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Arin Daigneau, nutrition, diabetes and lactation educator at The Memorial Hospital, has taken time to answer my dieting questions as well as questions submitted by readers. If you have weight loss questions you'd like Arin to answer, post them here or email me at mballeck@craigdailypress.com.

Q: One reader heard on Dr. Oz’s show that you should not consume fewer than 1,800 calories or your body will think it’s starving. Is this true? How does someone determine the ideal number of calories they need to consume to reach their desired weight?

A: The recommended caloric intake range for weight loss is 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 per day for men. Another tool that can be used is 10 calories for each pound of your ideal body weight. So, if your ideal body weight is 120 pounds, then you should eat 1,200 calories per day to lose weight. We do not recommend that anyone eat less than 1,200 calories per day because they will actually slow their weight loss and lose more muscle than fat, which in turn slows down their metabolism.

Q: There’s a lot of talk in society these days about cleanses. Are they safe? Are they effective? How would someone choose which one would work best for them?

A: Cleanses have actually been shown to do very little in terms of “cleansing the body.” If you are going to use a cleanse to jump start weight loss, it should be for a very short duration and you should consult your physician before doing so.