Help I2oo Cal A day

Vegetarian is super easy way to drop calorie content instantly! An ideal day of eating for me looks like this:
Breakfast: egg white scramble and a piece of whole wheat toast with cheese
Lunch: Salad with crasins, carrots, red peppers, cucumbers, and mixed nuts (no salad dressing)
Dinner: Roasted potatos, steamed brocolli, and a protein veggie burger.

By not eating meats you're cutting fat content but your still getting your protein from the nuts and veggie burger(:
goodluck
xoxo

Feel free to add me as a friend and peek at my diary. I'm on a 1200 cal/day "diet" as well. Be warned though, I only just started keeping track of my food again so the diary is a little bare.

You should be able to eat enough food as long as you're eating healthy foods you cook yourself. Eat lots and lots of vegetables!

I am also on a 1200 calories a day plan and it was HARD to stick to in the beginning, but eventually you get the hang of it. I usually try to split my cals up evenly between breakfast, lunch & dinner and I rarely eat back the cals gained from exercising. For instance, for breakfast I usually have some quaker instant oatmeal, for lunch I have veggies and some form of meat (usually salmon or chicken breasts) and my dinner is usually very small as I am not a big eater at night (usually some Wheat Thins and some fat free cheese). I try to plan what I am eating the day before so that if I happen to choose a larger calorie lunch, and eat less cals for breakfast or dinner etc. Take it one day at a time and it will become easier.

1200 calories is tough no doubt. In order not to starve, I plan to eat protein at each meal (I'm a vegetarian so that means, peanut butter, hummus, cheese, yogurt, or bean, etc.). Then I add lots of fruits and veggies and a little fat.

Typical would be:

breakfast: light yogurt + tea (100 calories)
snack: fruit (60 calories)
lunch: hummus veggie sandwhich + fruit or veggies (450 calories; I use nice filling wheat protein bread too)
snack: peanut butter + apple, banana or celery (180 calories)
dinner: lentil veggie soup + salad w/non fat dressing (250 calories)
snack: fruit or veggies or protein bar (160 calories)

I add sunflower seeds and avocado as calories allow. Protein + fruit/veggies + fat/carb keeps me full. My food diary is public, but I usually eat more than 1200 calories = I eat my exercise calories too.

I cook one or two things on the weekend to get me through the week. I keep my fat content very low. I try to only eat healthy fats. I don't waste calories on drinks or junk that don't keep me full or don't have any health value. If you are trying to survive on 1200 calories, you gotta make them all count!

Go for lots of low calorie seasoning (garlic, mustard, hot pepper, lemon, ginger, etc) and lean protein. The spice will help you feel like you got "real" food and the lingering taste will help you remember that you ate, While the protein will keep your hunger satisfied longer. Some of my favorites are:
Shrimp scampi (heavy on the garlic, super light on any oil)
Sauteed chicken breast with a mustard sauce (1 tbsp fat free plain yogurt and spicy mustard to taste)
"Teriyaki" shrimp (grated garlic and ginger and a little soy sauce)
Chicken breast or fish baked or sauteed with Lemon Pepper
"Almost free" foods like sauteed mushrooms

I also tend to go for hot foods instead of salads and sandwiches, but that's just a personal preference. And I tend to invest in the foods that I *really* want (in small portions) rather than something that is just "healthy". If I have a serious craving and I try to substitute something else, I'll end up eating 3 times as much trying to satisfy my tastebuds.

The best thing for me to do to stick to my diet is to avoid temptation. If I think it will tempt me and I won't be able to control it, I don't buy it. This is really hard with the rest of my family around, so I've started leaving the room when they indulge in something I can't have (or just grazing after the meal).

Good luck!