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Calorie-counting

If you're on 1200kcal/day

31 replies

Elfina · 20/07/2015 10:47

Can you please share with me what on earth you eat in a day? I think I'm going to be very hungry...!

OP posts:
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daisydalrymple · 20/07/2015 11:05

I'm not right now, but when I've previously done 1250 cals a day I would divide it up, so eg 350 breakfast, 400 lunch, 500 dinner. Then I'd work out how much of my cereals I could have for the breakfast allowance, taking into account milk and a piece of fruit that I'd have mid morning.

Then for lunch, 200 cals would be 2 pieces of bread , plus scraping butter/spread and I'd work out how much various fillings I could have for 100 cals- tuna, Turkey, egg, salmon, ham etc. salad free cals. That would leave 100 for yogurt, banana etc.

Same for tea, work out how much certain weights of protein are, chicken, salmon, etc. and the same with carbs, pasta, rice, jkt pot... That way you can cook normally, knowing what each thing has calorie wise without having to obsessively weigh everything each time you cook. Also pile up with veg, which I never counted cals for.

1200 is quite low, so im guessing you've already lost a bit of weight and are on the final stretch? Good luck Smile

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BitchPeas · 20/07/2015 12:11

I'm on 1200 a day and lazy so I have a marks and spencer fuller longer ready meal for dinner, a bowl of cereal (weighed and semi skim milk measured) for breakfast and lunches are 2 eggs on 1 slice of wholemeal with tomatoes and mushrooms, or small tin on beans and 15g grated cheese on 1 slice wholemeal, or 75g pasta with homemade tomato sauce Brocoli and 15g grated cheese or if I'm out and about a count on us/fuller longer sandwich or salad.

It's dull but only 1st 2lb to go! Have already lost 1st 10lb since beginning of May. And I have one day off a week.

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LaChatte · 21/07/2015 09:43

I eat what I would normally, just in smaller portions. If something I'm going to eat is high in calories, I make sure the other meal that day is lighter (we had planned a BBQ for the other evening, between the sausages, bread rolls, potato salad, and tiramisu, the whole meal came to quite a lot, so I had a big plate of lettuce and tomato salad for lunch).

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itsonlysubterfuge · 21/07/2015 11:34

I eat between 1,000 and 1,200 calories a day.

Example day:

Forgot breakfast, was busy.

Lunch: Spaghetti with tomato sauce

Dinner: Hamburger and chips with half a Dr. Pepper.

Dessert: Chai latte

900 calories.


Example day:

Breakfast: Piece of toast with butter

Lunch: Cheeseburger and Doritos

Dinner: Spaghetti with tomato sauce

Snack: Reese's Sticks.

1,000 calories.

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CharleyDavidson · 21/07/2015 22:10

I've had 1200 today.


On hol so didn't bother with breakfast.

Lunch - full fat cream cheese on 5 chilli crackers with an apple and grapes.

Dinner - Huge salmon salad.

Snacks - packet mini cheddars, eat natural cereal bar.

And I have enough left of my 1200 for a cornetto after the kids go to bed.

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Malenky · 24/07/2015 12:54

I've been doing it with Slimfast, so I have 3 snacks that are 100 calories each, 2 Slimfast shakes and a sensible dinner of about 600 calories. I have had things like a slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter as a snack breakfast, spaghetti hoops, chicken and savoury rice, carrot sticks and guacamole, chilli pop crisps, etc. The past couple of days I have even saved up enough calories through not having a snack to be able to have a little bit of chocolate after dinner.

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Malenky · 24/07/2015 12:56

Oh and the first day or two I was ravenous but it really does wear off after a couple of days, at first I was downing the slimfast shakes all at once but now I can only manage to drink them over the course of half an hour or so.

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flux500 · 16/08/2015 21:53

I've only just started doing the 1200 a day from 4 days ago using my fitness pal app. I find the best thing so far is to not have breakfast and have my Special K that I would usually have for breakfast for lunch. This leaves me lots of calories to use for dinner and I find I can have pretty much anything for dinner and a few glasses of Pinot :)

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lipsandcurls · 25/08/2015 15:56

I am on 1200 too!!

I use mfp and am 100% honest, so every scraping of butter, tomato sauce etc is accounted for

I weigh most things, such as 45g granola (gosh it's small!) and you start to learn what's satisfying and low cal

I just started taking a multivitamin as could see I was below everyday virtually

Avocado... Love it but its not worth the extra calories in my salad, sweet corn however is tasty and low


Plus I count daily steps and exercise so you can earn some extra calories there ????

Spin class is a mars bar and packet of crisps if you wanted!!!

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propergood · 29/08/2015 06:20

I have just started this two days ago after seriously falling off the wagon in terms of binge eating. I was eating 1,000 calories plus in chocolate a day :( This is my first time calorie counting and I have so far found it a lot easier than just trying to eat healthy. However, I am only two days in! I plan to give myself Wednesdays as a day off to eat what I want.

So this is my meal plan for tomorrow.

Breakfast- Vega Chocolate Smoothie (90 cals)

Snack- A whole Cucumber dipped in Tamari Soy Sauce (about 80 cals, probably less) and a Kind bar (210 cals)

Lunch- my lunchbox which is a naan bread (260 cals) with 1/2 cup curry sauce (80 cals), 2 cups spinach (30 cals), 1/4 cup salsa (20 cals) and celery (30 cals). I've cooked the celery and I just stick everything in the microwave for a few minutes. It totals 420 calories.

Snack- Nakd Bar (130 cals)

Dinner- Vega Berry Smoothie (80 cals) and pitta bread (140 cals) with a slice of vegan jalopeno cheese (35 cals). The brand of cheese is Okanagan.

I live in North America and I'm pretty sure you can't get Okanagan cheese in the UK, unsure about the Vega brand. The smoothies really fill me up. I've been pleasantly surprised by them.

And that is 1,185 calories in a day.

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Disorderedthought · 11/10/2015 10:49

Porridge (Quaker instant) for breakfast with skimmed milk
Lunch large salad with fish and low calorie dressing
Bag of pop chips
Evening meal around 300-400 kcals and a low cal dessert (after eight mousse is my current fave!)

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PlayNice · 21/10/2015 06:53

My best trick is to do a really low cal breakfast (usually under 200 cal). I like doing either two scrambled eggs without bread (Sainsbury's Medium Woodland Eggs are about 77 cal each, bringing you to around 150 cal). So you could even add a slice of bread there and still be at 250.

Or the Quaker Porridge Sachets come to about 180 cal and are also very filling. (I've also worked out that 30g porridge is 1/3 of a cup, so I tend to just do that to save me money and dicking around with scales).

Cutting carbs is my second tip to save calories. Courgetti in place of pasta gives you most pasta meals for 300-500 calories. Spaghetti bolonaise, avocado pasta, leek & creme fraiche & bacon. And it's way healthier.

Or just focusing on the meat, and filling the rest of the plate with vegetables. Stuffed chicken breast, or roast chicken thigh with Mediterranean vegetables. Pork in a mushroom sauce. Steak, garlic carrots, leeks.

Fish cakes are quite calorie 'cheap'. And soup is an obvious one, and really easy for lunches.

Hope at least some of that might help. I snack on Light Babybels (50 cal), natural yogurt with homemade plum compote or tart spiced, stewed apple, fruit, little packets of roast chicken from the supermarket, Cadbury's Highlights Hot Chocolate (like 39 cal, I think), squares of dark chocolate, Propercorn Popcorn.

My walk into Uni takes me past a Hotel Chocolat who almost always have free samples out so I can sneak in and grab one chocolate which is usually about 50 cal. Politeness prevents me from eating more Grin. One day they'll start recognising me and I'll have to give it up.

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TaliZorah · 13/11/2015 09:55

I have toast for breakfast, toast or fruit salad for lunch and then roasted veg with fish for dinner

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GiveMummyTheWhizzer · 25/11/2015 20:37

I've been on 1200 for a while now. Typical day:

Breakfast - smoothie with almond milk, frozen fruit, some high protein yoghurt and a scoop of protein powder. Topped up with water. Approx 210 cals.

Lunch - massive salad with prawns or tuna, alpetina cubed feta, sundries tomatoes. Yoghurt. Approx 300 cals.

Dinner - poached eggs on whole meal toast with some ham and brown sauce and a Choc yoghurt. Approx 400.

Snacks - biscuit of some description or a lunchbox malt loaf and a light babybel.

Today I also got 225 cals back from body combat but I don't eat my calories back.

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Ishoos · 20/01/2016 22:29

I try to avoid bread/ potatoes and eat more protein as that seems to stop me feeling as hungry. Also drink loads of water. Cut out the diet drinks as they make me crave snacks. Good luck

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trixymalixy · 20/01/2016 22:44

On a working day I have:

Breakfast: egg and spinach pot from boots 100cal(basically two boiled eggs)
Lunch: prawn and avocado salad (normally homemade but I get the crayfish no bread from pret if in a rush) 300 cals
Snacks: 1/4 pack of peanut m&ms (50 cals)
Cooked chicken 100 cals
Dinner: 400 cal ready meal if being lazy or chicken stir fry with no noodles or rice.
Glass of wine: 200 cals

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Toffeelatteplease · 21/01/2016 17:59

Doing it with slimfast

Breakfast: Muller light or Activa yoghurt (snack one)

About 10-11: slimfast cafe latte shake

Lunch (often late): eg 50g pasta, 100g chicken and leek (cooked in 60ml white wine), 125g Cabbage (blanched hairy Bikers pasta style) , 125g sweetcorn, 5g parmasan. Salt and pepper. About 550 cal but turns into an enormous plate of food!!!

3-4 o'clock: snack (75g popcorn or slimfast pretzels)

6-7 pm Dinner: meal bar or shake (sometimes have snack instead. either 100 cal homemade leek and potato soup or slimfast snack spaghetti bolognase, then I have the shake later instead of a snack)

Eve: snack in front of the tv in the evening (or shake).

Bank a load of calories from exercise for a bit more relaxed weekend but still generally eating to 1500 cal diet even without this. Have a 2l bottle of water in the fridge, make sure I drink it all (otherwise there is no way I would drink enough)

Haven't felt hungry hardly at all. Lots of cabbage and water

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Toffeelatteplease · 21/01/2016 18:02

Oh yes like lipsandcurls a decent multivitamin!

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trixymalixy · 21/01/2016 19:06

Oh I take a multivitamin and a sachet of spatone with my breakfast every morning too.

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ReggaeShark · 10/02/2016 16:42

Am on 1200 calories and have only lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks. Very disappointed. I focus on veg and healthy protein, a bit of fruit and minimal carbs. I'm not that active but more so than before I started.

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DeliveredByKiki · 06/04/2016 03:25

I avoid breakfast and do 16:8 (no calories for 16 hours, eat in an 8 hour window) try to keep snacking to a minimum so I can have heftier meals to fill me up

Example day:
LUNCH: half an avocado, tin of tuna, 2 cups of spinach, squeeze of lemon (431)

DINNER: Cauliflower rice, chickpeas, green peas, pomegranate seeds, h/m tahini and lemon dressing, broccolini, coriander and chili flakes (464)

SNACKS: almond milk latte x2, one rich tea biscuit and 30 odd jicama sticks drowned in lemon juice

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Titsywoo · 21/04/2016 19:47

B: Large slice bread with butter and 2 scrambled eggs - 380 cal
L: Fuller for longer ready meal or sandwich - 350-400 cal
D: This depends if I have exercised or not, I am trying to do 300 cals worth of exercise a day (Davina DVD or walk 3 miles). If I don't I have something worth 400-450 cals so stirfried veg and rice or small amount pasta with lots of veg and tom sauce. If I have exercised I can have 700-750 cals which is a good sized meal.

I'm trying not to snack or drink alcohol except a glass at the weekend. It is tough but the more you exercise the more you can eat and the better you will look.

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Crazyinlove123 · 23/04/2016 17:05

During the week I miss breakfast and dinner if I can. If I have to I will eat some fruit or have a heinz cup soup of about 70 calories.

This obviously leaves a lot of calories for a main evening meal. So I can eat what I like.

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sjojolove · 26/04/2016 11:33

Girls i don't know how you can skip breakfast... I wouldn't survive without it!

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MarthaCliff · 27/04/2016 22:39

Breakfast Slim fast shake 207

Lunch prawns and salad 200 - 250

Snack soup eg Asda chicken and sweet corn300ml. 125
Piece of ham - 77. or tangerine X2 = 70

Healthy Ready meal or simple home cooked meal veg and fish. 300-400.

Small kitkat -107 or Kellogg rice crispie marshmallow square - 130 (?) or low cal hot chocolate -39

Milk - 100-150.

Small Banana 80

Vitamin pill

.....

I log everything on MFP. I've been doing it a while and am suprised I'm not loosing weight faster. I'm going to keep plugging away. I've a sports injury so am doing less high impact sport. I definitely can't cheat at all. I'm generally not,hungry except around my period where I feel more peckish. I can't see that having a day off a week would work. I've lost 10 pounds so far. I'd like to loose 5 more.

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