1,200-1,600 calorie meal plan, does food really matter?

SmugSakurako
SmugSakurako Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I had just found out that my less than 1,000 calories diet had been doing more harm than good. With gaining enough weight to put me back in the obesity BMI, I'm desperate for help more than ever. The problem I now face with a 1,200-1,600 calorie diet is the fact that I would need to eat double to triple the amount of food I normally eat. My breakfast sandwich that I make composing of egg whites, wheat bread, and cheese, barely scrape past the 250 mark, but eating double that would put me way over sodium and cholesterol for the day. Lunch is a ham and cheese sandwich that is a little less than 300 calories and dinner is whatever my dad makes. This brings me to a dumb sounding question but I could really use some direction from an answer. If I were to eat 500-600 calories meals such as a fast food burger, would this negatively affect me on my quest for weight loss if it were 1-2 daily meals? I'm starting to think about all of those 300 calories microwavable breakfast sandwiches at convenient stores and realizing that they may not seem so bad. My current breakfast plan for tomorrow is my normal egg white sandwich with a bowl of cereal. That would be 300+220 calories. Lunch would have to be a ham and cheese sandwich with wheat thins, 290+140. Dinner could be anything to get me the remaining calories. I also lift 3 times a week for 30 minutes, am a 5'4'' male, and have enough time to jog for an hour a day. Help?

Replies

  • SmugSakurako
    SmugSakurako Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks, Vykk! This is really helpful!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    SlaveMasterJim wrote: »
    I had just found out that my less than 1,000 calories diet had been doing more harm than good. With gaining enough weight to put me back in the obesity BMI, I'm desperate for help more than ever. The problem I now face with a 1,200-1,600 calorie diet is the fact that I would need to eat double to triple the amount of food I normally eat. My breakfast sandwich that I make composing of egg whites, wheat bread, and cheese, barely scrape past the 250 mark, but eating double that would put me way over sodium and cholesterol for the day. Lunch is a ham and cheese sandwich that is a little less than 300 calories and dinner is whatever my dad makes. This brings me to a dumb sounding question but I could really use some direction from an answer. If I were to eat 500-600 calories meals such as a fast food burger, would this negatively affect me on my quest for weight loss if it were 1-2 daily meals? I'm starting to think about all of those 300 calories microwavable breakfast sandwiches at convenient stores and realizing that they may not seem so bad. My current breakfast plan for tomorrow is my normal egg white sandwich with a bowl of cereal. That would be 300+220 calories. Lunch would have to be a ham and cheese sandwich with wheat thins, 290+140. Dinner could be anything to get me the remaining calories. I also lift 3 times a week for 30 minutes, am a 5'4'' male, and have enough time to jog for an hour a day. Help?
    You are young and healthy so do not sweat the sodium.
    New science says that cholesterol is much less of a concern than it was with old science.
    Regarding breakfast: Eat whole eggs. Double the cheese. Enjoy the cereal. Consider whole milk.
    Eat the microwaveable foods to get to your calories -- good idea. :)


  • Kfayefarawell
    Kfayefarawell Posts: 3 Member
    Check out flexible dieting or "if it fits your macros" online ... Under eating is just as bad as over eating :) however if you want to slim down - paying attention to where those calories your consuming are coming from is so important! Many people assume cutting calories is going to do the trick.. And sure you may lose weight but where is that weight coming from? Water weight? Muscle? Fat? Who knows! The scale goes down but do you like how you look? If you strictly want to lose the fat, I would definitely give flexible nutrition a try.. Flexible meaning yes you can have that fast food burger and lose weight.. As long as you fit it into your "macros" - Macros being your proteins, carbs, and fats. To maintain muscle and lose fat.. The magic ratio is 40% protein, 35% carbs, and 20-25% fat of your total calorie intake. Seriously, check it out and do some research on counting your macronutrients! Check it out on bodybuilding.com. Yours truly- an educated nutrition counselor :)
  • Smamfa
    Smamfa Posts: 139 Member
    Add healthy snacks too - peanut butter and celery, houmous, greek yogurt, cubed cheese, fruit
  • Jacob1020
    Jacob1020 Posts: 115 Member
    edited April 2016
    Who the heck recommend a 1000 calorie diet? Depending on your height and weight thats a huge deficit by any means regardless. Your body is not going to give up its fat. Why should it? Get out of 1000 calories, up your intake. Start interval training cardio. & implement HIT weight training. Up your Protein intake and destress more.
  • pcpop7
    pcpop7 Posts: 161 Member
    Jacob1020 wrote: »
    Who the heck recommend a 1000 calorie diet? Depending on your height and weight thats a huge deficit by any means regardless. Your body is not going to give up its fat. Why should it? Get out of 1000 calories, up your intake. Start interval training cardio. & implement HIT weight training. Up your Protein intake and destress more.

    Because fat is used when your body is starving. If I read original post correctly we have somebody consuming < 1000cal who has managed to bulk to obese.

    I would be interested in knowing how this is possible cause it will save me a fortune on protein shakes and food on my next bulk.


  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    edited April 2016
    RodaRose wrote: »
    SlaveMasterJim wrote: »
    I had just found out that my less than 1,000 calories diet had been doing more harm than good. With gaining enough weight to put me back in the obesity BMI, I'm desperate for help more than ever. The problem I now face with a 1,200-1,600 calorie diet is the fact that I would need to eat double to triple the amount of food I normally eat. My breakfast sandwich that I make composing of egg whites, wheat bread, and cheese, barely scrape past the 250 mark, but eating double that would put me way over sodium and cholesterol for the day. Lunch is a ham and cheese sandwich that is a little less than 300 calories and dinner is whatever my dad makes. This brings me to a dumb sounding question but I could really use some direction from an answer. If I were to eat 500-600 calories meals such as a fast food burger, would this negatively affect me on my quest for weight loss if it were 1-2 daily meals? I'm starting to think about all of those 300 calories microwavable breakfast sandwiches at convenient stores and realizing that they may not seem so bad. My current breakfast plan for tomorrow is my normal egg white sandwich with a bowl of cereal. That would be 300+220 calories. Lunch would have to be a ham and cheese sandwich with wheat thins, 290+140. Dinner could be anything to get me the remaining calories. I also lift 3 times a week for 30 minutes, am a 5'4'' male, and have enough time to jog for an hour a day. Help?
    You are young and healthy so do not sweat the sodium.
    New science says that cholesterol is much less of a concern than it was with old science.
    Regarding breakfast: Eat whole eggs. Double the cheese. Enjoy the cereal. Consider whole milk.
    Eat the microwaveable foods to get to your calories -- good idea. :)


    As a 25 year old male who isnt obese, but has had blood pressure issues, just going to toss out that you're making a huge assumption. OP is an obese male at 5'4". "Double everything! Don't worry about sodium!" is terrible advice for someone who doesn't know how to manage their intake.

    OP, you can eat whatever you want assuming you measure your calories accurately. However, your best bet is to learn how to eat so you don't end up in the same position again. Keep cooking and set your goals to a pound a week. Weigh your food. Don't stress over sodium, but your home made sandwich is better than anything you can pop in the microwave or get from 7/11 with the same calories.
  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
    pcpop7 wrote: »
    I'm not quite understanding. You < 1000 calorie diet has made you obese, so you are now going to double what you eat to lose weight ?

    I'm definitely NOT promoting a <1000 daily intake. I think I'm just not understanding the maths or logic ?

    Yeah, somethings not adding up here. OP-are you saying you actually were gaining weight while eating very low calories? That's not actually possible.

    Are you accurately logging all your foods and measuring out portion sizes with a food scale set to grams?
  • eeejer
    eeejer Posts: 339 Member
    do not look at sodium or cholesterol counts unless you have a medical reason to do so. Eat real food, get some exercise, and hit your calorie goal, that is all that matters.
  • FatMomRun
    FatMomRun Posts: 28 Member
    What does a "normal" dinner look like?
    Are you weighing and measuring ALL food?
    What are you drinking? (I noticed that wasn't mentioned.

    I followed a 1,000 calorie a day diet when I first started my weight loss journey, I was closely monitored by my doctor who helped me pre-plan my meals and snacks during that first month. It wasn't easy and I don't recommend it without doctor supervision, it wasn't easy but I lost 12lbs that month with little to no exercise (no energy).

    Currently I eat 1,200 - 1,600 calories a day, depending on my run schedule and I am continuing to lose 1/2 a pound to 1 pound a week.
  • frannyupnorth
    frannyupnorth Posts: 56 Member
    I think you need to check your quantities, sliced loaf is usually at least 90cals per slice and even tiny amount of cheese (a 20g babybel is 60cals and 20g of cheddar is ~80cals). A basic package sandwich is usually around 500cals. It would also be worth logging whatever your Dad is cooking as recipes in MFP, especially the oil and making sure you weigh whatever starches rice/bread/pasta you get with them. It might be a little annoying the first couple of times for him, but I assume he supports you desire to be at a healthy weight and could cope with the minor inconvenience?
  • nixxthirteen
    nixxthirteen Posts: 280 Member
    Eat the whole egg! Yolk is where all the important stuff is.

    My favourite breakfast is toast with a whole avocado smeared on it, a drizzle of hot sauce, tomato slices and salt and pepper. I eat it with Greek yogurt topped with berries. Avocados add tons of good fats and calories too.

    Snack on nuts and dark chocolate mixed together. Real easy way to add calories and get a boost of energy.

    Check out my diary if you'd like. I eat 1400-1650 most days :).
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
    Hm, perhaps I misunderstood. I was taking it to mean that there was a time lapse between then 1k cal diet, and becoming obese again.


    If it is the case that you were eating at 1k calories, and still gained weight, then you were estimating your intake correctly. You cannot gain weight from eating too little. Get a digital kitchen scale, and start recording accurately. Ask your father to write down and weigh all ingredients put into your dinner meals, add it to the recipe builder, then estimate a portion.

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