1200 calories/ day food ideas

hsamimis
hsamimis Posts: 2 Member
edited September 2019 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

I am new to this, trying to lose 30 pounds, aiming to lose 2 pounds a week. Based on the app calculations I should be eating 1200 calories which I am struggling with as I constantly find myself hungry. For breakfast this morning I had a whole wheat wrap with a tablespoon cream cheese, two scrambled eggs with butter and 1/2 avocado and I am already at 580 calories.

Just wondering what your meals look lile if you are also on a 1200 cal diet.
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Replies

  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    Also that wrap is full of calories. If you want a wrap use a corn tortilla to cut the calories dramatically. I buy corn tortillas that are 50 calories each. I spray with pam and warm in a fry pan before filling. If you add an egg with extra whites scrambled with some spinach, onions and peppers you get a much lower calorie count. You can even throw in an ounce or two of ham. A tablespoon of shredded swiss cheese is a nice addition too. I generally eat odd things for breakfast like the Ocean's snack kit with rice crackers (146 calories) or a thin bagel with 2 T. lite cream cheese (160 calories). My lunches are often homemade soup that is pretty low cal (250 cal). Dinner is my big meal of the day usually around 500 calories with the rest in snacks. I snack on low fat popcorn alot or fruit with 2% milk and sweetner. Those are pretty low and fill me up. I also use Built Bars for a snack at 100 calories each.
  • tlpina82
    tlpina82 Posts: 229 Member
    I'm sorry to barge in, but I am curious.

    Why is it not ok to aim for 2lbs a week?
    And why is slow weight loss more sustainable than quick weight loss?
  • phx92
    phx92 Posts: 87 Member
    I agree that you might want to set your goal down to something that gives you more of a budget to work with

    If you are having problems staying hungry some things I have done in the past to stay full but within calories:

    Add in low cal vegetables for bulk/volume without a lot of calories (ex: add onions, peppers, tomatoes or mushrooms to your eggs)

    Swap out high calorie foods for lower calorie options (ex: a tortilla can be 200+ but wheat toast is 120 for two slices, corn tortillas are another option) I prefer the regular version of something that’s naturally lower in calories vs a low fat/reduced calorie version

    Pay attention to how foods make you feel. Your breakfast has a lot of fat (butter, avocado, cream cheese) which is calorie dense— if it leaves you satisfied that’s great, if not then you can make some swaps (ex: swap cream cheese for salsa/hot sauce/a low cal condiment) Also I don’t know if you’ve hear of neufschatel cheese, it’s like cream cheese but slightly lower calorie, I have no idea what the difference is but it’s really good and I like it

    Finally, grilled/baked chicken breast (seasoned but no fat/oil) and steamed frozen broccoli/veg (1/2 tps fat/oil) is really filling and you can get a solid meal for around 300 calories (for 4-5oz chicken and like....almost a whole bag of broccoli). I like broccoli vs greens/salad because it feels more filling and you don’t have to use as much oil/fat to make it palatable—you don’t have to use it at all if you don’t want
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,443 Member
    Getting your food right takes some practice. You've learned your breakfast is too calorific, so tweak it! Drop the wrap. Eat some eggs with avocado. Or whatever. It's your diet, make it what you want.
  • geauxtigerlily
    geauxtigerlily Posts: 75 Member
    I agree with modifying your calorie goal to give yourself some more room! 2 lb/week is a lot with only 30 pounds to lose.

    As far as your actual breakfast, I'm always amazed at how many calories wraps/tortillas are! I shouldn't be at this point, but it's something that always "feels" light to me, but can have a ton of calories. You could swap that to something else, or just modify your fillings. For me, I'd choose either the cream cheese or avocado, not both, since they serve a similar creamy, fatty purpose in the wrap and eliminating/minimizing the butter. Add some spinach, mushrooms, or peppers to the eggs to bulk them up a little more for very low calories, things like that.

    Also remember that depending on the activity setting you have chosen, you still should be adding in any intentional exercise. People have different schools of thought on eating back exercise calories or not, but it's something to keep in mind and play around with as you figure out how to eat at a (reasonable for you) deficit.
  • TayaCurragh
    TayaCurragh Posts: 709 Member
    I am on 1200 because of my height and I eat any exercise calories back.

    For breakfast my recent go to is either greek yoghurt with fruit, or chia pudding. Sometimes 'egg muffins' or at the weekend I will have some cereal like cornflakes.

    For lunches I tend to eat salads, soups, or leftovers from the day before. Dinner I tend to have things where it's all mixed in, e.g chilli, casserole, soup (as opposed to say, chicken, rice and veg) because then I can bulk it out with veggies and split it into 4/5/6 depending on how many calories it is.

    It took me a lot of trial and error to see what works for me. My breakfast and lunches used to be bigger however I need to snack a lot throughout the afternoon due to an issue with my blood sugar so I cut these to allow for more snacks.

    Feel free to add me and have a look at my diary. Haven't been doing great recently though.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    edited September 2019
    tlpina82 wrote: »
    I'm sorry to barge in, but I am curious.

    Why is it not ok to aim for 2lbs a week?
    And why is slow weight loss more sustainable than quick weight loss?

    Have you ever read the tortoise and the hare?

    2 Lbs per week is really aggressive for someone not having a ton of weight to lose. It doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot. Someone with a lot of weight to lose is going to have a higher TDEE and therefore a more manageable calorie target trying to lose 2 Lbs per week.

    Going back to the tortoise and the hare...who is going to win between someone with a reasonable rate of loss goal and a reasonable calorie target that they can sustain over time without much issue vs someone being very aggressive and constantly going off plan because they can't sustain that effort long term?

    A good general rule of thumb for weight loss is no more than 1% of your bodyweight per week. Even then, you really have to determine what is best for you individually...technically, I could safely lose 1.85 Lbs per week at my current weight...but I'm also at a healthy BF% so it would be pretty aggressive and pretty low calorie...I wouldn't be able to stick with it very long. My energy levels and fitness would also likely suffer quite a bit.
  • My 1200 cal plan works for me. My problem is eating when I am bored or frustrated, or sitting in front of the TV that plays ALOT of food commercials. I am working on coping skills. I also count everything right down to the milk that goes in my coffee. Breakfast: cinnamon raisin english muffin, coffee/milk. Lunch: 80 cal greek yogurt, 4-5 tortilla chips (I must have something that crunches!), decaf coffee/milk, sometimes a clementine. Dinner: 4 oz. of meat, 1 cup vegetable, 1/2-1 cup applesauce. Snack: 1 cup boomchicka popcorn @35 cal per cup, 1 small piece of chocolate (yup), diet ginger ale and herbal tea and lotsa water. My variation in my food is always at dinner because breakfast and lunch work with varied snacks works for me.
  • hmhill17
    hmhill17 Posts: 283 Member
    OP - It took me about 4 weeks to get to a point that I wasn't going to bed hungry, eating a meal and thinking about seconds, or randomly finding myself in front of an open fridge. Just a matter of getting your body used to fewer calories.

    I also have myself set to 2 lbs a week, though I have a lot more to lose. I did that on purpose because I know if I go over a little one day, it's not going to kill me. I just don't let myself do it 2 days in a row.
  • tlpina82
    tlpina82 Posts: 229 Member
    Based on the answers here.
    There's nothing that stops her from aiming to lose 2 lbs per week, aside from the fact that some people can't stick to the diet/calorie caps.
    No physiological reasoning and 15 weeks of dieting is not long enough to cause any metabolic impact.

    So, if @hsamimis can stick to her diet and exercise routine for 15 weeks, she can reach her goal safely.