50 pounds to lose, advice please :)

I had very similar goals as you. I started out around 180 ish and then went on to lose ten. I now hover around 170 and still would like to get down to around 130 (or whatever seems to me to be healthy once I get there). (I also am 5'2). I used MFP auto set calories for awhile and didn't see much progress. I recently went to the TDEE method and it has really worked for me.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

There are tons of explanations of this method on MFP. It has me at about 1800 calories. Sometimes I don't eat that many and I do not eat my calories back if I work out. At first I hovered around the same weight 175-170 for a couple of weeks but for two weeks now, I've seen a steady decline. As long as you are at a deficit though you should see progress. Any exercise is going to be good for you obviously, but what has really helped me is walking/running and weights.

If you do your TDEE calculations you'll find out how many calories you burn just by existing and then you plug in your goals. Obviously you are welcome to your own path but it really worked for me! I couldn't figure out why I kept losing and gaining the same pounds back- but since learning that method and getting accumulated to it I've seen a steady decline. I still eat what I want to within my calories and still indulge in treats within my calories. It's been a smooth process!

Feel free to add me if you need a friend!

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

actually I like this one better, but I guess each would work.

It sounds like you have the right attitude and a good plan. If you use the MFP method, then eat back your exercise calories. Scooby's workshop is great as well, as others have suggested. Feel free to add me if you would like MFP friends.

If you haven't found them yet, I always recommend starting here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1296011-calorie-counting-101

And then read these when you're ready to take your logging accuracy to the next step:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1290491-how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

Have you thought about the 21 Day Fix program? It is nutrition based and is all about portion control. It has 30 minute workouts with it. I would also suggest using freedieting.com to figure calories.

OP wasn't asking for advice about portion control. They were asking for advice on appropriate caloric intake to meet their goals. No need to promote a BeachBody program when no one was asking for that.

OP: My advice if you like eating generally the same amount of calories each day = Calculate your TDEE using the Scooby calculator or on IIFYM.com. Take 15-20% off of your TDEE and eat that amount every day, and don't eat back exercise calories. Plug your stats in to those calculators and put in accurate amounts of weekly exercise. Log accurately, and read the links that Diannethegeek posted, they are all great reads!

I weight 182 and my goal is around 130 or so (I'm 5'3"). According to MFP, I should be eating 1410 calories to lose 1 pound a week. I would prefer to eat around 1500, on days I do or don't exercise. Basically, not adding any more food if I exercise, unless I feel like I need it (after a long run or something). My fear is that if I go to 1410 calories now, it will drop me to 1200 when I get a little lower and that is just too low for me and makes me miserable. I do exercise so I am probably netting close to 1200-1300 a day and I am losing, when I count my calories.

What do you all think? Is 1500 reasonable to lose weight for someone my height/weight? I can't guarantee hard exercise every day, but I do try to do something, even if just walking my dog for a mile or two. Some days I do work out harder. I just don't want my body to get used to 1200 calories. I've lost weight at 1200 calories/day before and it wasn't hard but as soon as I hit my "goal" I gave up because I felt so hungry all the time and gained all my weight back. I feel pretty happy and comfortable around 1500 a day of healthy foods like fruits, veggies, nuts, lean proteins, whole grains, and the occasional treat.

A lot of people track calories by the week instead of the day (which makes sense - you need a 3500 calorie deficit a week to lose a pound). That means some days they go a bit over, and some they go a bit under. Just as long as your weekly total has a deficit you're happy with, you should be fine (IMO).

So why don't you focus on your total for the week for a week or two and see where you end up?

There are a lot of different ways you can accomplish your goal and may people will have there own way to do this. My personal method has been mainly my diet. I have changed my diet to a Paleo lifestyle, fruits, veggies, and protein. You need to read up on it as there are many things you can't eat. Ex. Protein must be grass fed or wild caught (fish) to eliminate, nitrates, nitrites and many other things subjected to food our bodies are not used to processing. I changed my diet 8 months ago and weighed 237 pounds and lost 17 lbs in about 4 months, weigh 220 now. I have started weight training a few months ago which has leveled out my body weight but I see a difference in my clothes size.

From an exercise stand point if you change to a paleo lifestyle you only have to do moderate exercise to achieve the goals you are looking for. I personally like to wake up and do cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast, this burns the glucose in your liver and kick starts your metabolism. A good rule of thumb after any work out is to try and eat the number of calories you burned, especially if you are doing crossfit or weight training...this will kick your metabolism into high gear! But eat clean! If you have the time, try and get at least 30mins of cardio in the morning before breakfast and then get a good workout in the evening.

I wear a Garmin vivofit which tracks calories burned during the day and at night when you are sleeping. I wear the heart rate monitor during workouts to get an accurate calorie burn. This was a good investment and it syncs with myfitpal app to get accurate food intake + calorie burned results. There are many fitness trackers that will sync with myfitpal I just tried the Garmin because it has a one year battery life and doesn't have to be charged every day, I wear it 24/7 and it syncs to my phone app through Bluetooth throughout the day.

As far as calorie intake...if you plan to exercise you should put protein back into your body right after your workout. A high protein diet regardless if you get it from veggies or meat will help burn fat. So really its not so much a calorie goal to stay under each day but a calories deficit you want to achieve. Basically if you eat 1,400 calories a day and you burn 2,000 calories a day you are in a 600 calorie deficit. So if you happen to eat 2,000 calories you need to burn more then that to stay on goal. I eat about 2,000-3,000 a day and probably average burning about 3,000-4,000, which really isn't a lot but that's where I am with the training I do. some days I eat more then others, depends on my workout for the day.

A great supplement from GNC is the Ultra Mega Green Active - its actually a vegetarian protein which I mix with 1 cup of frozen fruit (berries), water and make smoothies. 2 scoops is only 125 calories + the fruit calories. It provides a great source of multivitamins, BCAA, B-vitamins and a ton of other benefits. I usually have this for breakfast with scrambled egg whites and some other sort of protein.

I hope this helps...I am not an expert or trying to be by any means lol just trying to help....