Optimum 1200 .. the persuit !

Hey guys,

so... here's the gig..

I'm finding it REALLY hard to eat 1) well 2) substaintially 3) variety within the 1200 calorie count range.

How do you all do it? Any suggestions?  

Are you really short with a small frame and lots of weight to lose?  Otherwise you probably need to eat more.

But, to answer your question, in order to get all my vitamins and minerals, I eat a diet that is 75% raw fruits and veggies.  I eat 1400-1500 calories a day, and am always full.  When I bump it up to a maintenance day, I add in more protein and healthy fats, but I have cholesterol problems so try and make sure I get at least 50g fiber / day

No, I need to stick to 1200.

what are your stats?  

I thought you were in the same thread as I was (we are both about 5'5 / 5'6"??) - I remember feeling so demoralised cos you were so much lighter than me (about 120lbs?) LOL

Going by some stats I found in your other posts you are 5'5" and 115, looking to get down to 110.

1200 IS TOO FEW FOR YOU!

You are already at the low end of healthy.  You need to eat your bmr (1333) and exercise more. 

Ok, so my reasons for wanting to get down to the weight I need to be at are personal, and work related. I thank you for your concern, but rest assured that I'm an adult and I can take care of my own body. I was curious about how others ate a healthy diet based on 1200 calories. To tell you the truth, I feel pretty patronized and in a sense invaded by this response. I have a mother, she's wonderful, and she's more than capable of taking care of me, should I ever need it.

As far as calorie and weight are concerned; I eat about 1500 a day. I am unable to work out the way I have been training for the past 7 years, and am therefore asking for advice based on experience from people here.

It was only a question. I thank you for your concern josielynn, but I'd appreciate not being preached at.

hahaha....how funny....Doesn't it seem like its everyone's knee jerk reaction to tell someone to eat more...like its the magic cure all for weight loss and busting plateaus...I would recommend bouncing back and forth between 1200 calories 4 days a week and your normal 1500 for three days.  This makes its harder for your metabolism to adapt to a 1200 cal diet.  Eat fiber and protein and you should feel a lot fuller since its hard for your body to digest these foods.  Raw veggies have very few calories and you can eat tons of them. 

thank you.

I didn't mean to come off as crass, it's just that this isn't a social work forum, it's a weight loss forum. I think people are so concerned about the prevalence of ED's here that they are overly cautious.

 

Not to come off as crass either, but if you're a model and required to become under wieight, then maybe you should look elsewhere for advise.  Otherwise I will just copy/paste what a moderator has told you in another one of your posts.  I'm not trying to treat you as a social work case, but people like you are very discouraging to those who actually have weight to lose to get healthy, like I did.  There are rules to this forum though, and they include discussing weight loss to a healthy weight in a healthy manner, neither of which you are attempting.  If you really need to lose weight to become that thin, you should probably talk to a professional nutritionalist to make sure you stay healthy and don't develop an eating disorder.  Once you have one you never get rid of it.  If it's career related then insurance or your company should cover it. 

Here is the post that I said I would copy/paste:

At 5'6" and 111 pounds your BMI is 17.9.  This is underweight.  Calorie Count and it's members cannot and will not help you to lose more weight.  We can help you to gain another 4 lbs to get up to the lowest end of a healthy weight with a BMI of 18.6.

Your average of 125-135 is a perfect weight for you if you were happy there, getting back to it, but with more muscle would be a great goal.

When you are underweight, your body changes how it reacts to calorie restricted diets.  You don't have the fat reserves for it to pull from so it starts grabbing muscle which tends to make you feel flabbier even at the lower weight.

While completely sedentary your expected burn rate is 1600 calories per day.  If you eat around 1700 or 1800 you should slowly start to put on some weight although the first week or so your body may overcompensate as it finally gets enough food.  Add a program that involves weight training and you'll end up with fewer inches but more muscles and weight.

Sara

Volunteer Moderator
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...ouch, this board is getting spicy. o.O

For variety, I have a bunch of different things I love.  40 calorie caramel rice cakes, 90 calorie full size bags of microwave popcorn, fruit salad, dry cereal as a snack, 100 calorie packs, 100 calorie granola bars, and nuts. :]

A handfull of nuts fill you up like whoa.  (Almonds especially!!)

thanks, and you're right; I think that's enough for this thread. Bad vibes, good tips.

Thanks all.

If you want tips on how to get lots of nutrients, then make a thread asking for such.  There is no need for you to mention that you want to undereat and become underweight other than to spark controversy.  When you say that you're trying to eat the CC minimum that's going to encourage people to look at your other posts as well.  If you're not calling out for help, then keep your body problems to yourself and don't get snippy when someone is trying to help.

Hi 10bysummer - I keep to 1200 cals per week day, and I don't find it too hard -

I usually have a very small breakfast (75 cals of fat free yogurt) plus some green tea (zero cal)

For lunch I'll have a sandwich of about 320 calories or maybe a salad of a bit more calories plus some raw veggie sticks (20 cals) and maybe a small bag of low-fat chips (65 cals)

Then at about 5 pm I have snack of about 130 calories (yesterday I had small tuna nicoice salad).

I eat dinner quite late and I usually have about 350 cals, plus soup of about 100 cals and a salad (30 cals), which all adds up for the day to 1090 calories.  So you could even add a small dessert on at the end of the day if you want. 

Obviously this varies day to day, but I try to stick with the general pattern, and for me, this is usually quite filling!

Hope this helps!

If it wasn't for the fact that upcoming threads will be about plateau's, feeling tired, complaining of over-eating and so on, I would happily tell you to eat 1200 calories and use some imagination 10bysummer.

I wonder on exam revision sites if posters ask about getting best results from only 30 mins revision a week are told to do more for a higher grade. Then complain that 30 minutes is going to work for them and they feel alienated about doing more.... Then fail and serve me chips at McDonalds ;)

roj, your posts always make me laugh :)  You've got a good head on your shoulders!  

Hey 10bysummer,

i manage to stay at 1200 cals a day and have enough variety that i am not bored,

i usually start my day with fiber one cereal, oatmeal, or an egg with toast and fruit. for lunch i have a wrap, or sandwhich or a low-sodium soup, and lots of raw veggies and fruit (oranges are my favorite). for dinner i go between chicken, salmon, tuna or shrimp and some brown rice or green beans. snacks are rice cakes, almonds, chocolate pudding. i manage to eat a very balanced diet at 1200 calories a day, and i feel great.

josielynn i think you are the one who is really sparking the controversies and it was rather inapproprate/creepy to "investigate" someones past posts and call them out in public. if you have a problem you should tell a moderator, it is not your job to act big brother.

Hey 10bysummer I add variety by altering between 3-4 kinds of cereals, use different kind of breads and spreads for lunch. I love beans so I try different recipes with them. check out this link below for easy fat free recipes

http://cgi.fatfree.com/cgi-bin/fatfree/recipe s.cgi

I am your height  (5'5-5'6) and about 110lbs, to get there a ate around 1200 (sometimes more) calories. I saw no negative effects and was happy and healthy the whole time. Here is and example of a good ( I think!) plan.

Breakfast:

Calcium pill and multi-vitamin: 20 Calories

Quaker oatmeal instant, apples and cinnamon: 130 Calories

Soy protein Powder: 50 calories

Total: 200 Calories

Lunch:

2 Cups of salad (any kind): 20 Calories

5 baby carrots: 25 Calories

1 slice of whole-grain bread: 80 Calories

1 Small apple (around 100 grams): 50 Calories

Total: 175 Calories

Snack (Spread out through-out the day):

Single serving bag of Popcorn: 110 Calories

About 15 Almonds: 100 Calories

Total: 300 Calories

Dinner:

1 cup brown rice cooked: 220 Calories

1 cup of broccoli: 40 Calories

1/4 Block Tofu: 60 Calories

1 cup grapes: 110

1 cup skim milk: 80

Total: 510

All Day total: 1185, give or take.

I checked the nutrients out on MyPyramid, and the only problem was that it was a little low on fat, so maybe have 2% milk and 1/2 cup of grapes. Good luck though!

 

 

heres an example of todays menu plan....lotsa things i fit into 1200 cals that dont seem like diet food (cuz they arent)!

Breakfast
Bananas 53
Strawberries 24
COOL WHIP - WHIPPED TOPPING - FREE - COOL WHIP 15
pancakes 182
Specialty Items Sugar Free Breakfast Syrup - Smucker's  15

Lunch
Watermelon 73
whole wheat bun 110
beef burger 167
1/2 tbsp low cal mayo and 1/2 shallot 30

Dinner
Corn, Sweet, Yellow 123
butternut squash risotto 351

Snacks low fat chocolate cheesecake 96

Total Calories Consumed   1,239

on most days i stick to 1200 cals, some days i eat more. 1200 is doable and works.

my diet consists of

vegetables, fruit - of course. also pickled vegetable

low fat cheese, sting cheese, cottage cheese, curd

yogurt, yogurt milk and the like

tofu, sometimes tempeh but in moderation

low fat milk for coffee

ocassionally almonds, various seeds

crispbread of various kinds

legumes - lentils, pea

i use condiments for variety of my salads and soups. it is one or several of these: mustard, horseradish, chili sauce, olive oil, vinegar, dried tomatoes, dried pepper flakes, light ketchup, tomato puree, chutney