What are your 1200 cals days like?

[Oksunny]

3 meals + snacks where possible but not essential.
1200cals a day.

Anyone mastered it? The calories seem to go no where! Sometimes I am having only one meal a day & nearing 1000 cals with a snack. How do you split that into 3?

In the week, it's 2 boiled eggs for breakfast (150) then a salad - usually tuna or smoked tofu for lunch. Lots of chilli sauce on it (usually between 200-300). No carbs other than veg though.

I allow 100 for milk for tea and coffee through the day.

Dinner is usually around 400/450. Often noodles or rice plus veg plus protein. I eat fish but not meat so that naturally keeps things low.

That gives me about 200 -250 to play with. I usually try to have a bit of fruit and/or yoghurt in the afternoon and a small pudding after dinner. Maybe a couple of squares of choc or a Turkish delight bar.

I do try and keep carbs down in the day and find eggs the very best thing to keep me full up. My portion sizes are quite good and I use a small plate. I weigh or use stuff which is in portions like a sheet of noodles. I try and stop eating by 8 and put back breakfast as late as I can manage. Have tried proper IF but it seems to mess with my sleep.

Weekends much harder. I generally don't have breakfast or as much milk for tea to make room for more treat food.

For Sunday lunch I have veg and something like a nice bit of fish or some veggie sausages. I had the nicest pudding this week - roast rhubarb with no sugar on top of light vanilla ice cream - was lovely if you like rhubarb and custard and came in at less than 100 cals.

Breakfast - porridge sachet made me unsweetened almond milk, topped with some sweetener (~170 cals)

Snack - Alpen bar/ banana/ melon (all ~90-110 cals)

Lunch - low cal soup & crisps (~170 cals)/ salad from subway with chicken (220 cals)/ M&S Balance for You microwave meal (~210-350 cals), egg and ham salad from tesco (220 cals), can of diet coke (0 cals)

Dinner - veggie chilli, chicken stew, cajun spicy rice bowl, salmon in soy sauce with veg (usually dinner is 400 - 600 cals)

Snacks - yoghurt (100 cals), skinny popcorn (70 cals), Options hot choc (40 cals)

I agree that it isn't feasible long term if you're trying to fit in three meals plus snacks. Usually now I've completely given up on snacking and just stick to three meals a day, or if I know I'm having a bigger meal at some point that day I'll skip breakfast.

Yesterday:

No breakfast
L - I treated my son to lunch out so had McDonalds fillet of fish and medium fries with a diet coke (approx 700 Cal's)
D - big ham salad with some low fat salad cream (350 cals)

I then had enough to have a small snack in the evening. I had a mini dairy milk bar (100 cals) but if I really want a snack and don't have a lot of calories I have a rich tea finger biscuit (25 cal).

Today is a more balanced day:

B - Weetabix with skimmed milk (200 cal)
L - mushrooms on toast (350 cal)
D - chicken breast, small portion of rice and lots of veg (550 cal)

That leaves enough that I don't bother counting milk in tea or things like soy sauce. I also go to the gym 3 times a week but don't eat the extra calories so that at the weekend I can have wine or a pizza or something without worrying about it.

Breakfast, Cereal milk and half a banana.
Lunch, small wrap, 2 small multi grain slices or 3 oatcakes, a laughing cow and some ham, salad, maybe a baby type packet of crisps
Dinner, half a plate of veg, 1 to 2oz of pasta rice or noodle, palm size portion of meat. Same breakdown whether it’s spaghetti Bol, roast or stir fry,
Usually leaves 2/300 cals for a rice cake snack or kitkat. Boring but I like not thinking about my next meal or I obsess about it.

I've yo yoed about 20 times and only just realised on this cycle that my body really just doesn't tolerate sugar or carbs well. I'm veggie so carbs can be an issue.

I have poached eggs on one slice of brown toast for breakfast, a Bol soup for lunch (really high fibre and protein) and that does me until dinner when I'm often not that hungry.

Upping fibre and protein has been a game changer. My blood sugar feels stable, my stomach doesn't rumble and I don't get that shaky ravenous feeling where I just need to eat.

I also do 20 mins hard cardio a day and jump around like a madwoman on the spot every hour to blast my heart rate up.

I'm a stone down so far but it's pretty much all from round my middle which feels so much better.

I just divide everything I eat into 100 calorie portions.

2 cups tea with small amount of sugar and milk - 100 cals.

4xfishfingers - 200 cals.
Portion peas - 100 cals.
Liberte yoghurt (a lifesaver) - 100 cals.

Sushi - 300 cals.
Couple crispbeads - 100 cals

Etc.

I also eat back my exercise calories at the moment.

God it's boring. .

A typical day ...

Breakfast ... total 0% fat free Greek yogurt with some favour drops so it's not sour! Banana or berries chopped into it. 175 cals

Lunch ... a wholemeal pitta toasted and split. Topped with tomato purée, sliced babybel lights and lots of peppers, mushrooms etc. Oregano. In oven. 320 cals. Or a large salad with quorn fillets. Or ryvita with low cal cream cheese and crudités

Dinner ... roasted veg topped with feta. 350 cals

Snacks... carb killa protein bars. Watermelon. Mango. Small packs of nuts. Babybels. Sugar free jelly. Rice cakes with almond butter. That kind of thing

I average 1000 cals a day

I rarely manage to eat 1200 calories in a day.

Breakfast is porridge and a coffee, around 200 calories. Or half an avocado and 2 scrambled eggs, 200-220 calories. Lunch I often have a you foods meal, under 350 calories. Or homemade veg soup, 200-250 calories. Dinner is always a protein and loads of steamed veg, 300-400 calories. If I need a snack I have an apple, banana, rice cake or popcorn. Plus a couple cups of tea through the day. I feel like I’m eating more than before I started calorie counting!

I’ve been having
Breakfasts
warburtons thin (1 half) and poached egg
Low fat yoghurt and fruit
Toast and marmite
Or no breakfast

L
huge salad with fish
Salad sandwich
Soup
Egg on toast

D anything with lots of veggies and fish and a small amount of carb
Stir fry
Roast veg
Curries
Wrap pizza
Tacos

Snacks
Lower calorie crisps
2 malted milk or ginger nut biscuits
Fruit
gnt can (in evening!)

This is really unhealthy, but this is what I'm eating at the mo! ...

Breakfast - porridge oats and water

Lunch - pom bears (90cal)

Snack - hippie crisps (90cal)

Dinner - salad and veg and might have a bit of what my kids r having

Snack - carrot sticks / celery and humus

Drinks - water, diet coke, coffee with soya milk

Rarely go above 1000cal.

I have 1100-1250 cals a day

2 meals usually veggie fajitas, salads, tabbouleh, stir fry
1-3 vegan protein shakes a day
Fruit including oranges, raspberries and strawberries and Lara bars/ low cal crisps for snacks

Hi all, I have been counting calories for three weeks and not lost anything..Help!!! 1200 a day, using fitness app to count. Increased the exercise from no exercise to 20-25 mins a day. A pair of jeans that I couldn't do up, do up now. But the scales do not show any difference. Please can anyone offer any advice??

Oh watching with interest!! Is there a specific 1200 cal a day thread?

One thing that I have found has helped me (on the few days I’ve managed to stick to 1,200) is eating a load of something very low calorie before having my meals or with my meals.

So for example I will cut up loads of cucumber and eat that before I have my meal. That way I find that I have a smaller portion of my meal and still feel satisfied. Usually I don’t feel satisfied u less I have a big portion but eating the low calorie food first obviously does something to make me feel more full?

I do

2 poached eggs breakfast

Chicken salad with two Ryvita

Dinner

Roast veg or
Lean meat plus steamed veg
Stuffed peppers or mushrooms

Doing it about a month and down 10ibs . Finding it doable to be honest if a little boring..

Find sparkling water with a slice of lime great for filling me up so drink a pint before lunch and dinner too

I've had 1200 today

Breakfast ( I don't normally eat breakfast though) but I had:

100 ml soy milk for tea and coffee

Smoothie made of chia seeds, linseed, soy milk, Peanut butter powder and frozen summer fruits.

Lunch: smoked salmon and poached egg

Snack : small sausage roll
18g bag of pork scratchings

Dinner; 2 sausages, cherry toms, 2 scrambled eggs,
Strawberries and a spoonful of mascarpone

1234 cals, 47g carbs

Not enough fruit and veg really, although tomorrow I'm having a vegetarian day so will have more, today was a low(ish) carb day. I've done 14k steps, ran 7km and done some very heavy diy smashing up a tiled floor! I feel full after all that food, I find 1200 manageable really but only if I don't have any sugar/bread etc

I try to stick to an alllowance per meal, e.g.

Breakfast 200 cals
Peanut butter on a slice of toast, porridge with skimmed milk, greek yoghurt and fruit

Lunch 300-400 cals
Sandwich and an apple
Soup and hard boiled egg
2 poached eggs on toast

Dinner 400-500 cals depending on what I had for lunch
Pasta with vegetable sauce
Stir fry with chicken and noodles
Chicken and veg curry and basmati rice

2 snacks of around 100 cals each
Snack size chocolate bar
Fruit
Babybel
Light crisps
Crumpet
Diet gin and tonic

350 cals for breakfast, lunch, & dinner. Then two small snacks.

Breakfast: Porridge (40g oats) made with skimmed milk. Or 3 x Weetabix.
Lunch: Sandwich (weigh the cheese if using it!) Ham is good. Or Egg mayo using 2 boiled eggs and 1 slice of toast.
Dinner: Small portion of whatever the family dinner is. Summer is good to have meat + lots of salad, maybe a new potato or two. Slice of quiche or fishcake + lots of salad. Curry with 50g portion of rice. The important thing is to weigh! And bulk up with salad.

Snacks: for me, used at about 3pm and then after kids are in bed. Small choc bar, packet of Skips, 3 x Quality Street size chocs, mini Magnum type ice cream.

Some great ideas on here!
Breakfast is usually the same (252kcal)
Two large eggs, scrambled (no butter or milk, just salt and pepper once on the plate)
100ml fresh orange juice
A cup of decaf tea with semi skimmed milk

Lunch: varies but my absolute favourite is Oyakata Miso Ramen noodles (you can usually get them from Waitrose or Amazon) with a spring onion chopped in and a handful of frozen petit pois cooked in the broth. Occasionally I add a soft boiled egg if I have the spare calories/particularly hungry. You can add shredded spinach for extra veg. A huge bowl of food for only 115kcal!! Otherwise I'll have half a tin of heinz soup (tomato or chicken) with a wholemeal wrap and some salad on the side (

Oh and I drink black decaf tea (normal and earl grey) throughout the day so that helps keep me full and doesn't add any calories on.

It’s bloody hard. I’ve lost almost two stone though since lockdown so it does work. I’m thinking up upping to 1,500 as I do find it really tough and when I’ve fallen off the wagon it’s not been good! I think that comes from a place of depriving myself too harshly.

Breakfast - two boiled eggs and two slices of wholemeal toast. 10g spread and a touch of Marmite.

Lunch - Cheese and salad sandwich

Dinner - Chicken/fish and veg. I quite often do myself fajita mix but without the wraps.

Snack - a piece of fruit or boiled egg.

That sounds perfectly doable doesn’t it - but I am left absolutely ravenous on an evening.

I usually earn about 70 cals in exercise, so the above menu would be 1,270.

I find that to survive(!) eating 1200 calories a day its such a delicate balance for me. It’s taken me a while to figure out what works best so that i don't end up in a horrible hangry state where I feel shaky and rubbish. I know now that i just can’t trust myself to portion out the right amount at dinner so until I’ve lost the weight I’m sticking to mindful chef and cook frozen meals. It also means that if I get too hangry before I serve up everyone else’s dinner I have the option to chuck mine in the microwave and eat it before it all goes wrong!

I know that my worst time of day is around 4pm so I work a protein shake (one scoop chocolate with coconut water, spinach and berries) into my day to have then and that usually keeps me going until dinner so that I can wait to eat with the family.

I also know now that although I need something for breakfast or I’ll feel sick, I don't need much, so I’ve cut the calories there and have a high protein quark type yogurt with 50gm pomegranate. Tuna seems to feel me up and keep me going for a longer time so I’ll have a whole tin with 2 tablespoons of lighter than light mayo on top of one slice of thick whole meal bread for lunch. I alway chuck a big side salad with it for extra nutrition and to help keep me going.

I also love my coffee and tea so I now have unsweetened coconut milk as its so low calorie (a tip i picked up on here!). I allow myself 300ml a day for 45 calories and feel like it’s well spent!

If I do all of that I may have 100 calories left at the end of the day for a fibre one bar... or bag of proper corn...

It’s pretty rubbish and boring but like pp’s if i dont stick to it 100% I just dont lose and I really want to be a healthy weight now. I do a lot of exercise so I’m hoping that that will help me maintain one day! Everyone’s different... it’s definitely a case of working out what works best for you.

I’m short and slim and 1200 cals are my maintenance calories (if I’m not exercising).

It’s sad but it’s not that bad. I normally have fruit/yogurt for breakfast, some snacks & a sandwich for lunch and whatever dinner with a side salad. It’s not super restrictive but I don’t go overboard with snacks

I also drink 2l of water a day which keeps me feeling full