1200 calories

MrsLloyd02 · May 2020

I’m 150lb 5’5 female on 1200 calories a day. I lost weight doing this before but gained it back during Covid so I’m back on it but I’m dying in my first couple days. I’m so hungry. What do y’alls meal plan look in a day on 1200? Thanks!

janejellyroll · May 2020

First, is 1,200 a reasonable goal for you? That's the absolute lowest a woman should generally go. Is there an opportunity for you to choose a more reasonable weekly weight loss goal and get more calories per day?

Second, are you doing any exercise? MFP is designed for you to eat those calories back, so you'll want to account for that as well.

Lietchi · May 2020

It's not an answer to your question, but you don't need to be on 1200 calories a day. Choose a slower weight loss rate (you don't have that much to lose) and you will have a more sustainable calorie goal. Being more active is another option to increase the amount of calories you can eat.

Shortgirlrunning · May 2020

I eat between 1200-1300 calories (+ exercise calories). On a day where I haven’t done any exercise I typically skip any breakfast beyond a cup of coffee and a splash of creamer. This gives me more calories for lunch/dinner which keeps me more satisfied the rest of the day. I don’t really have a typical day-to-day though. My meals are pretty different every day depending on what I feel liked having!

I definitely recommend upping your activity so you can have more calories though! I’m typically a lot happier on my run days when I get 1500-1600 calories.

eccentricplaza · May 2020

Like adding more food back in? I couldn't stick to it when I did a cut, I had to go back to losing slower, but for about 2 weeks my diet looked like this:

Protein shake for breakfast.

Big salads with minimal dressing paired with shredded chicken, or other kinds of lean meat for lunch.

Always steamed veggies like carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans paired with tuna steak, salmon, or chicken breast for dinner.

It got old pretty fast, and the one thing I had to do was season everything or else it got old even faster.

Best of luck.

MrsLloyd02 · May 2020

Thanks guys. I know it’s a low calorie goal but I like to lose weight faster because it tends to help me stick to it easier if I see results faster. I did lose weight last time but I was hungry lol and I love food so it’s def not easy. I am ok going over the 1200 but I still find it hard to find filling food and not go over. I have started back at the gym now that they’re open again. Thanks for the tips. I know I’m a little crazy for doing 1200 🤫

janejellyroll · May 2020

MrsLloyd02 wrote: »

Thanks guys. I know it’s a low calorie goal but I like to lose weight faster because it tends to help me stick to it easier if I see results faster. I did lose weight last time but I was hungry lol and I love food so it’s def not easy. I am ok going over the 1200 but I still find it hard to find filling food and not go over. I have started back at the gym now that they’re open again. Thanks for the tips. I know I’m a little crazy for doing 1200 🤫

Well, if you choose a punishing goal, you're going to feel punished.

mspenelopeparker644 · May 2020

Smaller steps don’t get results as fast but they definitely keep you in the game longer!

I’m trying to lose 30 pounds and I am eating 1540 a day! Doing workouts on YouTube (Pamela Reif) and feeling great! Not at all hungry! Maybe bring up you calories just a tad- no need to torture yourself! Sending you tough chick vibes! 💪🏻💪🏻💕

bmeadows380 · May 2020

Exactly ^^ you've obviously been down this road before and found that doing it quick doesn't work, or else you would have been able to stick to it. And its not just crazy, its hard on your health as well when you choose an aggressive deficit but don't have much to lose. That's why you are struggling with hunger - your body isn't getting what it needs to function optimally and this is a red indicator that your deficit is too aggressive.

If you are looking at dropping 20 lbs or less, then your rate really should not be more than 0.5 lbs a week which is a 250 calorie deficit. It will take longer yes, but you may find that you'll be able to stick to this easier than trying to starve yourself to drop it quickly only to find yourself losing the willpower, going back to old habits, and regaining. Strong arming your way into this won't work in the long run; you've got to find compromise between your goals and what your body needs and something that you can sustain once the weight is gone - you've got to have new habits, or this will be nothing more than a session of self torture with no lasting results.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10662287/the-goal-is-the-process/p1

Shortgirlrunning · May 2020

If your goal is 1200 you should always be at least a little over anyway. 1200 is the bare minimum of calories a person should consume.

But if you’re hungry all the time you should probably just up your calories. You won’t lose as fast but you’re more likely to stick with it.

Or maybe try 5:2 intermittent fasting. You pick two days of the week (not consecutive) to fast so you can eat more on the other five. So two days a week you “fast” by only eating 600 calories. The other five days you get 1440 calories (plus exercise calories). You’ve still consumed the same numbers of calories over the course of the week so it doesn’t slow your weight loss but you might find it more sustainable than being at 1200 every day.

bmeadows380 · May 2020

if the graphic didn't show up (the PC I'm on has an old browser so I'm not seeing images and can't tell if it posted correctly or not), I think it came from here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10642346/weight-loss-frequently-asked-questions-infographic-answers/p1

MamaMbbwait · June 2020

Hey so for my meal plans I am doing 250-300 cals for breakfast lunch and dinner and 3 different snacks 100 cals each so I'm basically eating all day and it's great

allycs85 · June 2020

I'm on 1200 and not hungry at all. Bulk out your meals with loads of vegetables or salads have low cal snacks between meals try to include a low carb protein shake too. I'm quite a bit smaller than you are and I'm still furloughed so not as active as usual so 1200 is right for me I've checked on various calorie calculator apps it seems too low for someone of your height and activity level though. You couldn't maintain last time because you're not doing it in a sustainable way. Why make the same mistake twice when you could just do it properly and keep the weight off and not be hungry and miserable! "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results" - Einstein

KimiAR · June 2020

Fat and protein w lots of fiber. It’s hard to hit the recommended fiber goal for most people. But I have found that this keeps me from being starving.

1200 calories

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