Hello, new and have some questions

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hlblakeley
hlblakeley Posts: 55 Member
edited January 2017 in Introduce Yourself
Hello, I am new to MFP. I registered it back in July, but didn't use it. Then I started working a second job and noticed some weight loss so I decided to get back to it. I've been using it about a month and am trying to get this whole activity level thing right. I am worried about having my level set too low or too high. I am 42, 5' 4.5" and weigh 254. I work as a paraprofessional at a high school which means that some days I will be going all over the school, up and down stairs, having an improptu dance party, but some days I will spend the majority of my workday in a chair at a desk. There is no way to predict what kind of day I will have. I also work about 15-20 hours a week at a retail store as a cashier. This means being up and on my feet, stocking shelves, walking around quite a bit, bending and lifting, etc.. I am also a wife and mother so I have the chores of daily living. Right now my activity level is set to lightly active. I've been using a step counter to log my steps, and with it linked to MFP have been getting anywhere from 250-500 extra calories a day. I have been avoiding eating any of those calories because I'm worried that if my activity level is wrong I will be "over" eating. Any advice?

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Let the scale guide you.

    If you're losing weight too fast, eat those cals back, too slow, reduce your activity level
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
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    A step counter is a good first step toward understanding your calorie burn. Do you have a food scale? Do you weigh everything you eat, down to the gram? If so, your intake/calorie burn should be fairly accurate. It's my policy to eat back half of my exercise calories (unless I'm starving; it may be more). Your mileage may vary. If you burn more than 500 a day, you should probably eat at least a few back.
  • hlblakeley
    hlblakeley Posts: 55 Member
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    Thanks, I do have a food scale, but have not been weighing everything. I have been logging everything and have been choosing the highest possible calorie value for things I am not sure about. I have been trying to leave most if not all the "extra" calories allowed for my steps unless I'm really hungry. I'm trying in this whole process to learn to listen to my body again not just eat "because I'm supposed to," or "it's time to eat." I am hoping to make real lifestyle changes this time so that the weight loss becomes permanent. Thanks again for the advice.
  • __TMac__
    __TMac__ Posts: 1,665 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    Let the scale guide you.

    If you're losing weight too fast, eat those cals back, too slow, reduce your activity level

    Yes, your body is an experiment of sample size one. Try things and see how they go. If you're not losing appropriately, make changes and see what happens.

    How about setting to "sedentary," but then eating back most of the calories? That would address the unpredictability if your activity level. If you're set to "lightly active" and then also add in step calories, I'd be worried about double-counting your activity.
  • hlblakeley
    hlblakeley Posts: 55 Member
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    Thank you Tavistock, I think that you are right and setting to Sedentary will be the better bet. I appreciate the input. It's nice to be able to get some guidance. :)

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