Anyone else on 1200 calories per day?

[DIYnovices]

Downloaded MyFitnesspal and apparently I need to eat 1200cal per day to lose 1lb per week. I have been doing it successfully for a week.

Anyone else in the same boat? How do you spread 1200 cals out through the day?

here is what I’m doing:

breakfast: one slice of toast and half an avocado plus coffee with skimmed milk (250 cal)

lunch: Half a tub of soup and a sandwich thin (250 cal)

snacks: Kit Kat, cups of tea, sun bites, banana (350cal)

Dinner: small portion of whatever DH cooks (he’s dieting too so it’s always low calorie) (350 cal)

Sometimes a skip a couple of snacks and replace with a glass of wine in the evening!

Any tips to help me get a bit more variety would be great!

Me!

I like a decent evening meal so I have as few calories as possible until teatime.
Cupa soups raw carrots etc.

Yep me too. I don't have breakfast. I split lunch and dinner to 500 each and then that leaves me 200 for a snack or a glass of wine. It's brutal. The last few weeks I've stuck to 1000 in the week and been a bit naughtier at weekends. I'm very slow to lose weight as mid fifties and peri (and very short).

Way easier to do intermittent fasting and have a decent lunch instead of a meagre breakfast and prison lunch IMO. Plus you get the health benefits from fasting. It takes maybe a week to adjust but then you get used to not eating until lunch and it’s way easier when you’ve got a decent meal coming instead of rations.

@PrincessHoneysuckle I quite often eat nothing all day on a Saturday so I can have a really decent feed too.

Yes, I'm finding fasting for 16 hours is working better. I often don't eat anything until 2pm.

Up your protein massively. Add it to your soup or for breakfast. Will keep you fuller. Loads more vegetables (fruit not as important) again will keep you full and also help with your digestive system, fibre intake etc.

I have
Cupa soup around 10.30am
Another at 1.30pm
100 calories each.

Propacorn salted popcorn lare pm
42 calories.

700 calories evening meal

Then another 200 calorie snack before bed

Not the healthiest as cupa soups are full of salt but fuck it.

Definitely with the protein, half a tub of soup and one sandwich thin wouldn’t touch the sides, I’d feel deprived and diet-y and hungry later. For roughly the same calories you could have a tin of tuna, a massive bowl of cottage cheese or a couple of boiled eggs and some salad (I can’t be arsed with lettuce so I have cucumber, tomato, gherkins, pickled cabbage, olives…lovely tasty things that are also low calorie).

Banana for brekkie
Apple and oat milk coffee mid morning
Handful of almonds for snack
Breakfast for lunch, so yoghurt, seeds/cereal mixed in, blueberries
Boiled egg with crackers as snack
Glass of wine
Healthy normal meal cooked by DH for dinner - chicken and veg curry with veg instead of rice, meat and veg, casserole with lots of veg etc, or a low calorie ready meal with extra veg

I have lost 4 pounds in a month, 3 to go.

I also run and walk alot

How tall are you? I am doing 1300 cal but I am 5'3" and 22 BMI - can not see anyone taller/bigger doing it without starving!
Breakfast: 1 egg, 2 slices turkey ham or smoked salmon and a banana. Alternating with overnight protein oats (homemade - half cup whole oats, scoop protein, tablespoon chia seeds, cup water). Avocado toast or French toast with greek yoghurt on weekends.
Lunch: protein aka chicken/meat/fish/prawns/calamari + 50gr (dry!) of rice/pasta/quinoa/buckwheat/noodles + unlimited greens/tomatoes/bell peppers/cucumbers/broccoli
Dinner: same formula as lunch but a bit more complex recipes (more time to cook in the evening). Tonight is oven baked sweet potato with salmon and green beans with crumbled feta on top.

Generally avoiding snacks, only drink black coffee and tea (no milk, no sugar).

I am sure your comment was to the OP, but I am 5 foot 3

Thanks for the ideas! I’m 5ft 1 with a 22 BMI. I’m not starving on the diet but I’m a big snacker so prefer to spread out the calories!

sounds like I need more protein in my diet.

the salmon with baked sweet potato and feta sounds incredible!

MFP tells everyone they need to eat 1,200 calories & I think it is unsustainable for most.

Instead I worked out my https://tdeecalculator.net/ and I have so far lost 9lb (& dropped a dress size) on 1,500 calories per day. I basically increased my proten and decreased fatty/friend foods.

My day is roughly

2 eggs on 1 round of toast (1 teaspoon butter)

Tea with milk

Chicken or ham salad sandwich (Loads of chicken/ham) on two rounds of bread with a packet of baked crisps (frazzles/french fries)

Tea & 1 biscuit

Large chicken breast or 2 small fish fillet (oven cooked) with small jacket potato or home made air fryer wedges. Lots of peas/sweetcorn/salad

I drink tea & water (No fizzy drinks as I don't like them) and I have 1glass of wine per week.

Once a week I share a regular fish and chip takeaway. I don;t like rice or grains but if I did I'd substitute my jacket potato for them

5 ft and 56 kg really want to get back to 50 not liking back fat ugh

MFP tells me I need 1390 calories a day so that's what I go for...
I also fast 7.30pm until 12.30pm
Today's lunch for work was steamfresh veg, root veg mash, 2 cumberland chipolatas and a little gravy
Snacks were Melon, Pineapple and approx 10 mini eggs
Tea was cajun chicken salad
Also had a protein shake, a coconut milk latte, can of sugar free red bull and three litres of water
Nice and full, don't feel hungry

Plenty of protein - I make sure I hit my goal for that daily. Keeps the hunger at bay

I also do 4 spin classes per week with bootcamp on a Sunday.

I stick to similar to above all week...
We tend to eat out once a week or get takeaway
I only drink alcohol if I go out
Treat myself to a coffee shop coffee and cake once per week

2 stone down since September

Thank you for this! I used your link and it told me maintenance calories would be 1360. So I guess 1200 is about right for weight loss?

Is that based on you doing any excercise at all?

For me (5ft 3 and 10 st 4.6) in order to simply stay alive my maintenance calories are 1,242. If I get up out of bed, go to work, do essential things like cooking and washing but sit at my desk most of the day then that goes up to 1,491 calories.

If I add light excercise twice a week (taking the dog for a walk, cleaning the house, changing the bedding etc) then that increases again to 1,708 calories.

Yes. If I do exercise I would add calories on.. this is just for a day working at home and doing no exercise. I’m shorter than you and weigh 8st 5.

Why on earth are people with a 22 BMI on any kind of diet?

OP, you are at a nice healthy weight. Why are you trying to lose? My tip is don't get on an unhealthy diet rollercoaster because that results in rebound weight gain.

I am a lot taller and bigger than the PPs, but MFP tells me to have 1540 cals a day. My tdee on the calculator is 2600.
I am eating lower carb at the moment. About 30-40 net carbs which is all I’m really counting, but end up with about 1500 cals, 80-90 g fat and same in protein.
When calorie counting previously I would have stayed away from fat and not had enough protein either. But I find watching the carbs, I can have great meals that are filling.
Breakfast: roughly 550 cals: eggs scrambled with butter, mushrooms, red pepper, kimchi, cherry tomatoes.
Lunch: roughly 500 cals: spinach salad with more veg added like broccoli, beetroot, celery, pepper, cucumber, then seeds, and nuts or cheese, vinegar and oil or a dressing made with peanut butter and soy sauce.
Dinner: not too hungry at this point so maybe 300 cals, small chicken and veg with olive oil, lemon, herbs.
Remaining cals on tea with milk and square or two dark chocolate.

I’m trying to lose the 9lbs that I’ve put on over the last few months with Christmas, holidays and snacking all day because I work at home. Once I’ve lost it I’ll just increase to a more sustainable amount of calories. At the moment I’m on the verge of having to buy new clothes. If I just let myself keep eating uncontrollably I’ll soon not be a healthy BMI. It’s a short term plan to keep myself a healthy weight.

I do 16:8 and occasionally a bit longer - yesterday I did 20:4. I don't snack as to me I'd rather have bigger meals. Lunch around 400 calories and then a bigger tea. Sometimes come in at 800-1000 but more often I'm around 1100-1200 when I'm done for the day.

I thought this too but didn't like to say!

Don't get too skinny OP!