1200 calories per day and foods that keep you feeling full

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  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    I'm looking for others who eat 1200 calories a day and have a public food diary. I'm struggling to stay at 1200 and feel like I am hardly eating anything all day and constantly feel hungry! I'm hoping if I see what others are eating at this level, it will help give me some new ideas of what to eat and help keep me full.

    Also, if anyone can suggest their favorite foods that are low calorie and help keep you satisfied for hours, please share!!!

    MFP sets my goal at 1200 too - but I am so active I eat 1700 a day and still have a 500 calorie deficit. If you are hungry, move more. 1200 is not sustainable in my opinion.
  • riccoismydog
    riccoismydog Posts: 319 Member
    I'm usually around 1200, when I don't screw the whole day up (yesterday) I do give myself about 250-300 extra depending on the intensity of the work out...I have an open diary. I sent you an add
  • sigsby
    sigsby Posts: 220 Member
    i love my grilled cheese sandwiches! natures own wheat bread 40 (40 cals per slice) 1 slice American cheese (70 cals) and I cant believe its not butter SPRAY (0 cals)

    150 calories total!

    great for a snack, or make 2 with a small bowl of low cal tomatoe soup for a meal!

    If you swap the American cheese for velveeta you can cut 35 calories off of that.
  • rosemaryhon
    rosemaryhon Posts: 507 Member
    I'm looking for others who eat 1200 calories a day and have a public food diary. I'm struggling to stay at 1200 and feel like I am hardly eating anything all day and constantly feel hungry! I'm hoping if I see what others are eating at this level, it will help give me some new ideas of what to eat and help keep me full.

    Also, if anyone can suggest their favorite foods that are low calorie and help keep you satisfied for hours, please share!!!


    My diary is open, you're welcome to take a look :). I feel like I'm eating a lot all day and I'm quite satisfied.
    ,
    One suggestion I enjoy is, I buy the bags of pre-shredded cole slaw mix in the produce section (shredded cabbage and carrots). Trust me that would never have seemed appetizing to me previously, but I bought it on a lark and turns out I love it and eat it daily or twice a day. I spray a frying pan with Pam and sautee a couple of big handfuls, sometimes mixed with peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, whatnot. I am creative with sauces I add to flavor it, like low-sodium teriyaki or jarred spinach dip or nacho cheese dip like Tostito's brand in the chip aisle (surprisingly low cal, I think 40 calories for 2 tbls, which is plenty). I eat it as a side dish, in place of my starches or even as a snack. It's delicious, satisfying, filling, and low cal.

    Good luck!
  • alyssabrown94
    alyssabrown94 Posts: 49
    At 1200 calories a day, I would suggest you check out the concept of intermittent fasting. I had your problem. Small snacks throughout the day made me extremely hungry and pretty unhappy. I now do 16:8 fasting, eating between 12 and 8. This allows me two large, satisfying meals. It makes 1200 so manageable. Seriously, check it out.
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,033 Member
    I love quinoa, sweet potatoes, chicken, mashed cauliflower, chicken tacos, salads, taco salad, popcorn, fiber one bars, watermelon, blueberries, almonds
  • lfig720
    lfig720 Posts: 3
    Right there with you trying to figure out how to stay full on a 1200 calorie diet. I do what someone else suggested...lower calories breakfast, medium calorie lunch, and higher for dinner. During the between meal periods...I fill up on water and Green Tea...apparently green tea is supposed to help with weight loss (I'm a newbie at this though). I also try to eat alot of veggies since they don't cost much calories. Also things like Weight watcher's egg whites which are only 35 calories a serving, Turkey bacon is only 35 calories /slice. Feel free to add me. :smile:
  • daisydesigner66
    daisydesigner66 Posts: 30 Member
    i know how you feel i struggle everyday trying to hit the 1200 mark. I can seem to get there but I also am trying to exercise every day. They came up with some fantastic ways of breakfasts and snack foods. I will have to try the protein and veggies in different combos. I drink a lot of water a day but doesn't seem to cut the hunger. I am in the same boat as you. I will have to remember the suggestions. You can add me if you would like
  • Mistyrose87
    Mistyrose87 Posts: 1
    86 lbs lost this is amazing congrats!!! im new to the site (just joined yesterday) I hope to see amazing results also!!!!
  • Yes2HealthyAriel
    Yes2HealthyAriel Posts: 453 Member
    I love avocado and add it to a lot things. It helps up calories. As a healthy snack when I am hungry in between meals I have nuts, fruit, or a smoothie.
  • Megabot
    Megabot Posts: 173 Member
    eggs for sure!!!

    edit: I totally don't stay under 1200...I work out about 4-500 cals a day, and eat around 2100, which leaves like 1600-1700 net - makes me way happier than just consuming 1200 calories which i frankly feel is a bit silly, and won't ever work.

    here's my favorite deluxe egg salad sandwich

    Meg's Egg Salad:
    Put this mix on 2 slices of bread, with a hearty handful of spinach (I use about a cup, it's a lot but I squash it in there) with my bread it's under 500 calories, and really I am full before finishing it!

    1 egg (mashed to tiny bits)
    3 Tbsps miracle whip
    1 Tbsp chia seeds
    1 slice (chopped to little bits) onion
    1 stalk celery (also chopped to teeny bits)

    TOTALS: Calories456 -- Carbs 54g-- Fat 19g -- Protein 17g -- Cholest 187mg -- Sodium 740mg -- Sugars 10g -- Fiber 14g (almost all the carbs and sodium come from the bread - your recipe may vary!)

    also, you could totally use 1 slice of bread, and it's about 350 calories... whaaaaaaaat!!! yeah. :)
  • YaGigi
    YaGigi Posts: 817 Member
    I eat about 1200 calories.
    But I eat a lot of protein and lots of fruits and vegetables. No processed food at all. No sweets, no bread.

    My breakfast - cottage cheese with cherry, peaches or other fruits. Coffee with skim milk.
    Or an omelet and tomatoes.
    Or a homemade yogurt with fruits.

    A snack - fruits.

    Lunch - grilled chicken breast (or fish, or meat) and 2-3 tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper.
    Often I have strawberry with some whipped cream for dessert.

    Or last day I cooked turkey strew - turkey breasts stew with eggplants, zucchini, tomato, bell pepper, onions, spices, parsley. Cooked with just a little bit of oil.

    I usually don't eat after 6 pm so I just have fruits or veggies before 6. It can be an apple, grapefruit, cherry, anything I have at work.

    After 6 I can have some milk but that's pretty much it.

    Edited to add:
    That's a diet proscribed to me by my doctor. I go to see her every week and we discuss my diet and weight loss, and she is really careful in analyzing m diet.
  • weightlossdiva1219
    weightlossdiva1219 Posts: 283 Member
    OATMEALLLLLLLL.
    Brown Rice.
    Chicken.

    Those keep me full for a long time, because they are LOW DENSITY. Oatmeal is a miracle food lol.
    Do not force yourself to eat 1200 calories a day if you are hungry. Do not make yourself go hungry, that is not what dieting is about.
    Eating protein helps keep you fuller. I eat lots of natural foods which help. Try almond butter on apples. Thats a good snack but keeps you full.


    40391093.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
  • polinev
    polinev Posts: 2
    My daily amount of calories is 1280, but I'm "cheating" it by exercising and eating some of these calories back. I'm spinning twice a week, doing weights, burning appx. 350 cal and dancing 90 minutes, burning about 600 cal. On the days I don't exercise I tend to go for very long walks. This works for me - I'm allowed to eat more. :)

    Eating exercise calories back is not "cheating" .... MFP gave you a calorie deficit with ZERO exercise.... not everyone can/will exercise. This is why you are expected to eat these calories back. It does sound weird ..... but the reason behind eating calories back ...... you will lose fat AND muscle when the calorie deficit is too large.

    The problem people experience with eating exercise calories back is that calorie burns are estimates(often too high) .....so eating back a portion of these calories is a good idea. Then adjust up/down as needed.

    Of course they are estimates, but I wear a personal HRM every time I exercise, even if I go for a walk to keep it as accurate as possible. Of course a 60 kilos 5'3" female will burn a different amount of calories to a 6ft male.
  • shirleycatt
    shirleycatt Posts: 37 Member
    I am on the 1200 calorie plan and I don't eat my exercise calories (most of the time). I find that cutting out bread helps me eat more of the other stuff. I try to eat a piece of fruit with each meal except dinner (too much sugar before bed). I also have a rule of not eating fruit by itself. If it is a snack, I always eat a protein too! The combo works pretty darn good!
  • sleepyyy
    sleepyyy Posts: 9 Member
    Hi! I feel ya. It took me a while to adjust different types of food until I found what keeps me satiated, a good, even mix of protein, fat and carbs (leaving one out usually makes me hungry) and wholesome foods, no 100 calorie pack crackers. I also feel much better eating something closer to the 200 cal range, 100 leaves me hungry and unsatisfied and end up eating more later on. I also tend to eat more for breakfast and less as the day goes on, its just what works for me.

    Example-

    Breakfast-
    Fage 2% yogurt + organic wildflower honey (I buy the ones that is all yogurt, and then add my own honey in) roughly 200 cals
    Ezekiel cinnamon bread + 1/2 tbsp of organic all natural pb- 140 cals

    Snack-
    Organic Sweet potato baked w/ skin- 150 cals

    Lunch-
    1cup spinach, 1cup kale- 50 cals
    2 cups of boil organic veggies lightly season w/ truffle salt ( my fav is broccoli and carrot but most veggies thats non starchy works)- 100 cals
    Hardboil egg- 80
    100 cals of whatever topping/snack you want

    Snack#2-
    1 cup of boil veggies- 50 cals (Veggies are super filling for the amount of cals!)

    Dinner-
    Large fuji apple- 140 cals
    slice of Ezekiel cinnamon bread-80 cals

    Roughly 1200 cals

    I also walk back and forth from work which burns around 140cals which I use either for chocolate or fruits :)

    The other thing that really helps me is planning my meals out on Sunday night for the week.. that way I'm never tempted with take out or eating junk from vending machines because everything is prep and easily accessible in the fridge. It usually looks something similar to-
    http://www.pinterest.com/pin/546765210984352815/
    or
    http://www.pinterest.com/pin/546765210984352861/
    It looks like alot of work but it's actually really easy since you're grilling/boiling/steaming your food in big batches.. usually takes me no longer than 2 hours. The only thing is you'll have to get use to eating the same type of meals for 5 days straight.. but pick veggies you like and you won't get tired of them :)

    Hopefully this helps.. good luck!

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