Advice about calories much appreciated!

A kg a week is likely too aggressive -- that's 2.2lbs, which is a weight loss you'd expect to see steadily from someone who was potentially 100-150lbs over weight.

Your BMR is a pretty good base of what you should be eating each day, and in the understanding of most, that should be NET calories as your BMR, so you should be aiming to eat close to 1800 calories a day. I'm assuming your TDEE is set to sedentary? Most people aren't actually unless they work a desk job, and then sit on the couch the rest of the hours of the day. With the gap between your BMR and TDEE at that setting, you would expect to healthily lose closer to 0.75lbs per week.

While you can cut below your BMR, its certainly not recommended without doctor supervision and because you haven't actually given your weight and height or body fat, we really have no idea if you're at an unhealthy enough weight to know if losing more than 0.75lbs a week consistently would be right for you.

Honestly, based on the numbers you've given, I'd say you'd be eating significantly too little. While I only know a bit about 5:2 diet, it seems a little odd to me to eat only at 500 calories for the two days. Most people I've chatted with who are doing it are eating at/above 1000 on those days.

You might find this thread useful as it looks briefly at 5:2.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/top-10-most-popular-diets-review.aspx#5:2

I have no knowledge of all these diets as Im just going for boring old tried and tested calorie deficit with some exercise. The link does give what I think is a balanced overview. Try it and see the results, but the dnager are how much you eat on the 5 days and whether you can stick with such a plan in the long term.

Is 1kg a week too much? Its at the top end of what is considered to be a helathy and sustainable amount of weight loss. We all want to get rid of it as fast as possible, but the flip side we wnat to get rid and keep it off. The forum emphasises a change in lifestyle so you reprogram yourself to a more balanced diet that in the end feels less restrictive and easier to stick to. Be aware that the weight loss might be bigger at the beginning but it will not straightline down. Look over a longer period say 3 weeks and then adjust if you plateau out.

Weigh yourself over a resonable period because its important to know progress, but be prepared for plateaus and even rises. Get the mindset that you can deal with these events and you adjust accordingly. If you are worried then post on the forum.

Track your food and record it on MFP. Important to do it accurately including getting some scales. The calorie deficit is king, so just make sure you maintain it. If you dont then its easy to go over if you guesstimate.

Plenty of links on site about nutrition and also plenty of recipes so you can make soemthing that fits the requirements but you also like. imo the nutrition side helps you understand more what to eat and what your body needs, it it doesnt have to all be tummy veg it can bread if you wish as part of the overall scheme of things. If you are doing 5:2 then make sure you are getting your vitamins and you are doing the correct things with your 500 calories.

I think most people here work on a diet they adjust to suit their own needs and allows them their own treats if needed just smaller portions. Record what you are doing and then you can see what results you get.

Read the forums, keep asking questions, keep finding out more about the diet and maybe consider supplementing it with some exercise/ resistance training, which can help with body shape and not just weight. Good lucck.

Do you not think 1800 calories is too much for weight loss though? It seems like a lot to fit in between around 12pm and 7pm which is when I like to eat. And for me to be eating healthy foods as well which aren't particularly high in calories. I'm not a big meat eater so will be eating vegetables like broccoli and other veges (yum), oats, berries, yoghurt, some chicken, eggs, brown rice, some fish, legumes etc. and some wholes rain bread but not too often - wheat is my weakness!

Two 900 calorie meals a day seems a LOT when I'm trying to lose 3kg a month...?

Basically what I'm trying to get across is that it's not healthy, or sustainable, for you to be looking to lose 3kg a month. You'll be depriving your body of the calories and nutrients it needs to function, which over time, will tax your organs, and slow your metabolism slightly, which will make maitenence of your lower weight significantly harder because you won't be able to eat nearly as much as you would have if you'd lost healthily. You'll also be losing LBM (muscle) at a much higher rate, which will negatively affect your body composition, and likely make you still unhappy when you reach your goal because you won't look lean. Take your calories too low, or keep them there for too long of a time, and you'll also lose hair and your fingernails may discolour.

It's fine to not be a big meat fan, I'm not either. But you need to make sure that you're getting enough protein, B12 and other nutrients that meat provides. You will lose weight eating 1800 calories, it'll just be around the 1lb a week rate (so just under half a kg). There are tons of calorie dense foods that are great for you and which you could easily integrate into your diet.

The best "plan" to be on is one that you can sustain, because consistency is key to making this work. From your description, I know that *I* could not last on the plan you describe... too restrictive for me.

If you want to get a good idea of the calories you need to consume to lose weight, try a calculator like this:

http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

Put "Sendentary" in the activity dropdown and see what it tells you.

Remember that the key to this whole thing is calorie deficit. You can manipulate the deficit by either eating fewer calories than you need, exercising more, or doing both.

I do both. Most people on MFP do both. It helps widen the calorie deficit, plus exercise has all kinds of other benefits.

If the thought of exercise bothers you, remember that one of the most effective and simple exercises you can perform is walking. It's easy and great for clearing your mind. I have a pedometer and get 10K steps per day. It has made all the difference in my weight loss progress. I highly recommend you do some kind of simple exercise like that.

Finally - as you lose weight, you will lose muscle mass. Strength training is the only way to prevent muscle mass from being lost. A simple strength training plan, 3x per week, can assist you in maintaining the muscles you already have.

Good luck.