<human>: I am allowing myself 1900 Calories a day. I am 29, 5'11, and 217 pounds. I started tracking things at 225 about 2.5 weeks ago, and I started cutting down and unofficially dieting when I saw the scale tip at something over 230 about a month ago.

So my question:
If I eat 1700 Calories in the day, and go on a somewhat strenuous 2-3 hour hike with my 16 pound daughter strapped to me (my preferred form of exercise), does that mean my calorie deficit for the day is 200 Calories, or 1200?

I ask because I was just reading up ont calorie confusion and increasing one's metabolism, and I encountered a few articles (with no good sourcing, gotta love that) that having an extreme calorie deficit was really bad, and can lead to yoyo dieting.

So if I exercise more, should I eat more?

I also follow a vegetarian diet (always have). Last night for dinner I had 1 cup of wild rice, a grilled portabello mushroom cap, and lightly sauteed cauliflower and brocoli, with 16oz of unsweetened iced tea. This is not very caloric, I think it came to about 350 calories for the meal. This was part of my 1700 calorie day, or 700 calories day after exercise, so again, am I doing it right?

If anything I wrote doesn't make sense, just ask and I'll be happy to clarify my rambling questions. I know I'm doing something right because I really notice a change, and I have taken weight off, but I'm just afraid of plateauing too much, and slowing down my metabolism by accidentally kick starting a "starvation mode". I just want to do this right, and not be stuck in an endless circle of dieting. I want a lifestyle change, and need to make sure I'm taking the right steps to get there.

Can you give me the gist of the text in a nutshell?
<bot>: Lifelong vegetarian and pastry chef trying to go from 225 to 180 in the healthiest way possible, and is confused by the intricacies of calorie deficits.