Metabolism question

[twowhat?]

So I just joined MFP, mainly for the purposes of tracking what I eat and making myself more accountable for good food choices, especially give my increased risk for colon cancer and diabetes (both run in my mom's family). I do not need to (and shouldn't) lose weight.

So I plug in my height/weight info and it says I should be getting 1560 calories/day. I tracked all of today's eating and ended up at 2077 calories but this is how I normally eat (and if anything I ate much healthier today - lots of veggies/fruit - than I usually do) and I have not been gaining weight!

So I know there MUST be differences in metabolism between people. In particular I've noticed that some Asians can really eat so much more than "average" and yet never gain weight or even struggle to keep their weight stable. I know I must have a high metabolism - I've always eaten this way and I've never gained weight.

Which brings me to my question: Does that mean that I really *need* 2000 calories/day? If I try to eat less, that would be unhealthy because the implication is that I would lose weight, correct? Opinions? Like I said I am not looking to lose weight (my BMI borders on underweight already), just wanted to motivate myself to make better food choices.

And does MFP adjust for this over time (so if I continue to eat 2000 calories/day but my weigh-ins show that I don't gain weight, then would it adjust my caloric requirement)?

I think I'm just kind of shocked that I ate over 2000 calories today because I didn't eat any more than normal and made fairly healthy food choices (oatmeal, egg, OJ for breakfast; Amy's bean and cheese burrito with cabbage for lunch' pork chop, cauliflower, cabbage for dinner and snacks of apple, a few pretzels, and a single serve bag of popcorn, and ice cream after dinner). And I'm actually still hungry!

[eh613c]

Is the 1560 with a weight loss goal? Usually, MFP will ask you how much you want to lose before giving you your final caloric intake.

[twowhat?]

Is the 1560 with a weight loss goal? Usually, MFP will ask you how much you want to lose before giving you your final caloric intake.

No - I selected no weight loss. So the 1560 is to maintain my current weight. After tracking for a few days, I'm still kind of shocked that I eat about 2000 calories/day. I only weigh 118 lb so I definitely don't want to lose weight!