3 sample breakfast-lunch and dinner

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atthebeach08
atthebeach08 Posts: 63 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know food works different for everyone in losing weight but here is my problem. Knee replacement and lower back problems makes no way to burn calories right now. So need some sample meals for a day that kept you at the 1200 calorie mark,not exercising just normal walking around and still able to lose at least 1 pound a week. I lost 28 pounds before my surgery and then found I have lost the cushion in all the discs of my lower back. My row machine is not an option now and brisk or a plain walk hurts. I've gained all the weight back in the past year and need some ideas.

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  • atthebeach08
    atthebeach08 Posts: 63 Member
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    That is exactly what I did this morning :-).. I was under the 1200 by 200calories and I found I had way to much items with sugar for the day. So I cut items, so sugar was back in line and adjusted to get the 1200 calories. Thank you for the reply!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    atthebeach08 wrote: »
    That is exactly what I did this morning :-).. I was under the 1200 by 200calories and I found I had way to much items with sugar for the day. So I cut items, so sugar was back in line and adjusted to get the 1200 calories. Thank you for the reply!

    Is there a medical reason you need to monitor sugar?
  • Chunkahlunkah
    Chunkahlunkah Posts: 373 Member
    edited April 2018
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    I'm sorry about your health problems.

    It's cliche "diet" food, but I find it easiest to eat in the 1200's with homemade soups and salads for at least one meal each day. Fortunately I love soups and salads, always have, so I enjoy this. You can mix things up by varying the components. I usually include a protein source in them bc that plus the large volume and high fiber keeps me full. Some fat helps me too, both with satiety and upping the yum factor.

    Greek yogurt also helps me eat at that calorie level. I find a 200-calorie serving of plain 2% Greek yogurt extremely filling. It keeps me full for many hours. I add some fruit and/or a small amount of granola or nuts.

    For other protein sources, the usual low calorie suspects: chicken breast w/o the skin, roasted turkey, canned tuna, other fish, eggs. I find fat very satiating so I also eat fattier meats like 80/20 ground beef in a hamburger or as a component in meatballs. That works for me bc it keeps me so full, but I do need to compensate with lower calories somewhere else in the day. I similarly often eat chicken with the skin.

    If you like vegetables, a big tray of roasted veg with some olive oil is another go-to of mine. I love that and eat it regularly even when I'm not cutting calories.

    The trick, imo, is to look at what you already eat and love. Then focus on the foods that give you the greatest satiety for your calorie buck while still being enjoyable for you when you eat them regularly.

    Good luck! Have you found any food staples yet for this calorie level?

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
    edited April 2018
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    Everyone's different when it comes to our meal timing, satiety, etc. And I am usually aiming more in the 1400-ish range, myself...but I find that the best "trick" for me to keep my overall calories low each day is eating a breakfast around 200 calories. I'm definitely a breakfast person but I find that a scrambled egg and buttered toast with black coffee for 200 cal keeps me just as full as having something like 2 eggs and a big waffle or biscuits and gravy...so I aim for 200 cal breakfast and then even if I was going for 1200 calorie day, I'd have 500 left for both my lunch and dinner.

    I don't usually snack because I like having larger meals less frequently, the opposite of what some people here prefer. The best thing IMO is to figure out what works for you by playing around with different foods & meal sizes to see what satisfies you best and fits your goals.

    Rounding out meals with a lot of lower calorie vegetables is helpful too. I'm maintaining a large loss now but when I was stricter about my calorie count each day, if I went over at lunch due to dining out or whatever, for dinner I'd sometimes eat a big plate of sauteed mushrooms, bell peppers & onions with a little Sriracha and some mozzarella melted on top. It was surprisingly satisfying and didn't feel "sad" like a plain salad would have (at least to me). Depending on the quantities it was between 200-400 calories and I was very full.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    My "fast days" clock at about 1200 calories. I usually have one bigger meal a day (usually lunch) and smaller breakfast and dinner. If I want to have a larger dinner, too, I skip breakfast or do a very small meal.

    During these days, soups are great to fill up on volume. If you cook them yourself, great, but I only do that when I'm having a hearty soup for a meal or I'm really craving a particular soup. When I'm having it to supplement volume, I just use these dried soup packets. Some are pretty low calorie and barely affect the calories of the meal (I'm talking 50 calories per cup low!)

    Let me dig out a past fast day for you.
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  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    atthebeach08 wrote: »
    I know food works different for everyone in losing weight but here is my problem. Knee replacement and lower back problems makes no way to burn calories right now. So need some sample meals for a day that kept you at the 1200 calorie mark,not exercising just normal walking around and still able to lose at least 1 pound a week. I lost 28 pounds before my surgery and then found I have lost the cushion in all the discs of my lower back. My row machine is not an option now and brisk or a plain walk hurts. I've gained all the weight back in the past year and need some ideas.

    Here's another website.....https://www.eatthismuch.com/

    You can plug options such as vegetarian.
  • atthebeach08
    atthebeach08 Posts: 63 Member
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    I have just always watched my sugar and salt intake. I have been doing lots of homemade beef vegetable soup,chili with extra beans,smoothies and oatmeal. Was just looking for something different. It working as lost 10 pounds in 3 months and didn't want to get bored with eating same thing. Thanks for all your responses
  • Kim_S_G
    Kim_S_G Posts: 120 Member
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    A couple of my go-to's:

    New York strip steak: 200 calories
    Crustless quiche: 250 calories

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