil

    Or maybe it's steamed tofu (4 oz) with a veggie (broccoli, asparagus) served over shirataki noodles or steamed 1/2 c brown rice or farro. Seasoned with soy sauce or ponzu sauce.

    Some days it's gardein veggie "chickn" tenders tucked into 2 small corn tortillas with a bit of non-dairy cheese shreds, pico de gallo, and 1/4 sliced avocado

    Dinner -

    Grilled chicken and veggies including whatever's on sale that week - eggplant slices, zucchini, slices of yellow or sweet potato (trying to keep the potato under 3 oz). I might use 1 tsp of coconut oil in the grill pan to keep everything from sticking.
    Serve with a homemade yogurt sauce, tikka masala sauce, whatever I'm in the mood for. Try to keep the "sauce" under or around 100 calories.

    Some days i might do a gluten free pasta with sauteed shrimp and tomatoes, and have a bit of greek yogurt with fruit for dessert.

    I also allow for a 6 oz glass of red wine or small cocktail (under 3 oz.) a few days a week.

    I've tried to cut back on refined carbs like bread, sugar, and wheat pasta. I also eat more on the vegetarian side of the fence than the carnivore side.

    I'm only 2 weeks into this and I'm finding it a lot easier to track my calories this time around.
  • SephiraRose
    SephiraRose Posts: 775 Member
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    bump for ideas
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
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    My diet didn't change TOO much, I just eat less of it. Minus the bread and butter and juice. Lots of water.

    Breakfast: usually 2 eggs, a banana, cup of tea with milk & Splenda.
    Lunch: Chicken kebab, small amount of rice (maybe 4 Tbsp), 1 Tbsp hummus, 1 slice pita bread, small Mediterranean salad.
    Dinner: Lightly seasoned tilapia or some other type of fish, more tea. Maybe some veggies.
    Snacks: caramel mini rice cakes, lite popcorn, Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries. (Not all of those, just some.)

    If I want something sweet like a cupcake, or something heavy like a big, juicy burger, I'll eat it. I'll just exercise more. I eat a little something every 3 hours. I'm not aiming to lose a lot of weight, just a few pounds.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    How do people eating 1200 calories reach an optimal protein and fat minimum? (I struggle sometimes and I have 900 more calories to work with.)

    ETA: Where optimal is .8-1g/#BW for protein and .35g/#LBM for fat.
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
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    How do people eating 1200 calories reach an optimal protein and fat minimum? (I struggle sometimes and I have 900 more calories to work with.)

    ETA: Where optimal is .8-1g/#BW for protein and .35g/#LBM for fat.

    I get plenty of protein with fish and seafood. I'm usually well under my fat minimum unless I cook with olive oil, in which case I don't worry about it.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    How do people eating 1200 calories reach an optimal protein and fat minimum? (I struggle sometimes and I have 900 more calories to work with.)

    ETA: Where optimal is .8-1g/#BW for protein and .35g/#LBM for fat.

    I get plenty of protein with fish and seafood. I'm usually well under my fat minimum unless I cook with olive oil, in which case I don't worry about it.

    Being "well under [your] fat minimum" is not a good thing though.
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
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    I understand. Like I said, I don't deprive myself of heavy foods like cheeseburgers or desserts or whatever my little heart desires. The days that I go well OVER my fat requirements make up for the days when I'm well under. It all evens out to be "just right." :happy: Like today I had a Turkey Club (with turkey bacon, I don't eat pork). I'm already over my fat requirements for the day and I haven't even had dinner or snacks yet. nom nom nom...
  • isk8nbessy
    isk8nbessy Posts: 20 Member
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    This has been unbelievably helpful! Thank you all for taking the time to help! you have made it seem like it is not such a big mountain to climb and I thought I would get bored eating the same things over and over but you all have provided such different ideas that has really made me believe I can do this! A huge thanks!!! :)
  • ThriceBlessed
    ThriceBlessed Posts: 499 Member
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    How do people eating 1200 calories reach an optimal protein and fat minimum? (I struggle sometimes and I have 900 more calories to work with.)

    ETA: Where optimal is .8-1g/#BW for protein and .35g/#LBM for fat.

    I have wondered the same thing. I don't try to get 1 gram of protein per pound of my current bodyweight though, I aim for 0.8-1 gram per pound of LBM... so around 100-124 grams per day, and I find it hard to do eating much more than 1200!

    Of course, it might be different if you are netting 1200, you could feasibly burn 500 cal in exercise, which would let you eat 1700 and still net 1200, and that would be a little more feasible to get the protein.

    I've checked out a few diaries though, and most of the people who actually EAT 1200-1400 only get around 60 grams of protein on a good day, as low as 20 on a bad day. Maybe its enough for them, but not for me!

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