I have 1200 calories/day & set to sedentary 2 lb loss per week - food ideas??

keep the lean protein high; the calories are relatively low and food is filling - that way you won't feel like you're starving on 1200 cals.

So if you don't want to be starving and you think 1200 calories is too low AND you were losing weight with a higher activity setting, why not just eat more?

I'm a little shorter and wouldn't have found 1200 calories really really hard esp. with all the activity you are doing. Agree with the protein ideas--greek yogurt maybe?

I'd recommend just eating more and accepting a lower rate of loss. Better to preserve muscle mass anyway.

But if you want to do 1200, I did 1250 when I first started and my diary (which is open) from March 2014 through sometime in the summer 2014 reflects that calorie goal (not sure when I started to increase calories quite a bit due to exercise calories). I was generally not hungry at all eating lean protein (pretty varied, though, not just chicken breast) and lots of veggies as well as smaller servings of other foods. I mostly stuck to three meals, no snacks, but would include low or no fat greek yogurt and cottage cheese, and those foods, as well as fruits and veggies, also make for a good, reasonably low calorie snack that for me is filling due to the protein content. I think it was keeping my volume and protein up that made how I was eating satisfying for me (for a period of time, and then I really wanted more variety and more extras).

Eating 1200 calories a day is relatively easy once your body adjusts to it.

Your breakfast sounds great, although I'm addicted to my Special K cereals with almond milk for breakfast.

Eat lots of veggies and proteins. Chicken, turkey, fish, beef (the leaner cuts).

Buy wraps to make sandwiches with instead of bread. The ones I get are only 110 calories and are pretty big...so right there you are saving probably 100 calories depending on the bread you buy! I can make BLT wraps for less than 300 calories (wrap, 2 slices oven baked bacon, 1 tbsp. olive oil mayonnaise [ I buy Hellmann's which is 60, Kraft is 30 I believe], 4 thin slices of tomato and 1 or 2 leaves of romaine depending on size.)

Make your own chicken salad. I don't like store bought anyway...but shred up your chicken breast and add just enough mayo to make it stick together (I use the olive oil mayo for everything). Start with a tsp. of mustard and add to taste, depending on the amount. Season or add finely chopped veggies/herbs to your liking...salt, pepper, basil, red pepper, garlic, onion, etc. It's a fraction of the calories, a hundred times the taste, and you can really keep track.

I love buying plain Greek yogurt and adding fruit jam to it. I buy juice sweetened so there's no additional sugar.

i'm 5'5" and started at 196, now at 160. I've been eating 1200 cal for 5 months b/c I am sedentary. I pack a serving of baby carrots, a fruit (usually grapes or stawberries), one slice of whole grain 35 cal/slice bread with a serving of turkey or chicken or eggs, and a slice of low-fat cheese for lunch almost every day. Add a pickle or cucumber for volume. Dinner - turkey hot dog and a serving of beans/lentils. Another fruit and Cottage cheese. Whatever is in my fridge that will meet my calorie goals. I love just sauteeing canned chicken, diced green apple, onion together and seasoning with lots of curry and some paprika.

I just wanted to say I'm sorry about your dad.

Just as a note, OP, 9 lbs in 4-5 weeks is really good. Please don't set your goals to be something that are unsustainable, because it'll only end up in you feeling inadequate and disappointed. You lost 9 pounds! That's awesome! 1200 for someone who weighs 185 is honestly probably going to be pretty difficult. I know people have a hard time hearing slow and steady, but for weight loss, it's TRUE, because then we aren't necessarily depriving ourselves of every single food we just love to eat that might be more calorie dense. You shouldn't feel like you're on "a" diet, you just should be trying to find a lifestyle diet.

For 1200 calories, it'll be hard to really eat really nourishing, satisfying meals unless you're making majority of your food from scratch using whole foods. If you adjust your weight loss to 1.5 or 1 lb a week that calorie goal will likely seem MUCH less daunting and intimidating. And seriously, pat yourself on the back for that 9 pounds! That amount in 5 weeks is no small feat!

Not a problem, Amber! I'm glad you're upping your calories a bit, I think you'll find it makes it MUCH easier.

I'd also suggest If you get a little wrapped up in the numbers on the scale but know you're eating accurately, I would suggest trying to make sure you don't weigh yourself more than once a week, as well. I'm far heavier than you, but as an example, I notice that my weight fluxes a lot even at weekly weigh ins. I only weigh myself every 3 weeks now, as a result, because I would often get frustrated at seeing a lack of loss after 7 days sometimes, even though I was eating fine. I pushed my weigh times further apart because I knew there was no way I was eating at a surplus or even maintenance, and *always* see better results now because of waiting longer between weigh times.

I will, however, make a few recipe ideas. I cook a lot and notice certain recipes of mine tend to be wonderfully low calorie and insanely filling. Days I have those at hand I often tend to end up at a larger calorie deficit without even trying.

Potatoes: boiled or steamed, I know it sounds crazy, but plain potatoes are actually super low calorie. Four ounces of cooked potatoes only has 100 calories!. I like to make a large batch at once and just cut them up and keep them in the fridge, so I always have a quick side if I want it. Little bit of salt and pepper, or hot sauce and they do not need butter or to be fried or anything like that. Potatoes rate very high on the satiety scale, as well. Super filling and satisfying! Also yum.

Lentils: Lentils are one of my favorites as well. While making them they can take a bit of work, but it's so worth it since I make a giant batch of them and freeze individual portions of up to 10-15 portions depending on how much I make. I saute chopped celery, onions, and carrots until softened in a little bit of olive oil(measured, of course), then add chicken or veggie stock with the lentils with a ratio of 1:1. I add lots of garlic, either fresh or powdered, and a can of tomatoes, couple bay leaves, stir everything up and bring it to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover. Cook them to your preference, anywhere from 20-60m depending on how soft you like them. The easy calorie counting comes in when you weigh the total amount once it's done cooking, put everything you used in the recipe builder, and then put however many ounces the total was as total servings. I find it easiest to write down how many ounces I put in each bag before I freeze them. They microwave wonderfully.

Using veggies as fillers, and spices are your friend: Sounds obvious...but it really makes a huge difference. A 2 egg omelet becomes a monster meal with some diced onions, mushrooms, and broccoli. 2 oz of dry pasta can seem like not a lot...but with lots of mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli, and just barely wilted spinach tossed in it can be a big, wonderful meal. Also, use spices you love, they'll make the food that much more satisfying to you. Garlic is my bestie. No joke. Chicken breast is such a neutral flavor meat, but I love it because I often just will pre-marinade it with spices before cooking it. Eating lower calorie than we're used to can be tough but doesn't need to be tasteless!

Im at 1274 calories. Have you done your macronutrients?

I like low-calorie (well, lower-calorie) flatbreads/wraps from Aldi (they're at other stores too, but for more money) to make wraps (obviously) but also a simple personal pizza for less than 200 calories (with one oz shredded mozzarella and a couple tbsp sauce.)
Soup is also good and pretty easy to make--once a week I make a batch of soup with some soup base (Better Than Bouillon,) a bag of frozen kale, and whatever other vegetables I have floating around. Add whatever spices you want. I add just a little oil, and it comes out to something like 50 cal/cup.
For snacks, I buy baby carrots, portion out ~150g or so into snack ziploc bags, and grab one when I want to feel more full--170g baby carrots is enough to make me almost uncomfortably full on about 60 calories, and with a couple tbsp hummus (or whatever) on the side as a dip it's a pretty tasty/cheap/satisfying snack.
You can make tuna salad (or chicken, salmon, etc) with some lowfat or nonfat yogurt (or full-fat, I'm not your mom) for a cheap protein. I also really like chickpea salad (mash up chickpeas, treat it like tuna) for a good protein/fiber combo that's really easy. Bean salads in general are good--chop up some onion, bell pepper, rinse and drain a can of black beans, add some Southwest-style dressing (or just lime, cumin, a little oil) for a good side dish or filling for burritos.