what should I set my activity level to?

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hannamuscha
hannamuscha Posts: 8 Member
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I have a 14b where I'm on my feet for 8 hours. I have a step counter and usually get between 11,000 and 14,000 steps a day at work but after I get home I don't do much. I have it set at lightly active, is this right?

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  • hannamuscha
    hannamuscha Posts: 8 Member
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    And by 14b I mean job. Not sure what happened there
  • ilovecereal1982
    ilovecereal1982 Posts: 1,194 Member
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    I'd say anywhere from active...to moderate and even highly maybe???
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
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    I'm not sure. I never counted my everyday life activities, so I'd set my activity level to sedentary and see what happens.
    It doesn't matter, though. Keep your activity at lightly active and monitor your progress for a month or longer. If you're losing weight at the rate you expect, you're properly set. If you're losing too much, change it to moderately active. If you're not losing enough, change it to sedentary.

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    I'd say anywhere from active...to moderate and even highly maybe???

    Definitely not highly. Highly is for lumberjacks and construction workers. OP doesn't mention any kind of lifting or other full body involvement on the job, just steps.

    Start with either lightly active or moderately active (I'd go with lightly myself) and adjust based on results (i.e., after four or five weeks, are you losing at the rate you would expect based on the goals you gave MFP).
  • ilovecereal1982
    ilovecereal1982 Posts: 1,194 Member
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    Sorry....in the wood business and got a lil presumptious.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    Sorry....in the wood business and got a lil presumptious.

    :)
    I'm guilty of making assumptions too. I read "on my feet for 8 hours" and I think teacher, retail sales, wait staff, nursing...which could be lightly or moderately active, depending on individual circumstances.

    Maybe OP will come back and clarify what kind of work s/he does.

    In the long run, I agree with PayTraB. Just pick something, log, and adjust based on results.

    I have a desk job and originally set my activity level at lightly active. But my results were showing that I was burning far more calories than MFP's calculations suggested I would. Eventually I reset it to moderately active (which in theory is ridiculous for a desk job--and I count pretty much every step I take outside as exercise!), just so I wouldn't have to calculate the hundreds of calories of offset in my head multiple times a day to figure out where I was in relation to my actual calorie burns. MFP still thinks I would burn a bit less than my data says I do, but it's close enough.
  • hannamuscha
    hannamuscha Posts: 8 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    Sorry....in the wood business and got a lil presumptious.

    :)
    I'm guilty of making assumptions too. I read "on my feet for 8 hours" and I think teacher, retail sales, wait staff, nursing...which could be lightly or moderately active, depending on individual circumstances.

    Maybe OP will come back and clarify what kind of work s/he does.

    In the long run, I agree with PayTraB. Just pick something, log, and adjust based on results.

    Yep you got it! I do retail, lol.
    Okay, thanks everyone! I'll leave it at lightly for now and adjust from there

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