1200 cal....what is your typical day

I'm at 1200 and I keep an open diary.....feel free to check it out!

Plenty of water, fruits and veggies, veggie burgers. For junk I buy the Keebler 100 calorie snack packs to satisfy the junk food cravings. I exercise just about everyday so I don't have to stress if I do go over the 1200 cals as well.

apple with a scoop of low cal peanut butter

Instant oatmeal with a tablespoon of trailmix and skim milk for breakfast.
Salad with hard boiled egg and lots of green pepper and mushrooms for lunch.
Chicken, brown rice and lots of brocolli for dinner.
Snack of cheddar cheese (or laughing cow wedge) and an apple.

Walking the dog after dinner got me about 150 extra calories.

My best friend for staying under my limit is exercise. If I want to eat something, and it's going to put me over, I hop on my recumbent bike and pedal away until I'm "safe."

Two slices of multigrain fiber bread + 2 teaspoons of peanut butter is an awesome small meal that's filling but is not like 500+ calories. If I really need something super filling and low calorie, though, I'll go for raw (or LIGHTLY steamed) broccoli. Raw broccoli takes forever to digest, and fills me up until it's all digested. The only drawback... GAS. LOTS OF IT.

try eating an orange for a snack or before your meal it fills you up and is only aroung 86-100 calories!!!!! try it!

V8 for brekkies, mixed vegetables for lunch, maybe a fiber bar two hours after lunch if I'm hungry or having a random craving and then pretty much whatever I want for dinner.

Breakfast
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Chol
Coffee - Black, 10 fl oz 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sugars - Granulated (sucrose), 1 tsp 16 4 0 0 0 0
Milk - Reduced fat, 2% milkfat, 0.5 fl oz 8 1 0 1 6 1
Lactaid - 100% Lactose/Fat Free Milk, 0.5 cup 45 7 0 5 65 3
Kroger - Frozen Green Pepper and Onion Blend, 0.25 cup 6 1 0 0 3 0
1 Tsp Smart Balance Light W/ Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Buttery Spread, 0.5 tablespoon 25 0 3 0 35 0
All Whites - 100 % Liquid Egg Whites, 1/4 cup (63 gm) 30 0 0 6 95 0

Lunch
Tomato - Raw, Red, 0.25 tomato 3 1 0 0 2 0
Butterball - Smoked Ham Style Turkey, 1 slices 10 0 1 1 100 5
Weight Watchers - Bread - Whole Wheat, 2 Slices 90 17 1 6 180 0
Grey Poupon - Mustard - Dijon, 1 tsp 5 0 0 0 120 0
Lettuce - Cos or romaine, raw, 2 leaf outer 10 2 0 1 4 0
Dietz and Watson - Cheddar With Horseradish Cheese Slice, 1 Slice 110 1 9 6 270 30

Dinner
Potatoes - Red, flesh and skin, baked, 1 potato medium (2-1/4" to 3-1/4" dia) 154 34 0 4 14 0
Generic - Avacado- Fresh, 2 tbsp or 2-3 thin strips-1/5 of a medium 50 3 5 1 0 0
Dole - Packaged Salads - Classic Romaine, 1 1/2 cups 20 4 0 1 15 0
Cucumber - Peeled, raw, 2 slice 2 0 0 0 0 0
Newman's Own - Ceasar Dressing, 1 tbsp 85 1 9 0 170 10
Tomato - Raw, Red, 0.13 tomato 1 1 0 0 1 0
Generic - Sauted Mushrooms With Onion, 2 ounces 63 7 3 3 567 8
Corn on the Cob - Corn on the Cob, 0.5 ear (8 3/4 oz) 44 28 1 4 5 3
Beef - Sirloin Steak - Lean Only, Grilled, 3 oz 79 0 3 13 28 38

Snack
Watermelon - Raw, 0.5 cup, diced 23 6 0 0 1 0
Dannon Activia - Blueberry Yogurt, 1 container (4 oz; 113g 110 19 2 4 65 5
Pop Secret - 100 Calorie Popcorn - Butter, 0.5 bag 50 9 2 2 100 0

Totals 1,039 146 39 58 1,846 103
Your Daily Goal 1,200 150 40 60 2,500 300
Remaining 161 4 1 2 654 197
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Chol

I keep my cals around 1200-1400. Even on days I work out I try to keep things around this amount. There are days I have trouble even eating that so I don't push it. I try to eat a big breakfast-12 grain bread w/ peanut butter, plain greek yogurt with fresh fruit, and egg whites. Seems like a lot for breakfast and sometimes I can't eat all that, but I try to start my day off w/ the most calories and then eat less calories for lunch and even less for dinner. I'm not always successful, but I don't stress too much over it. If I feel like a hog at dinner I'll go for a 20 minute slow paced walk. If I snack anything I do my best to do it before 7pm. Any fresh veggies or fruits will help you too. Lean meats-chicken breast can be grilled and dipped in some low cal sauce. Oatmeal is always good any time.

Hope that helps.

~Becki

My diary's open so please feel free to have a look....generally my day would be like this.....

Breakfast:
Porridge (made with water - it's personal, I'm not a huge fan of milk) then a chewy cereal bar.

Lunch:
2 sandwiches with sandwich paste or cream cheese (with a leaf, lettuce etc don't always put that in the diary as it can amount to less than a calorie's worth!).
A can of soup.

Dinner:
Fish or vegetarian sausages....potatoes or rice, then heaps of veg (normally green) and then either gravy or philadelphia cheese for a sauce.

Treat:
If I have enough cals - an icecream!

I'm been scouring the back of packets since doing MFP and there is a whole heap of things you can fit into a 1200 cal day and even feel like you're treating yourself!

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

low cal protein shakes and protein bars. Syntrax Nectar is really good! Protein keeps me full.....plus I'm not a really big meat eater!

I have an open diary, if you want to take a look. I'm not saying I'm anywhere near perfect, but it works and I rarely go over on cals.

I usually have Kashi cereal with skim milk for breakfast. Sometimes Cinnamon Burst Cheerios or Fiber One.

For lunch I usually make a turkey wrap, Progresso Light soup, turkey sandwich on Healthy Life bread, or leftovers.

For dinner I make what I always have, but just stick to one portion and try to eat a lot of veggies.

For snacks I like: light string cheese, cottage cheese, greek yogurt with granola, reduced fat Wheat Thins and hummus, 100 calorie yogurt covered pretzels, Skinny Cow, apple with pb, 100 cal bag of popcorn...

I net between 1200-1300 calories/day.

Breakfast is usually:

1/4 - 1/2 c full fat greek yogurt (honey flavoured)
1 serving fruit (raspberries, strawberries, or apples have been what I've been eating recently)
Kashi bar or thin slice of homemade whole wheat bread w/ a tiny bit of peanut butter
Coffee with a teeny amount of sugar and a splash of milk (I'm weaning myself off of the sugar & gradually reducing the milk)
Total: 250 - 350 calories

Lunch is usually:

Some sort of protein
Salad (spinach + spring mix)
Nuts/raisins topping
Low fat/preservative-free salad dressing
Total: 300 - 500 calories

Supper is usually:

Some sort of protein
Some sort of complex carb (whole wheat, brown rice, or similar)
2 servings of raw veggies
Some sort of sweet treat, normally in a low cal package
Total: 300 - 600 calories

I tend towards lower cal options on non-workout days whereas I'll eat more on workout days.

I'll also have 1-2 snacks in the 100-200 calorie range, depending on what I've eaten and my expected burn (I workout in the late afternoon). I may also have another coffee.

My next goal is to switch to less processed options for my lunch and dinner proteins.