An easier way to setup goal calories - eating for who you wi

If I had to drop to maitnance calories for the weight I want to be...I'd eat less than 1200.

I was probably half asleep when I wrote this last night. I will look again and do it over. But I do sit at a desk all day. Thank you so much. I've been stuck at the same weight for the past few months and I want to reach my goal. At some point. I work out 4-5 days a week now but plan to bump it to 5-6 starting this weekend. I enjoy a good workout. Thanks again for your help.

Ok, so I'm only on my third day of following this method and I've lost 0.4lbs. That may not sound like much but it's on track for the 1lb a week that I'm aiming for, and I've been hovering around the same weight for a while now. Fingers crossed this continues, slow and steady! I can't believe I can eat over 2000 calories a day and still lose weight, I feel like I'm literally stuffing my face!

If this really does work, Heybales, you're my hero!

Not to throw a curve ball at you, but since you are so close to goal weight, you might benefit from either taking your bodyfat% if you know it and using the same site, but change height to bodyfat% and get more accurate BMR and maintenance calories using the Katch formula.

For getting decent BF%, you can use this site - http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/

If you don't want to do that, the BMR calc MFP uses is about 5% more accurate within the healthy range, where you are now.
So you may take MFP's BMR calc and add the activity cal's in for total.

May end up being a meaningless amount less, but figured while you are setting it up and so close already, might as well.

Me again! Right, so I think I worry about not adding exercise cals because for example I was ill on Wednesday so didn't run so that's probably 800 cal burn that is still in my figures for the week but I didn't actually do. That doesn't happen very often but I'm worried about not tracking. So, if I go back to the working out website and put same details but put resting at 10 and very light at 14, it gives me 1766 at my goal weight.
Am I right in thinking that's what the goal me should eat every day with no exercise, so if I use that number in MFP and add exercise when I do it, it should still work? Mind you, that's only giving me 185 cals per day less than when I worked it out including running, and yet I probably burn 330ish per day with running so I will end up eating more..... should I reduce my new me cals from my original calculation (including heavy of half an hour per day) of 1951 per day to 1650 maybe and then add exercise as I do it? I just don't feel happy including exercise in my daily calories when I haven't actually done it! What do you think? I really just want you to tell me how many to eat so that I lose 1lb per week without putting it down to 1410 per day which is what MFP gives me at lightly active setting.

Not really catching everything you are asking questions about, and if it is about this future method, or about MFP's current method?

I'll comment that when you are sick, it is not a bad idea to skip the deficit, especially if that deficit pushed you below BMR all the time. Body needs nutrients, sometimes extra energy (gotta produce extra heat if flu) while you are sick.
So the fact a surprise no exercise day means you have less deficit than normal, no big deal.
And in fact, since this future method spreads stuff out through week, missing one day isn't bad either. Make another day extra long, or several days 15 min longer. Add in a different day. The next week with normal routine, add a walk. It'll balance out close enough.

You appeared to comment that current MFP method worked fine for you, you didn't mind adding in accurate exercise calories and eating them back. In which case I thought you just wanted to fine tune the non-exercise daily activity calorie burn.
In which case, as you say, current BMR plus ExRx daily activity calories (not-including exercise, if you don't make it 24 hrs, it still shows estimate for hours input) as your maintenance, but then probably using slightly above BMR for goal net calories, and eating back exercise.

If you are trying to use the future method, just nail your normal routine, and don't sweat a day where you either add or lose a workout, shorten or increase - just mentally keep in mind if missing a bunch days (vacation), eat under the goal by the number calories you know would normally be burned, like 800. But don't eat under your BMR.

If the schedule really changes, and new routine (changed workout, longer, shorter, extra, less) then adjustment time.

Thanks Heybales, sorry for confusion, I'm confusing myself! What I really want to know is what do you think I should net every day whether I excercise or not? MFP was giving me 1410 on lightly active but I'm always hungry but scared to go up too much. I think I need to have the flexibility of eating more if I exercise but there are so many different BMR calculations I'm not sure what is my bottom line cals to net with just normal activity not including my runs...... For example, if I set MFP to 1650 then add exercise, will I still lost? Head is muddled....I'm just thinking if the other site says me at 140lbs should net 1951 with my runs included then if I make MFP 1650, then if I don't run I'm not going over my daily allowance. Thanks for taking the time, I've joined the group.

Your current BMR was 1453, so on avg you'll probably net 1500 to be on safe side. Some days will be more, some less, using this method. You had a lot of non-exercise activity calories that will burn stuff up.
As to what you set your actual net calorie goal to - that depends on what you honestly came up with for future maintenance calories.
Last was that 1951 you mention above.
And your workout days easily hit over 500 cal burn just for the exercise, and other activity would push you under BMR. But on avg, that should allow you to be just about netting current BMR, so you should not be slowing it down. Nothing constant is being done to it. Just keeping it guessing.