need ideas for 1200 calories

I'm at 1200/day!

Here's what I had today:

Breakfast : 305
coffee
luna bar

lunch : 285
Salad with red leaf lettuce, tomato, mushroom, cucumber, 2 table spoons of lite balsamic

Snacks:
cottage cheese and blueberries 151
brownie 128

Dinner : 278
Same salad except with a can of tuna and a little bit of shredded mozzarella

I burned 202 doing cardio (I don't count weight training) so I have 330 calories to look forward to for desert! Yum! Stoneyfield organic frozen yogurt, 100 calories for a half cup.

i'm on 1200 net calories per day.

today for breakfast i had 1/3 cup oats made with 2/3 cup non-fat milk (i hold a little of the milk back to put on the oatmeal when it's hot), cinnamon and sweetened with stevia. unsweetened oats are good for you. they're a clean complex carb with almost no fat but fiber to help keep you feeling full. they're also cheap.

fage 0% non-fat yogurt is something i use a lot. it's high in protein, fat free and has few carbs. i add newman's light italian plus tons of dill and pepper and eat it as a dip. i mix it 2 parts yogurt to 1 part avocado, add lots of dill, lemon juice, salt substitute (salt will work) and pepper or with salsa. then eat with baked or garden of eatin organic blue corn tortilla chips. i also just eat it as yogurt, and make salad dressings with it. sometimes i eat 3 ounces as a protein boost between meals.

a 5.3 ounce (before baking) potato is less than 170 calories, high in carbs, fiber and vitamin c. then a tablespoon of balade light butter and 2 or 3 Tb of daisy light sour cream, top with pepper and enjoy.

honestly you can eat any food you want, just control the amounts by weighing your servings. 1 serving of pasta is 200 calories. you can pour sauce on it, light sour cream with all sorts of spices or just add a teaspoon of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of parmesean and toss. you can make a serving of rice for 200 calories, then mix in steamed veggies with the sauce of your choice. or barley makes a delish cold salad with some chopped celery and other veggies, then drizzle with a light creamy dressing.

i'm a vegetarian, so some of what i eat may not work for you, but there's always a slice of tasty sour dough bread (or in my case half a slice) with trader joe's light mayo plus a slice of sargento reduced fat swiss.

galeo's ginger wasabe dressing is delish, and is good on a wide variety of foods to liven them up. it's lower in sodium and fat than most dressings, and it's my fave.

i eat a single serving of archer farms lower salt potato chips or rice thins (1 weighed ounce) when i'm out or in a rush, along with some yogurt or cheese or dip.

and check out the 40 calorie brownies in the recipe section of MFP! yum! i'm going to try and add protein powder for more protein, but the greek yogurt does make it pretty decent if you have a couple servings.

I am also on 1200 calories. I do some exercise every day but don't often burn many calories. Anyway my diary is public so you can see what I eat and maybe get some ideas

No idea, but good luck. 1200 calories a day would make me mad with hunger.

I have become a huge fan of lettuce wraps. There are tons of recipes online for asian lettuce wraps made with ground turkey, or "taco" lettuce wraps made with shredded chicken and taco toppings. Taking away the tortilla or rice or whatever carb usually goes with the meal really lowers the calorie count while still leaving the meal with veggies and protein. For breakfast I usually have scrambled eggs with 1-2 whole eggs, then some egg whites, topped with fresh salsa. Salads are good ut I need some protein and filling toppings added to be satisfied, like some chopped avocado, beans, meat, etc.

No idea, but good luck. 1200 calories a day would make me mad with hunger.

ME too!

Trying to lose fat and KEEP muscle....1200?.....no thanks

I'm pretty good at sticking to 1200 calories and I never go hungry. Take a look at my diary for ideas!

No idea, but good luck. 1200 calories a day would make me mad with hunger.

ME too!

Trying to lose fat and KEEP muscle....1200?.....no thanks

Way to hijack someone's thread with your $.02.

My calorie goal is actually quite a bit higher than 1200 but there have been days when I only ate 1200 - 1300 and felt satisfied. (Full disclosure: my real goal is 1730 and if I move I eat more, but if it's an entirely sedentary day I have eaten much lower. Most days I eat between 1650-1700 -- over my personal BMR by a bit but below my personal TDEE).

In my house, we eat a lot of egg whites, roasted or raw vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, brussels sprouts, sweet peppers, cherry size tomatoes), apples, grilled chicken, roasted turkey breast (not lunch meat - "turkey roast" - we cook them on weekends, slice them and have them on hand for the week), mixed tree nuts, baby greens for salads, salsa for salad dressing, even peanut butter. You can eat a TON of those kinds of vegetables for very few calories. We also get the 100 calorie 100% whole wheat sandwich rounds for sandwiches if we want one - I make egg white sandwiches for breakfast sometimes and it comes out to somewhere between 150-180 calories depending on whether or not I chop up some bell pepper and onion and make an omelet sandwich.

Note: if you want to aim for 1200 calories, make sure it's net calories - so when you exercise you should eat back the calories you burned to move. You'll still have a caloric deficit and it'll provide you with the energy you need.