how do you eat 1200, really

really i am serious, i just dont understand how people can eat 1200 or even less and not be hungry.  I try for 1700 a day and still crave more food...such as not being able to sleep i am so hugary.  I eat whole grains so many fruits and vegs some protien i feel my diet is really well rounded, i drink water, i sleep enough i work out some every day...do you guys have a super plan i dont know about.  ? cause really i cant understand 1200 calories. i think i could loose my last 10 if i knew the secret.  Thanks

I'm the same exact way. hahaha.

you fill up on vegetables that are generally low in calories, for example two cups of brocolli is very filling and only 60 calories. a cup of chopped carrots is 50. thats how.

You might be eating too many fruits.  Fruit is sugar...remember that.  Some fruit is good for you, but too much can tip the calorie scale.  I'd start there.  Good luck!

Timing helps too.  Lots of people say to do a lot of small meals.  That works for me when I translate that into snacking between meals. 

Figure out when you are your most hungry and that's when you should alot the bigger calorie meal.  Some people say to do a high calorie breakfast so you have the day to burn it off but what if you're not all that hungry in the morning and a couple hundred will do you justice.

My breakfast is the lightest of my 3 main meals...I devote almost half my daily calories for dinner.  I workout at night so that might be why consuming half my calories at night hasn't bothered me or my weight loss.

Hey, bobo! I refuse to drop that low.  I just accept that it's going to take me longer and ramp up the exercise to compensate....if eating 1200 was what it absolutely took to be thin I'd totally accept being fat!

Hi my name is Stephanie. I have lost 33 lbs in the last 3 months, eating an average of 1200 calories a day. I never feel deprived, I have been on vacation and to so many parties on the weekends, and continuely lost an avg of 2 lbs. a week. My avg day consists of a protein shake(oj, water, ice, banana, froz strawberries, and protein powder for breakfast, 1 egg/2 egg whites scrambled with a piece of fat free cheese with 1 piece of whole wheat bread for snack, protein shake for lunch, reduced fat triscuit with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter for snack, 6oz. of lean meat(chicken, turkey, pork) with lots of veggies, sometimes whole wheat pasta like barilla plus, salad(dark lettuce leaves, soy nuts, cucumbers, tomatoes, fat free ken's rasberry pecan dressing(1 tablespoon), 1/2 cup of fat free turkey hill ice cream for dessert. If you need other suggestions, you could email me

its not that hard. usually i have an egg or two for breakfast with mushrooms and onions. then i have a veggie burger for lunch, and tonight i'm having egg noodles with beans and zucchini for dinner with a side of spinach. i've had an apple and banana as seperate snacks, and sometimes have a serving (1/4 cup) of riccotta cheese or a fat free (40 cal) pudding cup (or both) for snacks too. obviously, u can swatch the veggie burger for lean meats or fish or whatever, but all that is UNDER 1200 calories. so even doing 1500-1800 which is still healthy, shouldn't be too hard. it's all portion control, and what kinds of food you have. ironically, i'm trying, but having trouble, getting up to a healthy 1200-1300 calories, because i'm afraid that if i dont i'm going to start burning muscle and going into starvation mode.

 good luck. :)

This is a good topic! Thanks for the great tips so far.  I hope more CC members on 1200 calories a day will post more. 

 I like to fill up on fish Maui Maui especially, with lots of steamed veggies.  I've also found that too much fruit is not a good thing.   I have a Black And Decker Steamer and use it for rice and vegetables. 

I also love Lean Cuisines!  Last night I had "Butternut Squash Ravioli" in a creamy sauce with walnuts, snap peas & carrots.  It was absolutely delicious, and satisfying.  350 calories and 9 grams of fat.  No preservatives either!   That's what I like  best about several of the Lean Cuisine Entree's.

Rachel

I think part of it is what your body is used to. Maybe if you cut a few calories every week you'd eventually be able to work yourself down to a lower number and not feel hungry all the time.

I certainly don't! I really don't think it's necessary either. I eat anywhere from 1600 to 2000 and I still lost/lose weight! Why torture yourself?!

Here's my plan for today:

Breakfast: Cheerios 1 Cup - 110 Cal, Milk, Nonfat, Fluid - With Added Vitamin A (Fat Free Or Skim) 1/2 Cup - 42 Cal

Lunch: Salmon, Pink - Cooked, Dry Heat 260g 387 Cal, Apple 65 Cal

Dinner: Chicken, Leg, Meat Only - Cooked, Roasted 2 Drumsticks 218 Cal, Spinach - Raw 150 g 35 Cal, Italian Dressing 3 Tbsp 30 Cal

Snacks: Apple 65 Cal

Total Calories Consumed 951 Cal.

From there I will probably add a few snacks like these English Gingersnaps I found. Four cookies are 130 Cal. If I feel hungry before bed I'll grab a peach or two.

 I understand your fustration, what you wrote, tells me you are doing everything right,  yet I'm sure you've thought of vitamins and minerals , herbs....maybe you have a deficiency and your body is telling you to be hungry so it can possibly fill the void... I take extra potasium when this happens and it stops, now when I eat its cause i need it or just being bad, but the hunger is gone... I have also posted around this site my beliefs on drinking warm fluids, tea's are an excellent source of nutrients rich rich rich in ground minerals. Your doc could check levels for you...

I'm having the opposite effect. I'm too full. I'm supposed to be at 1400 but I only make it over 1000 when I try or eat out. ok like the other day

breakfast: grits and toast

snack: cucumbers 

lunch: 2 ham, cheese, and veggie wraps

snack carrots

dinner: hotdog baked potato and lemon pie

snack: more cucumbers

also add about 10 glasses of water

943 cals?!?.....i was stuffed!  Felt like I had been eating all day.  I started adding not more food but just stuff with more cals to boost it up. And it started working I lost 3lbs this week!

so maybe its in something your eating-- find filler foods and drink water! water fills you up. 

I eat between 1700-2200 calories a day and exercise 500 - 1200 depending on how much I eat... I've been consistently losing 2 pounds a week for 4 weeks, I never feel hungry and can still eat lots of stuff I wouldn't be able to if i wasn't exercising. Personally, this works best for me. 

I did it easily by eating massive amounts of salad greens and steamed fresh vegetables.  I'd carefully measur out my protein & carb portions for each meal and see what it totaled.  Then I'd add my veggies and the amount it took to reach 1200 calories was more than I could eat.

However, it turned out that I wasn't eating enough, hit a stubborn plateau, and didn't lose again until I increased my intake.

So it can be done, but it might not be the right thing to do.

I spent the day online surfing for diet plans.  I found a neat website.  Dietbites.com.   There are several free menus, which can be "tweaked" so they don't exceed 1200.  I'm compiling a list of menu's to try.

Rachel

I don't find it that challenging to stay at around 1200 a day. I've been at this for a while though so I already have my own "menu" i my head of low-cal things I like to eat. I also eat a lot of Lean Cuisine (which a lot of people dislike because they're processed and have a decent amount of sodium). I typically eat a packet of Kashi crunchy granola bars in the morning for breakfast (really filling because of the fiber and protein) and some warm tea with a little sugar. For lunch I typically have a lean cuisine. I may have a mid-morning snack of an apple with some fat-free caramel dip or just the apple by itself or a banana or something similar. After lunch I'll have some zucchini or some sliced turkey and low-fat string cheese with mustard to dip it in. Or 1/4 cup of some kind of nuts. For dinner I have another lean cuisine or some other sensible meal of approximately the same number of calories. I like to eat frozen raspberries as a dessert. They satisfy my need to munch on something sweet and and sour and they have hardly any calories for a fruit.

For me it was all about portion size and getting my body used to not having something in my mouth 24/7. Learn what foods you like that aren't very calorie-dense. I LOVE cucumbers when they are in season. I would snack on them all the time when I was first starting. You can do it, it just takes planning.

I've been eating about 1200 calories per day since the 3rd of August and haven't felt hungry or "compulsed to eat" except for one day.

I eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables but also add dairy (2 cups) and protein (6 grams) and it is the latter 2 (I think) That keep me feeling full.

Probably fats too.  With so many fruits and vegetables, I don't worry about butter on my vegetables or olive oil on my salad (which are included in the 1200).

heres a typical non-maintenance day for me:

7 am Breakfast: 3-4 scrambled egg whites seasoned with garlic and onion powder, buttered whole wheat toast, and 1/2 cup of milk (sometimes substitute the buttered toast with sugar free maple and brown sugar oatmeal)

10am midmorning snack: grapes, nectarine, or plum with light vanilla yogurt fruit dip

1pm Lunch: ham sandwich with tomatos, pickles, and lettuce (substitute lowfat ranch dressing for mayo) 8 oz of diet green tea

4pm Midafternoon snack: 100 cal pack of chex mix (cheddar cheese)

7pm dinner: 6 oz of some meat(steak pork chops chicken etc..) 1/2 cup of green vegetable (green beans, asparagus, spinach, salad) and 1/2 cup of milk

occaisional Movie snack: 1 cup lowfat sugarfree ice cream, and i'll occaisionally treat myself with 1 tablespoon of my fave topping.

 drinks throughout the day: diet mountain dew, diet green tea with citrus, and water

before bed: (i can't sleep on an empty stomach) 1/2 cup of milk

Niki,

The Lean Cuisines's I am eating have no preservatives, and the sodium level is very reasonable.  I think Lean Cuisine does have available some entree's higher in sodium and  containing preservatives,  but I avoid those, carefully reading the labels on my entree's before I place it in my grocery cart.

Rachel