To ask for help planning a 1200 calorie day

[iloveruby]

For health reasons I need to loose weight and it has been recommended that I follow a 1200 calorie diet but I'm really struggling to stick to this, mainly because of planning (or lack of).
So my AIBU to ask you to outline what you'd eat if you had to stick to 1200 a day??

Some good advice here, but would also suggest that you add chilli flakes/hot sauce* to as much food as you can stand.

I find eating a bowl of veg soup infinitely more filling and satisfying if it’s spicy, plus chilli is good in and of itself for raising the metabolism.

*just be careful when buying hot sauces that they’re not packed with sugar.

Chilli also increases your metabolic rate.

Who told you you should aim for 1200 calories? If you're overweight to the extent that you need to lose weight for "health reasons" 1200 is likely far too low and you'd lose weight fairly quickly, at least to begin with, simply by improving the quality of what you eat. E. G. A chocolate bar is usually around 400 calories and you can have a full, satisfying meal for that if you cook from scratch.

I also skip breakfast because I find it easy to and it suits me more using those calories later in the day

I don’t eat breakfast, I’m never hungry in the morning so I’m not going to force myself to eat. On the rare occasions when I have eaten breakfast I’m ravenous 2 hours later!

I eat 1200 calories a day and find I’m having to go searching for more food to get to that amount. I eat lots of eggs, salads and vegetables and lots of fish and protein. Eat fresh food not processed and you’ll be full. There’s not many calories in a salad bowl and I fatten it up with creamy dressings or have a soup to go along with it. I find carbs are what keep me hungry so I have minimal. Have lost 4 stone eating this way over the last 6 months. Back to basics has been so good for my health.

There are plenty of knowledgeable people who don’t think that you lose muscle at 1200 calories if that is appropriate for your age and size (I think that’s about as low as it goes though) - I finally lost about 11 kg and got my weight well within ‘normal’ BMI - and back to where it hadn’t been since before babies who are now 12 and 10 - on not much more than 1200 (most days!) over 8 months or so - and have kept it off pretty easily for several months since - and am pretty sure it was fat rather than muscle in my case.

But that is just anecdote - my understanding is that as well as the calorie content, which does count, you need to track macros, focus on protein which fills you up and on keeping sugar to a minimum (I avoided added sugar where practicable but still had ‘natural’ sugars - my biggest downfall was what turns out to be a surprisingly high sugar (lactose) content in the skimmed milk I have in lattes, tea, etc.

MyFitnessPal is definitely your friend - but you may also want to look at sample diets somewhere; I used another app called 8fit (I think it may be the premium version) because I liked a lot of their suggestions.

For me, adding breakfast but making sure it had plenty of protein really helped avoid the later ‘need’ for sugar.

I normally try to stay below 1000 calories a day and on average my day's food is normally:
breakfast: 35g cereal (bran flakes or similar) no milk (150 cal)

1 tea with 1 teaspoon sugar, no milk (16 calories)

Lunch: Half a small tin of tuna (80 cal) with a dollop of lighter than light mayo (20 cal) and two ricecakes (42 cal each, so 84 total)

Afternoon Nibble: 1 plain digestive (80 cal)

Dinner: I don't tend to calorie count on dinners, as I know that as long as I'm sensible, when combined with the above I'm usually ok to come in at around 1000 calories. Generally this might be a turkey chilli, fish and new potatoes, or chicken tacos, for example.

My only advice would be try your best not to snack. I don't know where and why we were conditioned that we need an elevenses or more but we don't. Feeling hungry for an hour or two will not do you any harm

2 big macs and kids fries

Desertgirl, I agree with everything you say. I know muscle gain can happen at that many calories because I get regular body composition analysis and I can see that it does. Im not too concerned about overall weight, rather fat loss and muscle gain. The more muscle you gain, that will burn the fat for you.

I think the thought about snacking is that it keeps your hunger (and blood glucose) levels under control so that you don't overeat during meal times. This works better for me. I can then eat a small bowl full of something and not want any more.

It so very much depends on what is going to work for you. I would try out a few things people have suggested (so try skipping breakfast, try lots of snacks) and see what feels like the most sustainable way for you to lose weight. Different people are different!

As you need to lose weight for your health, I'd suggest that you don't worry much about losing muscle but do try to include some exercise (again, try a load of different things and see what sticks!) as a couple of hundred extra calories makes a big difference when you only have 1200!

The things I do (as a shortarse who therefore doesn't need many calories!) are... exercise like hell (pre-pregnancy I had worked my way up to running 50 miles a week), skip the pasta/rice and add extra veg instead and skip breakfast. On days where I know I'm eating out I tend to eat nothing at all for the rest of that day...wouldn't work for a lot of people, but suits me beautifully.

I should have added that I lost five stone and have maintained it (I'm totally counting my healthy weight gain during this pregnancy as maintaining as it is such a win for me!) for two years.

Also, look at people who have shifted weight and have gained a body shape you want and ask them how they have achieved it and how they maintain it. Everyone has their own their own theories but if their own body shape is telling you its unsustainable or not working at all, then maybe that theory might not be the easiest to keep to.

I maintained 1250 a day almost every day for 5-6 years and will go back to it after pregnancy, veg are your friends, I liked two eggs scrambled (no toast) for breakfast, high protein keeps you fuller, sometimes I'd add chilli flakes for extra flavour. Fresh soup or salad with tuna or chicken etc for lunch then a healthy dinner, I ate a lot of fish. Melon or cucumber are good as snacks, only drink water (plenty), fruit tea, sugar free squash. Allow yourself a dessert after dinner (100-125 calories), so you don't feel deprived. One evening a week I'd have what I wanted for dinner, not take away or all you can eat buffet, but just something I fancied. You get used to it very quickly. Weigh everything at first and use something like my fitness Pal to track calories. It will become second nature, and don't forget to exercise too.

Oh I lost nearly five stone and kept it off, I also have PCOS

Thank you for all the suggestions - I think I will definitely try skipping breakfast and just have a couple of coffees instead.

I think my mistake has been logging my food after I have eaten it and then being shocked by how many calories it is , rather than planning the calories for the day before eating (which I understand is far more logical )

For those who asked why 1200 calories - I have 3st, 3lbs to loose for me to be a healthy weight (I have already lost 1st) and when looking at how to achieve that a healthy low calorie approach seemed the best way.

Following for ideas as I'm a heffer.

What is your typical week of food like?

Another option is to cut portion sizes. The risk of skipping breakfast is that you might eat more at lunch as a result!

Also how much exercise are you getting?

I get a fair amount of exercise (got dogs and horses) but could probably try and fit a bit more in. I think I probably have too many carbs (I'm not a huge veg fan) and too much alcohol.

Although saying that when I did cut out the wine for 9 months I replaced it with chocolate which wasn't great!

It doesn't help that often I'm tired when I get home and want something quick and comforting (hence the carbs and chocolate)

Maybe fInd something proteiny that hits the ‘quick and comforting’ button - fruit with peanut butter or with a small piece of cheese, for example - seems to work better at plugging the hole!

I usually eat 900-1200.

Also not claiming a healthy menu but I tend to eat like this on my better days:
Breakfast - Blueberries and Low Fat Green Yogurt (approx 150)
Snack - Dried Fruit (approx 100)
Lunch - 1/2 Baked Potato, Tuna, Cucumber, Satsuma (approx 250)
Snack - Low Cal Hot Chocolate (45)
Dinner - Chicken, No Carb Noodles, Peppers, Babycorn, Mangetout (approx 300)
Snack - Snack a Jacks, Fruit or Veg or Low Cal Icecream (approx 200)

On a bad day it could be a similar amount of calories made up almost entirely of fruit, snack a jacks, low cal icecream/hot chocolate and sweets!

Low GI worked very well for my mum. Otherwise she'd be starving constantly. I would maybe reduce your calorie intake a little slower unless the weight loss is urgent (e.g. for an operation). Maybe 1800 to start then after a week 1600 etc.

Hello op.

I’ve followed a 1200 calorie diet for many months. And lost 4 stone.

I’d usually do it like this:
B: 250
L: 300
D: 500
S: 150

Calorie counting is the only way to lose weight for me. I feel in complete control writing everything down. I always leave room for a treat, Chocolate rice cakes at 85 cals is my treat, or a small kitkat.