I am a 26 yo male who is 5'8", 210lb giving a BMI of 31.5.  Central
adiposity is the main problem, very sedentary and fast food alot. No family
history of obesity.

 I want to lower my weight to a more healthy target of 170lbs, so I need to
lose about 40lbs.

 I dont want to subscribe to any diet program, other than: less in, more
out.  I would like to simply restrict my calories and start working out to
burn them.

 In the last week I started doing about 40 mins of aerobic exercise along
with light weight training (i.e. 15 mins), 4 times a week.

How much should I limit my calories?  What is the harm in very stringent
limitation, such as 1000-1500 kcal/day?  I want to lose faster than a pound
a week - 2-3 pounds a week would be ideal.  I figure with the aerobics and
light muscle training i will prevent metabolic slowdown and loss of lean
muscle mass. I realize there is risk of rebound gain, but if i return to a
more reasonable 2500 kcal/day when plateau'd, will it still be a problem?

I am taking in b/w 1000-1500 kdal/day now with a multivit a day and dont
feel excessively hungary (I did the first few days). Is this advisable?
More? Less ?

thanks