The Scale Won't Budge!!!

In A, you're eating 2,000 calories and burning 500, which gives you 1500 NET calories.
In B, you're eating 1500 calories and burning 500, which gives you 1000 NET calories.

What your calorie goal should be really depends on how much you weigh and how much you want to lose.

I have 34 lbs to lose. BMI chart says I should be at 109, but in my adult life, I've never been at that weight. I want to be at 120 lbs. I take it that option A is the better choice right?

If you're going to use MFP as it is intended you just input your information with the appropriate job activity level. Eat your calorie goal. Log your exercise and then eat back at least a portion of those calories. Your loss deficit is built into the number MFP gives you before ever adding any exercise. By eating back your exercise calories you're fuelling your body and keeping your original deficit in place.

How are you counting your calories? Are you logging everything? Are you sure your numbers are exactly accurate? Until you know exactly how many calories you're putting in your body, and exactly how many calories your body is using on an average day, you're not going to know for certain whether you've created a calorie deficit. But I'll tell you this, if "the scale won't budge", then you're not creating a calorie deficit sufficient to effect weight loss. So you're either underestimating the calories you're consuming, or overestimating the calories you're burning through exercise.

This is why I don't exercise. Every single person who comes on here saying they aren't losing weight, is also saying they're burning hundreds of calories through exercise—just so they can eat additional calories. That's a recipe for maintenance eating, not losing, I'm afraid.

The calorie burn on here is generous, I was working out like a fiend ( just lifting x5) and eating 1200 and not losing, since I relaxed my workouts (lifting x2 and HIIT) it's starting moving again so could be you have too much of a calorie decifit.

But listen to Sara ^^^^^^^ what she doesn't know isn't worth knowing

The first thing you should check is accuracy. Are you using a food scale for all foods and measuring spoons and cups for free pouring liquids? If not, start there.

Second, how are you determining your calorie burns?

Third, beginning an exercise program can cause water retention, which can mask fat loss.

Finally, be patient. Weight can fluctuate several pounds per day due to sodium, exercise, hormones, food in your digestive tract, etc. Give it a month before you decide it isn't working.

Perhaps try the TDEE-20% method, as you don't need to log exercise that way - which makes things simpler. There's a calculator at www.fat2fitradio.com

This but I use http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

So much easier than MFP.

Also, depending on your workouts, you may just be gaining some muscle, which can stall weight loss. Are you starting to see changes in your build (i.e. more definition in arms, core, legs, etc)?

your body needs a minimum of 1200 calories to function during the day. Its suggested that you dont fall below that amount. but if you want I would suggest you try each and see what works, if you lose weight.
I recently had the same struggle no matter what i did the scale did not work. I was not doing WW however. I have in the past and it worked but i have found for ME anyway, i cant just go with the XX points a day. There are certain foods i should avoid ( gluten and dairy, with the exception of FF yogurt) I also just hired a personal trainer who said i may be doing too much cardio. All i was doing was working my heart and lungs. We are incorporating some metobolic training ( which is a good cardio anyway) and changing my diet up a bit ( more snacks during the day). Maybe some of those might work for you as well, just suggestions, good luck.

I keep seeing this "your body needs at least 1200 calories a day" paradigm being thrown around like it's solid scientific fact, unassailable. That's absurd, because each person's lower calorie limit is dependent on many factors, and there is no one magic number under which everyone's wheels come off. That's like the whole "eight glasses of water a day" thing—it's certainly a widely dispersed bit of wisdom, but what's the real science behind it? Truth is, for very tall males, 1200 might be way too low, and for very short older women, 1200 might be closer to maintenance than many people would like to believe. Every person's numbers are going to be slightly different, and even if you get your numbers from MFP or other sites, you still have to test them out in your real life and see if they work. Of course, that means you have to measure everything accurately.

Basically, if a young person of average height is netting around 1200 calories a day, that person will lose weight, barring some rather uncommon medical conditions. If a young person of average height is not losing weight, that person is either not netting around 1200 calories a day, or that person has a rather uncommon medical condition. So, the choices are a) go to the doctor and b) count calories in and calories out accurately or c) both. :flowerforyou: