New to MFP... 1200 calories per day

Hi Dianne,
I'm also on 1200 kcal a day. It's doable, but hard work!
You can add me as a friend and check out my diary if you want!
Greets, Maline

Me too! Yes, add exercise and plan everything in advance so you don't fall into temptation! Please do not just look at calories, ok? be sure to include all the nutrients!

I'm also on 1200 but I make sure to get an extra bunch through exercise.

On Mon/Wed/Fri I go to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (and also walk there and back a mile each way). MFP claims I burn 900+ on those days but I doubt it so I only eat back around 300-400. Sadly wearing a HRM during BJJ is just not feasible so I can't check.

On Tue/Thur I walk to and from uni at a brisk pace, which is just over 5 miles round trip. I burn about 450-500 doing that, and again I can eat back 300 or so if I want (best to leave a buffer)

Saturday or Sunday is a 3 mile+ run again with a burn of 400-500. The other weekend day I don't do anything.

So really my 1200 calorie allowance is closer to a 1600 calorie allowance (and leaving buffers throughout the week allows me to not worry about that rest day if I go over)

You can look at my diary, but this week has been hella weird. I've had 2 essays due and it's really messed with my food. Typically:

Breakfast
30g bran flakes with 125ml semi-skim milk and 30g dried dates
OR
50g oatmeal prepared with water with some fruit

Lunch
A can of tuna with half a cucumber and about 20-30g light salad cream
OR
About 100g cooked weight chicken breast with same
OR
A salmon fillet with same

Dinner
Some form of salad or vegetables (ex. couscous with veg) that typically contain some feta cheese with, normally, protein (ex. chicken or salmon). Sometimes a frozen veggie thing like a beetroot and goat's cheese roast.

Snacks
Low-fat greek yogurt (I genuinely just prefer the taste and texture of low or non-fat)
Hard boiled egg
One of the many varieties of low-cal cake I make
Sometimes some toasted danish bread with low-fat soft cheese, or ryvita and goat's cheese

Drinks
Primarily water or green tea
Options Hot Chocolate sachets 39cal each
BJJ days: protein shake
Uni days: tall skinny seasonal latte from starbucks (toffee nut at the moment)

On Tuesdays I get a couple of vodka lime sodas after class with my coursemates.

Hi Dianne, I'm about the same age as you and doing 1200 calories too. When I first saw that number, I thought, "No way. This is insane! What does that mean? Dinner is air au gratin?" But I've actually found it's not hard at all. I cook from scratch anyway and avoid processed foods, so it's easy to control, and I even manage to fit in cheesecake and wine pretty regularly

Typical day ... well, today's fairly typical. It's time to cook dinner on my side of the globe, and so far I'm up to only 470 calories while feeling perfectly well-fed. That's pretty usual.

Breakfast: egg-white omelette (2 egg whites + half a yolk ... I make an omelette of 4 whites and 1 full egg to split with my husband), stuffed with greens (dill and nettle today, but sometimes omelettes are stuffed with chicken or mushrooms or whatever)

I don't do an official "lunch," just grazing, but over the course of today that was dried strawberries, kumquats, chips with homemade guacamole, and carrot sticks with smoked trout-yogurt dip.

Dinner will be buffalo chili with salad.

I exercised, so I can eat up to 1643 today if I want, although I probably will stick pretty close to the 1200 anyway. And I'm not suffering You can do it! It's actually weirdly fun!!!

i think almost everyone is 1200 cals, but I looked my TDEE and stuff and it says I should eat 1360, so I just try to keep in the middle-ish with about 1275

How tall are you, how old are you and what do you currently weigh?
I used the TDEE minus 20% method and NEVER had to eat 1200/day. My starting daily intake was 2100 and at its lowest was 1650. Now I'm 1850-2000 to maintain.

I am a returning MFP. I go a few weeks and then start slipping into old habits. I just found message board and hope to rekindle motivation by connecting with others.

1200 is doable but 1350 to 1400 is much easier, IMO. Are you trying to lose 2 lbs per week... is that why your calorie goal is so low? If so, I strongly suggest you change it to 1.5 pounds a week to give yourself a few hundred more calories.

I often eat 300/350 for breakfast, lunch and snacks then 400+ for dinner.

My serious suggestion to you, Diane is to begin by eating as you normally do but logging all your food so you get an idea how many calories are in each thing you eat plus understand the portions you are eating right now. You really need to buy a food scale to get the greatest benefit from calorie counting. It is nearly impossible to guess how much a piece of meat or fruit weighs, and the calorie difference between 2 ounces and 6 ounces can be the difference between you eating at a deficit, or not.

Once you get a good grip on weighing foods and measuring liquids, and master looking stuff up in the database and making the accurate choice to log, you can begin eating portions that allow you to stay within your daily calorie goals.

I eat "normally", enjoying breakfasts of bacon and eggs, or cereal with yogurt, or oatmeal and milk, or peanut butter toast and fruit. Lunches and dinners are just regular food I usually make from scratch and my snacks are whatever I feel like that is within my calorie goal.

Don't make too many changes at once or you may become overwhelmed. Take it slow, figure out the calories in your normal food choices, and cut back a little where needed.

Best of luck!

Kathy

im at 1200 also. I had always thought diet meant suffer and go without. I have struggled for many months well UNDER 1000 and in my head thinking it was too much. it has been a struggle to get up to 1200 as I love food and did not want to miss out on stuff. honestly 1200 does not have to feel like diet at all. great advice I see here. add ppl and check out the diaries for some inspiration. good luck!! you can do it

Hi Dianne, from another Dianne - 1200 seems difficult to begin with but it soon becomes the norm. I find if you don't eat processed foods or wheat products, you actually get a lot of food. I try to eat a couple of veggies with dinner and I love a small baked potato with just a half tsp of butter spread into it. Breakfast was the hardest for me because I used to eat a lot of breads, muffins etc for breakfast. I now have tried a few different 'pancake' recipes that i am finding filling. One of them - a ripe banana mashed with one egg and a bit of egg white, mix together and add a bit of cinnamon. Spray pan with Pam and make several small pancakes. You could top them with a bit of no sugar jam or even a tsp of maple syrup. The second one is 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree (not pie filling), mixed with one egg and some egg white and pumpkin pie spice to taste. Again cook with a bit of Pam Olive Oil spray and make several small pancakes. This is very nutritious. There are lots of tips and tricks and you will find what triggers your cravings. For me it is bread and bread products so if I stay away from them as much as possible, I find the rest okay. Also make sure you drink your water

Good luck on this journey and don't give up if you have a bad day or days - just dig in and keep going!

I'm at 1500 cal and I'm losing for now. I may lower that in time. I also have a commitment to eat 1 protein, 1 carb, and 1 fat (1 fat is1 tablespoon) at each meal, veggies are free. It brings structure to my day and helps me from not overeating at one or more meals and then running out of calories by the end of the day. It also helps tremendously with the hunger which is the real reason I switched to that. I can't emphasize that enough. I also downloaded a 7 minute high intensity circuit training workout app for my phone. I do 2 sessions (14 minutes), 4 times a week. That burns 176 calories each time. That's not much but I can tell a huge difference in my strength and energy levels already. It also means I can then fit coffee creamer in my day without cutting my food calories. I only drink coffee on the weekends.

You might need to start a little higher and then drop down once your stomach adjusts to smaller portions, but I highly suggest you start at the lower end and only eat back 1/2 your calories from fitness (add a 30 minute walk into each day to get a little bonus). When you get your fitness program going you'll get even more hungry and that's when it's REALLY tough to not eat as much.
When I have a week where I cannot manage to get to the gym much, I typically eat around 1300-1500/day.
Once I was working out 6-7hrs/week I could eat anything I wanted and still maintain or lose. But, once you're using to eating what you want and stop, then you're in trouble.
Also, young metabolism here.
I've found if you have time to increase exercise, do that, and then just eat healthier. I get on MFP whenever I need a food booster. (like this week I'm using it to remind myself to eat MORE protein!)

I'm on 1200, and here's what it looks like on a typical day:

Breakfast: Refrigerator oats ~220 cals (oats, almond milk, yogurt, applesauce, fresh fruit, chia)
Snack: banana or single granola bar or string cheese: ~100 cal
Lunch: (leftovers): Homemade protein and veggie soup/stew/salad + fruit ~360 cals
Dinner: Roasted veggies ~ 90 cals, Lean (5oz) to fatty (2oz) protein ~ 200, starch (sweet potato, brown rice, rice noodles, farro) ~130
Dessert or evening snack (fruit w/ maple syrup, or popcorn, or rice cake with shmear of apple butter or low calorie chocolate ice cream bar, or 5 dark chocolate hersheys kisses) ~100
=1200!

MFP started me on 1200 and i was miserable, hungry and felt deprived, so i upped my calories, i dont eat them all most days, but mentally it has helped me, i am losing 2lbs a week still, and eat what i want, just in moderation.