1200 calorie diets? Menus

I eat more but this website has good ideas.........https://www.eatthismuch.com/

Protein, fat, and fiber are all filling. I try to get some of each for every meal.

Exercise will add more calories......MFP gave you a deficit before any exercise. 1200 is as low as MFP will go, so it's very likely you can lose at a higher number.....just not as fast. Your choice.

1200 cal
Breakfast coffee, granola bar or protein bar, orange.
Lunch, yogurt and fruit, cottage cheese and veg, tuna melt, cheese fruit and crackers.
Dinner, 100g protein, beef, fish, chicken, pork etc. 100g carb, rice, potato, pasta.
Lots of veg cooked or in a salad.
Or 250-300g home made casserole, curry, meat or fish sauce. With salad.
1 tips dressing/ oil/ butter.

Later glass of wine, coffee, small sweet treat.
Sometimes a protein shake.

That's my day.
Cheers, h.

What may be easier for you is to plan before grocery shopping. I plan our weekly dinners with either my husband or daughter and post it on the fridge. I make some kind of breakfast (usually a crustless quiche), and I also make at least one meal that I can portion and freeze for my lunches in the future (some kind of soup, chili, stew, etc).

I fill in the groceries with what I don't have, and base my meals on what I do have that needs to be used.

breakfast: cheerios and a banana
snack 1: 3 small boiled eggs
lunch: salad in a jar (chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cheese, dressing)<--my go to food
snack 2: 3 small boiled eggs
dinner: turkey chili
lots of water

I do this for a week then switch to something else. I stick with the same thing for a week. It's not tiresome and the prep is easy!!

I'm in the 1,200 calorie boat.
Love egg white omelettes for breakfast. Sometimes feta spinach, sometimes ham & cheddar or a vegetable omelette with extra veggies I have laying around from Bountiful Baskets (a cheap way to buy produce for the week).
For lunches, I usually have a salad or leftover dinner.
For dinners, little things I sub to make it lower calorie: zoodles for noodles, I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, turkey instead of beef, brown rice for white, and make salads for myself when the hubby eats dinner with breads & tortillas. I'm making Asian turkey meatballs for dinner tonight.

tracefan wrote: »

I'm trying to lose so 1200 calories is my limit. Anyone else on a 1200 cal menu plan? Seems like proteins are my best bet. Lots of veggies and fruit, fish, chicken and egg whites. I need to mix it up a bit. Would love suggestions for a menu

My diary is open. I look on pinterest for new ideas. I am trying to eat clean ( vary my foods/ nutrients) most of the time. And depending on my workouts sometimes go over the 1200 but I try to stay at or under most of the time. Good luck.

This is my normal work day:

Breakfast
2 eggs 140cals
brown rice 50g dry 150 cals
coffee 5 cals
Frozen stir fry veggies around 60cals per serving
two creamers 60 cal
Hot sauce

Lunch
Health Nut Bread by Arnold/Brownberry 220cals for 2 slices
Turkey lunch meat is around 150 cals for 100g (Krakus Ham is only 61 cals for 68g- roughly 3 thin slices)

Then the rest you can fill in with dinner. It helps a lot to eat hearty foods like bread with nuts and seeds in them. Might be more calories but it will keep you fuller, longer so in the end you save calories by not adding snacks!! The brown rice and veggies keeps me full all morning, you can always add egg whites to bulk it up. I drink either Diet Coke or Seltzer Water during the day.

Oatmeal is a good filling breakfast and you can make it sweet or savory. Savory, I put greek yogurt, cajun seasonings, and pan fried portabello mushrooms. Sweet, thawed berries (so the juice mixes with the oats), and some greek yogurt to make it creamy. If you don't like traditional oatmeal try steel cut oats, has the texture of rough grits.

I just went down to 1200 to kick start my weight loss. I had stopped losing at 1700, so I dropped it a bit. I will probably only stay on the 1200 for a month. I go on vacation first of December, so eating out all the time will break that. So far I have not had a problem, but I usually do have exercise to add every day. Today is the first day with no exercise and I went over by 50 calories.

Tomorrow I start midnight shift and I always go over, because I have to eat in the middle of the night to keep going, so I am planning a 10k bike ride. That will give me extra calories for my extra night meal.