Day five

If you have 3 meals a day and make them each around 300 calories then you will have 300 calories left for snacks. 300 calories doesn't seem like much but if you cut out snacks each meal could be 400 calories.

It's a bit of a learning curve at the beginning. Try looking for low calorie meals and snacks. If you go over a bit, my advice is to still log it and complete your food diary as best as you can. It can help you stay accountable.

Welcome!

You will learn your way around. It can be daunting at first, but it gets easier. As a warning, be careful with the food database. It is vast, which is really awesome. The thing that's less awesome is that you will find many different entries for food you will log in your diary. Take the time the first time you log and make sure you choose one that matches what the label says. You can also double-check with the USDA Food Central database. Your search may not seem to find anything, but click the "SR Legacy Foods" for more options. Once you pick the right one, it will show up in your "recent foods," so it will be easier to log the next time.

I have to ask - is your doctor well versed in nutrition science? Many physicians are not. The 1200 is an old adage that may not actually suit your needs. A really good tool to get an estimate of your caloric needs is Sailrabbit. It's not a bad idea to use the "Sedentary Lifestyle" entry if you are going to use this number with MFP and also log your exercise/activity. The BMR information is basic metabolic rate - what your body would use if you never got out of bed. The TDEE is total daily energy expenditure, and is a good target for maintaining your current weight. Set the bottom section to lose one pound a week, and see what numbers pop up.

Try a few of the activity levels to get an even better idea. Then take this information and have another chat with your doctor.