Who is on 1200 a day?

[icepole]

I have done all I can to avoid calorie counting because I bloody hate it but nothing else works. I am dreading it, maybe I am just greedy but 1200 a day I am just hungry all the time. What do people eat? Any coping tips? I am planning on scrambled eggs for breakfast (2eggs) tuna salad for lunch, a couple of oatcakes with a bit of peanut butter for snack and a couple of squares of dark chocolate after tea. Tea is usually fish or more bloody eggs or a dish with quorn mince - I don't eat meat although I do eat fish.

I used to keep my weight down by exercise but I have health issues at the moment but I am so dreading this. I used to suffer disordered eating and I can't stand the thought of thinking about food all the time like this but I clearly just eat to much and can not shift this last half a stone for love nor money.

My net cals is 1200 a day but I have got into the habit of exercising and eating those cals back as well as drinking shit loads of water. I think I eat about 1800 plus cals a day overall.

I have lost on average 2lbs a week.

I eat more now than I ever have but its good stuff.

I have finally cottoned on that a bit of exercise goes a hell of a long way, as well as keeping you motivated :)

I'm on 1200 a day but the past week been eating a lot less - I know, I should be eating more but at the stage where I can't look in the mirror.

I used to keep weight off with exercise, poor health has seen paid to that.

I am doing 1200 a day and it's hard! I can only do it by having two meals a day (always breakfast then either lunch or dinner.) No snacks at all! Even then I sometimes go over my calories a bit. It's working though I have done 13 days and lost 4.5lbs. My chosen meal was lunch today so I am going to bed now before I cave in. The minute I fall off the wagon that will be it!

I'm on 1500 a day. Slow but steady. Sometimes very slow :-)

I'm doing 1100 a day and it seems to be working. It really helps to write it down and I keep the scales out and weigh everything. I eat the majority of the cals at supper time and don't get up too early!

Have you tried the 10 cal pots of jelly from the supermarket? They are not that cheap (60 or 70p) but it makes a virtuous snack after supper.

pippop1 what do you typically eat per day?

Well usually breakfast of a hardboiled egg with a teeny bit of butter (100) and then not too much else until supper time. Maybe a tangerine and some homemade soup with not many calories at all. If I get up late it helps!

I eat more in the evening, a normal type of meal but no potatoes and lots of low cal veg instead. Then maybe an ice-lolly at 80 or so and more fruit.

Not too healthy but it's working! If I go out to eat I don't worry so much but would have two courses at the max and just look for something lowish calorie. The rest of the day I would not have much to save myself for the evening but in the evening I wouldn't worry overly.

Do you have any good low cal ideas?

I am on 1200, it doesn't feel like a lot of food!

Today I had a lovely big lunch of roasting veg and feta cheese with a basil dressing for 335 calories. Lush. Dinner will be a portion of filled pasta.

I don't eat breakfast anyway (naughty) so I guess that makes it easier as I have fewer meals to distribute the calories between!

The thing that I truly appreciate about the 1200 is the fact that you start paying attention to how many calories are in certain products. This means that even if I am going to stop limiting myself to only 1200 daily, I still have a much better understanding of what is in my food.

I agree Marga. I see that I have made rather high calorie choices in the past. Some unwittingly!

I'm on 1200 a day but still seem to eat pretty decently

Breakfast = 30g shredded wheat with skimmed milk and a cup of tea with sweeteners

Lunch = weightwatchers soup and a slice of bread (Kingsmill Danish only 53 cals a slice!) or a sandwich with weight watchers tuna or quorn. Then I'll usually have a bit of fruit, a Laughing Cow triangle (the lightest one is 20 cals) and maybe some Snack a Jacks or a weight watchers mini roll or something.

Tea = a low calorie ready meal, or just what I was eating before but a much smaller portion ie jacket potato with beans and weight watchers cheese, or quorn. Tonight I'm having a roast dinner but I won't have the huuuuge plate I normally have.

Then a night I'll save calories for a bit of chocolate :)

I drink Pepsi max a few times a week as its only 1 cal (I know it's quite naughty though!).

Prior to this I was eating 3000+ calories most days... God knows how I stayed a size 8 but I've lost a few pounds eating 1200 a day and feel much more confident too.

I'm eating 1200 a day at the mo.

Breakfast: 1 slice of seeded, wholemeal bread, small amount of clover and marmite.

Lunch: weight watchers crust less quiche, loads of salad and small amount of coleslaw. Small yogurt.

Dinner: Birdseye breaded chicken, new potatoes and loads of veg.

Snacks: 1 timeout bar, cup of tea.

The only way is to do MFP and earn back a load of exercise calories IMO! I'd rather run for 20 minutes and have two slices of bread than starve on one.

I think 1200 is quite easy to stick to as long as you choose the right things? Today I had:

Breakfast: 50g sultana bran with 100ml skimmed milk, glass of cranberry juice

Lunch: 100g (half pack) of cooked hot and spicy flavour chicken slices with salad and cherry tomatoes, packet of Walkers sun it's (I'm a crisp fiend

Dinner: BBC Good food Mexican chicken stew, with 75g of basmati rice, twister lolly for desert (usually have a yogurt)

Snacks: 100g grapes, banana, hard boiled egg

That looks like a reasonable day's food to me! My dinner was a good sized portion. My tip would be to have as low cal lunches as possible, with snacks of fruit either side (eg 11am and 4pm).

Trying to lose 7lbs after just having dc3

Doing my fitness pal and that's set 1200 a day I'm finding it near impossible tbh

So watching with interest

quint eggs are 75ish calories, and although they contain lots of cholesterol, that doesn't turn into cholesterol in your body, saturated fat does that.

I think that some of you doing this are really not eating well; lots of Weight Watchers diet foods and diet drinks are not likely to leave you feeling full. You're much better off with protein; lean chicken and ham, olives, nuts and seeds. Swap to fizzy water as aspartame does horrible things to your body and can actually make you crave sugar.

Also what is this starvation mode I've heard about? Will we go into it if we are only eating 1200?

Try adding steel cut oats to your diet, it fills you up for longer. Or regular oatmeal/porridge. (just not those flavoured instant ones)

I cut out breakfast, (naughty I know) but I prefer having 2 bigger meals than 3 smaller ones.

Breakfast - large decaf tea with 20ml soy milk, sometimes half a banana
Lunch- chicken salad, and maybe a satsuma or a banana
Dinner- 2 fajitas, or roast dinner with loads of veggies, spat Bol etc

I like having a normal dinner and have whatever I or my DH wants, so if it's tacos or enchiladas or chicken pie I have it. I always look at portion sizes though. I have lost 15lbs in 3 months. So not particularly quick, but steady, and i can really see a difference. I just prefer eating in the evenings and I like a good dinner. I try not to snack through the day at all if I can help it and will just drink water or decaf tea to make me last until dinner.

I eat the same, my breakfast is 2 of Tesco chocolate pop cereal bars, 80 calories each, ten lunch is a cup a soup with 5 crackerbread followed by a huge green salad with some Tesco low fat dressing, then a small pack of buttons as a mid afternoon snack, 85 kcals, then for dinner im eating tonight smoke red lentil burgers with a low fat blue cheese dipping sauce I make myself, 45kcals a tbsp. and again masses of salad. And always make sure to have at least 1 litre of water a day. don't know if I'm doing it right or not really, but loose around a 1lb a week. I also find that the " A girl called Jack" recipe book is fab for loads of vegetarian healthy foods. I rarely eat meat.

I seem to be going out for meals with friends and even if I have almost nothing in the day I still am exceeding my calories for the day (I guess) in the restaurant. Then I don't lose but I don't put on. Two such meals at the weekend (it was a long weekend!) mean that my hard work during the week achieved nothing.

When out I have fizzy water to drink with a slice of lime and no starter. Also I try and choose fish rather than pizza/pasta which is surely a higher cal option or is it? I don't eat meat. But then I think, Oh well, I'm out, I'll have just a small dessert.

I wish the dishes in a menu had to have an approximate calorie value on the menu. Are there restaurants that do this?

Oh I agree pippop. Eating out is so hard when calorie counting

and I'm going to a wonderful restaurant tonight. I've had 350 cals today only. I'm starving!

Quite a few restaurant chains have calories on their website- zizzi prezzo pizza express nandos