1200 calories just can't be done!

[Swearwolf]

I'm still trying and failing to lose the baby weight (now 15 months, so doing terribly!), unfortunately breastfeeding has made me hang onto the pounds this time around and I have at least a stone and a half to lose. I'm trying to do MFP as I'm still feeding at night so can't do any proper diets, it says I should be on 1200 calories a day (I'm short). I'm finding it impossible! Today I hardly ate much at all, but I still have only 350 calories left for dinner. Help!!!!!

I'm trying to live on 1000 a day...it's hell.and I fail every day..so nothing positive to add.only I feel yr pain

Does MFP have a way to input that you're breastfeeding? Because you shouldn't go below 1500 at the very least while you are. No wonder you're hungry!

I can only do it if I eat a big breakfast, no lunch and then an early dinner at about 5:30pm. Can usually have a couple of light snacks at lunch time and during the evening too. It's very hard though, and I spend a lot of time feeling hungry. Do you eat things high in protein or fat? They usually help take the edge off hunger pangs

What are you spending your calories on? Are you eating lots of fruit, salad and vegetables? Your calories will go further on those sorts of foods.

Are you exercising? Even just walking pushing a buggy can help.

If you do a food search for breastfeeding on MFP it will give you further calorie allowance. 1200 doesn't seem much when bf.

I'm probably eating the wrong kind of things, I'm trying hard but I'm back at work and have to fit in around that. Today I had overnight oats for breakfast (oats, yogurt, raspberries and sunflower seeds), soup and ryvita for lunch, and a cereal bar.

I only manage one exercise class a week as dh goes out a couple of evenings and I'm so tired the rest of the time. I mean to go out walking but between the children going to bed and me going to bed I just want to sit down. On the evenings we're out, there isn't much time to cook.

I did lose loads of weight walking with the buggy when ds (dc1) was small, but this time around it's so much harder as I have a 4 year old in tow and he doesn't want to walk a mile at a decent pace. We walk when we can, but it's at his pace and it's always to get somewhere.

Breastfeeding can go in MFP as exercise, but she's only feeding a little bit and only overnight, so I don't think it's burning much, if anything. I'm only 5'2" and 1200 is generous actually!

I've got a 10 month old and I've lost almost 3 stone on Slimming world. No calorie counting required.

I'm also breastfeeding, I meant to add!!

1200 seems really tight for breastfeeding tbh, at 5'3 - 1200 is what I aim for to lose weight at 5' and I'm not breastfeeding. I would recheck your calorie requirements on other websites, you could try this one that I saw linked somewhere else. Reddit has a subsection here for recipes and stuff for people aiming for 1200 kcal a day which you might useful.

1200 is hard. I can do it but only if I don't snack.

Meals today - 2 eggs scrambled. 50g halloumi, 50g chorizo, olives, salad for lunch. Chicken breast made into a curry with cauliflower rice. 1 coffee with 2 teaspoons of cream.

Up the fat to keep you full and get your carbs from veg.

I don't eat breakfast, have fruit or salad for lunch, that leaves me quite a bit for evening meal. Try to avoid having sweets/crisps/biccies about if that's your downfall (it's mine!). Fill up on veg or salad - cherry tomatoes, cucumber, an orange.

It can be ok. Two eggs for breakfast, scrambled, perhaps with a baked tomato and boiled mushrooms. If you want carbs with it have a couple of rice cakes with low fat spread. Lunch - two slices of brown bread with low fat cream cheese or cottage cheese or tin of ww tuna and sweetcorn and big salad. (That's around 600 so far). Dinner - chicken or fish with potatoes and veg (around 400). Snacks - two finger kit kat (110) or bag of wotsits (99) or piece of fruit. Keep 10 cal jellies in the fridge in case you're hungry. I also have activia yoghurts (around 60 cals).

Ah, you can do 1200! There are also a number of 400 calorie dinners (I used to make potato and leek soup - filling but nowt in it)!

Breakfast: 1 piece toast plus 10g peanut butter (170 cal)
Lunch: 1 tin chickpeas with tomatoes (I forget - about 350 cal)
Dinner: Small jacket potato with 100g baked beans (around 350 cal)
Fill up the gaps with sugar snap peas and blueberries! Plus leave yourself a milk allowance for tea.

P.S. I'm vegan which is why the above is rather meat-free, but you could have that too!

What exactly are you eating? Looking back at MFP last week I had

B- poached egg and asparagus on rye bread
L- grated carrot/celery/spring onion/tuna mayo wrapped in romaine lettuce leaves
D- homemade beef casserole with root veg mash and peas
2 chocolate truffles
3 small prosecco

That all came in at 1282, so it is doable

I'm on 1200 cals a day at the moment it is tough I don't eat before midday and have a good lunch, a snack in the afternoon and a food dinner.

Only lost 2lbs so far though

I'm on 1200 and also eat out for dinner a lot with work which makes it tricky. The best thing for me is if I can skip breakfast.

Then:
Typical lunch:
ham and eggs
sushi
chicken salad no dressing
Courgetti with pesto
Soup - pretty much any sort

Dinner

Asparagus pancetta and poached egg
Cod fillet with garlic spinach
Steak and mushrooms in black bean
Thai pork in lettuce
Turkey burgers (no bun)
Chilli and rice

That usually comes in less than 900 leaving some room for snacks.

Try eating a veggie dinner. I made s huge veg curry last night and it worked out really really low

If you do a salad make it huge too by
Loads of interesting salad leaves
Grate carrot
Cucumber done with a potato peeler
Lots of chopped spring onion

Think bulky food

I think you will struggle if you have many carbs or much fat. Meat veg and fruit is the way to go. Thought Crutches menu sounded brilliant! My personal faves are sweet potatoes with everything and Rachel's low fat vanilla yoghurt. Fantastic, tastes like a real treat with fruit you don't need much. If desperate, a supermarket creme caramel is less than 100 cals. Good luck

You could come join in on the 5:2/fasting diet thread! 800 cals a day. It is perfectly doable but you have to be in the right frame of mind to do it. I'm a similar height to you and bf'ing my one year old 3-4 times a day. Bf'ing did not get the weight off for me 2nd time around either. I've lost 8.5lb in 3 weeks on the blood sugar diet.
You do have to completely change the way you eat though - focus on protein and vegetables and avoid carbs from bread, pasta, rice, cereal etc.
If nothing else, 1200cals will seem like a feast afterwards!

Fucking hell you ladies are hard-core

toffee

Of course it's doable, it's just not all that nice or enjoyable.

I'd go without breakfast, because I find my blood sugar is more stable if I don't eat in the morning, I'd have a salad with a good amount of protein for lunch, and a dinner with a small amount of carbs, reasonable amount of protein and lots of veg.

I routinely used to keep my calorie intake to around 800 calories per day, 1000 on a slightly more enjoyable day, and once in a while a bit of a blow out. But I wasn't breastfeeding at the time....

Breakfast: 1 piece toast plus 10g peanut butter (170 cal)
Lunch: 1 tin chickpeas with tomatoes (I forget - about 350 cal)
Dinner: Small jacket potato with 100g baked beans (around 350 cal)

This seems like a tiny amount of food. I don't think I could get through the morning on one piece of toast with peanut butter!

Fair play if it works for you. How long have you been eating like this?

I'm on 1200 too. Yesterday breakfast was 100g 0% fat Greek yogurt and a banana (150 calories), lunch