TDEE calculation?

Try the spreadsheet found in this thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/750920-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

It takes into account:

Height
Weight
Age
Gender
Measurements
^
Uses this info to estimate Body Fat %
^
Asks about hours of different types of activity you do in a week (if you enter info here you won't eat back exercise cals, if you mark everything 0 then you will eat exercise cals back)
^
Uses a combination of all the above factors to calculate BMR, TDEE, and lowest amount of cals you can eat to safely lose weight.

Your TDEE is your maintenance level of calories per a given activity level. To lose weight, you eat below your TDEE...i.e. a calorie deficit from maintenance. The calorie goal MFP gives you has a calorie deficit in it...judging by those numbers I'd say you put your goal to lose 2 Lbs per week...roughly 1,000 calorie per day deficit from TDEE.

TDEE is maintenance...MFP's goal is a deficit from maintenance.

My weight loss per week is set for only 1 pound loss and I haven't lost anything at all in 3 weeks!

There are about a billion different possibilities here. In my experience, most people who have this issue aren't accurately accounting for their calories...most people with this issue eyeball servings, etc rather than weighing and measuring all of their food.

Also, do you exercise? Do you eat back exercise calories? As I noted, MFP uses your NEAT...if you're exercising a lot and don't eat back exercise calories, you're under fueling yourself. If you have too large a deficit, you will stall your metabolism as your body shuts down "non-essential" functions in order to conserve energy for primary functions like breathing and what not. This is why I get so frustrated with people doing endless hours of cardio trying to burn a gazillion calories when they already have a substantial deficit in their diet..just more harm than good when you do that.

Your TDEE is your maintenance level of calories per a given activity level. To lose weight, you eat below your TDEE...i.e. a calorie deficit from maintenance. The calorie goal MFP gives you has a calorie deficit in it...judging by those numbers I'd say you put your goal to lose 2 Lbs per week...roughly 1,000 calorie per day deficit from TDEE.

TDEE is maintenance...MFP's goal is a deficit from maintenance.

My weight loss per week is set for only 1 pound loss and I haven't lost anything at all in 3 weeks!

There are about a billion different possibilities here. In my experience, most people who have this issue aren't accurately accounting for their calories...most people with this issue eyeball servings, etc rather than weighing and measuring all of their food.

Also, do you exercise? Do you eat back exercise calories? As I noted, MFP uses your NEAT...if you're exercising a lot and don't eat back exercise calories, you're under fueling yourself. If you have too large a deficit, you will stall your metabolism as your body shuts down "non-essential" functions in order to conserve energy for primary functions like breathing and what not. This is why I get so frustrated with people doing endless hours of cardio trying to burn a gazillion calories when they already have a substantial deficit in their diet..just more harm than good when you do that.

Okay, this is all good information. To answer, yes I do log very accurately everything I eat. I never eyeball anything, right down to using a tablespoon for my coffee cream. Also, I am an avid walker. I usually walk at least 3 miles a day and depending on my day, I usually eat back 1/2 my exercise calories.

So you are using moderate activity numbers?
Correct?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

My weight loss per week is set for only 1 pound loss and I haven't lost anything at all in 3 weeks!

I follow it per the road map Dan wrote (yes the one who is replying in this thread). Using the way he layed it out, I didn't start actually losing weight until about 4 weeks or so into doing it. Since then I have dropped 14 pounds (started using the TDEE/BMR method in the beginning of Jan). You have to really be patient with it. There are weeks were I didn't lose weight but lost inches, and then two weeks later I would drop like 2 or 3 pounds.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

This.

You are probably not eating enough and that is why you see no movement (if you have been stuck for months...not just days)

http://nutritiondata.self.com/tools/calories-burned
and
http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

have me around 3500-4000 cals burned a day. I'm 5'10, 145, male. This site gives me 3100ish, I don't know how much I eat exactly, but I am highly active,

http://nutritiondata.self.com/tools/calories-burned
and
http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

have me around 3500-4000 cals burned a day. I'm 5'10, 145, male. This site gives me 3100ish, I don't know how much I eat exactly, but I am highly active,

Thanks for these links, the 2nd one didn't work, but the first one gave me about 2100 - 2200 calories burned a day. I'm short, 5'2", so not sure where to go with this link.

Then, depending how much you have to lose, knock up to 20% or max 500 calories off your TDEE and eat that number of calories. Don't eat back exercise calories.

Otherwise, use the MFP calcs and eat back ALL your exercise calories.

They're different ways of calculating activity and food/fuel requirement, but either will work if done properly.

The MFP Way
Try to make sure you don't eat below your BMR (the calories you'd used staying alive in a coma). For instance, my BMR is about 1340 and adding in a sedentary/desk-job activity level, I burn around 1600 a day. I net 1380 (eat 1380 + exercise cals earned) each day, giving me a deficit of around 220 calories a day. I've been losing just over 0.5lb a week on that regime, but I've only got 7lbs left to lose. If I want to eat more, I have to exercise more!

The TDEE Way
This adds up all your exercise for a whole week plus your BMR and divides the number by 7 to give you an average number of calories to eat each day. For me this is around 1500 if I do a full lifting & cardio schedule and keep a 250 cal a day deficit.

I prefer the MFP one because I don't always manage my full workout plan, and by eating back what I've earned, if I don't go to the gym, I don't eat as if I have. Other people prefer the simplicity of eating roughly the same amount each day.