What does my activity level count as?

SmaugHugs

I need some help figuring out what my activity level would be. I am currently at 231 pounds and aiming to lose 86 pounds. I am active, but I really find myself getting super hungry lately and I think I need to adjust my fitness level for more accurate calorie counts... but really don't know what it counts as.

I take public transit and walk pretty much everywhere. I clock in at 10,000 steps by the end of the work day( transit to and from work and a 45 minute walk during lunch at a brisk pace)

Once home I go for a jog every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday are lift days

According to my Gear Fit I am burning anywhere between 650-1022 calories a day. I end my whole day with anywhere between 11,000 and 15,000 steps a day.

Would this count as moderate to heavy activity? I was thinking activity level was relative to what your body could handle?

DeguelloTex

It doesn't really matter all that much. Pick one, stick with it for a while, and see if you're losing too slowly or too quickly.

If you're getting super hungry, you might need to set your goal to lose less per week.

yarwell

Your jogging is exercise that you would log and get credited with extra calories for, your daily activity is sedentary if you mainly sit down, active if you consistently move around, etc, during routine living rather than "exercise".

futuremanda

I would probably count that as lightly active (10k lifestyle steps), encompassing your work day, your lunch walk, your commuting, etc.

Then log your runs and lifting separately (both under cardio) to get exercise calories on top. Eat those back -- at least 50-75% if you're thinking that MFP might be estimating high. (This is how MFP is designed, for you to eat that back.)

The other option is to check out a few TDEE calculators. Since your exercise sounds fairly predictable, it might be a good method for you. Those calculators will give you an estimate of TOTAL burn (as a daily average) and you subtract a set amount or percentage from that. Then you eat that reduced amount every day -- no eating back exercise calories. It's a simple method, but you'd have to input the calorie target yourself in goals (using custom option) and re-calculate every time you lose 5 or 10 lbs.

iifym and scooby's workshop have TDEE calculators. (Don't have the links handy, but should be easy to Google.)

Or you could take the number from your Gear Fit and average it, and add it to your BMR. So if on average, you burn 800 per day, and your BMR is 1400, your TDEE would be 2200. Then subtract say 500 to lose 1 lb a week, for a daily target of 1700, flat. (I say it this way since it sounds like your Gear Fit is only giving you exercise and step calories and not adding in your BMR, which is what you burn living, like your heartbeat etc. But I'm not familiar with that device.)

StaciMarie1974

Activity level is relative to how much you move in a normal day and MFP assumes you will log 'exercise' additionally. So activity is more about your day to day routines that you don't consider to be intentional exercise. How active you are in your daily life impacts the # of calories you burn overall.

Personally: I'm set to lightly active, and have a goal to hit 12.5k steps per day. Assuming I do so, I earn at least 100 extra calories per day according to my Fitbit. This is with the tracker communicating with MFP, no logging of exercise.

As a prior poster mentioned, this is trial and error. I'd suggest to try something for 4-8 weeks, and see how it goes. Such as set to lightly active, and make sure you hit 11k steps everyday. (Picked this # as you indicate you typically do already.) In time, raise your self-imposed minimum. If you're set to sedentary now, this should allow you additional calories per day. See how you feel with eating the extra.

terbusha

I wouldn't worry about using your activity level to set your calories. Set your own calorie goal based on what your body needs. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

SmaugHugs

futuremanda wrote: »

I would probably count that as lightly active (10k lifestyle steps), encompassing your work day, your lunch walk, your commuting, etc.

Then log your runs and lifting separately (both under cardio) to get exercise calories on top. Eat those back -- at least 50-75% if you're thinking that MFP might be estimating high. (This is how MFP is designed, for you to eat that back.)

The other option is to check out a few TDEE calculators. Since your exercise sounds fairly predictable, it might be a good method for you. Those calculators will give you an estimate of TOTAL burn (as a daily average) and you subtract a set amount or percentage from that. Then you eat that reduced amount every day -- no eating back exercise calories. It's a simple method, but you'd have to input the calorie target yourself in goals (using custom option) and re-calculate every time you lose 5 or 10 lbs.

iifym and scooby's workshop have TDEE calculators. (Don't have the links handy, but should be easy to Google.)

Or you could take the number from your Gear Fit and average it, and add it to your BMR. So if on average, you burn 800 per day, and your BMR is 1400, your TDEE would be 2200. Then subtract say 500 to lose 1 lb a week, for a daily target of 1700, flat. (I say it this way since it sounds like your Gear Fit is only giving you exercise and step calories and not adding in your BMR, which is what you burn living, like your heartbeat etc. But I'm not familiar with that device.)

Thank you do much for this. I was having a heck of a time figuring out TDEE's and greatly appreciate the suggestions for the calulators. Great advice, thank you

Gska17

I set mine to sedentary. I wanted to control my exercise and didn't want MFP assuming I was getting more activity than I was.

Lightly active might be good for you, however. 10,000 steps is a lot (I think I cracked 4,000 on a rest day once). I agree with what @DeguelloTex said...pick one and stick with it.

Good luck!

lauraesh0384

I set mine to active because I get around 15k steps a day, sometimes around 16-17k. I rack up anywhere from 8-11k steps just at work alone depending on the day (I'm a vet tech). In the evening after I eat dinner I'll walk around my apartment for at least an hour to get my additional steps in. I've been seeing daily weight loss by doing this.