hey =] okay... im no expert. but i read on line (in many places) that to lose about one pound a day, you would have to eat about 500 calories less than your suggested calorie intake you would need to maintain your weight. now, that does not mean to 'starve' yourself, that would be horrible. (that would probably ruin your chance of losing weight cuz it may cause people to binge eat..)   you can go on line, and find the amount of calories you would need to maintain your weight. here's a website.    http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/calneed you can use this to see how much calories you need for your body. subtract 300-500 cal, and see from there. hope this helps.  :)