Confused about step adjustments and activity level

daisychain2016

Hi!
I just switched from using Fitbit to log food and exercise to using MFP and Apple Watch. I'm slightly confused on a couple of things and wondered if anyone could shed any light...
Firstly, I set my activity level to sedentary to be safe. I'm at university so most of my time I'm sat up to a desk but I also walk to and from lectures on a very hilly campus etc. How much activity does the level 'sedentary' expect you to do? Is it nothing at all, or just low levels?

Secondly- and my main question- when MFP gets updated with the step count from my Apple Watch there is no calorie adjustment at all. Surely I should 'earn' some more calories through doing extra steps?
Also my target is losing 0.5 pounds per week and the calorie goal a day is 1500- considering MFP won't take into account any of my walking, this seems a little low. Certainly when using Fitbit, the only times I had a goal this low was on the odd day that I was ill and *genuinely* sedentary.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

daisychain2016

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StaciMarie1974

I have no personal history with the Apple watch, so I don't know about the information it gathers or what it reports to MFP.

Sedentary would generally be under 3-5k steps per day, mostly sitting.

There may be a group for Apple watch users. If so people there will understand better how it works with MFP. While Fitbit calculates Total Daily Energy Expenditure (all day calorie burn) and transmits this info to MFP, the Apple Watch might only send information on actual exercise sessions.

Its hard for anyone to comment on whether or not your calorie goal is appropriate without more information. Current height and weight would be useful, for example. Keep in mind that a .5 pounds per week loss rate is a 250/day deficit. So you'll need to be careful on accuracy for calories in.

eroneree

I am new to MFP but have been wondering the same thing. I have some guesses as to what MFP is doing, but they are only my opinion. If anyone has an informed idea, please let us know.

I set myself to sedentary like you, since I have a desk job and my step count on weekdays is usually shockingly low. I think that what MFP does is assume a calorie burn for your activity level, like maybe 3-5K steps for sedentary as StaciMarie said. Now if your Apple Watch measures 5K steps and MFP gave you extra calories, then those 5K steps would actually be double counted. You'd get 5K steps worth of burn from your Apple Watch and 5K steps worth of burn from marking yourself as sedentary. So actually getting "no credit" for those steps is the right think to do. I assume that if I were to go for a walk and clock 15K steps then MFP would probably give me the difference - 10K steps worth of calories. Does this make sense?

I would say marking yourself as sedentary is the right move and the safest way to make sure you're going to see results.

megzchica23

I just got a fitbit. And it measures what calories you should be losing based on your weight/height. Then it adds in all the calories that you lose from walking and moving about. On mine it adjusts it and give me more calories if I am burning more than the basic metabolic rate myfitnesspal gives me for sedentary. So, I don't know about the apple watch but if it is using fitbit it should do the same.

StaciMarie1974

FWIW # of steps is not the end all, be all of determining how much you burn in a day.

On weekdays I am at a desk for 8 hours and a 1 hour commute each way. Lots of sitting. I walk at lunch, sometimes walk a little before lunch, and walk and/or run in the evenings as needed to hit my activity/burn goals. On a run day, burning 1950-2050 calories is normal. If I just walk in the evenings, I can hit 1950 by walking longer.

Sundays, are a different story. I work a part time job doing pizza delivery. My shift is 8-9 hours depending on the day. Misc. errands in the morning. On my feet much of the afternoon, or in & out of my car. Not exercise but more active than my regular job. I may or may not run/walk for cardio on Sundays depending on what all is going on. But on Sundays I tend to have a burn total of 2000+ even without running.

extra_medium

As far as I understand it, it estimates your total calorie expenditure for the day based on how much you've moved so far, and adjusts throughout the day as you keep moving. If that makes sense.

If you end up going over whatever the threshold for "sedentary" (or whatever activity level you set) is you'll start getting positive credit.

Keep in mind that anything recorded as a workout is separate from your normal daily activity and that is confusing at first too. Often I'll see my workout give me credit for 650 calories, and then a steps calorie adjustment of -60 or something because I sit at a desk most of the rest of the day. I've never tried to work the numbers out, but if I end up moving enough after work the step adjustment will start going into the positive again. Barely.