Too easy. Ami doing something wrong? PLZ help!

Nothing that complicated about it. If MFP says your net calorie goal is 2100 per day, it has already figured in the necessary deficit to have you lose weight as you specified (1-2 pounds per week as long as you have your activity level entered correctly) without additional exercise. 2100 per day for an active 25 year old male is reasonable. The suggested minimum caloric level for a man to get the required nutrition for your body to function properly is 1500 net per day. They have found that it is very difficult to get the proper nutrition by consuming less. If you exercise in addition to your normal daily activity level you get to consume those calories too (if you desire). You will see posts on the boards that argue for and against consuming exercise calories, but it will come down to personal choice. The extra calories earned by exercising do come in handy if you like to have an adult beverage once in a while, or if you have a special occasion where there will be lots of food and beverages involved.

It really is that simple. The hard part comes in when you log your food and beverage choices and amounts. Do yourself a favor and be brutally honest when it comes to logging your stuff. Measure everything until you get used to portion control. Educate yourself about any specific needs you may have and the necessary dietary requirements (either medical conditions or wishing to build muscle). Read the "stick pinned" items at the beginning of the message boards. Use the "search" function, and use the "help" (aka FAQ) function. Feel free to ask questions, and I am sure you will get plenty of opinions.

Good Luck!

Is it really that easy? Why do so many people make counting calories hard? I was always a carb counter but now that I'm counting calories I have a wider selection of foods to eat and it's incredibly simple to count them. Thanks to the iPhone!

So to answer my question, is lay man terms, how much calories do I eat per day to lose weight (1-2lbs) perweek?
I usually like to do cardio in the morning since Its more beneficial I hear. But I will be weight lifting as well. So basically consume all my 2100 calories to start seeing weightloss?

It is that easy. Calorie counting used to be a royal pain in the butt because you had to have the calorie book and detail out exactly how much of whatever was used to make a recipe or meal, paper and pencil, calculator, and a large chunk of time to write it all down. Most people would log once a day, and often forgot a bit of this or that in the calculations and would go over the allowed amount. It was a very frustrating experience.

In order to lose a pound a week you need to cut your total calories (BMR plus activity and exercise) by 3500 a week (500 per day). For a 2 pound loss you need to cut 1000 per day. MFP took most of the guess work out and figured out your BMR and activity level (WITHOUT EXERCISE) and gives you your calorie amount per day to lose what ever amount you chose when you set up your profile. If you are not sure what you put you can look at your goals from your home page. Since many people have busy lives MFP did not include any exercise in the equasion. Sometimes you just don't have the time to do anything. Sometimes you just don't feel like it. Some people start with great expectations of an hour of exercise a day, but in reality can only do it 3 times a week. MFP ADDS calories in when you log your exercise. Those calories are available for you to consume WITHOUT it negatively affecting your goal of 1-2 pounds per week. Quite simply, the more you exercise the more you get to eat.

If you consume your 2100 calories a day you should see a drop in weight. That is assuming everything is entered correctly. If after 3 weeks you are not seeing results you can ask on the message boards for someone to look over your food and exercise logs and give an opinion on why you may not be seeing results. Remember than MFP does not have doctors, nurses, trainers, or any other medical staff (though some are members of MFP and will offer their professional opinions). Any advice, tips, or suggestions are OPINIONS and should be treated as such. You should always check with your physician if you are having any problems.

The theory behind it is that there are roughly 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. Therefore, to lose one pound of fat in a week, you would want to take in 500 less calories per day than you burn. If you want to lose two pounds in a week, double that number -- 1,000 calorie per day deficit.

MFP estimates your metabolic rate based on your height, gender, age, etc. and then subtracts 250, 500, 750, or 1,000 based on your goal. Typically, leaner people need to be on the lower end of the goals and people with a lot more fat to lose need to be on the higher end.

One thing that you'll get from counting calories from every single thing you injest is that it really IS that easy to go over your caloric limit if you're used to making bad decisions or if your'e just ignorant to putting stuff in your body. I had no idea that a typical dinner at Oliver Garden was 2,500+ calories in one sitting if you include the bread sticks I housed on a regular basis. Or that the giant Mexican platter with the basket of chips was 3,000+. A lot of stuff IS eye-opening.

Good luck with losing weight and make sure to reach out for help along the way.