What activity level do you put? My job is seated work with some movement, but I put regular seated work down just to be safe...
But I wonder... should I just set it to sedentary/bed bound? The reason I'm asking this is that according to my calculations with fitday (I log every single thing I eat, but only log major exercise I do), I should be losing weight at a rate faster than I actually am.
I am experiencing the same thing. I actually changed mine to sedentary for the same reasons. I would love to have testing done that accurately determines my BMR!
I've found the online calorie calculators of calories burned and RMR on Fitday and just about everywhere else are virtually useless for me. I use Fitday to log only what I eat and don't bother at all entering exercise or activitiy levels. I think they estimate burned calories at about twice the amount. Or maybe it's just me.
The only accurate method I've found for finding how many calories you actually burn is to 1) have your resting metabolic rate tested in a lab. or 2) some gyms have a Bodygem machine which is relatively accurate, but you have to have it done early in the morning, pre-food or caffeine or exercise. Then to find how many calories you burn during exercise, you need a heart rate monitor that calculates it based on YOUR input stats. Don't rely ony the generic readouts on cardio machine even if you did enter your weight. It's not calibrated to your body.
If you aren't losing at the rate you'd expect, you need to either change yor food or the amount/intensity of your exercise. There is no magic to it. How many and what kind of calories are your eating? What kind of exercise are you doing?
I use the downloaded version of FitDay from a few years back, which I think must have some different options. But, I set mine to the lowest option, which is Sedentary. That gives me 8 hours sleep, 4 hours inactivity or rest, and 12 hours light seated activity. The calorie burn estimate from that is pretty close to what I get using the fancy machine at the YMCA--it's within 20 cals.
I then log any exercise I do using the Activity Log.
It's not an exact science, and although I'm losing pretty close to what FitDay estimates over time (say, two months), I have lots of ups and downs and stalls in there.
Often when I look at the summary I find that my average daily intake has been higher than I thought it was. Sometimes I could swear I'm around 1250 all the time, but when I look it's above 1300. Oh, you mean those days at 1500 counted??
I have had no problems with what fitday tells me. Mine is set at seated work with some movement. I enter in any exercise as well. If I subtract 1000-1100 cals per day from what fitday says I burn, I lose 2 lbs per week (usually.) So, I feel it is accurate for me. That being said, all these calculators are based on averages (I'm assuming) so there is no way that they could be correct for everyone.
I was wondering that myself. When I worked a sedentary job I aimed for 12-1300 cals/day, and that worked out well (1.5lbs of loss per week, usually). Now I have an extremely active outdoors job where I walk 4-8 miles per day in the Wyoming back country (hills!). I now have no idea how many calories I should be taking in, but at least I don't have to go to the gym
I set mine for sedentary, even though I do a lot of walking during the day and exercise often. Then, I always try to eat less calories than that number, even on "treat days". I realize that my BMR is probably different than what I see on FitDay, but staying below that number has worked for me, so I'll keep it.
I think maybe I just need to be more patient. I've lost 10 pounds in about 6 or 7 weeks, but in the last week... a week in which I should have lost 2 pounds or so... I haven't lost a thing. FitDay says I should be losing about 2 pounds a week... so I'm thinking of setting it to "sedentary/bed bound"
As for what kind of calories I've been eating... the last few days, I haven't been very good on the diet front... I went to Red Lobster 2 days ago, and then I ate spaghetti. I USUALLY stay under 1,500 calories, but for the last few days, I've averaged more like 1,600-1,800 - which is still under 2,000 but not within my general limit. I've also been eating a lot of bad carbs... yeah I know... not good... I'm going to get back on track tomorrow.
I do work out A LOT, which counts for a good portion of my burned calories. With working out alone, on most days, I burn nearly 1,000 calories. My BMR says I should burn around 1,500 without trying, and then my activity level (seated work) tells me I'm burning 600-700.
At Red Lobster or other restaurants, and when eating spaghetti, it's really easy to go way over on calories. Be sure you are using accurate measurements and calories values.
How do you know you're burning 1000 calories? I've learned here that most of the readouts on fitness machines are too high, sometimes as much as 30%. But, with that big a deficit, you should still be OK.
If I go way over my calorie allotment two days out of five or seven, my weight loss will stall for a bit. That's just the way it is for me. I really have to string a few to several lower-calorie days together in a row to keep on losing.
I have time this morning so I'm gonna try to explain how some of us have manipulated fitday to be more accurate for us. I'm going to use NightengaleShane's stats but none of my errant thoughts and suggestions are directed there. You'll get used to me ... I think outta thin air sometimes.
I'm going to assume that you've lost 10 pounds in six weeks (I'm not much good at math). That's 35000 calories gone ... either not eaten or burned. 35000/6=5833.33 cals per week or 833.33 per day.
That is a good sized deficit.
Please keep in mind that this is fuzzy science. There are many factors that figure in here ... water, hormones etc. I believe quality of food matters. But if you keep in mind that this is close enough to work with and not gospel ... you'll be fine.
Now, go back throught fitday and make sure your exercise expenditures truly reflect what's been going on. Use whatever activity levels and exercise expenditures you need to make that read around 800 cals per day, up until now.
Six weeks is a pretty good sampling. I wouldn't use anything less than a month. Patience is a virtue and we're in this for the long haul right?
Your food intake has to be accurate. If you're dropping nicely and feel full, energetic, healthy ... this may not be a problem. However if you're a detail person or trying to overcome a plateau or trying to manipulate deficits ... it is important. Measure and use restaurant nutritional info where necessary.
Keep in touch ... our bodies don't like change and often don't react the way we'd like. We'll help you stumble through.
SO... two pounds gone and kept off as of the last 2 days... maybe I should give FitDay more credit! At the rate I'm going, I'll probably SURPASS my immediate goal (no longer overweight by my birthday)!
I definitely slipped up last week, though I tried my best to make sure my measurements that I logged were accurate. I thought, "Whoa... the pasta alone on this plate is 200 calories? Then the sauce = 200 more and the meat 200 additional? DAMN!" Haha. The good news for me is, I got bad acid reflex yesterday and won't be eating spaghetti for awhile I'm back on track today with the high-protein, low-fat, low-carb, high-fiber-ness that I've usually been aiming for.
In other news, I ordered TurboJam today... WOOT WOOT!
I use fitday but I don't use the activity section. I figured I could probably come up with a rough estimate better on my own. Here's what I do:
I gather the following information from the previous week, lbs lost, average calories eaten, and estimate of calories burned during intentional exercise based on my HRM (not machines).
Here's a sample week for me
3/24-3/30
1 Pounds lost 1.76
2 Excess calories burned (1*3500) 1.76*3500 = 6172
3 Calories burned during exercise 1930
4 Excess minus exercise (2 - 3) 4242
5 Burned minus exercise per day (4/*7*) 4242/7 = 606
6 Average calories eaten 1752
7 Burned plus average (6 + 5) 1752 + 606 = 2358
So, i figure 2358 is what would be my maintenance level, not my BMR, because it includes all daily activity except intentional exercise. I get roughly the same number each week, 2200-2400, except plateau weeks.
I don't really use this for anything I just like to play with the numbers so if anybody sees any problems with my math or the method please let me know.
For those who use fitday...
But, with that big a deficit, you should still be OK.
At the rate I'm going, I'll probably SURPASS my immediate goal (no longer overweight by my birthday)! 
I'm back on track today with the high-protein, low-fat, low-carb, high-fiber-ness that I've usually been aiming for. 
