Help me eat 1200 calories a day

[Anonymous]

Salmon/tuna girl here. If you feel physically hungry a lot, then I'd suggest:

* Make every single calorie count. No cream in your sugar, no chips for snacking, etc. Every one needs to be filling and healthy and part of your daily plan.

* Up your calories, try 2,000 a day even. I promise it's less than you're eating now, and probably less than you need, you'll probably lose weight, and certainly get your eating under control. As you move along, you may be able to take out 100 a week and see if you can get down to 1,500 without losing control, but that's what I would do.

* I strongly advocate a fixed daily menu, with no choices allowed or available, to someone like me who eats emotionally and makes bad choices. I eat the same breakfast every day, the same lunch, snack, dinner, etc. unless I'm out for a meal or it's a special occasion.

If you want to make this a long-term loss and a long-term change, think about what gives you the best possible chance of losing weight and being able to stick to the diet. The fact that you started this thread talking about 1,200 calories tells me that you're in it for the quick fix, not for the long term. And the long term is the only thing that's going to get you where you want to go. Just think: if you lose 1 pound a week, in a year you'll have just about hit your goal. If you start and quit an impossible diet, you'll be exactly where you are in a year. Let us know how you go.

[Anonymous]

I eat 6 times a day. This really helps me stay satisfied until my next meal.

[Anonymous]

For a couple of months I was eating primal/paleo and tracking calories on fitday.com. As long as I did not eat any grains and kept dairy to a minimum, it was virtually impossible for me to exceed 1500 calories in a day. And I'm talking I was eating bacon, real mayo, avocado, steak, etc along with tons of veggies, salad, even sweet potatoes and some white potatoes. My only dairy was full-fat yogurt. I was amazed to find I could eat all the veggies and fat I wanted and still be under 1500 calories, and I was never hungry! I lost 15 lbs that way, which for me was all I had to lose. Check out marksdailyapple.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Salmon/tuna girl here. If you feel physically hungry a lot, then I'd suggest:

* Make every single calorie count. No cream in your sugar, no chips for snacking, etc. Every one needs to be filling and healthy and part of your daily plan.

* Up your calories, try 2,000 a day even. I promise it's less than you're eating now, and probably less than you need, you'll probably lose weight, and certainly get your eating under control. As you move along, you may be able to take out 100 a week and see if you can get down to 1,500 without losing control, but that's what I would do.

* I strongly advocate a fixed daily menu, with no choices allowed or available, to someone like me who eats emotionally and makes bad choices. I eat the same breakfast every day, the same lunch, snack, dinner, etc. unless I'm out for a meal or it's a special occasion.

If you want to make this a long-term loss and a long-term change, think about what gives you the best possible chance of losing weight and being able to stick to the diet. The fact that you started this thread talking about 1,200 calories tells me that you're in it for the quick fix, not for the long term. And the long term is the only thing that's going to get you where you want to go. Just think: if you lose 1 pound a week, in a year you'll have just about hit your goal. If you start and quit an impossible diet, you'll be exactly where you are in a year. Let us know how you go.

Not the PP, but I think different things work for different people. I wouldn't last 3 days on your diet because it would seem like every meal was suffering and it's not enough protein to keep me from being hungry. I also couldn't eat the same thing every day and that actually wouldn't help with lifestyle changes (which we've really made at this point) because no one else in my family would go along with it. I did 1200-1300 calories for a couple of months, now doing about 1500, and it's working well (down 30 lbs, it's been 6 months, still losing). I put sugar and milk in my coffee because without that I wouldn't be able to drink it. I drink a small glass of wine with dinner on occasion. I try to fill up on protein and vegetables.

I think starting with 1200 calories isn't too bad, as i think it's easier to add than subtract if you are dieting. Obviously there has to be a ceiling to how much you add.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Salmon/tuna girl here. If you feel physically hungry a lot, then I'd suggest:

* Make every single calorie count. No cream in your sugar, no chips for snacking, etc. Every one needs to be filling and healthy and part of your daily plan.

* Up your calories, try 2,000 a day even. I promise it's less than you're eating now, and probably less than you need, you'll probably lose weight, and certainly get your eating under control. As you move along, you may be able to take out 100 a week and see if you can get down to 1,500 without losing control, but that's what I would do.

* I strongly advocate a fixed daily menu, with no choices allowed or available, to someone like me who eats emotionally and makes bad choices. I eat the same breakfast every day, the same lunch, snack, dinner, etc. unless I'm out for a meal or it's a special occasion.

If you want to make this a long-term loss and a long-term change, think about what gives you the best possible chance of losing weight and being able to stick to the diet. The fact that you started this thread talking about 1,200 calories tells me that you're in it for the quick fix, not for the long term. And the long term is the only thing that's going to get you where you want to go. Just think: if you lose 1 pound a week, in a year you'll have just about hit your goal. If you start and quit an impossible diet, you'll be exactly where you are in a year. Let us know how you go.

Not the PP, but I think different things work for different people. I wouldn't last 3 days on your diet because it would seem like every meal was suffering and it's not enough protein to keep me from being hungry. I also couldn't eat the same thing every day and that actually wouldn't help with lifestyle changes (which we've really made at this point) because no one else in my family would go along with it. I did 1200-1300 calories for a couple of months, now doing about 1500, and it's working well (down 30 lbs, it's been 6 months, still losing). I put sugar and milk in my coffee because without that I wouldn't be able to drink it. I drink a small glass of wine with dinner on occasion. I try to fill up on protein and vegetables.

I think starting with 1200 calories isn't too bad, as i think it's easier to add than subtract if you are dieting. Obviously there has to be a ceiling to how much you add.

Of course different things work for different people! Those are my suggestions, things that work for me. I'm glad you're having your own successes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I eat 6 times a day. This really helps me stay satisfied until my next meal.

Agreed. NP here - 5'9" and 205. Trying to get down to 160 by the end of the summer. A new high protein food I've discovered is fat free plain Greek yogurt with some powdered salad dressing mixed in. Delicious dip for veggies that feels like a total splurge and is only about 110 calories. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with PP who eats six meals a day.

Eat before the hunger pangs strike. You can eat six times a day and still stay within 1500 calories ,,,,, just a matter of what one eats.

[Anonymous]

I don't count calories, but when I did, I never lost at 1500 cal, had to go to 1200 or less to lose weight. I have lost weight and kept it off eating the same basic diet below, with room for occasional splurges (within reason splurges).

greek yogurt for breakfast or 2 eggs (1 whole, 1 white); coffee.

lunch: hummus/veggie sandwich on whole wheat--use only 1 slice. sometimes turkey or cheese instead. apple or orange. sometimes I have a large soup instead, usually a tomato or lentil soup.

snack: slice of cheese or apple with a gob of peanut butter.

dinner: varies but usually light. large salad with a chicken breast; a sushi roll; a piece of salmon and veggie; sometime just veggies like tonight (large piece of spaghetti squash with olive oil and parmesan cheese). sometimes whole wheat pasta, or brown rice but keep it to a cup or less cooked. once a week a big bowl of Pho.

I cut out cookies, candy, sweets, salty/processed, etc. If I crave sweets I have an orange, or make hot cocoa with skim milk and splenda.

[Anonymous]

All these recommended diets seem really low on fruits and veggies. Are you not mentioning them because the fruits and veggies are "free," so to speak, or do you not like them?

[Anonymous]

A lot of people have given some great tips. I'll tell you what has worked for me -- foods that are very low calorie, so I can eat a TON. I made a giant pot of vegetable soup every weekend. I keep it to all low calorie veggies -- celery, carrots, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, green beans, etc. Then I add one cup of whole wheat pasta and 2 cups of beans to the entire pot. It ends up being about 8 very large servings at about 125-175 calories per serving. That really fills me up for a few hours. I eat a lot of broccoli and cabbage and green beans. For protein -- egg whites are your friend. I eat 4 egg whites with a low calorie, whole grain pita (60 calories) for a 160 calorie breakfast that fills me up. I will have an apple mid-morning, which tides me over until about 1pm for my lunch of soup. For dinner, I roast a ton of veggies and have them with a very small portion of whole grains and a source of lean protein, like a chicken breast or tuna steak or some shrimp. If you eat like this, you're never hungry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For breakfast, I usually eat 2-4 egg whites on a bagel thin or whole grain tortilla, maybe add a piece of turkey bacon or low fat cheese. Keeps breakfast under 250 calories.

Quote 2 wrote:* Breakfast: 1/4 cup steel cut oatmeal, dried strawberries, 1 tbsp pb, blueberries - 320 calories

I find that even this amount (250-320) is a lot for breakfast. I've lost 14 lbs in the last 2 months by adjusting my eating habits. I used to have one of the Jimmy Dean D-Lite Turkey Sausage muffins (260 calories). I have switched to having Quaker Oats Lower Sugar Oatmeal (120 calories) and a large Iced Tea or water. I make sure to have at least 12 oz of liquid first, then wait a few minutes and then have the oatmeal. Between the water and the oatmeal, I feel full and at only 120 calories, it gives me more flexibility in what I can eat for lunch, dinner and snack.

Also, once or twice a week, I treat myself to Panera where they have a new Spinach Power Salad and French Onion Soup U-Pick-2 lunch combo that comes in around 500 calories (including apple). It's on the high side, but I've actually found that it fills me up a lot more than many soup & salad combos. You can cut it to 400 calories by switching the French Onion soup to the Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered Medifast?

[Anonymous]

OP,

Okay. I just did.

[Anonymous]

I've started caring a little less about counting the calories and worrying more about where they are coming from. Very difficult to do but we have cut out gluten, soy, corn, peanuts, dairy and sugar. The first week I lost ten pounds, the second week five, and the third another five. I also feel so much better and am no longer tired during the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've started caring a little less about counting the calories and worrying more about where they are coming from. Very difficult to do but we have cut out gluten, soy, corn, peanuts, dairy and sugar. The first week I lost ten pounds, the second week five, and the third another five. I also feel so much better and am no longer tired during the day.

eggs are eliminated too.