advice on activity level setting? :)

modelktford

Hello again! I've been enjoying using MFP casually over the last year, but it occurs to me often that I may not be using it right when I read some of the board topics. So...sorry if these questions are silly, would just appreciate some advice.

1. I currently have my settings to "maintain" with 3 planned 50-min workouts a week (that's about average, it seemed like a safe estimate. Some weeks I do more, some I do a little less, but it's usually 3-5 days a week with 30ish min of moderate/intense cardio and 15-20 min of weights/pilates/toning).
2. I have my activity set to "sedentary" because it mentions "desk job" - I work in an office, but I have a standing desk that I use for 6-8 hours a day (depending on the day I'll take a break and sit for an hour or so). I take the stairs when I can and I'm pretty busy at home (I do a lot of cooking/cleaning), but I don't know if that counts as lightly active since that's really not that much? In my spare time I like to be out and about, walking around the mall, walking outside, etc...but again, I don't know how much that really counts as active?
3. I'm 23 and 5'3, 105-110ish range, with these settings MFP has me at 1510 cals a day. My iPhone logs my steps and adds to that if I've been walking a lot, and I try to remember to manually add my workouts buuuut I've been bad about that lately.

For maintenance at my height/weight, do those settings/numbers seem right? I don't want to eat too many calories if they're not needed, but I've also heard it doesn't do you any favors to under-eat and underestimate your activity levels (which I'm guilty of...) I'm still working on finding a healthy balance with food/activity, but I want to make sure I'm not restricting or going overboard. So any help is appreciated!

segacs

If you're not that great at remembering to log and track your workouts, then you can switch to TDEE method, which averages out your workout calories and builds them into your day.

You can get an estimate of your likely TDEE here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/. For your stats it's probably around the 1800-1900 range -- less on rest days, more on workout days, but that will serve nicely as an average.

You can manually set your calories to that range on MFP, or change your activity setting to something close to that. Once you do that, un-link your iPhone and DON'T manually log any exercise, 'cause it's already built into your calories.

Since you're trying to maintain, you'll be able to tell soon enough whether that estimate is too high or too low for you. If you start losing weight, up the calories. If you start gaining weight, drop the calories. Go by small increments - 50 at a time - until you hit on a number that keeps your weight within your maintenance range for a couple of months. Then you should be golden.

Remember that if you ever make any significant changes to your workout schedule, you may have to find your maintenance range again.

20yearsyounger

I have my settings set to sedentary as well as, my steps add the calories, and I manually add the exercise calories. I never once forgot to add them. To me that's like losing money . If you find yourself still losing weight, increase the calorie goal by 100 every week until you stop.

BikeTourer

I too have a desk job and a standing desk, it is better for you but doesn't burn as many calories as you might hope. I too take the stairs. I set my settings to sedentary, wear a Fit Bit Surge and turned negative calories in mfp. I log my food but rely on the fit bit for the calorie burn. This allows me to see how many calories I burning that day and make food choices in line we my activity level today.

I vary intensity levels so this works best for me.