1200 calorie diet....

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.