Q: This may seem like a dumb question, but how many calories am I supposed to eat each day if I'm trying to lose weight? —Pacey, Denver

A: This is a great question, since eating the right number of calories each day is the key to weight loss. Generally, a 1,200- to 1,500-calorie diet can successfully help most women lose weight. Here's why: To lose about one pound per week, you have to eat 500 calories fewer than your usual intake per day. Since most women eat an average of 1,850 calories per day, a 1,200- to 1,500-calorie diet plan is about 500 calories fewer than the average.

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Now, if you want to determine your personal calorie goal more specifically, you can use my favorite method: The Food Log Method. For two typical weekdays and one typical weekend day, write down everything you eat and drink, then add up the calories using a calorie book, such as Allan Borushek's "The Calorie King Calorie, Fat, and Carbohydrate Counter," or Website, such as calorieking.com. Once you determine the average number of calories you eat per day, subtract 500 to get the number you'd have to consume to lose about one pound per week. Just remember that going lower than 1,200 calories is not recommended because adult women aren't able to get enough balanced nutrition at calorie levels lower than that. If you feel you can't lose weight at that calorie level, increase the amount of exercise you're doing, or work out harder, rather than going below 1,200 calories.

On the other hand, if you're a very active person, 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day may not be enough for you. If you exercise for more than 30 minutes on most days of the week at a high intensity (more than a brisk walk), you may need closer to 1,800 or 2,000 daily calories to fuel your active lifestyle.

When it comes to trying to figure out where to get your calories from, the United States Department of Agriculture website, mypyramid.gov, may be helpful. If you click on the "MyPyramid Plan" option, you can enter your age, gender, height, weight and activity level to get a tailored eating plan just for you. It outlines how many servings of each food group are recommended at various calorie levels. For example, a 1,400-calorie diet would have 1.5 cups of fruit, 1.5 cups of vegetables, 5 small servings of whole grains, 4 ounces of meat or beans and 2 cups of dairy each day.

Dawn Jackson Blatner is a registered and licensed dietitian, and a national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Read more about her here.