Need help figuring out appropriate calorie intake

So my BMR is 1527.7

I work out probably 6 days/week, usually burning around 600 calories for a 45 minute session. In addition to this, I walk daily to and from school on hilly terrain, totaling about 30 min, plus walking to class. (I don't count those school activities in my burn. My meter is at sedentary, and I add the 600cal workouts).

I'm assuming this would put me at the least under "moderately active" under the Harris Benedict Equation: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ harris-benedict-equation/ 

So presumably I should be eating around 2300-2400 calories per day to maintain. Yet on days when I even hit 1900, I begin to see a gaining pattern develop. Why?

I kindly request that "starvation mode" is resisted as a kneejerk response. I have always been a healthy eater throughout my life, so it is highly unlikely that my metabolic rate has been damaged. I am in my mid-twenties, so it's not a natural metabolic slowdown either. Mostly I would like to get input on what people think is a solid "loss" intake for my activity and lifestyle.

Thanks! :)

I would guess that the 600 calorie workout is an overestimate. I know my work-outs always are over-estimated by almost anything I put them into.  If I enter in my workouts from sedetary, I'm usually around 3000 calories burned, yet if I put myself into an equation, I'm only at about 2400. I'm eating 1800 right now to lose. Those are just my numbers, but to give you an idea of what I do... I walk to and from class each day, totally an average of about 20-30 minutes total walking. I swim 1-2 hours a day, and weight-lift/dryland for 2x45 minutes 3 times a week. That's what puts me at 2400 calories... I'm 5'6" 170 Female

Really? Hmm. I know the more you exercise, the less efficient the calorie burn is, but via the gym equipment and CC, it reads 600 for what I do. I also increase the resistance and pace with time to compensate, and switch up my routines. Nonetheless, under the equation alone, my lifestyle should apparently require 2000 at the least, so I'm wondering what is going wrong.

Well, I've heard that 1800 is normal for an adult woman to maintain. I'm not quite sure. Perhaps just put yourself down as "light" activity and go from there?

Ok thanks, I'll try out ~1800 for the next week or so! :)

I have been at this for almost two years now.  The tools will only take you so far.  The only real way to know is to try a steady combination of calories and activity for a couple of weeks and see how your weight trends are doing.  You can then adjust up or down by 100 calories or so at a time and see how you respond. 

I'm no doctor, but I think that the whole "starvation mode" is overblown.  I lost about 100 pounds over twelve months.  Some of the loss was fairly rapid mostly through heavy exercise.  It took me about three months to find the right calorie / activity amounts to level out.  Believe it or not, after being significantly overweight for almost 10 years, it was more difficult to stop losing than it was to start the process in the beginning. 

Exercise is by far the most important element of success.  I walk 4.5 miles a day on a hilly course near my house.  The calculator tells me that this is good for about 423 calories a day.  I have no clue if it is even close to correct.  It doesn't really matter since I now know what calorie intake I need to maintain my current weight with this walk every day. 

Hope that this helps.

I would have to say that the calorie counters on the machines are way off.  I have a Polar F6 watch and it tells me the correct calories.  My elliptical says that I burn 750 calories when I work out for 45 minutes, but my watch says that I burn 380.  So I would be careful of the machines.  They over calculate the calories burned.  I also think that the CC adds a few more calories than my watch does.  It is close, but can be off by about 20-30 calories.   

Can someone remind me how many calories I should eat as compared to burn when I am trying to lose weight?  If my calorie intake is 1500 a day, then how many calories should be burned in a day.  Let's say that I am sedentary.  I do work out about 5 times a week.

Thanks and I hope my info helps

Where can I buy such a watch? Are they expensive?

In answer to your question, if you want to burn 2 lbs per week, go for -1000 cals per day. 1 lb per week, go for -500 cals per day.

So for you that would be, 2500 and 2000 burned, respectively.