I need help with this whole calorie intake thing!

I too have wondered these things! I am set for 1340 calories /day for a 2lb./ week as well. It has not happened yet. Like you, I feel full all day from the good choices I make. I finally figured it out that perhaps it is due to the "credit" calories that come from exercise. As an example, I have found inconsistencies between what my exercise bike summarizes and what the minutes/calories burned are on MFP. (MFP is much higher!!)
I do know that you have lost a lot already and it is very common to hit a plateau. Don't give up!! I don't know if I have helped you at all but you are not alone in questioning!!

I've been through the same thing and hopefully I can help. Interestingly enough I'm 23, started MFP at 212 pounds (lost almost 20), I'm 5'2" and currently eating 1,850 calories a day. I hit a plateau way too early in my weight loss and it caused me to re-evaluate some things I did. I was eating low calories just like you are now, and I can tell you, it's not the way to go. I understand that you feel like you're at a sedentary activity level, but I promise you that you aren't. Most people, in fact, are not. If you exercise every day, you are at a high activity level and adjusting your calories to that level will help you immensely. I'm not going to lie, you will probably stop losing weight and in fact probably gain a pound or two. It's kind of hard, but it's just going to be your body adjusting to the new amount of calories. It will last 2 weeks to possibly a month, but it will stop and things will go sooo much better for you. I know this all sounds crazy, that I'm asking you to stall your loss for a bit and eat more to lose more, but it really does work.

This is the thread outlining what I did:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/567092--read-this-figuring-out-your-calorie-goals

What you need to do is go to http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/
Do the military body fat calculator. Then go to the BMR calculator and add in your body fat % that the military calculator gave you. Use the Katch McGardle BMR number to know your BMR, it is the most accurate. Scroll down to the Activity Level chart and find your activity level there, going by how many days you exercise a week and how hard, finding the one that best applies to you. Add 20% to the number next to that activity level and that will tell you what your TDEE is. This is the amount of calories you have to eat for your body at that activity level to maintain your current weight. To lose a pound a week, you need to subtract 500 calories from your TDEE. Subtract more to lose more, but 1 to 1.5 pounds a week is a good healthy goal. Just be sure to never eat below your BMR. Every 10 pounds you'll need to recalculate for your calories since they do change with your body weight and fat %. Hope this helps ^^. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

thanks to all of you for your input. I will definitely take all your advices into consideration!! I don't think I'm ready yet to stall or even gain back some more pounds...I don't feel mentally ready to accept that!!

I understand, because it is scary and even though your brain knows it's going on, it's still hard. That said, I want to be honest with you, if you don't do this now, you will have to do it at some point in time. I don't want to seem mean or anything, but I do really want to be honest and help you. From what you've said, it seems like your body is already starting to stall itself out already. My body did the same. I just don't want to see you stall out and plateau like I did. That said, I can't force you to do anything, and I really do hope you consider it. If you choose not to, and if you need it later, at least the information is there. :flowerforyou:

And also, again I want to stress that it's temporary. You will not stall out eating the way I suggested or gain back weight forever. It just lasts 2 weeks to a month and your body will level out again and you will start losing weight again. For me, at least, the weight I gained (1 to 2 pounds) during that time just fell off so fast once my body got going again.

What most people dont understand is that your body needs fuel. Calories are that fuel so when you deprive it from calories it has to find an alternate source. Generally, its fat store and the more obese you are the easier it is to draw feom that. The closer to a healthy weight, not your goal weight, the smaller the deficit has to be. Now, you also have to keep in mind the body has defense mechanism in place in case of famine. Now if your total energy expended - metabolic function + daily activity + exercise - is over 2500 calories then 1200 calories isnt cutting it. And since no one actually consistently loses 2lbs a week over an extended period of time why not be less aggressive and aim for a small deficit and aim for cleaning up habits - less processes foods, more active lifestyle, etc- and enjoy food. Based on your stats i think 1700-1800 would be a better goal. This is set at lightly active and about a 30% deficit. The thing that would change this is if you hit the gym for an hour 5-6 days, then you would he around 2000 calories.

Also, sometimes when you fuel your body more, it drops fat quicker as its not afraid of famine and wont release cortisol as quickly.