1200 calorie diet....

Hello-
Having a big breakfast may help. I found a whole wheat, high protein cereal (Mom's Best Naturals brand) and use soy milk (more protein) that really feels me up. Also, you may not be as hungry as thirsty. Are you eating 6 small meals or three large meals? You might want to switch it up to see if it helps.

First up, why are you aiming for 1200? Set MFP to lose 1lb a week, which is easy and sustainable and less likely to make you gain back afterwards, and I bet it gives you more calories a day. Protein - meat and fish if you eat them - at each meal will help you feel full.

For me... Eggs, avocados, and healthy fats like nuts really help.

Most people would never feel full on 1200 calories.

Can only ever do this for a week or two MAX it's not sustainable at all.

Most people can lose weight on 1400/1500 calories a day even if small/short.

And for goodness sake if you are doing 1200 a day make sure it's NET and you're eating your exercise cals. I can't even IMAGINE being that hungry.

I'm on a 1200 calorie diet, too -- that's just want MFP set it at to lose my weight. And it's really not that hard, IMO.
eggs (sometimes egg whites) and turkey bacon and fruit for breakfast.
LOTS OF WATER during the day.

lunch - salad with a lean protein and LOTS of veggies on top. Zesty Italian FF dressing has a really low calorie count.

snacks - yogurt or fruit. (or celery sticks with spicy yogurt dip)

dinner - lean protein and lots of veggies.

I've found when you dramatically reduce the refined sugars and breads from the diet, it's much easier to live on a 1200 calorie diet. And yes, I'm hungry sometimes. And so I'll snack on something low calorie.

I feel very full at 1200 calories, but I think about the type of calories and I aim for something "sinful" (not really) every day. I always start the day with a scrambled egg. Eggs help me so much. I also have a 90 calorie fiber one brownie or something sweet at some point each day. The little treats keep me very satisfied. Most importantly, I drink TONS of water. Water keeps me full and the 1200 calories is not a problem. Good luck!

I was the same way until I started drinking water. I know it doesnt sound right but if you focus on drinking 8 glasses of water a day you will feel amazing and wont be as hungry. It also takes your mind 20 minutes to register you are full. that being said here is a summery of what i eat every day and i usually am at 1200 or a little above:

Breakfast-
-Multi-grain Sandwich rounds w/ peanut butter and banana (395 cal, 34 carbs, 16 fats, 8 protein)
- 2 slices of turkey bacon, 2 eggs, and toasted sandwich round (260 cal 12 carbs16 fat 18 protein)

Lunch (my fav!)
- 2 slices of Low-fat turkey on multigrain sandwich roll w/ raw spinach (or lettuce), a slice of low fat cheese, and humus. Then I have half a can of progressive light soup. They soups have weight watcher numbers on them so i try to stick with the ones with 0-2 pts. Then you can also have 5 multigrain crackers. I get Nabisco - Multi Grain Premium Saltine Crackers

whole lunch = 274cal 29carb 12fat 16pro

Dinner
- Lean meats (chicken breast and turkey are the best!!) cook w/o butter or anything, and season with salt free seasonings
- lots of veggies!!!
- Brown rice
- Black beans
- Cauliflower mashed potatoes and cauliflower rice (google it or check out my blog)

Also, im trying to post all the awesome recipes I find on my blog. I have stuff for pizza, french toast, and other things up already if you wanna check it out, hope this helped

forgot to add i always feel full and hit just at 1200, and In a week with working out i've lost 6.2lbs. You should NEVER feel hungry! Snack 2-3 times a day, I usually eat an low cal low sugar bar or fruit or nuts. and remember WATER WATER WATER!!

Peanut butter and avocado are my go-tos.
I can put those two things on so many different recipes and dishes or snacks.
Today I put half of avocado on my pork burger so I could "beef" up my calories for the day. :laugh:
With exercising almost daily, I really need to compensate.

This is a long one. I apologize in advance.

What works for me at 1,200 calories or 1,900 calories: High protein, high fiber, whole foods.

I choose to make my own hummus, salsa, pesto, beans (chickpeas, black beans, etc – think beans typically purchased in cans), tomato based sauces and the like-either as needed or in large batches which I then freeze in portions for future use. I even make my own yogurt with fruit. I am insanely busy, but it is worth taking an extra 30 minutes or so a week to portion out my own healthy snacks, plan meals and bases because I control what goes into my food. I am getting more bang for my calorie buck than using processed foods. I try to limit processed foods to less than 30% of my average consumption, though I really strive for less than 20%. I am not always perfect but I can always tell the difference in how I feel (and what I weigh. There is a lot of sodium in processed foods).

It not only tastes better but doesn’t take a lot of time and my grocery bill has actually decreased by about 28%. Part of that is by eating more whole foods, I don’t eat as much and part of that is I can make the equivalant of three 15 ounce cans of chickpeas for $0.60 versus the $2.39 per can the grocery store charges me. I am a financial analyst. I worked it out. It was a lot easier to incorporate than I thought it would be. Shopping trips are also much faster because instead of cruising up and down every aisle, I take one trip around the edges of the store and I am done. Can’t argue with THAT!

Here are a few ideas:

Breakfast:
3 whole eggs with fresh veggies
Sprouted whole grain no salt toast (it is delicious, seriously) with almond butter and 8 oz or milk or a medium banana
Whole grain hot cereal, almonds and milk

Snack:
Fat Free Greek Yogurt with Fresh or Frozen (Unsweetened) Fruit
Carrots and Hummus
Apples and Almond Butter
Hard Boiled Eggs
Spinach with a little Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper
Edamame

Lunch:
I pretty much eat dinner leftover for lunch. It saves me time and I am less likely to go for seconds at dinner because then I have to actually make something for lunch.

Dinner:
I like loads of variety and I always trying new things. Here are a couple go to items though:

Stir fried veggies, lean protein and brown rice
Grilled lean protein, lightly sautéed or steamed veggies and/or brown rice
Pasta loaded with veggies, herbs, touch of cheese and lean protein
Lentils with veggies
Crustless Veggie Quiche

Lots of veggies - steamed or roasted with every meal.

I don't eat anything that says "fat free" on it. Especially if you have PCOS, most items on the market like salad dressings that say fat free compensate by adding more sugar and having PCOS and the insulin resistance, the extra sugar isn't needed. I too am set by MFP with 1200 calories and I actually have a hard time adding in more food to eat back the exercise calories and MFP is always yelling at me to eat more calories. I try and change up my eating all the time so I don't get bored. I try to get in 2 tbps of coconut oil a day, it really helps keep the energy up, I usually will put it in a smoothie. I eat steel cut oatmeal (but if you don't like the taste I have a great recipe for gingersnap oatmeal) which total is about 292 calories. I will have for breakfast either a smoothie, eggs, oatmeal, crumpet or cereal, I snack on celery and carrots and salads and protein for lunch.

Try to make sure you keep the extra sugar to a minimum. Stick to the outside aisle when grocery shopping, while all the fat free and low fat processed foods in the center aisles are tempting, they cause a real problem for those of us with PCOS. Inflammation is not our friend. Good luck and add me if you want to be friends.

By the way I am also 80% gluten free, if you need some really decent gluten free recipes let me know. Make sure you read labels, a lot of bars on the markets have soy in them, if you want a bar that's gluten free and soy free, grab larabars. All just fruit and nuts.