Hello I'm a newbie and have a question

Ok I am 22 years old , 5'1 and weight 130. My goal weight is 116(my pre preggo weight).

My calorie intake as stated here is 2010 but that is to maintain my current weight. However, I am trying to lose weight so how much calories am I suppose to consume? Also I work out several times a week doing 30min cardio and 10min abs workouts.

OK i think i found the tool. Here is what it said.

You should consume about 1,509 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 116 lbs This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1 lbs per week, which should be reached by November 02, 2009.

Wow, I got so use to eating 1800 cal now I must cut 300 cal out, well it will be worth it! Also I entered that I work out moderately.

Some people set their activity level to sedentary, and then log each days activity.  The idea is that it is more accurate, but also more time consuming.  You can add anything from housework to kickboxing.  Then on days you burn a lot more, you should eat more as well so that your calorie deficit never exceeds 1000 (500 makes more sense for your size) for any given day.

I have read that the body can only burn 31 calories from each pound of fat each day, the rest comes from muscle.  31 X 16 = 496 calories from fat loss. 

Hit the free weights to preserve the muscle you have and maybe get some early gains as well.  Weights also increase your metabolic burn for a day or two after each workout.

bumping for more replies :-)

I think you are on the right track. It's less calories or more excrcise...You chose less calories. Sounds like you know what your doing :)

thank you!! It took a while to understand the concept of this.