How do I figure my calories

Do you have a food scale and do you weigh all the food. If not you are eating more then you think you are.

You need to know your BMR and your TDEE, and also know that these are just estimates. Try this out - https://mytdee.com/ Try a deficit of 250 calories from your TDEE, don't eat the calories you've gained from exercise, it's a TRAP!! Make sure you're ok with giving this some time, lets say 2-3 weeks. If it doesn't work, then either you're aren't tracking your food well enough (most common) or your estimate of TDEE isn't correct and the easiest solution is to lower the amount of calories you are eating a small amount. Be conservative in your estimates of calories eaten if you aren't sure.

It's important to know that if you're not losing weight, then unless you have a medical condition (unlikely for most of us) then you're eating too much. Your body knows what it needs, but MFP and FitBit are just guessing. Try to find that Goldilocks number over the next 6 weeks and you'll be on your way

If you eat more, you'll gain more (assuming same activity level). Make sure your measuring/weighing and tracking is 100% accurate. Even 200 extra calories can erase your deficit at the 1200 calotie level, aka no loss.

I quit losing weight and when I increased my calories (from 800 to 1300) I started losing again. I did not change anything else. I thought less calories would mean more weight loss but for me that was not true.

If you're not losing on "1200 calories", you're probably not consuming only 1200 calories. Barring untreated thyroid condition, pretty much everyone should lose weight eating that little.

So, you want to start by looking at your logging.

• Are you logging everything? Or do you occasionally forget to log condiments or small snacks or drinks or ...?
• How are you measuring your portions? Do you weigh? Do you use measuring cups? Do you eyeball or just trust the label on the package? If you're not weighing, try it.
• Do you log every day? Or do you have cheat days where you don't log? If it's big enough, one cheat day can undo the rest of the week.

After you figure that part out, then you can worry about what your best calorie goal is.

From a post last summer, you indicated you were 5'2" and needed to lose 100+ pounds and low activity level. The good news is that Fitbit tracks your actual movement so you don't really have to worry about 'activity level'.

Your BMR is in the neighborhood of 1700/day. (I assumed some pounds lost since last summer. If not, its a little higher.) Meaning you are burning 2000-2500 per day depending on actual activity. If you set your goal at MFP to lose 1.5 pounds per week (aggressive but not extreme) you will probably get a calorie goal of around 1375. That will then get adjusted if your Fitbit activity shows you have earned more than MFP expected. A common method of using Fitbit & MFP together is to leave 100-200 of the earned calories 'on the table' to account for error. Its a good device but no device is perfect.

Of course you could aim for 2 pounds a week, which puts you at 1200, but that is more restrictive. The more restrictive your goal, the more likely you are to give up and end up worse off in a few months. So by aiming for 1.5 instead of 2: you improve your odds of success. And in 3-6 months time, you may need to reduce the goal to 1 pound a week as a smaller body uses less energy, so is harder to create a big deficit.

So with a starting calorie goal of 1375, and higher if you're active enough according to Fitbit, you should be able to steadily lose weight. BUT this requires accuracy, honesty, and patience.

1. Patience means not expected to lose 20 pounds by Friday and giving up because you don't get instant results. Look to the future. You want to be healthier, leaner in 1 month, 6 months, a year. This is a process, not something that happens over night. Be prepared for not seeing a scale drop each time you step on it. The body is annoying and sometimes water weight from sodium, hormones/TOM, stress, etc. gets in the way. But you should see a downward trend. If you compare your weight a week after your period to the weight a week after your prior period, you should see a drop.

2. Honesty: if you eat, drink it: log it. Food, condiments, cooking oils, beverages. Bites, licks and tastes add up. Avoid them or log them.

3. Accuracy: avoid estimating or guessing on portion sizes. Use a food scale for solids. If you need help in getting used to how to use a scale or how to log in grams, ask. You'll get plenty of help here. If you are using cups or spoons for solid foods, you're likely taking in many more calories than you think. Also avoid generic or homemade entries in the database, as you don't know how these things compare to what you're eating.

4. One bit of advise I like to add in: consider this is a way of life for the next 6-12-18 months. Which means there will be days/times that you don't want to limit your calories to 1375 or so. That is ok! Its ok to allow yourself a break from time to time. Keep in mind that if you add back the 750 calories of your deficit, you're eating at maintenance. Doing that occasionally may help you persevere.