1,200 calories per day

I love yummly.com. Amazing website filled with lots of recipes and most have the calorie/nutrition count. 1200 calories a day isn't easy. MFP has me set at 1290 to lose 1lbs/week. To make it easier eat lots of vegetables! Super filling, looks like a lot when layed on the plate and low in calories! I avoid eating a lot of fruit because they are generally higher in calories than vegetables, but still some fruit is good and great for sugar cravings! Switch to high fiber grains (brown bread/pasta etc). Again, these will keep you fuller for longer and don't have as much an impact on blood sugar levels compared to white carbs. Make sure to include protein in every meal! My go too breakfast is eggs and my lunch and dinner always nearly include chicken. Planning really is the key to sticking to your calorie limit. Plan all your meals in advance. I plan all my dinners for the week ahead on a friday (thats when I do my food shop) and then plan my breakfast and lunch around what calories I have left, usually the night before.

Anyone there

What maquillage said, plus exercise to give yourself more calories to play with. My go to breakfast is Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup of fruit. At my morning break, I eat a packet of instant oatmeal. At lunch I ate salad with tuna or chicken and use salsa for dressing. I eat whatever is on the family menu for dinner, just a smaller portion. I have been been at my goal weight for 18 months now, so I eat more now, but it worked. I promise.

http://www.skinnytaste.com is also a good one. I second Maquillage_'s post. Veggies and lean proteins are pretty much key to not feeling hungry on a high deficit. Tinned tuna is one of my staples, along with white meat chicken and eggs. If you're used to eating big meals, you're going to have a bit of an adjustment period ahead of you, amd drinking lots and lots of calorie free liquids really helps with hunger.

I found that planning/logging my meals in advance and trying to eat them at scheduled times helped keep me from cheating when I started out too. I had a habit of eating all my calories early in the day and then going way over at night because I felt bad about it, haha.

Maquillage_ wrote: »

I love yummly.com. Amazing website filled with lots of recipes and most have the calorie/nutrition count. 1200 calories a day isn't easy. MFP has me set at 1290 to lose 1lbs/week. To make it easier eat lots of vegetables! Super filling, looks like a lot when layed on the plate and low in calories! I avoid eating a lot of fruit because they are generally higher in calories than vegetables, but still some fruit is good and great for sugar cravings! Switch to high fiber grains (brown bread/pasta etc). Again, these will keep you fuller for longer and don't have as much an impact on blood sugar levels compared to white carbs. Make sure to include protein in every meal! My go too breakfast is eggs and my lunch and dinner always nearly include chicken. Planning really is the key to sticking to your calorie limit. Plan all your meals in advance. I plan all my dinners for the week ahead on a friday (thats when I do my food shop) and then plan my breakfast and lunch around what calories I have left, usually the night before.

I did not ask the question, but thank you for the advice of planning a week ahead! I plan 1 day ahead, sometimes 2, but a week makes a lot more sense. I find myself at work on day 3, trying to eat "fast" and staying within macros, which never happens. Best!

1200 seems a little low - you could probably afford to eat a few hundred calories more; I eat 1600-2000 calories a day depending on exercise, and have been consistently losing weight (7 lbs in 5 weeks). As a guide, try eating 350-400 calories per meal, and allow yourself 200 calories for snacks in between.

For recipes, I would suggest skinnytaste or eat-yourself-skinny.

I eat at that caloric level. Before I always gave up because I was always hungry. This time I am eating a lot of greens and sprouts (I like them, not out of "dietary duty"). After a salad with oil or fatty dressing I am satisfied with smaller portions of carbs and protein. And as usual, lots of water, especially after eating all that fiber.

As for recipes, Eating Light is a good source. I eat/cook almost any recipe. I just look for ways to reduce the calories. For example, I just made pasta sauce that called for 4 tablespoons of oil plus I forget how much butter. Eliminated the butter and used only 1 T oil. Maybe not as yummy but, hey I can still have some pasta or homemade pizza and stay below my calorie goal.

dinosaurparty wrote: »

http://www.skinnytaste.com is also a good one. I second Maquillage_'s post. Veggies and lean proteins are pretty much key to not feeling hungry on a high deficit. Tinned tuna is one of my staples, along with white meat chicken and eggs. If you're used to eating big meals, you're going to have a bit of an adjustment period ahead of you, amd drinking lots and lots of calorie free liquids really helps with hunger.

I found that planning/logging my meals in advance and trying to eat them at scheduled times helped keep me from cheating when I started out too. I had a habit of eating all my calories early in the day and then going way over at night because I felt bad about it, haha.

Yep!

I ate at 1200 for a couple of years and was not starving at all. I am a large, active person, but needed to go that low for medical reasons.

It can be done.

If you are looking to lose weight please ignore the advice that says "a little wiggle room with exercise" You do not eat back your exercise burn until you are at maintenance or gain mode. If you eat back the calories that you burned then whats the point? And you risk that the burn number you're using is off so you think you burned 500 calories and eat back 300. Well you likely burned less than 500 (how do we really know the most accurate number? if we did the exact same exercise right next to each other and at the same pace etc. One of us is likely to burn more than the other) so you may eat back more than your truly accurate burn amount.
Eat 1200 calories, burn 600 and you will lose weight!! Take your measurements too because if you increase your activity level you will start burning fat but building muscle and that's difficult to see on the scale. You can however see it much easier on the tape measure and with how your clothes start to fit you.
Good Luck!!

IMHO 1200 is ok for some days, but long term, it is NOT enough. And you will quite likely lose on that amount for awhile...then stall out. Please Find a calorie calculator like fitness frog. Input gender, height, weight, activity level.
Also, calorie cycling may be a good thing to research. Good luck.

And yes, some do it and it works for them. Good for them. Not trying to judge, just giving OP my perspective.

IF you don't have a medical reason to eat so low, please consider finding out what your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate, or the energy you need just to survive) and TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) are. An overwhelming amount of research has been done into these numbers and understanding why it's unsafe long-term to eat lower than your BMR--a number which will change as your weight changes--and why eating between these numbers is the recommended way to lose weight.

As a note, I'm 5'6" and currently losing while eating 1725/day.

azul, I guess it depends on what you do, your activity level, your goals, and your lifestyle. There is a lot of data that says it's not enough to maintain good energy, healthy skin/hair and such. But some do it and survive, and some endorse 'calorie restriction' as a life extending and positive choice. I personally love food and love being able to eat more and still look pretty damn good. Not perfect, not fitness model good, but decent.

I eat 1200-1300. I mostly eat vegetables with some lean protein and dairy. I cook everything from scratch and I plan a week of meals at a time and pre-log everything. I get hungry occasionally so eat eat back more of my exercise calories but I'm definitely not starving. My diary is open to friends to feel free to add me and see what I'm eating.

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