What do you typically eat for a 1200 calorie diet?

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Replies

  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited March 2016
    I eat 800-1200 calories on my fast days (I do alternate day fasting). The key is to focus on the amount of protein and fiber in your meals. Fiber tends to hang around high volume items like vegetables, so that's a plus. Lots of hearty stews and tea for me on these days.

    When I'm out of ideas I just generate a single day meal plan using https://www.eatthismuch.com/ (the free version is sufficient, you can regenerate your plan every day however many times you wish)
  • gita1988
    gita1988 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm eating about 1100-1200 cals per day.
    My daily breakfast consist of oatmeal with 4 g sugar; banana for snack. For lunch I usually have about 200g tomatoes cooked with chickpeas, lentils, sweet potatoe, brown rice or pasta. Sometimes chicken fillet or salmon with tomatoe, cucumber. Banana for 2nd snack again.
    Dinner is less heavy - usually greek yogurt with cinnamon and 12 g honey or vegetable soup. I snack with chocolate and chips too, but try not going over 1200 cal.
  • KorvapuustiPossu
    KorvapuustiPossu Posts: 434 Member
    edited March 2016
    I'm on 1200 and I manage to never be hungry and also most of the days squeeze in a little treat :)

    So a day example...

    Breakfast: 30 g cereal with 1.25 dl of 1.5% milk... about 170 kcal

    Lunch: Rye bread 55-58 g bun with Philadelphia cream cheese (about 23g), turkey ham (20 g), sliced cucumber and sliced hard boiled egg... about 300 kcal ; or a tuna sandwich with about 230 kcal.

    Dinner: I cook everyday and make all sorts of stuff, i just calculate m 'dose' of whatever I make and its anything from 300 to about 600ish kcal. I make Chicken fajita tubs...about 450 kcal for 2, Sheppard pie 350 per serving, Lean pork steaks with broccoli about 350 as well... some higher in calories would be Salmon in cream with mashed potatoes...about 600, roasted meat with butter potatoes also 600... lasagna serving about 500.

    Depending on how heavy dinner is in kcal I will/will not choose to drink a glass of coke (hate diet one :D ) or have a small dessert (currently treating myself with single packed Kinder chocolate 12.5 g and 70 kcal - just a litte sweet and makes my day nicer :D )

    Snack: in evening again if i had bigger dinner I will only have a yogurt (112 kcal) or a glass of chocolate milk or if my dinner was smaller some cottage cheese with smetana, rye bread and turkey ham, cucumber, and maybe hard boiled egg sliced...that is also around 300.

    So average day 170+300+350-600+100-300... I'm just at 1200 since i modify dinner and evening snack accordingly.

    That is just an example. I hope it helps.

    I usually keep my diary private (keeps me honest to myself) but I will open it for a couple of hours if someone wants to take a look :)

    Also to mention i'm 27 years old 5'2 and 139-140 lbs. have been losing steady 1lbs a week last 8 weeks.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited March 2016
    Readysetgo333 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I'd be very sad. I sure hope you're eating back exercise calories.

    But it would have to be

    300 calories for breakfast (so probably some steel cut oats cooked in almond milk with some protein powder and PB2 or a couple sliced almonds - or some overnight oats made with Greek yogurt and steel cut oats, and fruit - or 2 eggs with refried beans - or a breakfast burrito on low carb tortilla).

    Then basically some lean protein with veggies for lunch and dinner, with some Greek yogurt with fruit as a snack (or nuts and fruit, or cheese and fruit).

    But just nope. I've never eaten less than 1650 calories and I lost 80 pounds.

    You go girl!! How long did it take you? How active were you? Congrats

    A year to lose 73 pounds (from 213 to 140. I'm 5'5"). Then 6 months to lose 7 more. My activity increased a lot, from 10-30 minutes of home workouts a day to 10,000 steps of walking a day, and I did BodyPump classes/videos and some strength training too too. Pretty much ate around 1650-1700 the whole time (not eating back exercise calories).
  • nfpswife
    nfpswife Posts: 63 Member
    I do 1200 a day, and eat back my exercise calories - usually anywhere from 100-500 on any given day. My weekday breakfasts are hard boiled eggs, with the yolk removed and the eggs are restuffed with either salsa or sometimes chopped ham. I throw my coffee and some sugar free creamer and I'm full until late morning. I have 1/2 c light greek yogurt with some granola, or right now it's 20 g of cracklin oat bran on top (I LOVE THAT STUFF). Lunch is usually a smallish portion of leftovers, or a wrap with some popcorn or nuts, fruit and tea. Supper is usually a protein (pork chop, steak, burger, whatev), and steamed veggies with a starch. If I have the cals left, I'll have a serving of ice cream or a beer afterwards. I don't feel deprived, even on days that I skip a workout and only eat the 1200.
  • kf1834
    kf1834 Posts: 43 Member
    I'm one of the ones who prefers no snacks and water only...I feel better if I can eat real food for meals!
    Breakfast: plain oatmeal or sometimes veggie egg white on an flatbread or English muffin. Around 200-300 calories
    Lunch: Low sodium soup with a salad (not too much dressing) or a hummus or turkey sandwich with flat bread and lots of veggies, maybe fruit. Around 300-400 calories
    Dinner: whatever the family is eating. I have to pick small portions if it is pasta or we're going out to eat, but going light on the first 2 meals and not snacking or drinking any calories means the meal can be 500-600 calories and I can just enjoy myself.
  • lindsaymbirch
    lindsaymbirch Posts: 13 Member
    My diary is open, I eat 1250-1350 a day with a decent amount of variety built in. Clean eating with some treats :)
  • gsdgsd
    gsdgsd Posts: 5 Member
    I have a unique perspective; for breakfast I have three eggs whites and one whole egg mixed with whipped onion and chives cream cheese--that is well under 200 cal. For lunch I usually eat fruit, and for dinner a lean protein with a vegetable. This allows some snacking at night which I truly enjoy :-).

  • kportwood85
    kportwood85 Posts: 151 Member
    My diary is open if you want to add me as a friend. Though, you might have to go back awhile, I've earned a bunch of exercise calories recently. I'm at 1440 a day, but, if you get rid of my wine in the evening and the small bowl of pretzels I'm at 1200. I made a mexican turkey frittata, and I've been eating that for breakfast. Lunch is often salmon and a sweet potato. Dinner is whatever. I don't eat much bread/pasta. So, I can have a decent dinner when it's mainly made up of vegetables and meat.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    sabrina_dolce wrote: »
    Need help with some meal plans Anyone wish to share. I'm a 1200 cal / day

    Unless you're short, 1200 calories will create too aggressive a calorie deficit.
  • smcrimmon84
    smcrimmon84 Posts: 135 Member
    I dont have much issue sticking to 1200.

    Breakfast - Greek yogurt (100-130 calories) - but I am not a big breakfast eater.
    Lunch - This really varies but can be a sandwich and fruit, ground turkey with rice and veggies, leftovers, etc but is usually around 300 calories
    Afternoon Snack - varies but can be fruit, granola, yogurt, popcorn, anything really - usually around 150-200 calories
    Dinner - varies greatly but I keep around 400 calories
    Evening Snack - banana, frozen yogurt, apple, graham crackers, etc - around 100-200 calories

    I add in more snacks on the days I work out but dont usually eat all of my exercise calories (I burn 600+ most days based on my HRM)
  • rachel5576
    rachel5576 Posts: 429 Member
    My diary is open. Friend me if you'd like.
  • btoblake
    btoblake Posts: 9 Member

    I've been working on how to snack within a 1200 calorie diet.

    Kashi bars are an easy backup plan, most are under 150 calories, the flavors vary, and I can keep a box by the door and at work.

    A cup of bone broth and a miso soup packet = 60 calories in a nice warm mug A well made bone broth has a startling dose of protein, so I've been substituting it for water.

    Hummus and cut veggies also make a good snack meal, especially when I'm too busy to eat.

    For dinner, I stick to small servings of normal home cooked foods. A wonder pot is fantastic and easy to vary, the flavor coming from the tomatoes and basil and onions and garlic is great. Last time I added broth, which worked just fine.

    I love a good crock pot meal, it's easy to get a lot of flavor out of meats and veggies and herbs, and a good leftover stew is a chance to get creative.

    A chinese cook half convinced me that people in the US are making a huge mistake with veggies, because we don't stir fry them in a nice sauce. I've repeatedly considered looking into authentic Chinese cookbooks, so many of their recipes are healthier and more tasty, that it might be worth the trouble of nudging my family to change habits. Most body builders I know end up defaulting to a set dinner that's like chinese light, a serving of rice, a serving of chicken, a big spoonful of veg, and a different dinner every night.

  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    btoblake wrote: »
    I've been working on how to snack within a 1200 calorie diet.

    Kashi bars are an easy backup plan, most are under 150 calories, the flavors vary, and I can keep a box by the door and at work.

    A cup of bone broth and a miso soup packet = 60 calories in a nice warm mug A well made bone broth has a startling dose of protein, so I've been substituting it for water.

    Hummus and cut veggies also make a good snack meal, especially when I'm too busy to eat.

    For dinner, I stick to small servings of normal home cooked foods. A wonder pot is fantastic and easy to vary, the flavor coming from the tomatoes and basil and onions and garlic is great. Last time I added broth, which worked just fine.

    I love a good crock pot meal, it's easy to get a lot of flavor out of meats and veggies and herbs, and a good leftover stew is a chance to get creative.

    A chinese cook half convinced me that people in the US are making a huge mistake with veggies, because we don't stir fry them in a nice sauce. I've repeatedly considered looking into authentic Chinese cookbooks, so many of their recipes are healthier and more tasty, that it might be worth the trouble of nudging my family to change habits. Most body builders I know end up defaulting to a set dinner that's like chinese light, a serving of rice, a serving of chicken, a big spoonful of veg, and a different dinner every night.

    A 2-finger KitKat bar has a 100 calories and is cheaper than the kashi stuff. Might be a good option for a snack. A hot cup of milk with dark cocoa powder and splenda makes for a good 100 calorie warming evening snack.
  • navyjen
    navyjen Posts: 1,043 Member
    typical day
    breakfast protein shake w pb2
    am snack greek yogurt 100 calorie kind/ 100 calorie english muffin with pb
    lunch chicken and roasted veggies
    pm snack cashews or a fruit or a protein bar
    dinner - lean beef or turkey burger small portion organic fries or sweet potato and roasted veggies
    9 pm protein shake after workout
  • CaitlinW19
    CaitlinW19 Posts: 431 Member
    Get on skinnytaste, emilybites, skinnymom or any of the other tons of lower calorie food blogs. I'm sure you'll see something to inspire you. I rarely make the same thing twice personally. I like cooking, but I don't like it enough that I want to do it every day either, so I usually make enough for dinners for 3 days or so every time I cook.

    Lunch...I used to make mason jar salads and did love this but have gotten lazy and just buy salad kits now generally. I like Taylor Farm salad kits...I eat 1/2 the bag for lunch each day and buy different types to keep it interesting.

    If you are looking for really easy, you could do salmon for dinner instead of your usual chicken or, a personal favorite of mine...get some turkey kielbasa from Target and slice up with red potatoes, salt and pepper, and veggies (I like bell peppers, onions, zucchini, yellow squash) of your choice. Works in a skillet or wrap in foil and throw on the grill to let it all cook together. A big serving can be made for under 300 calories easy. We always top it with some sirircha :-) It's an awesome way to use left over veg.
  • caseypcarlin
    caseypcarlin Posts: 40 Member
    brian_gunther wrote:
    From there you can make a sandwich (I use carb-friendly wheat bread that's 70 calories for 2 slices). Add lettuce and tomato slice for next to nothing, even a tsp of light mayo will only add 35 cal. You can do a whole tune sandwich for 190 cal. Add some greek yogurt for 100 cal and you're good to go!


    I love Killer Dave's thin sliced good seed bread for 70 calories a slice. Twice the calories of what you mentioned but so so good. I also like to make tuna salad with half mayo half greek yogurt to help cut calories with little to no difference in flavor. A sandwich with that is certainly more than 190 calories, but I don't eat breakfast because I'm just not hungry until 11 or noon.

    I make blanched broccoli or green beans for my lunches and usually have either canned tuna/salmon or hard boiled eggs and some carrots.

    Mini Babybel light cheese wheels are so good and have quite a bit of protein per serving.

    I always have an apple in the afternoon and then I get quite a few calories to play around with for dinner, and I ALWAYS have at least one square of dark chocolate after dinner.



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