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Very helpful~ Thank you!

MEDIC YOU'RE AWESOME ! Thanks for your reply. I am frustrated at less than 1/2lb a month, trying to get lean. 31% BF is NOT lean, and I have muscles layered in FAT. The more I read the more I see it will be a slower process for me, being small (and age 55) So I will be trying to hit the upper end of my TDEE (without going over...the hard part) and be happy with a smidge, that is hardly trackable. I use a tape measure too. I've been working out consistently with the advanced LM Combat from Beach Body, plus added 2 full body weight workouts/wk & eat whole foods 40/30/30. Everyone says PATIENCE! Thanks for your reply!! Will let you know how I do. I needed validation to eat more than 1200, so the answer is YES, eat back the calories you burn. Have a great day!!

I keep reading & tweaking...but all calorie intake posts I read talk about a calorie deficit to lose and at the same time eating more to lose. I am so stuck on a plateau...Body weight 125 (30% fat-that's the issue!) I exercise 6X a week, using a HRM, alternating days of weights & cardio/hiit, burning an average of 300 calories a day. My base or TEE is 1200. So I should add the 300 to the 1200 and consume 1500 calories (40/30/30) a day...where is the deficit? This is exactly how MFP calculates it, with a lose of 1/2 week (which is fine but it ain't happening!) Auuugghhh I am so willing to do the work, and do it over & over but I just can't make my body change! THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE !!

Ok...

So at 125, for you a cut SHOULD be 1250-1500 calories per day, but because of your size that could be a negligible cut.
Based on your profile info (and guessing on your height) I put some of your numbers into a calculator and it has about 1500 for your TDEE.

Based off your BF estimate your LBM is about 87lbs, 37lbs of fat. For you 100lbs would be roughly 15% bodyfat (which is pretty lean for women).

Because LBM is substantially lower in women, it's hard for you guys to put up big deficit numbers. For you 1200 calories is about .5lbs/week, or 2lbs per month. This of course is going to be very susceptible to fluid fluctuations, and mask progress. To compare I've dropped 2lbs after peeing in the morning, or gained 2+lbs after breakfast. So you're really going to need to draw your timeline out. 2lbs is a fine goal, but it may be hard to tell for a while that you're making progress. It seems like you feel like you're "spinning your wheels" and at that low of a deficient it's kind of expected.

BUT on the other hand after say 6 months (about 12lbs) you should have a very good change in body composition. You starting weight and level of leanness will have a pretty big effect on noticeable composition changes (since each lb makes up a larger portion of your overall weight).

Here's what I mean:
When I started at 223 I was (about)33% bodyfat, 12lbs had NO noticeable difference (211lbs was 29%bf). Now that I'm much leaner 12lbs makes up a larger portion of my overall weight, and thus is a higher percentage bodyfat reduction. So 223 to 211 was roughly 4% reduction, 180 to 168 is about 6% reduction.

Basically the higher your bodyfat, the larger portion you need to lose to have a positive visual improvement.

This all make sense?
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Bump still so confused