I can’t figure out what to eat to help me lose weight

Why 1200 calories? that seems unnecessarily low for someone of your height/weight (1500 is the minimum recommendation for a male).

If you want this to work long term you need to find a sustainable way of eating and 1200 calories isn't it.

Specific foods don't help you lose weight. Weight loss is down to calories, eat less than you burn and at your stats your maintenance intake will be around 2900 calories if you are sedentary, so to lose 2lbs per week, you're looking at around 1900 calories + exercise calories. Use the guided set-up in MFP and it will give you your calorie intake based on your stats, your non-exercise activity level and the rate of loss you've chosen.

Macro-wise you should aim for at least the minimum recommendations for fat (fat helps to absorb vitamins/minerals) and protein (helps maintain muscle whilst losing weight), the default macros from MFP should be a good enough starting point.

You can eat all the foods you enjoy, in moderation, but for good nutrition, try to include a good amount of fruit, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats.

I'll add as well that to start with it might just be easier to focus on calories and start gradually making changes to your nutrition, rather than a massive overhaul of your diet, that way you can make habits that you can stick to.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10744105/why-you-should-never-pick-a-weight-loss-method-because-it-helped-someone-else-lose-weight/p1

I understand the hunger issue. My difficulty was getting enough calories while keeping volume down while losing weight. It all seems like people trying to eat more calories to gain weight or deal with hunger and looking for more volume while losing weight.

For me, I had major jaw surgery and couldn't eat. I went through a forced calorie deficit and lost my ability to eat volume. Even when I could eat again, I was scared to 'learn' to eat that volume because I didn't want to go back to how things were. I accidentally and stupidly lost a lot of weight in a bad way and broke my entire relationship with food.

Now I'm working with professionals, rebuilding. But most things people write here don't feel like they apply. I've slowly been learning to change my eating to improve my nutrients and calories management. You can do it too. If I understand right, you're more asking what you should eat (recipes, styles of food, etc) and not what calories?

It's critical to add the calories and while you want to tackle one focus at a time, be careful to add in the right places so you form good habits instead of ones that require changing yet again. That means protein and good fat.

Here are some ideas: make your own pumpkin seeds drizzled with dark chocolate (or lightly dipped in chocolate - the key is YOU control the chocolate instead of buying junk where it's a lot of chocolate with a little seed in it). Seeds are GREAT for adding protein and fat QUICKLY. Since you tire of eating, add some natural sunflower seed butter, natural peanut butter (no powders for you because you need the fat), and whatever other nut butters you can into different things like protein shakes. Coconut milk in a can would be great to add as well...but as said previously, measure and document so you don't go overboard. BTW, pumpkin seeds are awesome for men. You might look into seeds that support male homones because endocrinology is everything in weight loss.

Once you make changes, hang in there with waiting. Your body is doing things (like your hormones are all over the place while the brain is trying to assess the changes you're making) even when the metrics (scale, body fat, etc.) don't change. I just instituted some changes 6 weeks ago and got frustrated because it took forever to kick my body's furnace on but it's finally happening. We can't expect our bodies to respond in 30 days. It can take...well, apparently 6 weeks after any moderate changes. And then, it will be like a flood of weight loss that doesn't stop unless you change something. (I've done this before and just have a shorter road home this time than you do right now.)

Of the macronutrients, prioritize getting your protein in FIRST (with plenty of water to flush your body), then FAT (don't skimp on it but make sure they're GOOD fats like nuts, seeds, fish, grass-fed beef, UNHEATED olive oil, cook w/avocado oil, etc.). I saw low-carb bread on your list...stay away. You need WHOLE, nutrient packed food. Try great wholegrain, even sprouted grain breads like Ezekiel bread. That'll help you add calories, too. Shoot, you can get seeded breads very easily too. That'll drive the calories in the right direction for protein/fat. They might not hit your taste buds right at first...but you WILL develop a taste for things like that as you stay away from added sugars and salt. You're body is looking for nutrients...not calories. Calories matter, but if you can't eat enough, you need to make sure every calorie is full of vitamins and nutrients - not "hollow" carbs, fats, and proteins. Most people (myself included) with extra weight have it because the body is under-nourished (despite being over-fed) and screaming for nutrients it's not getting.

If I were you, I'd base my new diet menu off of my old weight gain menu. Use the foods you like and the eating patterns you like, but just eat them in smaller quantities so you lose weight. I can tell you what I eat, but if you don't like the foods I like, it won't help. And I eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks, but if you prefer to eat a different number of times per day, my preferences won't work for you. I almost always have eggs for breakfast. If you don't like eggs, that won't work.

However, if you want to know what to eat, yesterday, I had:

B:1 egg with 1 chicken apple sausage, 3 slices tomato, sautéed spinach, 2T half and half and 2 cups coffee

L:Chicken caesar salad with no croutons

D:Lamb sirloin & tzatziki sauce with mashed yams and asparagus

S:2 small turkey meatballs with marinara sauce

S: a small paleo snickerdoodle

S: a serving of Maxwell House's Cafe Vienna