MFP says to eat 1200 calories only... how do you do it?

searchingformex wrote: »

MFP says if I want to lose 1.8 pounds a week I can only eat 1200. How do you do that? What foods? & Better yet how do I lose 20 pounds in 2 months?

If you have less than 50 lbs to lose a more reasonable goal is .5-1 lb a week... or 2-4 lbs a month. 20 lbs in 2 months is an aggressive goal even for those who are 50+ lbs overweight.
I am on 1200 calories at this point. I eat the same foods I always did just in appropriate portion sizes for my goal. I prelog my food every morning for the whole day to make sure I meet my calorie and protein goals. I drink water or unsweetened tea. I am not eating super low fat or low carb. My diary is public.
Vegetables are great for filling up your plate without adding a ton of calories. Have a smaller portion of higher calorie food with more vegetables.
Typical foods I eat:
Breakfast- Greek yogurt, granola bars, cereal with milk, sandwich, dinner leftovers, fruit, cottage cheese (about 200-300 calories)
Lunch- sandwich, salad, or dinner leftovers (about 300-500 calories)
Dinner- something different every night of the month. (about 500-600 calories)
Snacks- things like fruit, chips, popcorn, pretzels, chocolate, cookies, granola bar, carrots, celery, broccoli, trail mix, deviled eggs, pickles, cottage cheese (about 100-300 calories)

Plant based is the way to go!

When you have very little to lose, trying to lose it quickly might not be the best course of action. I know how it feels to just want the weight gone, but in the long run, it's better to live through the experience of forming good habits with nutrition and exercise over the longer time from it takes you to lose weight slowly than it is to lose weight quickly and go back to the bad habits that had you needing to lose it in the first place.

If you set your goal to lose a half pound a week, you'll be able to eat more than 1200 calories.

I'm at the point where MFP gives me 1200 calories to lose less than half a pound a week and I get more calories for my daily intake through exercise.

It's doable, I typically have museli with low fat yogurt and fruit for breakfast (around 250 calories), a salad or soup or crackers with cottage cheese or hummus for lunch (250-350) and then for dinner I might have a veggie stew or curry, a veggie pasta, salmon with potatoes and veg, an omelette with salad, a bean chilli with rice etc (500-600 calories). Snacks wise I'll have a piece of fruit, crudités with hummus, rice cakes with Marmite or peanut butter, a raw fruit bar or a small cookie (100ish calories). I have reduced the amount of oil I use in cooking and cut down on bread, cheese and alcohol. I have also reduced my portion sizes and stopped going back for second helpings!

20 pounds in two months is approx 2.5 pounds rate of loss per week. MFP will NOT let you go down past the 1200 calories. This is by default.

Eat foods that are heathy fats, proteins and rich in fiber. This provides satiety and helps you feel fuller longer. You may want to stay away from calorie dense foods and eat volume foods. Veggies, fruits, lean meats, fish, yogurt, cheese etc. Calorie dense foods are ok, though but you might want to limit these as they are higher calories and less filling foods and may only lead you to be hungrier.

You can increase your activity by moving more and yes exercise. Exercise calories will add to the amount of calories you eat per day, so if you burn 300 calories in exercise you can eat that back or a portion there of and increase from 1200 to 1300/1400/1500 calories to NET your calorie goal for the day.

1200 calories is rough if you don't exercise. I think you should reconsider your rate of loss to a min of .5 but no more than 1 a week.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

MFP "tells" you nothing...it spits out a target based on your inputs...less aggressive goal, more calories...more exercise, more calories...and let me guess, you picked sedentary as your activity level even though you're probably not.

So much this... Oh how many people burn out starting at 1200 calories with wide eyes and lofty dreams.