1200 Calories per day meal plans

LadyGrey75
LadyGrey75 Posts: 55 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am about 5'4 and 130 lbs and trying to loose 10 lbs. I am running out of ideas on stuff to eat daily to stay within goal and my choices thus far have not been very filling. Please help!!

Replies

  • nicolejo143
    nicolejo143 Posts: 214 Member
    Hi, I try to eat 1200 calories on days that I don't work out, or net 1200 when I do. One thing that definitely helps me, is eating more vegetables with meals. Another is trying to eat whole wheat instead of white bread, and eating brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice, since they are much more filling. Also, snacking on nuts or greek yogurt as a snack is a pretty satisfying snack. You can add me and spy on what I eat if you want.
  • LadyGrey75
    LadyGrey75 Posts: 55 Member
    question on the quinoa, I have tried cooking this a few times but it has still been really grainey, gritty and I couldn't eat it what am I doing wrong?
  • oatsandgoats
    oatsandgoats Posts: 2
    question on the quinoa, I have tried cooking this a few times but it has still been really grainey, gritty and I couldn't eat it what am I doing wrong?

    Are you rinsing your quinoa before cooking it?
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    Can I ask, why 1,200 calories?

    Your target is to only lose 10 lbs, 1,200 is quite aggressive for that. I don't know, that's just my thought.
  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,817 Member
    You can take a peak at my diary if you'd like....
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Can I ask, why 1,200 calories?

    Your target is to only lose 10 lbs, 1,200 is quite aggressive for that. I don't know, that's just my thought.

    Yep - this^

    OP - trying to lose too fast puts you at risk for lean muscle loss. Is your weekly goal set to 1/2 pound a week?
  • LadyGrey75
    LadyGrey75 Posts: 55 Member
    Can I ask, why 1,200 calories?

    Your target is to only lose 10 lbs, 1,200 is quite aggressive for that. I don't know, that's just my thought.

    Yep - this^

    OP - trying to lose too fast puts you at risk for lean muscle loss. Is your weekly goal set to 1/2 pound a week?

    Not trying to loose too fast but if I eat more than this I gain....and because on the weekends I need more wiggle room
  • LadyGrey75
    LadyGrey75 Posts: 55 Member
    Thanks, will do!
  • LadyGrey75
    LadyGrey75 Posts: 55 Member
    question on the quinoa, I have tried cooking this a few times but it has still been really grainey, gritty and I couldn't eat it what am I doing wrong?

    Are you rinsing your quinoa before cooking it?
    ..aaaahhh nope haven't done that, how long should it soak?
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I am about 5'4 and 130 lbs and trying to loose 10 lbs. I am running out of ideas on stuff to eat daily to stay within goal and my choices thus far have not been very filling. Please help!!
    1200 calorie meal plan suggestions from a MS/RD:
    http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/what_does_a_1200_calorie_diet_look_like

    I do fasting days with 300-500 calories. Some staples for those days are canned tuna, miso and other very light broth-y soups, salads, steamed vegetables, any lean proteins, eggs and grilled fish.

    You might want to consider intermittent fasting, too. I find it a nice change to alternate 500 and 2000 calorie days, after a lot of 1200-1400 ones. There are a couple books about it.
  • LadyGrey75
    LadyGrey75 Posts: 55 Member
    I am about 5'4 and 130 lbs and trying to loose 10 lbs. I am running out of ideas on stuff to eat daily to stay within goal and my choices thus far have not been very filling. Please help!!
    1200 calorie meal plan suggestions from a MS/RD:
    http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/what_does_a_1200_calorie_diet_look_like

    I do fasting days with 300-500 calories. Some staples for those days are canned tuna, miso and other very light broth-y soups, salads, steamed vegetables, any lean proteins, eggs and grilled fish.

    You might want to consider intermittent fasting, too. I find it a nice change to alternate 500 and 2000 calorie days, after a lot of 1200-1400 ones. There are a couple books about it.
    swweeet... thank you I will check this link out for sure and look into the fasting, I have never tried that in fear of my sugar getting too low or whatev it is that makes me dizzy and icky feeling.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    Can I ask, why 1,200 calories?

    Your target is to only lose 10 lbs, 1,200 is quite aggressive for that. I don't know, that's just my thought.

    Yep - this^

    OP - trying to lose too fast puts you at risk for lean muscle loss. Is your weekly goal set to 1/2 pound a week?

    Not trying to loose too fast but if I eat more than this I gain....and because on the weekends I need more wiggle room
    1,200 calories is pretty fast. Eating more than 1,200 makes you gain?Probably water weight... did you take measurements?
  • kaspatore
    kaspatore Posts: 95 Member
    I'll actually answer your question :) I live on 1200 per day unless I excercise, which is most days. Here's what I eat:

    B-fast: One whole egg, 1/4 c egg whites, 1 tbsp cottage cheese, small handful of frozen spinach- make and omlette, serve with one wedge of laughing cow cheese= 181 calories. Add a small slice of toast if you need more cals

    Lunch: 1 1/2 cups lightly steamed broccoli, 1 tbsp cream cheese, 1/2 cup chopped chicken, and as much salsa or franks buffalo as you want. = about 200 calories (and it's GOOD)

    Dinner: 2 cups of zucchini sliced like noodles, 1/4 c sundried tomatoes, chopped mushrooms, 1/4 cup Light alfredo sauce= 200 calories
    add some good crusty bread if you need more cals.

    Snacks- fruit, cottage cheese, Fiber one fiber bar plus protien, Turkey pepperoni, banana peppers, pickles, olives, veggie staws.

    Other meal ideas- soup! There are several cans of soup you can buy where the whole can is less than 350- very filling if you are in a crunch for time.
    Kale salad with pickled red onions, goat cheese and vinegrette
    Find some low cal tortillas (la tortilla factory) and make wraps with chicken, beans, lots of kale/ spinach, ect.
  • LadyGrey75
    LadyGrey75 Posts: 55 Member
    Thanks. ..those sound pretty good have to put some of this on the shopping list
  • LadyGrey75
    LadyGrey75 Posts: 55 Member
    Can I ask, why 1,200 calories?

    Your target is to only lose 10 lbs, 1,200 is quite aggressive for that. I don't know, that's just my thought.

    Yep - this^

    OP - trying to lose too fast puts you at risk for lean muscle loss. Is your weekly goal set to 1/2 pound a week?

    Not trying to loose too fast but if I eat more than this I gain....and because on the weekends I need more wiggle room
    1,200 calories is pretty fast. Eating more than 1,200 makes you gain?Probably water weight... did you take measurements?
    Not trying to sound snippy but It isn't fast for me because I haven't been able to loose the weight. I primarily eat packaged foods so I feel my logging is pretty a curate at least 5 days out of the week. I don't log on weekends and know that is an area of improvement but don't see how going over two days at dinner can totally derail me especially when I know how much I have cut out...I haven't had a beer in over two months.....
  • amelie2651
    amelie2651 Posts: 18 Member
    At the risk of enraging the weirdly defensive CICO peeps -- here's my story.

    I've weighed 120# for more than a decade but in the past six months or so slipped up to 130# due to stress, poor sleep, limited exercise, and IMO excess carbohydrate intake esp sugar leading to visceral fat accumulation. For the first time in my life, I had a belly. And I felt sluggish and depressed.

    So I cut refined carbohydrates from my diet. I still eat fruit and some whole carbohydrates like brown rice. But no sugar, wheat flour or white rice. (Almost none: today I had 1 tsp of sugar in my coffee and one square of dark chocolate.)

    No calorie counting, no hunger. Six weeks later I effortlessly shed the 10#. The really weird thing is that I am not hungry -- this is brand new for me in 35 years on this planet. In the past I've gotten ravenously hungry -- like an insane person having a panic attack. I now see this was an insulin spike caused by a carb heavy meal followed by hypoglycemia. It doesn't happen to me anymore. It's like living in a new body. I can eat rationally now.

    Anyway, best of luck to you--
  • intangiblemango
    intangiblemango Posts: 38 Member
    Do you use reddit? Even if you don't, http://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/ might be a good resource.
  • Ludka13
    Ludka13 Posts: 136 Member
    question on the quinoa, I have tried cooking this a few times but it has still been really grainey, gritty and I couldn't eat it what am I doing wrong?

    Sounds like you're not cooking it enough. It should not be gritty. Make sure you rinse it thoroughly first. Cook it like white rice. 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed.
  • Ludka13
    Ludka13 Posts: 136 Member
    I am about 5'4 and 130 lbs and trying to loose 10 lbs. I am running out of ideas on stuff to eat daily to stay within goal and my choices thus far have not been very filling. Please help!!

    I'm 5'2" and get about 1300 calories a day. It's tough when you're short and sedentary. Forces me to exercise more so I can eat a bit more.

    Fewer carbs. They're not very filling and they can leave you hungry. Try to get more protein and veggies. You can make a big veggie salad and then top it with some lean protein. You can have some kind of meat, like chicken or lean beef, or a can of tuna fish or salmon, or you can top with rinsed canned beans (and some shredded low fat cheese), or put low fat cottage cheese on it. I think I only get about 4 servings of carbs per day. That's plenty for me.

    For breakfast look at things like eggs, greek yogurt, oatmeal. You can add PB2 or soy grits to the oatmeal to boost the protein. You can have muesli with yogurt (look for sugar free muesli and plain or plain greek yogurt). Or make overnight refrigerator oats (google it). You can put low fat ricotta on a slice of toast. You can have 1% cottage cheese topped with a can of 100-calorie sliced peaches.

    For dinner some sort of protein plus veggies. You can have another salad, or steamed veggies. I get the frozen veggies you steam in the bag and top them with low fat salad dressing or pasta sauce. A whole bag is a lot of veggies and if choose carefully very low in calories. Homemade vegetarian chili made with beans and veggies is a good option. Beans are half carb half protein.

    Sometimes I have pasta for dinner. Either whole grain spaghetti or I get light cheese ravioli. Add half a cup of spaghetti sauce and a spoonful of parmesan and a green salad.

    Sargento makes 50 calorie string cheese. Good for snacks. Or to have as part of a meal.

    If you're looking for convenience a low cal frozen entree plus a green salad and maybe some fruit. Start with something around 250-300 calories and then add in salad and fruit until it gets up to 400 calories.

    Sometimes I make a cheese sandwich using low fat cheese and pickles. Sliced turkey is another option. Add sliced tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, whatever.

    Sometimes I have a soy protein shake and then something else to bring the calories up to around 350.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,286 Member
    amelie2651 wrote: »
    At the risk of enraging the weirdly defensive CICO peeps -- here's my story.

    I've weighed 120# for more than a decade but in the past six months or so slipped up to 130# due to stress, poor sleep, limited exercise, and IMO excess carbohydrate intake esp sugar leading to visceral fat accumulation. For the first time in my life, I had a belly. And I felt sluggish and depressed.

    So I cut refined carbohydrates from my diet. I still eat fruit and some whole carbohydrates like brown rice. But no sugar, wheat flour or white rice. (Almost none: today I had 1 tsp of sugar in my coffee and one square of dark chocolate.)

    No calorie counting, no hunger. Six weeks later I effortlessly shed the 10#. The really weird thing is that I am not hungry -- this is brand new for me in 35 years on this planet. In the past I've gotten ravenously hungry -- like an insane person having a panic attack. I now see this was an insulin spike caused by a carb heavy meal followed by hypoglycemia. It doesn't happen to me anymore. It's like living in a new body. I can eat rationally now.

    Anyway, best of luck to you--

    I don't see how your post disproves CICO though (as u implied in your opening sentence) - what happened was you cut calories without counting.

    I don't think anybody believes Counting Calories is the only way to achieve a calorie deficit.

  • ht1211
    ht1211 Posts: 26 Member
    I'm struggling with the 1200/day too! And my weekly goal is 1.5 lbs, but the first 12 lbs I lost took me over 5 months.
    Here's what I eat some times:
    Breakfast -
    2 soft boiled egg with 1/2 avocado, and 1 piece of whole wheat bread. (about 250 cal)
    or
    1 cup fat free milk, 1/2 cup Kashi whole wheat biscuits, 1/2 banana. (about 325 cal)

    Lunch -
    Baked Salmon 4 oz, salads (about 350 cal)

    Dinner -
    Grilled chicken leg with green beans & roasted baby carrots (about 425 cal)
    Baked Tilapia 4 oz, grilled veggie (about 350 cal)
    Cauliflower fried "rice", it's basically regular fried rice recipe, just replace the rice with diced up cauliflower. (about 450 cal)

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