1200 cals a day ...what does it consist Of if you manage to stick to it

[Pugsrus]

I’m trying to stick to this ,and failing miserably
What does 1200 cals look like in a day ,I’m vegan ,but just want to hear how other people make this work ,so I can get ideas..
Thanks

I just ate a delicious breakfast which was 90cals:

4 cos lettuce leaves, half a slice of ham, sliced tomato and sprinkle nigella seeds in each leaf, eaten like wraps.

You could replace the ham with houmus.
Really satisfying!

If it helps, I have designed my own lazy half arsed summer diet which is actually working! Mostly because it’s been too hot and I can’t be arsed

• morning: cafe latte slimfast shake. Lots of coffee
• mid morning - banana & Diet Coke

Lunchtime - salad with cold chicken & avocado

• mid afternoon— another slimfast shake
• early evening - carrot & cucumber sticks & tzatsiki dip. Vodka & slimline lime tonic
• dinner - barbecue steak or chicken or fish & salad
• mango & pineapple chunks. More vodka

Why are you trying to stick to such a low amount of calories?
Find out your TDEE, subtract 500 and make that your daily allowance. You will be able to stick to that and keep it up. 1200 is not enough for almost anyone.

@ageingdisgracefully

My BMR is 1450.

My 1200 cala for yesterday were:

1 cup tea with sugar -. 40 cals.

Smallish portion of sausage casserole plus liberte yoghurt. 500.

4 fish fingers plus tiny amount of rice. 500.

Good as Gold ice-cream 69.

Couple cups tea/ coffee at 40 cals. Poss 150.

Walking for an hour and a quarter to collect 10000 steps.

I came in at 950 cals net.

It's TDEE you need to work out, not BMR

@Pugsrus

I may need some ideas from other vegans on what to put with my salad . Huge overhaul for me ,as my diet was 90% carbs , toast toast and ....toast

Here is my example day (but I am losing on 2000 calories)

Breakfast - 3 crumpets, dairy free spread, marmite, tea with soya milk -430 calories

Lunch - salad. Lettuce, olives, tomatoes, marinated tofu, seeds, jalapeños with either boiled new potatoes or pasta, or air fryer sweet potatoes. I use half low fat dressing and half proper.

OR a veggie burger in a bun with sweet chilli sauce and a small salad (ie no Calorific ingredients like potatoes or seeds) - 600-700 calories

Dinner - cous Cous with vegetables and chick peas, curry with rice, pasta and tomato sauce with added butter beans, stir fry with tofu and rice - all around 550-700 calories

This gives me room for dessert after dinner which is either a small amount of dark chocolate or some sorbet. You can tweak all the meals to be lower calorie or choose a lower calorie breakfast (I love bread products and am not giving them up!) if you want to keep your calories lower.

I’m doing 1215 calories today eating:

Weetabix fruit & nut (40g), milk, glass of fresh orange juice 150ml

Slice of marmite toast, 1 x petit filois and a few strawberries

Vegetable Thai Green curry with small portion of rice

A can of coke, pack of mini cheddars and a cake bar 🤷‍♀️

Although, I can get by on very small portions and not feel hungry. I’m more of a grazer so maybe that’s why I can afford more sugary rubbish.

I find 1200 way too low. Are you only doing it for a short time OP or trying to change your eating habits long term? If it’s the latter 1500 is more realistic and easier to stick to in the long run. You only really want to be in a 500 calorie deficit for a steady weight loss.

Also try to make sure you’re still eating your 5 portions of fruit and veg. Chicken and veg is a high protein low calorie dinner and you can eat a large portion of veg to fill you up.

code that IS my tdee. That's what meant. Not bmr.

@ageingdisgracefully

code that IS my tdee. That's what meant. Not bmr.

Ok. That's very very low - you must already be a fairly low weight?

I think the 500 calorie deficit is actually quite difficult to achieve unless you're active.

I'm old and sedentary. I think people generally underestimate food intake and overestimate exercise.

Not vegan and on 1300... but...

Boiled egg, coffee with skimmed milk, piece of fruit

Homemade carrot and onion soup - I use quite a bit of veg oil and a stock cube

Same dinner as my child but on a big bed of fresh spinach with a spoonful of the carbs
Fruit with a spoonful of proper yogurt or ice cream for pud - but I usually have it as a snack later which works for me.

Carrots, coffee and diet Coke as needed.

My BMR is less than 1180 - I am starving trying to reduce that! All my weight is around my tummy which I know is bad. I can't do much exercise as I have a bad back causing me issues. It is very hard so you have my sympathies!

@ageingdisgracefully

I think the 500 calorie deficit is actually quite difficult to achieve unless you're active.

I'm old and sedentary. I think people generally underestimate food intake and overestimate exercise.

Definitely. There is about 800 calories a day difference for me between a day when I don't meet my steps target or do any exercise and a day when I do both. I need to do 10000 steps a day and exercise 4 times a week to burn enough calories to eat 2000 a day to lose weight.

@Notgoingouttoday

My BMR is less than 1180 - I am starving trying to reduce that! All my weight is around my tummy which I know is bad. I can't do much exercise as I have a bad back causing me issues. It is very hard so you have my sympathies!

Please work out your TDEE not your BMR You should not be going under your BMR

@CodenameVillanelle Thank you for the advice. That's a relief, the TDEE is a lot higher. It is all so confusing - For most of my life I have been underweight but in recent years I have become more sedentary and it is now starting to show! I am planning on talking to someone who is an expert on all this now we are out of lockdown so will try to be sensible and reduce my weight in a sustainable way.

Not vegan but I hope this helps anyway. I do 16:8 from 10:30 until 18:30 and aim for 1200 calories.

I weigh EVERYTHING scrupulously as my guessimates tend to be way too generous. I restrict portion sizes to no more than 100g of meat per meal.

I have half a pint of semi skimmed for my daily hot drinks.

My breakfasts include 30g porridge (made with water) with 50g berries or a one egg herb omelette with spinach, mushrooms and a babybel light or a boiled egg and berries.

Lunches are chicken salad, brie and grapes on ryvita, chicken or ham salad sandwich. Salads have olives and crumbled walnuts included

Dinners are things like BBQ chicken breast with carrots and broccoli or liver an onions with vegetables

I snack on apples, grapes. 50g of ice cream, skinny bakery meringues
an M&S Millionaire bites

I am a big woman with 8 stone to lose but I genuinely do not feel hungry on this regime. I think because I am having to cram all my calories into a relatively short time frame I am constantly full during the day.

@fourquenelles why are you on 1200 calories if you are a big woman with a lot to lose?

I appreciate people want to lose weight as quickly as possible but honestly it's much better to eat more and lose weight sustainably. You run less risk of loose skin for one thing, and you can more easily move to maintenance to keep the weight off when you need to.

Find out your TDEE, subtract 500 and make that your daily allowance. You will be able to stick to that and keep it up. 1200 is not enough for almost anyone.
This is conflicting advice. My TDEE minus 500 IS 1200.

I look at the calorie content in everyday stuff, and make swaps so it feels like I'm eating the same amount but it works out significantly less. Low fat caramelized onion houmous for example is a fraction of the calories of Moroccan houmous. A flat bread is significantly less than a pitta. Air popped corn rather than a packet of crisps. A handful of strawberries are half the calories of a handful of grapes. Half a head of broccoli is the same as a portion of peas, but far more filling. That sort of thing. I've been on a diet since the start of lockdown, lost 1.5 stone so far, and not felt hungry very much at all.

@Davodia

Find out your TDEE, subtract 500 and make that your daily allowance. You will be able to stick to that and keep it up. 1200 is not enough for almost anyone. This is conflicting advice. My TDEE minus 500 IS 1200.

I should have been clearer Most people who need to lose weight will have a TDEE in excess of 1800 unless they are very very short and quite old. People whose TDEE is 1800 or under tend to be in the healthy range anyway and therefore can function better on lower calorie diets since their bodies don't need as much to function.

My TDEE is really low, I'm only 5ft but obese so if I drop it 500 I'm at 1200 anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️

I simply don't lose weight by eating more calories, not even really slowly. I've tried, persevered for months and months, I didn't lose a bean on Team RH, I really pushed myself to eat all the cals they set, meet my macros and do my steps, I tied myself in knots and developed really unhealthy habits to meet the goals and I didn't lose squat. DH was the same. I'm not saying it doesn't work because it does for a lot of people, just not me.

My sister swears by slimming world but my other sister didn't lose anything.

Keto made me incredibly unwell, DH lost loads and felt great (was expensive though!)

I think it's finding what works for you, being sensible and not expecting anything too quickly.

[quote CodenameVillanelle]@fourquenelles why are you on 1200 calories if you are a big woman with a lot to lose?

I appreciate people want to lose weight as quickly as possible but honestly it's much better to eat more and lose weight sustainably. You run less risk of loose skin for one thing, and you can more easily move to maintenance to keep the weight off when you need to.[/quote]
I am short, old and inactive too so if I drop 500 calories off my TDEE it takes me to 1300 anyway. I aim for 1200 so I have wriggle room

There's a soup brand called re:nourish that are tasty, filling & vegan. Just had one for lunch plus some oatcakes.

Hi ,I’m op ,I name changed
I have a lot of weight to loose
I’ve been very worried about being obese and catching the virus ,it says fat people are more likely to die from it ..
I’ve been using my Fitbit ,following the recommendation of 2000 calories to loose weight on ,and not lost a pound ,
So I read you must never go lower than 1200 as it affects your metabolism,so that’s why I picked 1200 ,rather than the 800 fast diet ,that actually I probably should be doing .