Not at all Red. The joy of a forum such as this is that we have access to tons and tons of people, all of whom have different experiences that can help. I have learnt so much from others on here. For example, I had no idea, that even if I was to lie in bed all day, doing nothing, my body needs around 1200 calories just for my vital organs to continue to function healthily. Any exercise (even day to day living stuff), increases our body's normal need for calories. The risk of going on a very low calorie diet, and the cause of many people yo-yo-ing with their weight, is that our bodies panic if we are eating too little. I've done it in the past - lost weight, put it on, lost weight, put it on ... Apart from damage to our bodies (including internal organs), our bodies can start to hold on to food in fear that we are in 'starvation'. As far as I understand, this is one of the reasons that we can tend to put all our weight back on, and more, at the end of the diet. I am sure that is not your aim. I have been counting calories for a couple of months, and am steadily losing weight, despite eating around 1200 - 1400 calories per day. But then, with normal daily activities my body probably needs around 2000 so I am still eating less than I need, which causes my body to draw on my 'substantial' fat supply to make up the difference. Does that make sense? Good luck on your journey, and do what feels right for you ... but remember that sometimes slow and steady wins the ultimate race x