How Many Extra Calories Should You Be Eating?
A meal plan member emailed:
"I've been using the meal plans for three days and I'm having difficulty making it through the day without feeling famished. I also have difficulty when I work out; it's like I just don't have enough energy. I wasn't sure if I should try eating more because I would be over the calorie range. I've read if you eat too many fruits in a day you won't lose weight so I haven't been eating extra fruit than whats on the plan. Can you tell me how many more calories I can eat based on my height and weight?"
If you're hungry you should eat, and if you're feeling fatigued, you should probably eat more--that would indicate you're not getting enough calories to sustain your efforts.
Have you tried having a baked potato, rice cakes, carrots, or an apple as a snack?
If you're exercising, you need more than 1200 calories. That's one of the reasons why I don't recommend exercise during weight-loss, because it creates too many variables, and if you don't get all the math just right, you can slow your loss or feel fatigued, etc.
I can't provide an estimate if you're exercising because I don't know what your expenditure is calorie-wise. (And sadly even the best machines and most expensive heart rate monitors are horribly inaccurate).
Pure weight in pounds is also not helpful by itself--it tells me nothing about your body mass index, what % fat you are vs lean muscle (why the scale is such a bad tool for determining weight-loss too, especially when you're exercising--because it can't tell you if the weight change is fat loss, or muscle gain, etc), and what that would mean for caloric needs and your BMR.
Maybe now you see why I emphasize diet and not exercising while trying to lose weight ;) all these crazy variables!
That said, I would eat small amounts of healthy foods like potatoes or rice cakes to satisfy the hunger, and see if that helps overall. If not, try adding more.
Additional reading:
My Weight-Loss Fail - Why a Personal Trainer Didn't Work
Why I Didn't Lose Weight Training for a Marathon (and I'm Not Alone)
Why You Can't Lose Weight From Exercise Combined with Caloric Restriction
Why Exercise Doesn't Help With Weight Loss
Does Calorie Restriction Really Work for Weight-Loss?
Good luck!