I found that calculator way too low too. I used the scooby's workshop site. That one lets me eat more so I like it. I even am concerned that it is too low (I put moderately active) because I have lost 5lbs this week and I am no newbie to lifting.

Am interested in seeing the responses to this.

I tried to use that calculation at first too, but thought it was too low. The range was 1670 on non-workout days and 1933 on workout days. It contributed to my initial confusion about how much to eat. Based on the advice found on the boards, I ate at an average of what Scooby's calculator and the heybales worksheet said was maintenance for me - about 2200 calories per day. After 6 weeks eating there, I gained 4 lbs on the scale, lost 1% body fat and according to the heybales sheet, gained 6 pounds lean body mass. Based on that information, my cumulative maintenance calories were allowing me to burn a little fat, and gain muscle, but not lose weight. I recently switched to TDEE - 18% and it seems to be going well so far. That brings me to 1800 calories per day. Looking at the Maggie spreadsheet, 1800 is the exact mid-point between her two recommended numbers. I don't like eating less on non-workout days and more on workout days - honestly, I'm most hungry the day AFTER a tough workout. I need to give it a few weeks to see if I am losing weight, losing body fat, and gaining LBM (THE GOAL!!!). This feels really comfortable for me in terms of having enough to eat and still meeting my protein goals each day, while clearly at a deficit.

Give the heybales worksheet a try. If you like crunching numbers and knowing your stats as much as I do, it will give you great joy to play with. Also, as I lose weight and my lean body mass changes, I will likely change my calorie intake. I assume as one builds more muscle, they need more calories to maintain it.

Sorry I don't have the link, but you can find it in the In Place of a Roadmap (IPOAR) threads by using the search function. Let me know how it goes!

I think many have found it to be too high and many find it to be too low- it is just a starting recommendation. Scoobys calculator works out the same for me as NROL4W - I would just eat the same cals everyday. The variation comes when you plug in different deficits. The flat 300 calorie cut isn't always the best choice. For me it's only a 12% cut. For someone with a much lower BMR and TDEE it would be closer to 20%. Depending upon your goals and how much you want to lose, it might be a bigger deficit than you need.