Should I factor exercise into my daily caloric allotment?

[Doomed Lenore]

I've learned so much from this forum! I started my diet at 1200 calories a day, but realized that was way to low.

Now I take my weight 166 x 13 calories per pound = 2158
Take 500 off of that = 1658

So I try to eat between 1500 and 1800 a day.

Here's my question =

I'm very sedentary. My average non-work day consists of:

Computer time (sitting)
Painting and art time (sitting)
Reading in the jacuzzi (sitting)
Playing video games (sitting)

I'm a teacher so work days consist of:
Driving a 3 hour round trip commute (sitting)
Teaching (standing, sitting, walking)

But I also work out 5 times a week which consists of about 250-300 calories lost to cardio.

Do I need to worry about factoring these burned workout calories into my diet? Should I be eating even less calories because I'm so inactive?

The reason I ask is this diet does NOT seem to be working. In two weeks I'm down 1 lb. This is scary because (in my mind) the first couple of weeks are supposed to be the easiest! This is when I should be dropping like 5 lbs of water weight, right? I make all my food and track every calorie exactly, so I know I'm not miscalculating. I take into account everything I drink and any cooking agents like oil or butter used in the pan. I'm careful about serving size, and eat 5-6 small meals a day...

Should I go back down to 1200 a day? (That's when I lost the one pound...)

 

[Steve]

1. A deficit is a deficit no matter which way you slice it. Reduce food intake, increase exercise, or a combo of the both will all lead to a deficit. So yes, you should factor in your exercise.

Your 13 calories per pound figure actually does factor in the exercise, so you don't really have to worry about it.

2. Use your caloric starting point you outlined here as a starting point. Nobody here can tell you if it's too high or low. Take your measurements, pictures (if you can), and track your weight. Every 2 weeks, if things aren't going as planned, and you can honestly say you've been consistent, then make the necessary changes. This is a touch and feel process.