Calories required

Question
I want to figure the amount of calories a day I need to maintain- and then lose some weight.  I have figured, by most guidlines I need 3500. 76 Inches -240lbs- age 42 -very active- (4to5 times for 30to45 mins exerscise).
You said in an answer that 1600 to 2000 is "normal."  What exactly is normal?  I have hit a plateau, lasting a month, after consuming 1200 calories for two months. I have over the span of my healthier eating lost 32lbs.

Answer
Congratulations on the loss so far! It's pretty easy to get impatient and it's easy to be deceived. The scale doesn't know the difference between excess weight, water or muscle.
 Though it seems you're at a plateau, you are likely still reducing your (fat), but increasing muscle mass (which weighs more while taking up less space).
 How are the clothes fitting? With more muscle mass and less fat, they should be looser.  You should notice less inches in most places and maybe a bit more in others as muscle tones.

When it comes to calories and figuring the numbers out, it's as simple as this:  Take in 3,500 calories more than you need and it's stored as a pound of fat. Expend 3,500 calories more than you take in and you will lose one pound.

The more muscle mass/tone, the higher your resting rate metabolism.
 
 You may actually need to INCREASE your caloric intake withthe amount of work you're doing, in order to prod the body to burn more.  Eating too little with increased work (exercise) may indicate to this biological organism (which is all we are) that there's a famine and fleeing/relocating.  Under those circumstances, biological instinct is to slow down, reserve fat stores until food sources return to normal and insure the survival of the organism (us!).  That's over-simplified, but pretty much sums up what happens.

Even anorexic bodies at 80 lbs - will burn muscle/bone and organ tissue in an attempt to create fat storeage, however unsuccessful it may be at that point.

 Normal is relative. MOST body builders will register as 'obese' on BMI and weight charts.

 Trust yourself first - continue your healthier lifestyle and maybe increase your intake by a couple hundred cals a day (protein, whole grains, veggies, fruits).

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