Confused on calorie intake.

aforange

Hello everyone, I'm Ange! I know this question has probably been asked a thousand times before (and I'm sorry for repeating it), but I've just joined today, put my weight in and got my recommended calorie intake. I'm 193lbs and I'm overweight, but the way my body is built I don't look obese / particularly fat, just a little chubby with good weight distribution (curvaceous) and I'm slightly heavy framed.

(http://i48.tinypic.com/2samcfa.jpg this is me.)

My recommended calorie intake is just over 1800? Which to me seems like A LOT, and I don't understand how it's going to help me lose weight quicker by eating that much a day. I usually stick by the "don't go under 1200" rule and watch what I eat but, yeah. I'm just a little confused. Also I don't understand how the calories you burn in exercise get plonked onto what you should be eating in a day? Does it not defeat the point you've burned those calories if you eat them all back?

Yeah, just, confused and wondering! Thank you all so much.

(Posting this on here too because I'm stuck stuck stuck)