are you using MFP or other calorie calculator &Why

I don't like the MFP daily changing calorie goal due to exercise changes, so I use the TDEE-deficit method. With the TDEE method, your exercise & daily activity is all built into your calorie & macro goals. I like that it makes my daily food intake easier to manage & plan ahead, since the daily calorie goal is constant. I switched from MFP doing my calculations a good 8+ months ago & have lost a lot of weight. It's important to hit your calorie & macro goals.

I've found the easiest way to use the TDEE method is using Haybales' Excel spreadsheet. If you go the link for his website, you'll find a link to download the spreadsheet just below the "About Me" heading. The spreadsheet is great & easy to use! The instructions for use are a few sentence below the link to the spreadsheet in his profile. You just take your measurements & change the values in "yellow," the rest is calculated for you. It will give you your calories goal in the 1st tab, the 2nd tab allows you to track measurements over time, and the "macro" tab (4th tab?) calculates your fat, protein & carb goals. You can choose to set your macros based on current LBM or goal weight. I use my goal weight to set mine. You need 1 gram/pound LBM for protein, fats are 0.4 grams/pound LBM and carbs are what is left. Then go to MFP & chose the "custom" option to set your goals. Your calorie goal will remain constant from day to day, since exercise is included in the calculations. Do NOT eat back exercise calories. I love that my calorie goal doesn't change! It makes planning my day so much easier! Once set-up, you need to redo your calculations monthly or whenever you lose 5 pounds. The measurements are very important, because as you lose fat, the weight may drop off slower, but the inches will drop off much quicker.

It is just as important to get your macro goals right, as your calorie goal. Adequate protein intake is especially important! You should take in at least 1 gm/pound of lean body mass (LBM). For most women that is 100-125 grams/day. The increased protein intake is to spare muscle (i.e. LBM) loss, while at a calorie deficit. You want to burn fat NOT muscle. Your muscle is what burns the most calories, as LBM drops, so does your BMR. I've lost 61 pounds, but only 2-3 pounds of LBM--the rest as all been fat! Haybales' spreadsheet does all these calculations for you.

If after 3-4 weeks, you're not losing then adjust your daily calorie goal by 100 calories & watch for another 3-4 weeks. You may need more calories or less calories, it can be a little trial & error from the TDEE-deficit calculation. If you need to lose >20 pounds, your deficit should be set for TDEE-20%. If your need to lose 10-20 pounds, then TDEE-10 to 15%, and once you're down to <10 pounds to lose, set your goal to TDEE-5-10%. The Excel spreadsheet makes theses changes in deficit automatically as you recalculate with weight loss, if you use Haybales' spreadsheet, so super easy!

Haybales' link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/heybales

I used MFP for quite a while and had success with it. I'm now using TDEE because I wanted to have a constant calorie goal.

MFP is just a tool. So are all the other calculators. They are only as good as the person using them.

When I was in weight-loss mode I looked around, this one has the best database for food, plus I already had it customized with my own entries easily accessible to me in "My Foods."

If you enter your data consistently it really doesn't matter which calculator you use - just use each tool as it is designed, create good data for yourself, adjust according to results.

I also use HeyBales spreadsheet but I use it a little differently than stated above. Because my exercise is not consistent, I don't want to over eat on the days I don't exercise (similar to the way MFP works). I filled in the Simple Set up but left the activity/exercise area blank. At the bottom of the spreadsheet, there is a MFP Tweak tab and I follow the instructions on that. I input my exercise calories down at the bottom (something I missed the first few times I used it) and it tells me how many calories to put into MFP for exercise calories. You don't eat back all of your exercise calories with this method. I believe you eat about 2/3 of them back. This works well for me and would work well for anyone who doesn't have a regular exercise routine.

MFP plus the backs of packets to double check. It's handy, easy, love the app and it works.

I started out with MFP but ultimately went to the TDEE method due to my exercise was pretty routine and it just made more sense to estimate those calorie needs in my activity level rather than eating them back with MFP.

If you're doing it right, it's really about 6 of 1 MFP vs TDEE. My MFP net calorie goal to lose 1 Lb per week was 1850...with exercise I was eating around 2100 - 2200 calories gross and losing 1 Lb per week. My TDEE is roughly 2750...so a 20% cut from there to lose roughly 1 Lb per week gave me 2200 calories. As you can see, the ultimate calorie total was pretty much the same.

If you're having issues, it's not the method...the method is never really the issue...when you're having issues, barring a medical condition, you are underestimating intake and/or overestimating burn. There are numerous studies out there illustrating how easy it is to underestimate intake...even professional nutritionists and dietitians tend to underestimate their intake.

thanks for all your comments, I am not losing anymore and I did a reset and wondered which way I should go...I guess it's to keep trying to find what works for me. I take medication and maybe that is the problem

If you only have 27 pounds left to lose, it will go slower than when you first started if you've already lost significant weight.

If you use MFP's numbers, set it to "Lose 1 pound per week." Weigh all your foods and measure all your liquids. Log accurately. Add back and eat 200-400 calories per hour of moderate, planned exercise.

If you use one of the TDEE calculators, you still have to log food accurately, etcetera, but you DO NOT eat more on exercise days. That's the main difference. They all use well-established algorithms, the variable is your entries/goals. Then tweak.