To eat just 1200 calories a day...

[lostmyslippers]

I really really need to shift my flab!! Nothing fits me :-((
How many calories do you eat per day and what do you eat? I am trying to walk a bit more too as I hate the gym and never stick to it anyway. So I am trying to curb the calories...

My Hubbie has lost 1.5 stone since Xmas doing 1200 calories and the 16/8, 16hours fasting and 8 hours eating. we’ve got the my fitness pal app, main meals are normally , chicken / fish / red meat .. salad/ veg and rice / pasta / potatoes etc
We order from musclefood and use the my fitness pal to track calories. Breakfast i
Don’t eat but hubbie has eggs and something else. Lunch is salad etc
It’s actually easy to do once you get into the flow of it, you think about what you are eating , the fat content etc.
Good luck it gets easier!!

Make homemade soups. Most tomato based ones come out really low on the calorie counter I've noticed. Today I had roasted veg (carrots, onions and peppers with a few garlic cloves thrown in with a spray or two of fry lite I think it's called) then blended them up with tinned tomatoes and it was about 159 cal a serving. And it was bloody delicious. Very rich and as such, very filling.

Other ways to cut down is to change all your normal things to lite/light versions. Most are just as good as the full fat.

Eat something filling for breakfast like porridge. Not great on calories but keeps you full for longer.

@thenightsky it's fairly recent that it came to my attention and I'm fairly obsessive about reading up on the latest thyroid research.

www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/apnm-2017-0410 is one, but if you search scholar.google for thyroid and carbohydrate, there's a lot of stuff being published currently.

I agree 'titty', I stopped breakfast about 5 years ago after speaking to a friend who was a GP in their 60s who looked amazing. We talked about intermittent fasting (eating all food in an 8 hour period), advertising of cereals and that some studies about breakfast were based on a sample of people who skipped breakfast but then ate junk food at 11am. I stopped breakfast 5 years ago and it has been beneficial for me. I have a data driven job and my mind is sharper in the mornings.

I need to stick to 1200 calories when I want to lose a few pounds. (I’m 5”2’ and do exercise).
I cut out all sugary stuff, then eat whatever I fancy but smaller portions than usual.

I'm 5'10, 12 and a half stone, trying to get down to 10 and half/11 stone. To lose a pound and a half a week, I need to be on 1200 a day. It's actually fine most days, sometimes I am under and occasionally a little over. This is week 4 and i've lost 3.5 the first week, then 1.5 for the next two and hopefully the same this week. I'm using Myfitnesspal to log and monitor. A typical day for me:

Breakfast - porridge/lighter cereal
Lunch - soup and a roll or a baked potato and salad
Dinner - Cottage Pie and carrots/chicken breast with home made wedges and salad or peas etc
snacks - cornetto or quavers or curly wurly :)

It isn't too tricky, and I'm rarely hungry.

Breakfast- Porridge with water plus fruit or a few nuts . Or maybe one slice wholemeal toast plus 2 eggs.

Lunch -salad with hummus or chicken or tinned fish. Or maybe homemade soup, including pulses etc.

Dinner- varies but usually 500 calories. I include vegetarian meals with pulses, or meat or chicken based stuff. All home cooked, or previously cooked and frozen.

It tend to work out 300 calories breakfast, same lunch, 500 dinner. A few left over for skimmed milk or soya or cashew milk (eg soya unsweetened is v creamy but v low in calories compared to any milk).

My BMI is around 26, and I lose about 1/2- 1lb a week.

I don't eat small portions but the food isn't high cal food.

I've lost almost 2 stone since 1st January, when I started following a 1200 calorie diet and doing a workout dvd 3 x a week.

It was hard to adjust at first, but if you stick with it, it becomes normal!

I break the calories down to 300 for breakfast, 300 for lunch, 400 for dinner and 2 x 100 calorie snacks per day.

Breakfast - poached eggs/avocado on wholemeal toast or porridge.

Lunch - a HUGE salad with some ham/chicken/tuna or soup.

Dinner - meat/fish, loads of veggies and if im very hungry, a small portion of rice/potatoes.

For the snacks, I usually have a yogurt or some fruit.

What really helps me stick to this though, is my cheat meal! I found that having a cheat day basically meant I binged all day and ruined all my hard work during the week. So I changed it to 1 cheat meal - I eat a small portion of whatever I fancy for dinner and have a dessert, glass of wine or a beer.

I also let myself have a few drinks if I have a night out. But this only happens maybe once or twice a month and I only drink vodka and soda water anyway.

Get yourself on My Fitness Pal, it’s a good app.

I want to lose a stone and my recommended daily calorie intake is 1,230.

For reference I am 5 foot 5 and weighed 10 stone 8 when I started a couple of weeks ago. For me the main problem is sugary carbs (ie sweet snacks). Even cutting out them and not being too strict on the calories means I am losing weight. 1,200 seems low, but I skip breakfast so actually I have a fair amount left to play with for lunch and dinner.

Salads, soups, hard boiled eggs for snacks, cottage cheese and rice cakes, lots of water, sugar free apple sauce and Greek yogurt, lots of steamed veg, chicken casserole with lots of veg, served with a baked potato or baked sweet potato. Basically you need to eat lots and lots of veg, good protein and some fat in various inventive forms to keep you full.

I am 5'4 and about 7.5 stone and I eat around 1,200 calories per day. The trick is to eat a high protein/veg diet. I find that when I am eating a lot of protein I don't get hungry in between meals. A daily meal plan for me would be for breakfast, two eggs with mushrooms, spinach, tomato, a little goat cheese and some greek olives. For lunch, a big salad with spinach, greens, broccoli, peppers, tomato, cucumber and then a protein (steak bites, chicken or salmon), olive oil and a squeeze of lemon for the dressing. For dinner, a protein (chicken, beef, fish) with lots of vegetables and a green salad.

If I am craving something like bolognese, I will substitute the pasta for kale or courgette or just eat the sauce (go heavy on the beef).

Things to consider when transforming your diet are to stick to whole natural foods. Vegetables are pretty low in calories and super high in nutrients so eat as many vegetables as possible (stay away from starchy vegetables like corn, potato, etc). Cook with fresh herbs, fresh garlic and onions to amplify flavour. I never eat anything that is labelled 'low fat', I only eat things that aren't super processed, full of fillers and chemicals and sugar. I drink my coffee and tea black, never use salad dressings (olive oil and a squeeze of lemon is healthier and taste better in my opinion). If I am craving something sweet, I will have a piece of fruit in the evening. Baking apples with cinnamon are really tasty and take cravings away. I also really like to do a small berry smoothie with greens and almond milk if I am craving sweets.

I try to only eat grass-fed meat and buy grass fed butter so I am eating clean/healthy meat.

I rarely drink alcohol. I love a really great glass of red wine but I save that for special treats, like going for a nice steak dinner in a great restaurant. Other than that, I don't drink. You should treat yourself with the very best, instead of filling your body with cheap sugary drinks, diet foods that lack nutrients, etc.

One thing to remember is that this should be a way of life, not a quick diet that you only try until you reach your goal weight. Eating healthy shouldn't be viewed as something to be tolerated or that you are forcing yourself to do. You can create a lot of lovely, easy and tasty foods that are high in nutrients and very filling. And when you are eating healthy the majority of the time it won't matter that once a month you have some crips or lovely dessert on a fancy night out.

Interesting thread, with some useful tips. I need to lose 20lbs baby weight (have 8 week old). The killer is I'm breastfeeding which makes me really hungry, but I'm not one of those lucky people where I lose weight breastfeeding (if anything the opposite).

For those of you using exercise dvds, which one(s) are you using?

I do MFP and have an allowance of 1600 which is very manageable. It means slower weight loss but I think it's more sustainable

I do it by not eating until 11/12 oclock.
Soup for lunch is maybe 300 calories, meat with veg for dinner and fruit and maybe a small bit of chocolate for snacks.

I do MFP and eat 1200 calories a day. It was grim to start off with.

I take the opposite approach from hidinginthenightgarden. I eat a protein packed breakfast, more protein for lunch plus veg, then a light evening meal. I eat hummus and carrot sticks or a few nuts for a snack, and drink very little. No food after 8pm.

Have also joined a gym and go 3-4 days a week for 1-2 hours each time.

I skip breakfast except at the weekend but it is so late I don't eat lunch. I used to be slim without trying but then dh stated getting up for work at he same time and made breakfast for us both. I piled on weight mainly because once I had eaten my body then wants elevenes and I have no resistance to the chocolate that is always about in the office. Then I would have my normal lunch and dinner.
I am now for the first time having to actively lose weight so it is back to no breakfast.
Black coffee or water
No snacks or picking
Reduced portion size - put out a "normal" portion and take a 3rd off.
No alcohol during the week
5:2 on Mondays and Wednesdays
20-60 minutes of HIIT a day.
Hill Walk of 4 miles or more on a Saturday and / or Sunday.

It is working because I can fit it into my life. I don't change the pattern of anyone's day or what anyone else eats.

This thread is amazing motivating..thank you everyone!!!!

Amazingly..🤔

Brilliant thread, it's inspired me to get back into logging my food. It's amazing how calories can add up, in fact I'm going to start right now! I have a pesky stone to lose (well I think I do, I've avoided the scales). I do exercise loads though.

If I give myself a month to start with, basically until Easter how much do you realistically think I can lose?

@givemesteel try YouTube exercise routines - bodyfit by Amy has a number of post natal workouts to get you started. Also recommend HasFit , Fitness Blender and PopSugar. Loads of free ones of various lengths.
Invest in some weights too.
I am sixteen weeks post birth, breastfeeding and back to pre birth weight. I do try and squeeze a work out in every day - even 20 mins is worth it. Good luck!

I’m another one who finds skipping breakfast helps.
Just go straight to lunch and have things like soups and salads to keep you full.

You could have 400-500 cal lunch.
500-600 cals for dinner. bbcgoodfood has some fab easy recipes.
200 cals for a snack.

I stick to 1200 by having 250 calories for breakfast and lunch, around 100-200 in snacks and then 400-600 for dinner. If I'm super hungry or want wine I work out (e.g. most days!!)

Just wanted to add to other helpful posters - it’s not all just about calories. What has been proven time and time again is a diet of whole ‘real’ foods is what’s best for losing weight, and you in general. Much more than eating very low calories (though calories can be a helpful guide if you need structure - I do)

So ‘upping your protein’ isn’t really what does it, though it does digest slower and keep you full, that’s the fact when people up their protein they’re usually eating more proper meat, whole eggs, fish, and then proper veg. Fibre is also really important and often forgotten. Rice, potatoes, quinoa, barley, all fab - because they’re whole foods, full of fibre and goodness. High protein, high fat, high carb etc can all work and do all work for people, because they’re eating more whole foods. This is why so many dietitians are pissed off with Change For Life’s ‘100 calorie snack’ bollocks, people are thinking about what is 100kcals not what the food actually is, and the fake food market are responding with 100 calorie fake food snacks. But maybe that’s another thread....

1200kcal of cream crackers, biscuits, cupa soups etc will be a nightmare because you’ll be starving. 1200kcal of big salads, omelettes, fruit, small portions of nuts, whole fresh fish and veg, brown rice and lentil dhal etc will be healthy, filling and much easier to sustain.

Also to add: most cereal comes under fake food. Even the high fibre cardboard stuff you think is healthy is crazy processed and full of crap. Low sugar granolas and muesli are probably the best options if you need something in this category.