Have just started this today. Have worked out I need to be having 1191 calories a day, but now I only have 180 calories left and I'm starving and don't know what to have for tea cos everything is way more than that.

Should I resign myself to going over that amount today and resolve to do better tomorrow? This is cos the snacks I had mid-morning were high in calories, but I hadn't started looking into it properly till after then

Why only 1,191 calories? Not really sure anyone should EVER go below 1,200 calories...

That's what dailyplate said when i put in my details. Have managed to find a John West Tuna lightlunch which is exactly 180 calories.

Do you think that's not enough calories for me to have?

Yeah, 1,191 is probably too low - you don't want to fool your body into starvation mode! With that in mind, why not have some healthy fruit or veggies for your afternoon snack?

Hmm. I think it depends on your height, your weight, your frame... and how much you're working out. What IS your height and your weight, and what kind of exercise do you do?

As much as a website can say that your ideal calorie intake should be ______, it can't really know what your body needs based on your lifestyle.

What I would say is: Stick to a calorie intake that seems reasonable. HOWEVER. If your stomach is growling at the end of the day, do NOT walk away from eating because of a number. Simply choose healthily, and grab something like.. a banana, or the tuna thing you're talking about. You should never starve yourself for the sake of what the internet says you should be eating calories-wise.

As for whether 1,200 is an alright number... it's an extreme calorie cut, which is alright if you're not working out a lot, and if you're still getting a good amount of low-calorie food... but getting any less than that starts to become a bad idea. If you eat too few calories in a day, your body switches to "starvation mode"... it thinks you don't have enough food, so it starts storing the fat and garbage from all the food you DO eat, in case the food supply runs out.

I stick to about 1,400 most days, but don't beat myself up when I go over. Today, my calorie intake is planned as 1,200-1,300 because yesterday I ate about 1,600. It's a balancing game for the most part. If you go over today? No biggie. Fix it by being healthy tomorrow. But never ever deprive yourself of food that your body needs to run because of a stringent internet-decided number.

Thank you I'm 5' 4" and about 175 lbs (not sure as haven't weighed myself in a while but think that's about right). I don't do any exercise at the moment but that will change now.

Ahh, you're my height, and my old weight!!

To be honest, you could probably do about 1,400 calories a day, and be losing, without worrying about your body going into "starvation mode." Long as those extra 200 calories are coming from healthy sources, you'd be doing great! Fruits, vegetables, a low-fat yogurt, a tiny handful of nuts, a few crackers with cheese... that tuna stuff is probably pretty good, fish is notoriously low in calories, and also really good for you with its omega 3 fatty acids. Very very good!

Ah cool, you can be my inspiration then! Yeah the tuna thing seemed good. Had lots of veg in too. Although I then discovered it was 5 days out of date

For 180 calories I'd have a piece of toast (70) with an ounce of cheese (110).

Cool, thanks. I need to get some scales it seems....