Need Advice: Go by Remaining Cals or Goal Cals?

1. stop hoping for faster loss.
2. stop hoping for spot reduction.
3. go back and put in your real information, if you're exercising but put in "sedentary" then you're doing it wrong.
4. eat back at least a portion your exercise calories, otherwise, you're doing it wrong.

the calories you were given are a baseline with a deficit already built in. You look pretty young, so 1200 is gonna be wrong.

in fact, here's a wall of text that will probably get ignored:

Here ya go.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines.
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
Take the tips, links, and info above and make the cart more manageable.

I struggled with this for a long time and kept stalling out over and over. This thread really changed everything for me: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

I'm only about 12 pounds away from my goal, so I do TDEE -10%, I get to eat around 2000 cals a day, and I don't have to worry about tracking exercise calories (which are crazy tricky to get right).

Best of luck!

Edit: The calculator that @trog suggested is the one I use - don't be scared of the number that pops up! As long as you're honest with your activity level, it's the best place to begin. And everything else in that post is right on, too

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck

THIS! :laugh:

And this:

I struggled with this for a long time and kept stalling out over and over. This thread really changed everything for me: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

And this:

Listen to Trog - he's lost 153 pounds.

Does this seem correct?

If so I will enter it into MFP.

It seems pretty close. Keep in mind, ALL of these calculators are just giving estimates. It's gonna take time as well as some trial and error to dial in the exact numbers. Give that calorie goal 6 weeks. At the end of 6 weeks of accurate logging of food, reassess if you need to.

Once I enter this into MFP, and I actually do the exercise and it pulls over from RunKeeper or I enter it in. Do I eat those calories back to get as close to 0 for the remaining?

Don't put in your exercise calories, keep working out the same amount.. but if you enter your workouts into MFP, set it as 1 calorie burned. Since it gave you 1880 calories per day, try to get as close to that amount as you can.