1200 Calories...how?

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  • sandra4562
    sandra4562 Posts: 2
    I tend to eat salads for breakfast and it really keeps me full until lunch. This is what my salads consist of: chopped lettuce, 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 a tomato, .25 cup of garbanzos, 2 heads of broccoli and feta cheese. I know it seems like a lot but when you add up the calories its almost nothing and you could always take the cheese out :) I also try to eat fish for dinner. Hope that helps... Have a great day
  • kbw414
    kbw414 Posts: 194
    I noticed that you eat very little plant-based foods. I can eat a vegetarian meal for under 200 calories (tons of fiber) and feel full for hours. Maybe you could try snacking on some raw veggies throughout the day? They're very low in calories, and the fiber will keep you feeling full. For me, satiety is more about fiber and less about protein.
  • greyrealm
    greyrealm Posts: 12 Member
    I stay at or about 1200 calories every day and eat every 1 to 2 hours. I start with fruit followed by hardboiled eggs (whites only), then more fruit. I eat oven roated turkey on mini whole wheat pita pockets with Trader Joe's Garlic Eggplant Spread instead of mayo. I eat alot of ceviches (tuna, shrimp, langostino, pink salmon)with avocado, veggies with homemade hummus (make it spicy and you eat less!). I also eat Triticale and Rolled Barley as a cereal with banana, unsweetened coconut, and walnuts or pecans. Dinner is 2 - 4 ounces of chicken, pork, steak, or fish, with lots of veggies sauteed with garlic and olive oil, and half a serving of rice or other grain. I do sneak in fun foods (Trader Joe's Popped Potato Chips are my favorite) but I go for half or quarter servings. Having a food scale has been helpful too! The key is to make your calories count and to find lower calorie options (like Triticale and rolled barley which look and taste like oatmeal but have half the calories). At night I make a shake out of skim milk, with banana, some type of nuts, and unsweetened cocoa. I adjust my portions according to how many calories I have left. Good luck!
  • mixedfeelings
    mixedfeelings Posts: 904 Member
    I find it quite easy, I usually stick to fruit and veg with the odd bit of bread, pasta, rice, I'm a vegetarian and I don't eat that much in the way of fake meats, well I do but maybe once a day. I just try and control portion size.
  • ARDuBaie
    ARDuBaie Posts: 378 Member
    Okay, I looked at your diary. Oatmeal with brown sugar! Oatmeal doesn't need sugar. Learn to appreciate the true taste of food by eating things without the added sauces and such. I do oatmeal in the morning, most every morning, with sliced almonds on it. No milk, butter, or sugar. It taste good just like that and I used to be a sugar/butter gal.

    Try to make your own food. You can control the calories better. Don't do granola bars because they often have more sugar than you need. Try protein bars. They fill you up, which decreases your hunger.

    Add a lot of water to your diet. Eight cups to 2 liters is about right.

    Fruit is low in calories and high in fiber. So are vegetables. Eat a lot of them. I also like to have beans - refried, lentils, vegetarian chili, etc. They add protein and fill you up because they are loaded with fiber.

    Think fiber and low glycemic. If I have something that is high on the glycemic scale, I eat it at night. This way, I am not awake when it causes hunger.

    Also, try exercising before you eat breakfast. This way, you are burning actual fat. When you eat any other time of the day, you are burning what you ate. Some don't agree with this, but it seems to be working for me.
  • LittleElephant
    LittleElephant Posts: 106 Member
    I'm on 1200 also. To start with I found it hard but now I often struggle to take I'm enough and have often averaged 800 a day. For me it was just a matter of getting used to it. It's been worth it though!
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    There's a lot of processed foods in your diary. They are really calorie dense and don't fill you up.
  • hh07
    hh07 Posts: 33 Member
    I'm on 1000 calories a day (I'm really short) and it's quite easy. I just have fruit and/or yoghurt for breakfast then something like glass noodles in a clear broth with loads of veggies or a small salad for lunch, fruit for an afternoon snack and then for my main evening meal I substitute cauliflower mash or butternut squash mash instead of carbs and have lean protein with veggies. Sometimes I make a sauce out of extra low-fat cream cheese and natural yoghurt..

    Treats are low calories cereal bars, cassava crisps and mini milk ice lollies (all low calorie).

    It might be hard for the first week but you will feel so much better from not being bloated and your stomach will shrink so you don't feel as hungry - stick at it!
  • missigus
    missigus Posts: 207 Member
    I am on 1200 calories as well and it's hard to get used to such small portions, until u learn to fill in on extra veggies. I looked at your diary and I would forgo the chocolate and beer until you get to your goal- as much as possible. If I am dying for chocolate I've eaten strawberries drizzled w/ hershey's syrup and light coolwhip. Or just a single piece of chocolate. If I'm out and want a drink, I stay away from beer. Vodka and soda- Less calories. I eat very few carbs. Mostly veggies and meats, water based soups, salads, hot teas, and a bit of fruit. I am not a breakfast eater which helps me, because i'm not hungry in the mornings, and can get by on my coffee, but I get hungry at night, so I can eat a little bigger dinner to get through my evenings most of the time. Hot tea helps me at night too. Our bodies all run differently, so hopefully you can figure out your weak hungriest times of the day and work a bigger meal into that time. Some people eat back their exercise calories, I don't. But I do allow myself 1400 to 1500 calories 1 day a week. Usually Saturdays because we go out to dinner or something. I usually see the scale drop shortly after that too. You can do the 1200 calories, it just takes a lot of planning and being sensitive to your bodies demands.
  • regions02
    regions02 Posts: 154 Member
    I tried 1200 - just wasn't enough for me so I increased to 1300 - that extra 100 cals made a big difference.
  • missigus
    missigus Posts: 207 Member


    It might be hard for the first week but you will feel so much better from not being bloated and your stomach will shrink so you don't feel as hungry - stick at it!

    Oh my gosh! I totally agree! I gave up A LOT of carbs, not all, (simple carbs and sugars) but I too noticed the same thing. I'm not bloated anymore. It dissappeared with in a week! I feel waaay better too! No more bloated face in the mornings, no more unbuttoning my pants at night! I think I had a sugar allergy. I'm glad u pointed that out!
  • Tiff1124
    Tiff1124 Posts: 261 Member
    I am on the 1200 calorie count, and what's easiest for me is eat low carb, high protien for breakfast and lunch and then for dinner get my carbs that way. Generally I work out during my lunch break, so I burn off about 200 cals of my breakfast from running and weight training.

    Good luck!
  • Bean615
    Bean615 Posts: 132 Member
    im 1200 a day, most days i stay under. exercising helps so you can gain some back. check out my diary for some ideas. i like to snack all day and i drink alot of coffee and water.
  • zbmb30
    zbmb30 Posts: 177 Member
    bump
  • MissesJai
    MissesJai Posts: 48
    I am on the 1200 calorie count, and what's easiest for me is eat low carb, high protien for breakfast and lunch and then for dinner get my carbs that way.

    Same here, for the most part. I try to limit my carb intake as much as possible - good carbs ONLY. I eat most of my protein at breakfast and lunch so I'm full for a good portion of the day. I also do Zumba, which given my weight, I burn 700+ cals in one hour, so naturally, I eat those back :glasses:
  • carlageek
    carlageek Posts: 32 Member
    I was having a lot of trouble hitting even 1300 calories. I ended up changing my target to 1/2 pound loss per week instead of 1 pound loss per week so I'd have a few hundred more calories to play with.

    No sense in being in a rush if it leads to a miserably restrictive plan I have trouble sticking to!

    wow youve ;ost 116lbs is that using mfp how long did it take? WEll done

    Thanks; it's taken me almost 2.5 years so far. I didn't join MFP until this past fall - when I started getting close to a healthy weight I needed more rigor in my calorie counting and FitDay's ancient and featureless interface just wasn't doing it for me anymore, so I switched to MFP then.
  • Lwesterhold
    Lwesterhold Posts: 1
    I've seen a few people now suggest others to look at their food diaries, but how can others view your food diary entries for ideas?
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    I've seen a few people now suggest others to look at their food diaries, but how can others view your food diary entries for ideas?

    They would have to change their settings to making their diaries viewable (public).

    The settings tab is right along the top of the screen next to "logout" and "help".
  • kellyh2
    kellyh2 Posts: 64
    I stick to 1200 calories on a regular, but eat part of my exercise callories, feel free to add me as my diary is open and more than happy to talk meals/exercise/motivation. Kelly
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    hi- open diary 1200 c girl here!!
  • MaggiePuccini
    MaggiePuccini Posts: 248 Member
    Anyone out there on the 1200 calorie goal for the day? What are you eating? I am and I'm struggling to stay full and at 1200 cal. I'm all about the high-fiber / lots of veggies / fruits / lean protein options, but I wanted to get some new suggestions!

    Feel free to peek at my diary, although I've been less than angelic the past few days!

    No suggestions, it's tough. I eat healthily as it is, even when I'm not trying to lose weight or shape up my diet is a healthy one. Made switches from white bread to brown bread and white rice to brown YEARS ago. It's tough.

    I count in POINTS not calories because I think in points you're rewarded for making the right choices but in calories you're not necessarily rewarded. I'm only 'small' 9 stone and small in height too and i think it's tough. I keep totting up my total at about 4.30 and realising i only have 4 points for dinner!!! i have to be really creative!
  • Karmynzahringer
    Karmynzahringer Posts: 192 Member
    I am at 1200 and my diary is open to the public. As long as I am eating healthy I do not have a problem with going over, but if I do, here and there, as long as it is not by a ton, I don't let it bother me. I look more at the weekly report and make sure it is not over, because some days I might eat less, some days a little more. Some days I seriously have a hard time eating all 1200 calories, or if I work out, I have a hard time eating my workout calories. You can look at my diary for some ideas if you like! (just ignore the two days with chocolate cake, it was my son and daughters birthday party plus one day of leftover cake eek!!!)
  • mintberry
    mintberry Posts: 9 Member
    Try the "Anti Candida Diet" or something similar to it. When I did this, it was actually hard to make 1200 calories a day, and I never felt hungry. Or just cut out all grains and sugars, and starch vegetables completely.
  • torresg
    torresg Posts: 1
    I Try to eat small meals every 2-3 hours. This allows for your not to be hungry. For example, I eat:

    ~oatmeal (120 cal) with two cups of water in the morning 8am
    ~a yogurt ( (120 cal) at 10AM-10:30AM
    ~3 oz chicken ( 210 cal) with 1 cup of brown rice (168 cal) at 12pm-1pm
    ~a tangerine (50cal) around 2:30pm
    ~progresso light chicken vegetable soup (140 cal) at 4pm-4:30pm
    ~home made chicken stir fry 2 cups (260) 2 cups) at 6pm-6:30pm
    ~ Fiber plus Antioxidants chewy bar dark chocolate almond (130) between 8pm-10pm (depending if I am playing sports at night)

    The above totals 1198 cals. My goal is to eat food that gives me more portions for less calories. I try to eat every 2 to 3 hours so that I am never hungry. I also drink 16-20 oz of water with every meal (at the minimum 8 glasses a day). I also exercise a lot and I never go pass my 1,200 calories even if I earned more calories by exercising. On days that I plan to go out and drink, I will skip some of my snacks so that I can save some calories for drinking. I tend to drink grey goose and soda (69 cals a drink). The other thing that helps me is that I prepare all my meals the night before or 1st thing in the morning so I know exactly what I plan to eat for the day. That way I am not scrambling for food and then being force to eat whatever I come across which tends to result in eating more calories then planned.

    Hope this helps...
  • jack_martha
    jack_martha Posts: 3
    I've been drinking a lot of water and doing my food diary first thing in the morning rather than at the end of the day. That way I can see how I'm going to have to make changes to accomodate the calories for dinner. Sometimes I just throw up my hands and say "O gee-sum! I need to walk off some calories. That's what I'll be doing today!

    I eat a lot of yogurt. For 80 calories, it seems to last pretty long. My breakfast is always the same - GoLean cerial with milk.
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