can i get some meal ideas (1200 calorie)

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for breakfast lunch and dinner, pls? :smile:

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  • CorneliusPhoton
    CorneliusPhoton Posts: 965 Member
    edited May 2017
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    I was doing 1200 for a few months last year, so have a look at my diary: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary?date=2016-03-02. I recommend that you make sure you hit your protein, fat, and fiber goal.

    ETA: Plan your day in advance to make sure you have enough calories left over for dinner!
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    My diary is open if you'd like to check it out. I'm on a base 1380 and usually exercise to increase that (I eat back 50%). So one of my overall days comes in at over 1200, but you can probably find some meal ideas. If there's a homemade entry that you think you'd like to make, you can ask me for the full recipe.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    My goal is 1200-1400 calories without exercise. These are foods I typically 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) I have soup once a week usually. Dinners recently have included tacos made with ground turkey, chicken noodle casserole, garlic chicken stir fry, big salad, ham, grilled ham & cheese sandwich, taquitos.
    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)


    Eat food you like.
    Figure out how many calories you want to eat for each meal and look for foods and recipes that fit. You'll have an easier time if you bulk out your meals with more lower calorie vegetables.
    I find it helpful to prelog my food for the whole day to make sure I meet my calorie and protein goals.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
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    I don't typically eat three meals, so today's menu is:

    Breafkast
    Black coffee, 20 oz - 5 kcal

    Lunch
    Pumpkin Protein Pancakes - 282 kcal
    Butter 7 g - 50 kcal
    Maple Syrup, 15 mL - 52 kcal

    Dinner:
    Korean Bibimbap (brown rice, beef, vegetable and egg) - 645 kcal (calculated by recipe builder)
    Silk Chocolate Cashew Milk, 240 mL - 90 kcal
    PB2, 24 g - 90 kcal

    Daily Total:
    Calories: 1214 kcal
    Protein: 93 g
    Fat: 66 g
    Carbohydrates: 115 g
    Fiber: 19 g

  • dracaene
    dracaene Posts: 21 Member
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    my goal is 1370 per day. A typical day (weekday) looks like this:

    Coffee: (100 cals) I drink 10 cups a day of 30:70 caf:decaf, plus cream. Helps keep me full and satisfies the hand-to-mouth thing I seem to have from boredom of sitting at a desk all day. Plus the cream helps me meet my protein goals. The high decaf ratio keeps me from getting the shakes!

    Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon and protein powder (250 calories)

    Lunch: supper leftovers (200 calorie serving) + veggie (usually a carrot)

    Afternoon snack: Berries (50 calories)

    Supper: 350 calories-ish - options include some kind of main dish: eggs, turkey burgers, turkey sausages, veggie soups, baked sole filets with bean salad, baked chicken breast, bbq pork loin chops, plus I use lots of recipes with ground turkey. I rarely eat the accompanying starchy side, but still include these in the meal for the rest of my family. Not because I'm low-carb, but because I'd rather fill up on more protein than use the calories for bread (or save the calories for an evening snack!). So I leave the bun off my burger, the tortilla off my tacos, I rarely have rice or potatoes or noodles. And I always have a big serving of veggies, whether steamed on the side, or included as part of a recipe.

    Evening snack: (400 cals) protein bars, chocolate, popcorn, pretzels, crackers, another serving of supper...

    My diary is open, so if you see any recipes that look interesting, let me know and I can post a link back here.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Food prep and pre-planning your day will help a lot. I'm at 1240 net.

    My mainstays: yogurt-overnight oats for breakfast and post-workout; rice & beans with meat and bulked out with a lot of vegetables (some lunch/dinners, or a side in entree style meals); soup (mostly veggies and beans along with some meat); entree-style meals - roast a bunch of pans of various veggies (usually seasoned, drizzled with oil, and parmesan), some fish, and carve up a rotisserie chicken -- mix/match into a pile of freezer containers; hard boiled eggs and mustard for snacks. High fiber vegetables and beans in the soup and entrees will help you feel full faster and stay full longer.
  • BeverlyMarsh1986
    BeverlyMarsh1986 Posts: 72 Member
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    Check out this reddit sub for plenty of great ideas every day! You don't even have to log in to see them. https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/
  • throughmineeye
    throughmineeye Posts: 7 Member
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    I'm on 1200 too
    Breakfast for me is coffee and yogurt , either Greek or a 0% Activa cup 50 cal) OR slice of toast with avocado and an egg on top.

    Lunch sometimes those little flavored tuna cans with added chopped up cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes and avocado


    Dinner is different each night and whatever my calories allow, usually a meat protein, vegetable and rice quinoa couscous or potato.

    Generally I limit my breakfast calories so that I can enjoy a nice dinner. It works for me. :smile: Goodluck!
  • vkr2q7
    vkr2q7 Posts: 68 Member
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    Today I hit 1199 which pretty much never happens without having to add in snacks, and I felt like they were three tasty, filling meals! I have an open diary and I love to cook and try new recipes, so feel free to add me!

    Breakfast: 3 egg omelette (1 full egg, 2 egg whites) with 50 grams light cheese and 75g of avocado - 332 calories

    Lunch: 100 grams of Brown Basmati Rice with chickpeas, tomato, onion and curry spices and a side of wilted spinach with garlic and fresh squeezed lemon (here's the recipe for that: https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/curried-chickpea-bowls/) - 469 calories

    Dinner: Pasta with tinned tuna, corn, red onion, black olives, a bit of pesto and some balsamic vinegar - 361 calories
  • emar831
    emar831 Posts: 16 Member
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    You can check out my diary, but ignore my weekends.
  • Blitzia
    Blitzia Posts: 205 Member
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    There's a lot of good tips already, here are some of mine:

    I make a lot of wraps. This tortilla brand is only 50 calories and has like 40% of your daily fiber.

    http://olemex.com/index.php/2013-07-26-20-44-53/traditional-mexican/item/178-high-fiber-tortilla-wraps-8

    So I'll make turkey wraps with some deli meat and fat free cheese for 190 calories, or some chicken, greek yogurt, herbs and feta for ~190 calories, two ground beef burritos for ~300 calories, etc. There are a lot of variations you can do for wraps.

    I also make a lot of recipes with cauliflower. Cauliflower pizza (fat free cheese and marinara sauce topping) is about 100 calories per slice if you slice it into 4 pieces. For cauliflower tots, it's about 175 calories for a plate full (maybe 10-15 tots?) and marinara sauce. I found the recipe for both of those on buzzfeed.

    For dessert, I'll have half a pint of halo top for 120-180 calories depending on the flavor. Other options are a sugar free pudding for 60 calories, or two eggo waffles and 2 tbs coolwhip for ~150 calories. I'll also bake sometimes - the MFP protein cheesecake recipe is awesome and with my ingredients (pb2 instead of protein powder) and 8 slices, it's ~118 calories per slice.

    Soups can also be great low calorie options. I made a version of this soup:

    https://www.blueapron.com/recipes/spanish-style-potato-chickpea-stew-with-swiss-chard-aioli

    If you leave out the mayo (you can replace with feta cheese) and go light on the olive oil, it's under 200 calories (divide it into 4 portions) with a lot of nutritional value.

    I'm not much of a breakfast person, so I might just have a Dannon light and fit Greek yogurt for 80 calories or half a Quest bar for ~90 calories.

    For a snack, air popped popcorn or sea salt popcorn is very low calorie.