New member

Good morning Sarah. First, you are doing fantastic, and I like the enthusiasm! Furthermore, since I do not know you personally, let me say, ' Let's kick some ***.' Here is my advice.... 1200 calories is a bit extreme at this point because your body may have adapted to your weight loss. I am on a higher protein diet and going to the gym to build muscle and increase my metabolic rate. My calorie intake is a bit higher than yours and revolves around my BMR of 1884 calories and my TDEE of 2452 calories. I am what you call a "cutting diet" that bodybuilders use to drop weight after a "bulking" diet. You can google it. Anyways, the diet is 30-40% protein by calorie in your diet. The rest is carbs from vegetables and complex carbs like rice, potatoes, and pasta. We keep the fat at the lowest possible number. Protein intake is to build and maintain muscle mass, fuel for the body is from the complex carbs, and we get nutrients from low-cal veggies and fruit(green been, beans, squash, apples). Protein =4 calories, carbs=4 calories, but fats =9 calories. 100g protein, when digested, goes from 100% calories down to about 85-90 absorbed. The body burn calories to digest protein. Fat goes straight to fat, basically. Carbs you need for fuel got to have them! I have the recipe for you, and you can adjust it to your needs. BTW, I Marco every ingredient and information from the nutrition labels, so I have a pretty accurate but not perfect estimation of the nutrition value in my food by the oz or portion size I serve and store in the freezer and fridge.
Chicken and Rice ( I make large amounts and break them down into proportions to freeze or store in the fridge)
I buy ten pounds of leg quarters ( I pressure cook or boil them in 5 cups water).
I remove the meat after cooking, throw away everything else (skin, bone, Cartledge), filter the broth, and put it in the fridge.
I break the chicken down by shredding it by hand into 1 lb proportions.
After the broth is cooled, I skim the fat off the top as it becomes a solid and throw it away.
I boil the broth and add one small onion, three arms of celery off a stalk, and 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning, for 5min
I use the strained boiling broth to make my rice, 4 cups of rice and four cups broth, and 4 cups water.
I add the chicken at 1/2 lb per cup of rice and one can of unsalted green beans, maybe two if I want extra.
Boil for 3 minutes while mixing everything, then simmer for 10 to let the rice and everything in to cook thoroughly, fluff, and take off the burner, put the lid back on, and let set for another 10 minutes.
I salt and pepper after cooking when sitting down to eat.
1lb cooked chicken has about 125-140G of protein (780-800 calories-under 14-16g fat), 1 cup of cooked rice =200 calories, green beans, celery, onion, and seasoning, about 160 calories.
I break it down into eight servings; yes, I weigh them to even them out, lol.
4 cups of rice = 800 calories/8=100, and 2g protein per 1/2 cup
2 lbs chicken = 260-280g protein/8 = 32-35 g protein per serving, 128-140 protein calories per serving, Fat 6-9g per serving.
The broth is not totally fat-free, so an estimation would be about 10g fat after skimming, 10g/8= 1.25g fat per serving.
Other ingredients 160/8 = 20 cal per serving.
So, 1 serving is approx: 250--300 calories, 34g protein, 9g fat.
Note: the body can only absorb about 10g of protein per hour; the veggies are for dietary fiber and micro-nutrients you need, and rice is a complex carb that is awesome for fueling your muscle and bodily functions. You can also buy store-brand broth and canned chicken for healthy and more accurate nutrition values. Also, this is just one meal I prepare ahead of time, freeze, and take out for lunch or dinner at any given time. You can use any veggie you want, but I suggest those with high dietary fiber and those you like. I salt and pepper when I sit down to eat, as excess sodium is not good. I hope this helpful.