How can i stay 1200 and not going over? please help

I'm on medifast so I'm staying between 950-1200 cals / day. Some things I've learned to do.

- Read the labels on everything you buy. Some thing that you think would be ok, like oatmeal and yogurt, they can add ALot of sugars to.
- DelAllo makes a fat free all natural marinara that also happens to be low carb. I've used it in many different types of recipes.
- Plain greek yogurt (chobani or fage) is a great substitute for sour cream. Add your own fresh fruit and stevia if you need some sweetness.
- Mix plain greek yogurt with chunky salsa for a good salad dressing.
- Get "plain" meat, ie no breadings, no marinades, trimmed of fat.
- Jennie-O lean ground turkey is a wonderful substitution for ground beef. Though extra lean ground beef is just fine too, but $$.
- Simply Organic all purpose seasoning is a staple now, i use it in all sorts of things.
- You need healthy fats! don't stint on these, people make the mistake of cutting out too much fat and hurting themselves.
- Add Low fat laughing cow wedges at the end of a recipe for a nice creaming flavoring.
- Julienne zucchini (outer flesh only) Makes a great pasta substitution. And it's pretty too.
- To learn about what foods are really good for you check out http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php .
- If you want to find recipes do a google search on "Lean and green recipes". You'll find alot of medifast related sites, but these are mostly recipes that emphasize low fat, low carb lean protein dishes.
- Liquid egg whites make an easy low cal breakfast.

For my daughter who is trying to slim down I've gotten
- Tomas' whole wheat bagel thins, only 100 calories
- Aunt millies Light whole grain bread, only 35 calories! a slice.
- Chocolite protien bars - 100 calories pretty balanced for carb/fat/protien with added nutrients - great mid morning snack
- Muscle milk light - 100 calories nutrient enriched protein ready to drink shake. Sam's club carries these.

It can be difficult, but doable. I got a plan from my trainer. Mine plan fluctuates between 1181 and 1300. Here is what a typical 1200 calorie day looks like for me. The biggest key for me is to weigh everything.

Breakfast
1/2 c blueberries, raw
1 cup skim milk
1 pack plain oatmeal
Total: 222.32 calories

AM Snack
1 slice whole wheat bread
6 oz Greek Yogurt
1 tbsp peanut butter
Total: 265 calories

Lunch
3 oz chicken breast
1 medium salad with tomato
2 tbsp salad dressing
1 cup Progresso Healthy Classics Vegetable Soup
Total: 270.42 calories

PM Snack
1/2 c strawberries, raw
1 vitamuffin brownie
Total: 124.32 calories

Dinner
1 tbsp BBQ sauce
1 c broccoli (no salt)
3 oz chicken breast
1 small salad with tomato
2 tbsp salad dressing
Total: 241.02 calories

Evening Snack
1/2 c ice cream
Total: no more than 100 calories

Grand total: 1223.08 calories

Hope that helps.........

There are a lot of good suggestions above. Whatever you do, however, do not go below 1200 calories a day. It is extremely unhealthy, and, even though you may lose a lot of weight in the beginning, your weight loss will taper off and your metabolism will slow down. Also, spread out your calories. If you must eat the majority of your calories at one meal, make it your breakfast. Good luck!

I am proof - I have been on a 1200 suggested calorie per day routine since May and this just happened to me! I lost almost 2 lbs every week for the first 32 lbs and all of a sudden, my body halted and said ummm nope, not losing weight on the scale anymore! I finally figured out (okay, took me over a month) that my body is sending me a huge message! Do NOT eat under 1200 calories a day - so I upped it to 1340 to lose a 1/2 lb a week and make sure I eat at least 1/2 my exercise calories back, if not all... wish me luck, I am hoping to see that scale go down... I have seen a decrease in inches though, so the exercise is definitely paying off! Good luck to you - it's all about finding your own balance. Taking healthy snacks to work with me helps a lot!

It is a really good idea not to eat after 8pm so if you feel hungry around 7:45 eat a fat free yogurt with 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. It is sweet and filling. Hope this helps

If you want to lose body fat (sounds liek what you want) and gain definition, you need to eat plenty of calories. understanding BMR and TDEE is critical as others have mentioned. Like agthon said, does the 1700 calories include your exericse. The biggest thing to worry about is muscle growth and loss of inches. Keeping in mind that gaining muscle might increase the scale but it has the potential of losing around your body.

Essentially, you can't spot reduce so there are things required to eliminate fat from an area. Simply put, you need to build muscle (this is key) to burn body fat from your entire body. So how do you do this. Well in my experience, you reduce your deficit to 1/2 lb per week, and you lift heavy as well as change your routine every 30 days. This is actually the science behind programs like p90x and insanity. It's the reason why they work. With these programs (liek many others) it requires a good amount of food to fuel your system.

For example:

I am 195 @ 11% body fat.

My BMR is 2070. I do p90x so I am moderately active, so my TDEE is 2070 * 1.55 = 3209. With 1/2 lb of weight loss (since I am less than 20 lbs less in my weight loss program), I should eat around 2950 calories. Using this method (Katch McArdle formula) I have decrease my body fat from 18% and maintained lean body mass. I am showing some good definiton as well but still looking for more.

Something to think about.

ok i went on a website where i can find my BMR and it says this. You have a BMR of 1241.6. My TDEE its says 1699. I dont wnat to loose too much weight couse i am TIny im 4 feet 8 and im 33 years old. I am tiny everywhere just my belly. My wii fit says im NOrmal weight lol But I just want to loose my belly fat and eat healthy and not gain more again. I have gain and my wii fit said I did aswell. I know i did couse i cant go up the stairs like i did before my asthma gets to me.

so 124.6 and 1699 what you think?

[

If your BMR is 1241, 1200 is too low & you're likely setting yourself up for failure because you won't be able to maintain that kind of diet. Unfortunately, "abs are made in the kitchen"-- so to get rid of your belly bulge, you will need to focus on your nutrition. Since you don't have a bunch of weight to lose, you may want to just go at it gradually... the slower it comes off, the easier it is to keep off (or so I've heard). If your TDEE is 1700 to maintain your current weight, try keeping it around 1500 for a couple weeks and see what happens.

No matter what any of us tell you to do, you need to experiment and figure out what works and what you are going to be able to do for the long term.

i personally have found that a good breakfast (about a 1/4 of your daily calories) can help you stay full, and fight off cravings. a two egg omlete, with chopped peppers or tomatoes, and a whole wheat wrap is about 375 calories full of protein and carbs.

*please, no breakfast haters* just gving options, not broscience.

i personally have found that a good breakfast (about a 1/4 of your daily calories) can help you stay full, and fight off cravings. a two egg omlete, with chopped peppers or tomatoes, and a whole wheat wrap is about 375 calories full of protein and carbs.

*please, no breakfast haters* just gving options, not broscience.

Very good idea - i might try with one egg though. i always struggle with breakfast! especially on weekdays. Today I had a small glass of milk at home and an apple at work. I will try to have egg and wrap over the weekend and during the weekdays too - if i can get out of bed on time!

ps. is having a wrap better then having a toast?

Thanks..

I find that I like to eat lots of things rather than just 1 bigger thing. I still like to snack and knew when I started this I needed to find things that were reletavily low calories that I could fill up on.

For my lunch I usually have a salad or soup, a yoghurt, a jelly and a bag or rice cakes, one bigger item wouldn't work for me as I would still feel I wanted more. I find raw veg, a piece of fruit and low calorie jellies are great for adding items but not heaps of calories! At night I like a snack around 8pm and usually something sweet. I always make sure I have skinny cow ice creams in the freezer (93 calories a stick), pink and white mallow biscuits (50 calories each) and meringues (50 calories each) in the cupboard so there is a low calorie option there for me.

I also think porridge or muesli in the morning is great for filling you up, also weight watchers bagels feel really good and filling.

Hope this helps

x

I am also on a 1200 calorie limit while I try to shed these last 12 lbs. I have been on this for almost two months. At first it was difficult! I am not going to lie. However, as time went on, I learned the best things to eat to stay under my calories. Additionally, on days you workout, you gain those calories back and can eat more. For those who tell you not to eat your exercise calories back, that is not right. I am proof that eating your exercise calories back still helps you lose weight and keep it off.

I cannot cook right now (I am in the military and deployed) but I usually eat this on days I don't exercise:

Breakfast - 2 pieces of whole wheat toast w/ low-fat butter (1/2 - 1 tbsp), 1 fruit, 1 bowl (39g) of cereal, skim milk, and coffee w/ skim milk and sweet n low

Lunch - Sandwich (2 pieces of wheat bread, deli meat, lettuce, onion, pickle, jalapeno, cheese (1 slice)), yogurt and cucumbers

Dinner - Grilled Chicken sandwich on a hamburger bun (or two grilled chicken breasts without the buns), hot sauce and chopped bell peppers

i personally have found that a good breakfast (about a 1/4 of your daily calories) can help you stay full, and fight off cravings. a two egg omlete, with chopped peppers or tomatoes, and a whole wheat wrap is about 375 calories full of protein and carbs.

*please, no breakfast haters* just gving options, not broscience.

Very good idea - i might try with one egg though. i always struggle with breakfast! especially on weekdays. Today I had a small glass of milk at home and an apple at work. I will try to have egg and wrap over the weekend and during the weekdays too - if i can get out of bed on time!

ps. is having a wrap better then having a toast?

Thanks..

one wrap and two pieces of toast can have about the same amount of calories. i like the wrap because i can, well, wrap my omelet in it. yes, you should probably use one egg, and i chop up like, two peppers or a tomato early in the week and keep it in a container so that i can just toss it in my omelet in the morning. maybe i'll try beans this weekend though.

I am also on a 1200 calorie limit while I try to shed these last 12 lbs. I have been on this for almost two months. At first it was difficult! I am not going to lie. However, as time went on, I learned the best things to eat to stay under my calories. Additionally, on days you workout, you gain those calories back and can eat more. For those who tell you not to eat your exercise calories back, that is not right. I am proof that eating your exercise calories back still helps you lose weight and keep it off.

I cannot cook right now (I am in the military and deployed) but I usually eat this on days I don't exercise:

Breakfast - 2 pieces of whole wheat toast w/ low-fat butter (1/2 - 1 tbsp), 1 fruit, 1 bowl (39g) of cereal, skim milk, and coffee w/ skim milk and sweet n low

Lunch - Sandwich (2 pieces of wheat bread, deli meat, lettuce, onion, pickle, jalapeno, cheese (1 slice)), yogurt and cucumbers

Dinner - Grilled Chicken sandwich on a hamburger bun (or two grilled chicken breasts without the buns), hot sauce and chopped bell peppers

The problem with eating under 1200 calories is you aren't getting the nutrition your body needs and the weight you are losing is going to be muscle, which in the end will slow your metabolism. More than likely, you have issues losing weight because you weren't eating enough (I have personally seen this a hundred times). Also, my question is, since you only have the last 12 lbs to lose, what is you deficit at because you should be around .5 lb per week. Below I will explain:

I see last time your last weigh in was 129. Even if we estimate your body fat being 25% your basal metabolic rate (BMR or the amount of calories you were burn if you slept for 24 hours) we will be able to obtain your lean body mass which can lead us to your BMR.

LBM = 129 - (129*.25) = 96.8

BMR = 370+(9.79759519*96.8) = 1317.9

This means by sleeping 24 hours, you would burn 1317.9 calories. After finding your BMR, you will need to figure out how much energy you expend throughout the day (weather you work behind a desk - sedentary; or you are preparing for war - very active; or in between). This is known as your total daily energy expended (TDEE) which is a multiplier on the BMR. From there you can form a caloric deficit based on your goals. Below is the outline of TDEE

BMR 1317.9

Sedentary - 1317.9 * 1.2 = 1581
Lightly active - 1317.9 * 1.375 = 1812
Moderately Active - 1317.9 *1.55 = 2042
Very Active - 1317.9 * 1.725 = 2273
Athlete - 1317.9 * 1.9 = 2504

---

These are the TDEE multipliers as defined by the Katch McArdle formula


Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

---

Now, once you have your TDEE number (essentially maintenance calories) you can create your deficit

1000 calories max if you need 100+ lbs to lose
750 calories 50-100 lbs to lose
500 calories 20-50 lbs to lose
250 calories < 20

^ all approximates based on my reading


Now there are two approaches to take on that above approach as well. First approach is to eat at your work lifestyle calories (i work behind a desk) so I would eat sedentary calories but eat back 100% of my exercise calories (in order to not create a larger deficit). The second approach (in my opinion the better and easier approach) is factor in your exercise into your calories. I workout 5-6 days a week doing p90x which is rather extreme (very active), so I would have to eat a very active level each day (even when I do not work out) am exercise forms my deficits. Some days deficits might be 1000 calories and others 250 but over the week spam, I should have about 1750 calories deficit based on my intake and output (I am at 11% body fat and have about 10 or less lbs to lose; I am mostly concentrating on losing body fat and don't care about losing weight).


I will say there is one more step, which includes figuring out exact quantities (it takes a few months) because even with the most accurate body fat and weight, your bodies metabolism isn't always aligned with the numbers. For me, it took two months to figure out where I can lose weight but maintain muscle mass.

Hope this helps put things in perspective, if anyone needs help, let me know.

Lemon