1200 cals a day

[bowiesmum]

I'm going to try and lower my calories even though I was advised to have nearer 1400.

I'm 5'2 and 10.3 stone,

What do you eat in a day at 1200 that keeps you full all day and no cravings!

Hey! I use MFP too, if you go to MORE> GOALS> NUTRITION GOALS you can then customise different calories for each day. This is a “premium feature” though, so I do pay a yearly fee for it - a bit annoying but it helps keep me on-track so worth it!

I use MFP too

I'm not counting calories today because I got sent a surprise M&S coronation hamper which really cheered my spirits

I'm heading out for a hen today so going to let loose but will start from scratch tomorrow.

With the inspiration from this thread I am going to:

Use up any UPF in my cupboards to gradually eliminate them
Cook from scratch then freeze foods for the future.
Wean myself off the scales.
Make a point of savouring real food with real ingredients and flavourings.
Make soup.

Thank you ladies!

I said there's no way to do it and not feel hunger, and you've clearly said you feel hunger. Also, you've been doing it a month. Tell me if you're still doing it in December and feeling satisfied and I might believe you.

OP, if you want to lose weight and keep it off, I recommend you stop eating things like fat free dairy products and low calorie bread - all this stuff is processed rubbish and it's not satisfying or nourishing for your body.

This is coming from my background of having lost over 4 stone and kept it off for years.

I used to do what you do - low calorie makes sense, right? I did that for years and years.

But then I saw a personal trainer/ nutritionist who changed my life completely. I mean, think about it. Why do you think you need that chocolate bar in the evening? It's because you're not satisfied from the food you are eating, so you have cravings.

I recommend cutting out processed foods as much as possible (that includes all low calorie versions of everything). Stop worrying about calories. Worry about what you are eating, the quality and freshness, not how many calories are in it. Eat more vegetables, nuts, meat/cheese/protein and healthy carbs (things where you can understand all of the ingredients - e.g. sourdough bread from a bakery!)

If you do this for a month, your body will start to recover and feel nourished.

Honestly - it sounds completely counter intuitive but it has changed my life. I do not deny myself now and I don't need to stick to any particular number of calories.

When you eat real food, your body and your appetite will start to regulate itself. 1200 calories is just sad, you are denying your body what it needs and it's not sustainable - and it's completely unnecessary too!

I eat 1200 calories a day to lose ,anymore and I gain weight.
I don't feel hungry that often.
I do restricted eating window, so first meal is at 2 pm and second at 7 pm and I don't eat past 8pm.
I track everything especially measure milk in coffees etc. I thought I was using about 50cals...turns out in total it's more like 250...I drink a lot of coffee !!!

I have been eating under 1200 calories since February and don't get any hunger pangs or cravings. My food yesterday was around 1000 calories and I felt full. The trick is to cut processed foods and minimise gluten spikes but limited carbs and pairing them with fats.

Drinks - black coffee and water
Breakfast - sprouted grain bread with avocado, smoked salmon and tumeric (306 cal)
Lunch - sea bass fried in olive oil, samphire and lentils (285 cal)
Dinner - chicken soup, salad with walnuts, olive oil and chicken (374 cal)

@PennineWay on your advice I could be eating 2000 calories plus of tasty, healthy food but I’d be gaining a load of weight. To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit and to know if you are you need to count your calories. There’s no denying fresh, healthy food is good for you but not in unlimited amounts.

Yes, it's important to acknowledge this!!

I'm at around 1350 average per day and not hungry but merely maintaining.
I'm walking miles to try and burn cals or speed metabolism.... hasn't worked YET but on the 18th May I'll reassess.

Think I'll hold off on fasting 36 hours for now, I want to know what works.

Maybe one 36 hour fast per week plus one 7k walk ? One of each would be easier than two fasts or two walks.

I have given up 2023 to finding put what works.

@wasacasa PennineWay is not calorie counting though and I suspect if she is losing weight she isn't eating that many calories. The point is that eating whole foods makes you much fuller so you don't feel the need to eat so many calories.

There is also quite a lot of research on the take up of calories by the body. It tends to be higher in processed foods than whole foods due to differences in how they are digested and in how the energy is released.

As @Bubbles254 said, I likely eat fewer calories because I feel more satisfied than I do with my previous diet.

Obviously you need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, I'm not denying that. I regularly used to calorie count and I would lose weight doing that. The thing is, I would eventually put that weight back on - whether that be after months or years - because my underlying knowledge about diet/ nutrition had not changed, so as soon as I stopped trying to lose weight, the calories went up again.

It has now been over 4 years since I started eating the way I suggest (on the advice of a nutritionist/ personal trainer) and I have been at a healthy weight and my body feels great. If that's not evidence of what I'm saying then I don't know what is.

Obviously, this also needs to be combined with movement and exercise, too. But again, you don't need to calorie count. You just ensure you are tiring yourself out regularly.

Calorie counting is unsustainable - I have realised this over many years - I used to believe in it religiously. All of the years I spent calorie counting and eating low fat foods because I thought that was the way to lose weight, to deny my body what it needs - my weight fluctuated hugely over those years and I was often overweight/ obese.

As soon as I stopped and started eating differently, my life changed.

You can believe me or not as you want, I'm just sharing what I have learned and what has truly worked for me.

I've already eaten 611 calories this morning

A whole tub 450g of The collective gourmet mango yogurt plus 2 cups of coffee with milk

Doesn't leave much for the rest of the day but considering I don't usually eat much breakfast I might not get too hungry throughout the day but we'll see

Yesterday I finished up in 1000 calories. I was still a bit hungry, but not hungry enough to eat any of the options I had to hand. Had there been a bag of crisps, I would have devoured them.

Pretty typical day for me mid week, but I would normally have some fruit around 4pm.

A lot of carbs, which isn't for everyone, I know but has worked well for me.

Breakfast- Porridge with banana 183
Lunch- beans on toast 275
Dinner- tofu and veg with noodles and sauce 492
And an apple 48

I ate loafs yesterday, about 1600.
All the walking at the weekend cancelled.

Onwards.
Psyching up to do a fast.... a 36 hour one. Rarely eat outside of 7 hour window but that doesn't seem to make me slim.

I ate some crackers then a large bag of crisps later on yesterday. I'm not feeling 100 % well so I only ate that much later on in the evening as it was easy to grab.

I haven't eaten yet today. But when I do it will be pitta, hummus and anti pasta stuff I got in my hamper (olives, aubergine, peppers)

I very successfully lost weight following a 70's diet called 'The Scarsdale dale' a few years ago. I put loads back on over lockdown and haven't really lost it yet.

I printed off the diet sheet and put it on the fridge

I can't do that now as don't want to affect my DC and their eating habits

But I think I might need to try it again especially as the range of food did suit my tastes

It's a short term diet though for no longer than a month to get you going

I remember going to bed a bit hungry the first couple of nights then it was fine

I think it's a diet really to prepare you for surgery devised by a cardiologist back in the day

But you can work it around 1200 calories and adapt it.

I was super strict with myself at the time and the results were excellent

I don't have a sweet tooth (unless I'm in a strict diet then I suddenly crave sugar ) so it might be hard to try if you do.

The scarsdale diet was for 3 days if I recall. I'm so terrified that my metabolism will fall again, I would be terrified my body could adapt!!

What does it consist of?

I'm back on track. Was hungover yesterday and still stuck to my cals. The food diary arrived and it's really helping me stay on track. I vowed I'd fill in every page for the 12 weeks.

I also had no Diet Coke today, only water!

I've decided I'm going to try this.

Struggling to work out how many calories in our Indian takeaway though. I had 3 spoons of onion rice, 3 chunks of chicken in a tikka masala with 5 spoons of sauce and 1/4 peshwari naan.
Only had 2 boiled eggs and a slice of bread for lunch.

Not the idea meals today but I've not snacked which is a huge deal for me

I work with a PT and started last August weighing in at 68kg and I’m 5’0”. He started me on 1500 cals per day, which I tracked on MFP and I was pretty strict, weighed almost everything and cut out a lot of stuff I like but which was fairly unhealthy.

My PT has gradually increased my calorie intake so that now it’s 1800 per day and my weight is now 50kg. My calories are spread fairly evenly throughout the day but I always make sure I include snacks, like protein bars and I generally eat a bag of quavers every day. I’ve gradually reintroduced some foods to my diet and my weight loss has been really steady.

1200 is too low and in my opinion, just not sustainable for healthy weight loss.

Yes I've read that 1200 is too low too. I'm going to try and skip breakfast and just have a light lunch and normal portion size dinner. I'm an over eater and snacker so if I can stop that, it should help. I'm not good at tracking calories

I'm fine on 1200. I do intermittent fasting so eat 2 meals a day. I do that whether I'm dieting or not. I dont eat breakfast and I eat from 12.30 to 6pm because I can't sleep on a full stomach.
I've never eaten breakfast. I cant face it first thing.
I always carry a banana or apple just in case I feel suddenly ravenous and I eat a lot of salad and stir fry veg.