Hi Rachel
If you are pretty active a good 1800 cals would be decent but if you are quite sedentary like moi, you'll need about 1500. Try not to go below 1200 though as your metabolism could slow and you'll actually gain weight. Change your lifestyle, eat more fruit and alot more veggies and cut out the junk food and fizzy drinks. Aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Eat little and often throughout the day. Like muesli for breakfast - slow release energy....mid morning...fruit or nuts.... lunch....pasta/ salad/ something light but filling.....mid afternoon...fruit or nuts......dinner... I either make chicken salad/ curry (healthy)/ or whatever my mum has cooked =) Drink plenty of water throughtout the day =o) and treat yourself every now and then!! Also, before your holiday, get a fake tan, instant confidence booster and gives a slimmer appearance =o)xx

Hi Babygclare
As somebody else said, it all depends on your age, height and how active you are during the day. If you are pretty active a good 1800 cals would be decent but if you are quite sedentary like moi, you'll need about 1500. Try not to go below 1200 though as your metabolism could slow and you'll actually gain weight. xx

Good diet and exercise. It should be more a lifestyle change than just a quick fix. I've only been doing this 2 weeks and it's actually working really well. I aim for around 1500 cals and walking everyday but rather than eat 3 larger meals, I am eating about 5 or 6 times a day and smaller portions. I've cut out bread and never drink fizzy drinks. I also drink lots of water throughout the day. I'm also eating a lot more fruit and veggies. I'm also cutting out all fast food for Lent which is helping.

I walk for about 20-30 minutes every lunchtime and try to walk where possible. I'm also working in Wii Fitness Coach =o)

I've actually lost about 1/2 an inch from my waist and belly =o) I've also been weighing in at 8.2 rather than fluctuating up and down.

Good Luck and try and stick with it. I feel and look better and my body feels full and healthy =o)

Gave up fast food joints/ chipshops and lasted a week, I let myself slip cos I wanted lunch with my boyf...D'oh! Anyways I am gonna continue for the rest of lent and maybe do an extra week at the end cos I think it's important to do something you commit to =)

@missstatistic lol I'm 23 but look like I'm 15 haha Yeah I've cut out bread again cos that can make me hella bloated but I'm okay with pasta =) I'm also trying to cut back on the junk food, where I work, there are like 4 fastfood places plus chipshops within about 15 minute walking distance!! I passed my test in 2008 when I was like 7.9 n now I'm fluctuating around 8 - 8.3, I doubt I'll get to 7.9 but the extra pounds make me sooo uncomfortable tho they're going down =) Oh and I'm like 5ft2 I feel it looks uneven.

@missstatistic bit of both, I wanna slim down abit, mainly get rid of teh muffin top lol I've gotten so lazy since I learned to drive, I used to have to walk quite abit to and from work which kept me slim and healthy =)

I agree with above also about chat room or even better, a forum which'll allow people to add threads for all kindsa stuff. It'll allow people to provide support and get useful tips. It'd also be good to be able to search for particular threads/posts as I have read some interesting posts I'd like to have gone back to but can't find them again on here.
It would be great to be able to search by keywords simply as I find the search here can be limited. =o)

I am giving up takeaways - like fast food such as KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, chinese and Chipshop foods. I have roped my boyfriend in too cos we are a nightmare together n love takeaways lol I've done well so far (except Nandos which we don't class as takeaway) however after a freezing Monday, my bf caved and had BK!! =o( I was sooo disappointed but he's now back on the bandwagon lol =o)

First things first...weight loss will not necessarily make you slimmer, you could be slimming and actually gain weight! Review your diet and exercise, ensure you are eating little and often and are getting everything you need - plenty of water, fruits and veggies and exercise! Find out what you're able to do with your knee - maybe walking?! or swimming?! something that can really get you sweating/ heart going without harming your knee further.

Good Luck =o) And use a measuring tape rather than scales as you'll have a better idea of whether or not you're getting slimmer.

have a bowl of muesli... it'll fill you up. You're probs not even that hungry so when you feel this way, go for a walk or do some exercise, exercise tends to clear your mind and your body will probably not want food until you are hungry. If you really are hungry, try some fruit then distract yourself. I know the feeling though, you walk around the shop imagining how you can eat every food then soooo wanna eat it straight away lol.

Maybe extra tabs for daily activity and as Cadburyaddict said, a why you ate it option - this could simply be emoticons or a comment box though I think emoticons would be great especially if you could filter them to see if certain times of the month are better or worse etc.

Also, I think the daily activity tab would be great for keeping track of exercise. I don't like to put mine in my diary with minus cals as these can't be exact. It'd also be great to see what exercise I am getting every day, ensuring I get enough =o)

As Cadburyaddict said, Muesli is good for you, and calories aren't a huge deal. If you wanna lower the cals, use low fat milk but Muesli is great, it's slow burning so it'll take you through the morning and you can add fruit to get one of your 5 a day so well done. If you'd have had a choc bar instead, you'd have less cals but LOADS of saturated fat and sugar and it'll probs keep you full for no longer than an hour so well done for opting for muesli =o)

totally agree with Cadburyaddict and iamkateb, I tweet EVERYTHING, this weekend was terrible for me but I tweeted cos I want to see patterns and see where I'm going wrong so I can improve. It'll also reflect my measurements (I'm measuring rather than weighing). =o) By not including it, you may wonder why you're gaining weight and not be able to backdate so well.x

Snack-a-Jacks - they do choc chip rice cakes - they are actually really tasty and sooooooo much healthier than chocolate so grab a bag (they're like £2) but are filling and last a while unlike 4 bars of choc! hehe Alternatively have fruit for sugar cravings - natural sugars are much healthier and you can get one of your five-a-day =) just copied & pasted from my previous response to someone lol.

Snack-a-Jacks - they do choc chip rice cakes - they are actually really tasty and sooooooo much healthier than chocolate so grab a bag (they're like £2) but are filling and last a while unlike 4 bars of choc! hehe Alternatively have fruit for sugar cravings - natural sugars are much healthier and you can get one of your five-a-day =)

oh and of course, walking can be good cardio which will aid in losing weight. Think of it this way - Chocolate - short lived de-stress - extra fat or Walking - longer-term de-stress - burning fat......hmmmm..... hehe I love walking especially if I feel down or stressed, I feel loads better and often realise things really aren't as bad as I think =)

When you're feeling stressed, get out and walk, take a good brisk walk, the fresh air and time away from the distractions of life will give you a chance to relax, breathe and clear your head. Exercise also releases endophines which make you feel happier so you get the same kinda release from chocolate just without the calories and the feeling will probably last longer too!! It'll also give you a chance to really consider what's stressing you out and think clearly about how you can stop feeling so stressed =)

It'll also allow you to get to know the area around you better!! =)

@uberchav Try a baked potato with tuna crunch side salad, it's very healthy and a slow burner so should help you through the day. For side salad, have tuna, sweetcorn, peppers and onions =o)

Alternatively make a stew or soup with a bunch of veggies and some stock - super healthy, filling and a little goes a long way. xx

Not the best reasons for weightloss. Just try to maintain a healthy lifestyle - including continuing the cut down of booze even after you're off the anitbiotics. Alcohol's good in moderation but 70% of your calorie intake isn't healthy at all! You could be doing alot of damage on the inside.

Sorry to hear about your boyfriend, on the plus side, 2010 - a new year, a new start =o) Good Luck and have a wicked Christmas =o)

If you're ill drink plenty of water and eat regularly as you normally would. Your body'll need food to keep going but maybe through some extra fruit in rather than gorging on junk =o)

You should just cut your calories slightly so maybe have smaller portions and don't eat if you're still full from dinner. It's natural that when having a dvd day that you'll burn less calories than normal so you don't need quite so much food=o)