I feel like 2,340 calories a day isn't going to help me lose

Depends on how much you're actually burning. If you burn a good amount, you get to eat a good amount too, to maintain the same net deficit.

Depends where you're starting from too. Starting at 330 pounds I get 2000 calories (before any exercise) and have been losing. Scary to think that 2000 was a reduction (had to be since i started losing) but it was.

thats not a bad place to start, depending on your size etc... mfp is pretty good at calculating a good range for you and after a while if you dont get results you can play with the numbers

If it seems like it is too much and you are satisfied with less, eat less. You'll reach your goals sooner.

Hello, perhaps I missed some of what you wrote but how many calories were you eating before? How come you decided on that number? See how it works you can always adjust it.

My allottment is 1200 c. a day.But every so often I will drop it down to 1000 c a day and do some extra exercises and this sort of "rewires" me. I actually feel a little better then head back to my 1200.

So the system on "myfitnesspal" is trustworthy? I put I exercise 4 times a week for 30 minutes and I want to lose 1 pound a week. I also said I am on my feet during the day

I followed it very carefully and it worked just as it said.

Someone else should confirm because I am new, but I am pretty sure your 2340 factors in your light activity, but not your exercise. You have to log this in separately just like you log food, and mfp works out how much you need to eat on top of your 2340; the infamous exercise calories. Mfp will add these on to your 2340 so that you actually end up with 2700 or something to eat on your exercise days.

a lot of people say they're sedentary then add their etra calories burned manually so that the amount they are supposed to eat varies from day to day depending on what they've done.

Well, if you are creating a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. The best tips I can give are:

LOTS of water...at least 8-10 cups a day. That's water, just plain water, or with a bit of lemon juice.

Strength training...for so many reasons! Muscle functions more efficiently, it looks nicer, and the strength training will help you burn/lose fat instead of muscle.

Always over estimate how much you eat, and under estimate how many calories you burn with exercise...for example, if I drink 3/4 a cup of milk, I log one cup, or if I eat 4 oz. of chicken, I log in 6 oz. If I'm pretty sure I burned 500 calories in a workout, I log 450. Or if my total workout time was 50 minutes, I'll log 40-45.

Don't jump in over your head with calorie cutting...if you normally eat 3000 calories a day, then try to cut it to 1800 overnight, you will be miserable and fail very soon. But 200 calories isn't very noticeable--if you cut out 200 a day for a week or two, then cut out another 200 for a week or two, you will be more successful.

Find a workout you like...there are tons to choose from, and there is no one best workout. If you don't like it, you probably won't do it, so it doesn't matter how good of a program it is. If you find one you enjoy, you are more likely to stick with it and put in full effort.

p.s. I kind of hate you, because I wish MFP would give me 2.340 calories a day!

So the system on "myfitnesspal" is trustworthy? I put I exercise 4 times a week for 30 minutes and I want to lose 1 pound a week. I also said I am on my feet during the day

To be on the safe side, i told MFP that I was sedentary with no workouts (even though I'm working out 4-5 times a week 20-30 minutes each). That way the calories allotted are based on diet alone, and not 'guessing' on if you're working out or on how active you 'might' be.

This is what I recommend. Then eat exercise calories. I'm really good at thinking I'll work out but life gets in the way. This way, I adjust my eating to my body's needs. By setting yourself as active with all that planned exercise those numbers are probably spot on but you have to do it. Me I'm a little motivated by the extra calories if I run harder or longer or at all

i started off on this program with about that many calories, my activity level set at "lightly active" and my exercises set to 3 times a week. the latter does not give you any type of "extra" calories. i had it set for a pound a week, but after a few weeks i set it to a pound and a half.

i also re-eat my exercise calories, because i'm not trying to be skinny for the sake of being skinny. building my self to become more athletic.

isnt too bad a number if you have an active job. My husband is eating at least that and still loosing weight because his job has him moving around and lifting stuff the whole day.

Everything that everyone else has said with one comment. Depending on what you were eating before and how many were empty or high calorie/low nutrition calories such as soda, fried foods, chips, etc., you may actually be able to eat as much or more as you used to, it'll just be different things.

If you eat out much, be very attentive to how those meals can trip you up. Chain/franchise restaurant food in particular is ridiculously high in calories, fat, large portion sizes, etc.. Check out nutrition info before you go and assess what you plan to order so you don't unintentionally undermine your success.

I'm a 5'7 215 pound male, and I consistently lose on roughly 2000-2600 calories a day, I maintain at about 2800. Don't overly stress on the calorie number, as less does not automatically mean faster or better.