1200 calories goes fast

[infomama]

I'm doing great on my diet..down 5 pounds. I'm weighing food (love my OXO scale) so I can keep myself honest but cripes it seems like 1200 calories is gone in a wink. Today I have

Chicken breast, pasta and marinara (no bread..sad face)
Fresh strawberries
Fage yogurt with honey
Sweet/Salty bar
Peppermint patty

I have about 200 calories to spare, I think. I guess I need to up my running/yoga/riding so I can eat more :ROTFLMAO:

(Feel free to add a filling low cal snack/meal here)

[hillview]

TOTALLY it is. I used to work out to eat! I found dividing up my "meals" into 200-300 calorie items helped me stay full. So greek yogurt + fruit; cottage cheese + pineapple etc.

nice work doing this!

[TwinFoxes]

Congrats on the five pounds!

[gatorsmom]

I'm counting calories right now too. I am allowing myself 1400 and have been averaging about 1500 lately. Do you do a 7 day average of your calories? I find it so frustrating for one day to be under by 100 calories and the next day being over by that much. I tend to beat myself up when I'm over my limit. Doing an average helps you see that you can go over your calories for one day and it really isn't going to set you back much overall.

As for filling, low cal snacks, I like warm chicken broth, big dill pickles or hot tea with a teaspoon of sugar.

[Fairy]

Good job on the 5 lbs.

If you're wanting to stretch your calories, get rid of that pasta and any white carbs. Whole wheat, oats, quinoa, and maybe bran ... that's it. And I'd keep the whole wheat to 1 slice a day of 80 calories, no more than 100 calories. Certainly no rice or any kind ("brown rice" is still pretty empty), potatoes in any way shape or form, or any white breads. Sad, but true, those are going to eat up those calories.

Exception --> Vitatops. They're 100 calories, and the good stuff in them sort of cancels out the carby aspect.

What is a sweet/salty bar?

Kick in 3 or 4 egg whites, theyu're only 17 calories each, and so that's 51 or 68 calories, add 50 calorie lowfat swiss (or 80 cal I suppose), veggies in the skillet first, and they ahve these tiny whole wheat pitas at TJs that are 30 calories a piece, I do 2 of those. That's a very well balanced healthy, high protein meal, and you're full when you're done. Even add 2 turkey sausages and you're still way the hell under 300 calories.

A hard boiled egg and a small v8 is 100 calroies

A mini brie from TJs is 80 calories, ahve it with a mini pita for 110 total.

Go to Chipotole and have chicken, veggies, tomatoes, lettuce, BLACK beans, and 1T of your own sour cream (don't let them give it to you), and it's 300 cal, give or take 30 or so calories. And very healthy.

Hope that helps.

[kaitlyns.mom]

Good job on the 5 lbs.

If you're wanting to stretch your calories, get rid of that pasta and any white carbs. Whole wheat, oats, quinoa, and maybe bran ... that's it. And I'd keep the whole wheat to 1 slice a day of 80 calories, no more than 100 calories. Certainly no rice or any kind ("brown rice" is still pretty empty), potatoes in any way shape or form, or any white breads. Sad, but true, those are going to eat up those calories.

Exception --> Vitatops. They're 100 calories, and the good stuff in them sort of cancels out the carby aspect.

What is a sweet/salty bar?

Kick in 3 or 4 egg whites, theyu're only 17 calories each, and so that's 51 or 68 calories, add 50 calorie lowfat swiss (or 80 cal I suppose), veggies in the skillet first, and they ahve these tiny whole wheat pitas at TJs that are 30 calories a piece, I do 2 of those. That's a very well balanced healthy, high protein meal, and you're full when you're done. Even add 2 turkey sausages and you're still way the hell under 300 calories.

A hard boiled egg and a small v8 is 100 calroies

A mini brie from TJs is 80 calories, ahve it with a mini pita for 110 total.

Go to Chipotole and have chicken, veggies, tomatoes, lettuce, BLACK beans, and 1T of your own sour cream (don't let them give it to you), and it's 300 cal, give or take 30 or so calories. And very healthy.

Hope that helps.

Not the OP but this is super helpful! Thanks!

[wellyes]

1200 is rough.

Sign up for Hungry Girl's daily email, she has endless ideas on how to stretch calories creatively & yummily.

[turtle12]

I agree, 1200 is really hard! Here are some ideas ---

Focus on proteins. I use 2 percent fage with truvia. Half of a small container is about 75 calories. Throw in some berries and that's just a few calories more.

Also, I get a rotisserie chix from Costco, carve up the breasts; 1/2 the breast (skinless) is about 150 calories. Add a cup of mixed greens, it's only a few calories more. I keep each 1/2 breast in a ziplock bag and throw into the freezer....it's pre portioned and ready to go. Sometimes I will mix it with a T. of fage and lots of salsa for a chix salad. Again, it doesn't up the calories too much. Still can add mixed greens (veggies are cheap in calories!)

Egg salad - 1 egg plus 3 egg whites (hard-boiled) mixed with some fage. Yum, and it's prob about 100 calories. I chop in some valasic bread and butter pickles (sugar free, 0 calories). Yum. I make a double batch and then it's ready to go for another meal.

1/2 cup lump jumbo crabmeat, add some lemon on top of mixed greens. It's about 100 calories.

Can you tell I love Fage? I also recently tried a good baked balsamic tofu recipe that is low cal, lmk if you want it!

[ellies mom]

You know, I found life isn't worth living on 1200 calories. I'd rather lose weight more slowly and eat 1400 calories than lose it quickly at 1200. Those 200 calories make a huge difference satisfaction wise. With 1200 calories, I feel like I have nothing to look forward to. It is just deprivation all the time.

[infomama]

Thanks for the support and all the fantastic ideas!

[Fairy]

I also wanna chime in one more time on life not being worth it at 1200 calories. I think 1200 is a very low number, and you need to really think about whether you need that. I need that. I need to lose alot of weight IMO. If you need to lose 50 or 70, then maybe. If you're just trying to drop 30 lbs or less, then I really ahve to agree that life is doable at 1400, ESPECIALLY if you're moving. I don't move much. I hate moving. I like sitting on my ass. so, I have more work to do, and I need the 1200. But if you think you're exercxising and think you can do it on 1400, then I wanna encourage that, too.

BUT. That extra 200 cal should not be carbs. they should be proteins and green vegetables, maybe an extra serving of fruit. Just more food for thought (heh heh)

[sste]

Is this per day? 1200 per day?

I am reeling in shock that anyone can manage that. I am confident there are many meals where I consumer 1200 right then and there!!

I feel like I am always the debbie downer of dieting threads . . . .but doesn't 1200 per day put your body into starvation/cling to your fat mode? Could you consider higher calories and lower carbs (not atkins but a reasonable high protein diet including lean proteins like tofu, fish, chix, quinoa?).

Anyway, take all of this with a grain of no-calorie salt as I have never attempted a diet or calorie-counting. I don't have that kind of discipline! :)

Good luck!

[DrSally]

Great ideas. I don't count cals, but try to focus on higher protein and lower carbs, lots of veggies and liquids.

ITA with pp's about averaging instead of focusing on one day.
I like Hungry Girl's ideas. I need to sign up for her emails.

One thing I learned from her is miracle noodles, which have almost no cals (pure fiber). They're kind of rubbery, but I stirfry them with veggies and tofu, and get a lot of food for very little cals (about 1 tbs of oil and soy sauce). I allow myself as many veggies as I can eat, LOL. Great filler.

Love Fairy's ideas. Love, love egg whites. I use egg beaters, very filling. I like to cook some up and put 2 slices of thin deli ham, a little shredded cheese, a ton of arugula, and stuff it in a small corn tortilla from TJ's. I think the ham has like 20 cals a slice, and the tortillas are only 60-80 a slice. I have 2.

Love skinny cow ice cream sandwiches. I roll them in crushed nuts. Much better than full fat ice cream at a shop.

I also have a can of Progesso soup (120-160) cals for the whole can, dump in some frozen veggies and some raviolo or tortellini. That's a pretty filling meal under 400 cals.

[infomama]

Is this per day? 1200 per day?

I am reeling in shock that anyone can manage that. I am confident there are many meals where I consumer 1200 right then and there!!

I feel like I am always the debbie downer of dieting threads . . . .but doesn't 1200 per day put your body into starvation/cling to your fat mode? Could you consider higher calories and lower carbs (not atkins but a reasonable high protein diet including lean proteins like tofu, fish, chix, quinoa?).

Anyway, take all of this with a grain of no-calorie salt as I have never attempted a diet or calorie-counting. I don't have that kind of discipline! :)

Good luck!
Well...I put in my goal weight and how many pounds I wanted to loose a week and My Fitness Pal came up with 1200 calories. I am active so I could probably up it 200 calories but I have noticed (since weighing my food and paying attention to serving sizes) that I was eating 3-4 servings at a time thinking it was one. It was crazy. One day I came in under my 1200 calories and MFP gave me a warning about being under 1200..not good/starvation mode, etc. It wasn't on purpose that I skipped those extra calories but it was a good reminder.
I do eat a lot of protien and fresh fruit. I have to up my veggies and watch my sugar intake. I like a glass of wine a few days a week, too. Honestly since loosing these 5 pounds I feel so good I feel driven to loose the last 10. Thanks for your post though. I appreciate your thoughtfullness.

[arivecchi]

1,200 is definitely hard! That's why I try to burn around 500 cals a day. I need to be able to splurge at night! ;) Congrats on the weight loss!

[gatorsmom]

I just wanted to put in my $.02. I've been counting calories off and on since college and have learned a few things. First, the bigger you are, the more calories your body needs to consume just to keep it running. The smaller you are, the fewer calories you need to consume. So, the theory that someone who is obese needs to consume fewer calories than someone who is just slightly overweight, really doesn't hold true. And it can lead to frustration and binging over time. Someone who is obese and starts dieting will probably need to eat more calories in the beginning and then start to reduce their daily calorie intake as they lose weight if they want to continue to lose weight.

The best way to lose weight by counting calories is to spend a couple weeks just eating normally and keeping track of your calories. Then find out the average amount of calories you ate. That is probably what your body needs to keep it running. Once you know that number, lower it by a hundred or 150 calories. Between meals you want to feel slightly hungry but not so much that you are ravenous. You want to feel hungry but not so much that you can't ignore it. If you allow yourself to get so hungry that you just can't stop thinking of food, you will binge. What you dont' want is to get in a cycle of eating fewer calories one day because you pigged out the night before. That's just not healthy. And it could lead to binging and purging.

The other thing you really need to do is keep a running average of daily calories consumed in the last 7 days. The truth is, if you stay below your calorie limit all week but then on the weekend have a piece of birthday cake, your weekly average shouldnt really change that much. Everyone knows that one piece of cake isn't going to ruin your diet. What will ruin a diet and put weight on is by consistently eating more than your body can use. I find that when I only look at that day's calorie totals and it's over by a hundred calories, I get frustrated and start feeling like a failure. But if I add that day's calories into the weekly average, I don't feel bad at all because an occasional splurge wont really change the average much (unless you are doing it several days per week).

I've lost over 25lbs three different times in the last 20 years- once after college and then after my first 2 babies. I did it by only lowering my calories a little bit, taking it slowly and exercising. Losing it slowly is the only way to make sure you don't gain it back. I found that after a few months, you start to recognize after meals when your stomach is satiated and you've eaten the right size meal. At that point, you really don't even need to count calories anymore. You get used to eating the amount your body needs to function because you've been eating just under that amount for months. After a few months of counting calories, you also start to recognize when you've put too much food on your plate because after a few months you get used to reduced portion sizes. And you get used to eating healthier and I noticed my tastes changed. I didnt' crave the same things I did before I started counting calories.

Anyway, that has been my experience. I started counting calories about a month ago and I've lost 8 pounds. I'm a little hungry right now but it's not so bad that I can't ignore it. I really think that's key. I'm hoping to lose 20 lbs by October, slowly but surely.