Any other girls on a 2000 calorie goal?

I am at 2050 and doing fine. I am also lifting quite a bit, and I am pleased with my results so far.

Unless you're really new to lifting you won't gain any appreciable muscle while trying to lose fat.

To lose fat, you have to eat below maintenance. To build muscle, you need to eat ABOVE maintenance - to put on weight (some of which will be muscle and some will be fat). You can get stronger by lifting while eating at a deficit, however - strength gains come from more than just muscle gains.

As for how much to eat, it depends on what your priority is and your TDEE. Have you figured this part out yet (i.e. your maintenance intake)? If you want to lose fat and retain the muscle you have, then take a modest amount off your TDEE (10-15%) and eat that. If you want to gain muscle, add something around 150-300 calories on top of your TDEE. You're at a very respectable bf% that would be appropriate as a starting point for a bulk if that interested you.

One other alternative is to do a recomp: eat at maintenance and very slowly lose fat while very slowly gain muscle. It's...slow. If your goal is to gain muscle this is a really inefficient way to do it, especially as a woman (the cards are already stacked against us in the muscle-building department, unfortunately). Bulk/cut cycles are more efficient.

As for calorie goals there is no "right" number to aim for since everyone is a bit different. Personally, I can maintain on anywhere from 2300 to 2600 depending on my weight and activity level (I lift three days a week, so the only difference would be whether I add some cardio sessions). Most of the women in the bulking group on here (i.e. trying to gain muscle) are eating anywhere from about 2200 to 3000/day. Protein is important - you want to aim for at least 1 g /lb lean body mass - in your case more would probably be better since you're already quite lean.

I have a 2000-calorie goal! I'm 5'4" and 135lbs.

It's a pretty good maintenance level for me, though personally I think I could lose another 5lbs, so I don't always go for that extra snack when it's midnight and I've had 1800.

19% body fat is really nice! I was at that before I took a month off for the holidays like a silly person... being away from college meant no gym, but that's just an excuse. I'll be back there soon! Ultimately I think I'd like to have 16% body fat, because I'd see more muscle tone that way. I eat at maintenance. I am rarely hungry enough to eat over that, so sometimes I eat under, which will result in fat loss.

I pretty rarely do cardio, though I've been incorporating about 10 minutes of it into my workout (more of a warmup than a cardio session.) The rest of my workout is all strength training. I definitely appear fitter and feel stronger. I can work my muscles at higher weights. I always have a small protein shake afterwards. So I'm building strength, which I assume involves some muscle growth, and maintaining my weight, which means I must be burning some fat. I know there's lots of science and method to it that you can follow, but I think eating at maintenance while you work your muscle groups is a simple way to do it and it's something sustainable that you can do forever, and keep getting fitter and stronger and leaner.

My maintenance is 2800 according to my fitbit! I am slowly moving up to it right now (am at 2500 and am still losing ). Feel free to add me!

2500 here

I'm aiming for 2700 at the moment. (5'8, 149lbs and approx 22%ish body fat) Looking to reduce fat % so I have more definition,wherever that lies.

The amount I'm on is fine for me at the moment, I lose on this (slowly) I think closer to my goal I expect to have to lower it a bit, maybe 2300-2400 as a minimum. I'm quite active, in my job and the gym/lifting so 2000 has me losing a bit too quick from experience but I've seen a lot of women on here lose consistently on 2000+ so sounds like it's worth a try.

Number of meals for me is usually 3-5 depending on the length of my day and how big/filling those meals are.

Not right now, but I was eating a bit more than that for bulking. It's not too much,depending on how much you burn, eat less than you burn to lose fat, eat more than you burn to gain mass

I'm around 2500 calories, that's what I burn according to my Fitbit, and I've been maintaining weight for a bit.
Working on lowering BF% and adding muscle now.

I eat a minimum of 2000 calories a day and I'm 5'7", 122 pounds, 41 years old. That has turned out to be maintenance for me. All the calculators estimated 1895-1950, but I found I can eat more and be fine. I'm not counting calories right now because I don't want to freak myself out and fall below that number. I'd rather overeat right now because of my goals (adding muscle).

I'm going into a slight bulk to add a little more muscle and will start a cut sometime around June. When I cut, I drop to 1700, sometimes 1600 for the last couple pounds. I cut pretty rapidly.