Firstly I wanted to say congratulations on your weight loss so far - you've done a brilliant job and you should be very proud of yourself!

I can completely understand your concerns about not wanting to eat too many extra calories - this is quite understandable when you've done such a great job getting where you are.

In terms of calories in and calories out - it is a balancing act, and you are probably already aware of how this might work for you. Being active isn't just about doing a specific activity (like an exercise DVD) but is about being on the go all of the time. So yes, you should consider the activity you do in your normal day to day life -certainly looking after 2 young kids is no mean feat! That said we already take into account 'normal' activity when we calculate your calorie allowance, so it’s really anything over and above this that would need to be added as additional activity.

In answer to your question, are you eating enough? Well I can see that although you're not hitting your calorie allowance, you are eating around 1400 calories per day. This level of calories should be sufficient to ensure that you're getting enough good nutrition to keep you healthy and active. If, at this level of intake, you were consistently losing more than 2lbs a week I would say that it was too low, but in your current situation I don't think you should feel you need to eat for the sake of it. It may be that you've just reached a bit of a plateau in your weight loss (however a loss of 1lb a week is still a great achievement!) - something that most people encounter at some stage, particularly when you've lost a substantial amount of weight successfully.

To get over a plateau there are a few options - the first is to 'sit it out'. Basically stick with what you're doing, keep calorie counting and exercising as you have been and just wait and see what happens over the next couple of weeks. It's quite likely that things will right themselves and you'll start losing again soon.

The other options are to give you a little 'kickstart' via reducing calorie intake or by increasing your activity levels. Why not find an additional type of exercise that you enjoy - something completely different perhaps using different muscle groups? Either of these options might just give you that little kickstart your body needs to get back on track.

Finally I would say that you should try not to let this get you down - you are still losing weight and you've done it sensibly and effectively. Stick at it and you will get back on track really soon. Remember that we are here to support you so if after a couple of weeks you're still not where you want to be, by all means get back in touch and we can revisit this again and see what we can do.

Hope that helps - best of luck and keep up the good work!