Questions about caloric intake. I've heard that if you don't take in enough calories your body will go into a starvation mode and will pack on the weight quicker if you take more calories then you need.

How do you calculate that 'absolute low' vs enough calories to maintain weight vs just enough calories to not starve but lose weight? Those seem to be holy grail numbers that I'd love to know.

I'm 262 right now, 6-1 with a large frame. I've used a site like this which measures activity level,. what you want to do, and frame size to determine how many calories you should take in. Mine - I put in sleeping for 8 and sedentary for 16 (which super low balls what I do but so be it) and voila I should have 2600/85/300/64 of Calories/Fat/Carbs/Protein (30-60-10 ratio). That's also the lowest of any calculator I've tried - others peg me between 3000-4000 (fitday actually counts my daily calories burned at 4000 bless its heart). Once I start adding in the stuff like biking it shoots up to 3500. Even keeping myself below 2500 when not biking (and when I do bike I usually eat less than I've burned) I haven't lost anything since June/July or so.

So what am I doing wrong or what I do I need to adjust? I keep track of what I do on fitday but I feel like something else needs to happen. And also after a ride when I'm hungry do I have to still keep below that amount? How much of what you burned should you replenish?

Thanks!