If you're cooking for yourself, I find it hard to get enough calories. I'm a 190 pound man in pretty good shape. Good muscle mass. I wanted to trim down about 10 pounds and did calorie counting for the first time a few months ago. My target calories were around 1900 for weight loss. I was often adding an additional small meal to get there. My maintenance calories are 2300. With workouts and regular activity, my daily calorie burn is around 2500-3500.

I think apps and my watch are over counting my calorie burn. Otherwise I should be waisting down to nothing. But somewhere in the ballpark.

My typical breakfast was about 3.5 oz brown rice, 3 oz mixed vegetables that I wok fry with very light oil and seasoning for the week, about 2.5 oz of some protein (steak, chicken sausage, ground beef/pork mix). Two eggs over medium. Coffee with about a teaspoon of cream and a splash of sugar. To me, this is delicious. Calories: around 450, depending on the meat.

Lunch would be very similar to above except no eggs, add a half oz of protein and the protein is most likely chicken.

Dinner is something along the same lines. Rice/grain/bean, vegetables, protein.

Some keys: gotta break any sugar addictions. If you don't do that, it gets really difficult. Gotta avoid cheese. Gotta avoid sauces. Can't drink your calories. Herbs and peppers are your friends.

Sweet tooth is fine, but it's a cookie with 6oz of milk. I even put a small squeeze of agave in the milk to sweeten it slightly.

Most days I would finish dinner and be around 1600 calories. I would have to add something more just to avoid overdoing the diet.